4wd in rain?

Nope it still hasn’t rained in so cal lol

 

I think most of us often don’t notice the original post date on threads. When I posted I didn’t notice the date if I had I wouldn’t have posted.

 

ik 12 year old thread but heres my question can i use 4hi when going straight then switch to 2hi before turning? I was on the freeway going straight 35mph about to get the offramp and my truck hyroplanned, felt like the rear wanted to swing out or if someone pushed my truck for lack of a better term. Yes I have new tires ko2’s probbly 3k miles on em. I wasnt speeding I was coasting. I live in Los Angeles forecast is gonna rain all the way up to xmas nonstop, yes I’m not used to the rain, yes I drive 5-10mph inder the speed limit when its pouring. Thx.

 

Sure, no issues using 4hi while going straight. I would however be more concerned about adequately swapping back to 2hi when needed. Need to also focus on the road, and excessively swapping between 2hi and 4hi could cause undue wear on the transfer case and such.

Opinion is that your hydroplaning was less of the drive selection and more about the road conditions. Hydroplaning can happen at any time, quite often after the first drops of rain, when the road is slick but not truly drenched in water. Plus you’re driving a truck, not a Subaru or Camry. Not sure 4hi would have done you any good here, key is to slow down as much as reasonably possible and avoid sudden braking when hydroplaning.

On a sidebar, I find the SoCal attitude towards rain to be hilarious. It’s water. It’s natural.

 

Let’s forget about whether or not you’re having traction problems. If you use 4WD regularly on pavement, even soaking wet pavement, regularly, if you’re doing much turning, you will eventually damage your drivetrain. So don’t do it. Or do it, and damage your truck for absolutely no reason. Whatever, your truck not mine. But, you did come here and ask.

If you don’t understand how this could cause damage, you need to do some research.

 

op posted this like 12 years ago

 

Luckily the info is still relevant today for all who visit the thread that you’ve brought back to life

4hi straight and 2wd in turns is ok as long as you don’t exceed the 4hi max speed I guess, but I don’t think 4wd is solving the problem you’re trying to address. Mainly it’s solved with slower speed and good tires. It’s 4wd not awd.

Also you’re gonna forget to switch back to 2wd…I use 4wd every time I pull the boat out at the ramp and forget to disengage it at least a third of the time.

 

Yes, thread is old, OP even indicated that when posting. But he asked a specific question. Starting a new thread is usually better, but since we are here, I have no problem with answering.

Technically yes, but I don't advise it. Being in 4X4 won't prevent you from hydroplaning. Just use some common sense. If you're having problems getting the truck moving from a stop due to a steep, rain-soaked hill etc., then engage 4X4 temporarily to get moving. But once you're moving it is best to disengage. 4X4 isn't designed to be used at highway speeds in the rain and could actually make things worse when cornering on wet pavement. A vehicle with All Wheel Drive is designed for that

The danger comes from getting distracted and forgetting you're in 4X4 and driving long distances and turning sharp corners while 4X4 is engaged. Even on wet pavement, or even off road for that matter, it isn't a good idea to put the 4X4 running gear in a bind. You may not break anything today, but you are overstressing components, and they will wear out prematurely.

Just about everyone with a 4X4 has done this at one time or another. You get back to a paved road after being in 4X4 for a while and forget to switch it back to 4X2 and drive a few miles before you realize it. I've done it. I just don't recommend doing it by design.

 

I grew up in Maine driving in every conceivable form of precipitation known to man. Been driving around today on LA streets and have KO2’s also. Bottom line they are terrible on any wet surface - I can spin the tires easily even with a 13 year old 4 cyl, stock gears with Load range E 265/75/17’s and a clutch holding on to its last few miles of life. M

Biggest thing you can do is look ahead and if you don’t see obvious tire tracks in the water ahead of you from traffic ahead of you or notice the water getting a bit deep is slow down with engine braking (ie only let off the gas - don’t hit the brakes) and keep the wheel as straight as possible. On off ramps start at the speed you want to end at - ie 20 mph if that’s how fast you want to be rolling up to the light at the end of it after a turn. Yeah cars may ride you and even honk their horn, but are they paying for your truck when it’s in a ditch?

Hydroplaning cars don’t like fast changes in speed - especially slowing down. The truck wanted to swap ends because that’s it’s natural state it always wants to travel in if it wasn’t for the frictional forces between your tires and the ground. Best advice I can give other than that is throw sand bags or other heavy / dense items over your rear axle in the bed as pickups are not good at providing friction to the rear wheels and it can be good to find an empty street or deserted parking lot and practice turning and braking at relatively slow speeds and relatively safe distances from other physical objects.

 

Only use 4wd when passing someone, extra traction and speed.....

 

And if the OP started a new thread you most likely would tell him to "use the search".

 

As a canadian I can tell you switching back and forth is fine and we do it up here on low traction all the time.

4WD is there to be used, go ahead. As long as the road is low traction. The tacomas have strong drivelines and can easily handle 4wd at higher speeds.

That said the older tacomas don't like shifting in and out of 4wd at highway speeds, so keep that in mind.

 

KO2s are good off road but that's about it. They're not good rain or snow tires. That being said, 4x4 isn't going to stop you from hydroplaning and 4 wheel drive doesn't mean 4 wheel stop. If it is bad enough that you're hydroplaning you need to slow down or, at the very least, add some weight to the rear. I hardly use 4x4 in the snow let alone the rain.

You said you do 5-10 under the speed limit but that doesn't mean you're going slow enough, especially around ponding or heavy rainfall. In Michigan you can still get a ticket for violation of basic speed law if you're going that slow and still manage to crash in crappy weather (particularly winter). It basically translates to "going too fast for conditions."