The Fellowship of PNW Tacomas | PDX Area Wheeling

Miss that place so much. Grandparents used to live there year around

 

It’s beautiful here!

 

Alright, I plan on buying a day pass for tomorrow and hitting up a snow park. Possibly snow bunny or trillium lake. I haven’t quite decided.

I’ll be bringing a camp stove and hot cocoa. I’ll also bring a fire pit and some wood; hopefully that is allowed… my family is pretty excited to go play in the snow.

 

We always enjoyed Little John Sno Park off howdy 35. Kids loved it and there is a warming hut at the bottom. We would take cocoa and make a day of it. Be safe and Happy New Years .

 

Well it was a short trip but it was fun. We ended up going to som spot off Lolo Pass Rd. I am embarrassed to say that I got the truck stuck twice in the parking lot ‍♂️. Luckily I got it out with some digging and putting kn the chains. I wasn’t even in real deep snow.

I first got stuck kn some deep snow going around another vehicle. Got it out by pushing it. The next time I got stuck trying to turn around. I almost ran into a big rock hurried in the snow but luckily got stuck before I hit it. Only found it when digging.

once unstuck we parked and the kids got to play in the snow for a while and I started making hot cocoa before the hose started leaking propane…. Kind of a bummer trip.

 

I think I’ll wait to do snow wheeling until I get off these stock tires. I’ll also want to go out with some of you veterans because I’m sure my novice self could have avoided getting stuck.

here is a video of me trying to turn around….


https://youtube.com/shorts/X8CCotqBL-M?feature=share

 

Did you air down at all?

 

Hey don’t be to discouraged. This is par for the course when going into the snow and especially with kids.
i can’t tell you how many times we have headed out and ended up parked on the side of the road because we couldn’t make it further or whatever other reason popped up.
Glad you made it out at least.

 

I did not. I don’t have an air compressor to air back up so I didn’t want to air down. I also don’t know how far down to go. I’m still a newbie.

 

From the looks of it I would have tried 4 low with MTS on (set to allow the least slip possible). Barely apply throttle, trying not to spin any tires. Rear locker would help, but might make turning around in a small space tougher.

All that being said:

Airing down is really your best traction card to play. For snow it usually needs to be around 10 psi. Just don’t do donuts or drive Baja style. You’ll risk unseating a tire bead from the wheel.

EDIT: in the conditions you posted, using chains is gonna get you more traction than airing down…and just remember to always run chains with normal tire pressure on the chained tires, not aired down.

There’s no shame in what you shared about how it went. That experience you had is pretty common and it’s how we all learn. The propane hose is just a bummer, though!

 

I didn’t even think to go 4L. I did try locking the diff but that didn’t help at all.

 

If the diff was locked, you were in 4lo unless they changed it or you have a mod.
That being said, the snow around LoLo and most areas of mt hood is tricky stuff. There is a reason guys have 40’s and are locked up front and rear.
I think the snow gets melted which creates water in the snow, the tires basically hydroplane in the snow. Or the frame gets hung up and the tires are not touching enough surface.
This is my redneck way of trying to explain it.

I remember getting my Tacoma and getting stuck on LoLo the first time I got into the snow. Pulled over to let a SUV by and got into deep ruts. Lol. Was so frustrated with the truck and tires.

 

I was just going to say this

 

These guys did a good job explaining some tricks for snow driving in the PNW.

https://youtu.be/MeuG-CJ0hnQ

 

That is frustrating. But after watching your video, not too surprising. Just looks like there was no space to get momentum to bump over the lip in the back or front.

 

Stock tires and wheels can go down to 10 psi. I would only go that low on snow. Did about 14-15 with em other times.

For a compressor to get you started the

$103 viair 88p portable compressor kit (12V, 120 psi, forup to 33" tires)

viair 88p is a little beast for the price.

 

We went up to trillium lake last weekend and had no problem anywhere. I have the Goodyear ultra terrains ( traction tire) and never skipped a beat. It was nice driving past all the people chaining because under 10k lbs traction tires could be used instead of chains.

 

I helped a tesla on lolo pass road this weekend and here's what I learned. The driver had turned into a "parking lot" with 8" of fresh snow. Fortunately it was early in the day before it got crazy up there.

1) Teslas have almost no ground clearance
2) Teslas are very heavy
3) Teslas might have awd but that won't help if they have all seasons and are buried to the frame
4) Tesla owner probably won't be able to find the tow hook or figure out how to open the cover

We dug out the front tires and used traction boards but the back tires just spun. We finally stuck one board on a front tire and one on a back tire and got it out after a big push.

 

#4 got me. Lol.

 

Where do you access Trillium Lake from? I thought there was a gate at the entrance at 26. looks like it would be a fun place for the kids!