TOTALLY LOVING MY YODA!!!

We got ice covered by 1/2 of snow late last night. The ice was unexpected (ice line was supposed to stay well south).

Keep in mind, the newest/most tech 4wd vehicle I have owned before this winter is my CRV. Got my wife a 2013 pilot over the summer, haven't had it out in the snow yet.

I just put toyo open country ATIII on last week for 2 reasons, not impressed with the wranglers in snow/ice messes out in the country gravels. The Toyos proved awesome on my CRV.

I decided to go ahead and drive my taco today thinking the roads couldn't be that bad, especially the highway... famous last words.

Got to the highway and first mile wasn't bad, then suddenly cars smashed into the concrete barriers every so often. Slowed down more and back into 4wd.

Right after the 2nd accident the jeep patriot in front of me suddenly just spins out and goes slamming into the center wall. We weren't doing but maybe 15mph. By the time I could think "omg truck please stop before you hit this guy" my taco had stopped no problem then I blocked the inner lane to put a barrier between the jeep who was now backwards and any other cars.

He was able to turn around and drive away.

There was an accident on one side or the other (people spinning out and hitting barriers) about every half mile or so.

As I was about to my exit, another jeep, liberty this time, but was well ahead of me, same thing but the ride side wall this time. She was ok and able to limp her jeep off the exit.

Taco didn't even make me tense up once, never had a vehicle hold the road like that in my life!

Thanks Toyota for getting traction and abs systems dialed in right! First time I haven't totally hated those systems. I don't think my CRV would have been able to avoid the crashs from idiots like my taco did.

 

So just to clarify, did you just go out for a drive just to go for a drive? Or did you actually have to go somewhere?

If you went out on the highway right after an ice storm just to see what your truck can do, that was a terrible idea and you shouldn't be bragging about it.

Glad you ended up coming back no harm.

 

Oh no, I was going to work this morning. NO WAY IN HELL I would have gotten on the highway in St Louis in that crap if I didn't have to.

 

I purposely go out in the snow and drive all the time because I enjoy it and have been doing it for decades. Most of the time I end up helping someone out by pulling them out, so they don’t have to wait in the cold for hours for a tow truck to get to them. I’ve even made some good side money doing that many times. I’ve also helped out stuck UPS and Fedex trucks, school buses, even a Brinks money truck once (which I got a very nice care package in the mail from them a couple weeks later). But I also grew up in the mountains, my dad owned a tow truck business when I as young, and I’ve been driving in snow since before I was a teenager. But the point is, people have all kinds of different driving skill levels. Some people shouldn’t even drive a country road on a sunny day because they suck at driving. Others can weave an IndyCar through others at 240 mph. I agree most people should stay put in snow or ice, but it’s not so terrible for everyone.

OP, the Toyo AT3s are 3 peak mountain snowflake rated and they are very good in snow (I have a set on my ‘97 4runner and they’re probably the best AT snow tires I’ve ever had). I suspect most of your traction came from the tires and not as much the pickup itself (which tend to not be so great on slippery surfaces compared to SUVs, being that they’re so much lighter in the rear).

 

A good set of tires and controlling your speed for the condition outside will help you avoid slipping and spinning like those other cars.

 

Well yeah, I think most of us go find a place to play in the snow! There's a difference in going out to an open snowy area versus jumping on a highway on ice!

 

Till moved here a couple years ago I would always go play I the snow. Never bothers me to drive in it. And during some really bad storms up there I would go out and rescue people that got stuck/went in the ditch. Being in the city now however it's about trying to compensate for morons. I've yet to end up stuck in a ditch or in an accident in winter weather in any car or truck I've owned.

My tires I know we're a huge help, I have the same ones on my CRV (of course much smaller). Amazing in any conditions. But on ice they have their limits of course. My CRV I know their limits and have doubts I would have avoided that accident because ice on a down grade. Maybe the tires are better than I think. But I was incredibly surprised by how well my taco dealt with traction loss. Never had a vehicle switch braking between each wheel so quickly (or old style abs which would just say screw you).