Snow Driving Tips and Techniques

Different snow and conditions as people have said +1.

Most fun I ever had was driving a date home in a 70's VW bug with a fresh 6 inches of powder on the road.

Its always interesting when in the back of your mind you are saying, when is going to turn into a sliding mess, or worse ice.

 

Really the best advice I can give for driving in snow is to take your time. Find a speed that feels comfortable and stick to it, and keep your head on a swivel for morons so you can avoid them.

Ive lived in the Rochester/ Finger Lakes region of NY my entire life, so I'm no stranger to snow. I spent my first 6 years driving with a FWD 5spd saturn that had about 85 hp and a mixture of the cheapest all season tires of varying brands and tread depths. It got me to the mountain to go snowboarding and wherever else I needed to go through some serious shit, and the skills I learned in that heap have served me well in navigating treacherous roads, even though now I drive much more capable vehicles.

Oh and FWIW, there's not 3 types of snow there's at least 30, but that's really not all that important

 

As someone living in vt, the chains comment had me interested because I've never heard of anyone using chains on anything other than a tractor. Would you be using them for on road driving?

 

No, they go to hell in a hurry on a paved road. Laws against that up here. Studded tire rules too.

 

I gotcha, interesting how things vary, rules on studs lol

 

Slow down in general , give yourself several more car lengths of following distance, watch further ahead and plan accordingly, stay off the brakes (let the engine and gravity work instead) as much as possible, don't turn (if you have to slow down and ease into), don't accelerate quickly, bridges and overpasses freeze first and often, keep tires with good tread on at all time, you cannot turn worth a darn when your brakes are locked up or the Anti lock system is modulating ( sometimes its better to carry the speed and try to maneuver than to continue to lockup and slide into whatever (watched several people do it over the years and they just can't remove their foot from the brake - natural reaction). Stay even further away from semis
25+ years driving in North Dakota and upper midwest ,

 

Yessir, especially parking garages. Spinnin' tires with studs up the inclines in those kinda structures takes the protective coating off of concrete. Salt from vehicles seeps in, eats the rebar & cost Big bucks to repair. Some places plain won't let you in.

 

If that truck is 4x4, should put the chain on the front if the condition is more slippery. Newer car with front wheel drive it helps lot in the snow.

 

I am sure you are going to have a great trip ... Yes, your off road shovel will work no question. If it were me, I would pick up a cheap snow shovel and toss that in the back. If you get a lot of snow or want to shovel out a parking spot it just saves you the time. Yes, you can do it with an off road shovel it will just take longer. I like a wide shovel with a short handle.

Side note ... also pick up a a snow brush and ice scraper if you don't have one. They are cheap and super helpful -- along with good winter gloves, of course.

A shovel and a scraper and you will be able to clear off and clear out if you need to.

Love this discussion ... much of this is overkill but it is fun to talk snow. I love a good snow storm!

 

100 percent ... I got new chains ... never used them before and then had to put them on ... You would think I have never seen a set of chains before. I almost froze to death getting them on ... story of my life.

 

We use chains for driving on the road in snow in California. When going to the mountains or other snowy area, you are required to carry chains even if you never use them. Sometimes CalTrans or the Highway Patrol will want to actually see your chains before you are allowed past the chain control signs.

There are three levels of chain requirements in California:

Requirement 1 (R-1): Chains are required on all vehicles except passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks under 6,000 pounds gross weight and equipped with snow tires on at least two drive wheels. Chains must be carried by vehicles using snow tires. All vehicles towing trailers must have chains on one drive axle. Trailers with brakes must have chains on at least one axle.

Requirement 2 (R-2): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels. NOTE: (Four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas.)

Requirement 3 (R-3): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles, no exceptions.

R-1 and R-2 are the most common conditions. A highway will often be closed before an R-3 condition is imposed.

For more information, see Chain Controls / Chain Installation on the CalTrans website: https://dot.ca.gov/travel/winter-driving-tips/chain-controls
There is a Truck Chain Requirements page here: https://dot.ca.gov/travel/winter-driving-tips/chain-requirements

 

So, how much snow is required to be declared a r1? Is this because of elevation or relative lack of snow events thus experience?

 

I'm not sure how they determine the requirement level. I just hear on the news where they'll say R1 (or R2) chain conditions in the mountains. I would guess that it varies a lot and R1 is whenever they determine that trucks (tractor-trailers) need to chain up, but cars can pass easily enough. Whenever non-4x4/non-AWD cars need to chain up they declare an R2 condition. If 4x4/AWD cars need chains (R3), then they usually shut down the road. Snow and ice varies a lot so I would guess that it depends on the current conditions or expected conditions. It doesn't snow where I live, so I can't tell you a whole lot.

I would guess that the requirements level is at least partially based on the driving skill of the Highway Patrol officer or CalTrans worker that is making the determination.

 

Only put chains on the front tires if your truck is designed to accept them. Our trucks — 3rd gens — are not meant to have chains on the front tires. See the bullet point on the manual:



OP—reading the winter driving tips in the manual might be helpful.

 

In the 2020 Tacoma manual, that information is on pages 325 and 326.

 

Wonder what the difference is. Like, 50+ pages on new infotainment stuff, or just a reorientation of the TOC and pagination? Exciting bookkeeping stuff.

 

The 2020 owner's manual is 608 pages long. It took about two weeks to read it when I bought my truck. (Turning in my man card. A real man never reads the instructions. )

 

Tacoma is rear wheel drive and not every truck is 4x4. Snow chain need installed on drivetrain wheels. Snow chain use base on condition. I live in Maine for years, I only put on snow chain once. Normally snow tires is good enough.

There is difference between snow chain and cables.

 

Yes, to the latter. So one of the interesting things about California is how much the terrain changes in a short distance. You have a ton of people that live in the Bay Area with consistent temps year round that generally don’t even have all terrain tires. They head to Tahoe a couple hours away, up the mountain pass, and run into trouble not expecting or being prepared for the conditions. If you are from the East Coast, or Colorado, or Michigan, etc... you have less of that and likely also have the tires, car, and skill to navigate it.

I have only used chains in California, and even that was 20 years ago. The only people I see using them in Oregon, are the ones with California plates.

I have also never seen a check point on the highway outside of California, where they stop every vehicle and actually verify that you have 4WD/AWD, and snow rated tires and/or chains.

 

So they make rules in California to protect people from themselves lol. I don't think I have ever driven somewhere over an hour away without checking weather or road conditions.