Snow in 2wd w/ No Chains?

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. You do realize that the area I'm talking about is close to 9 hours north of so cal without traffic, right? Of course you do.

Where do you live at knute?

 

Sliding on the turns because of the ice is no joke, but if the road is clear no need to worry. Just sucks if/when the weather just changes fast when your up there.

 

I've driven a 1990 Oldsmobile cutlas up Mt. Rose hwy to Tahoe in the middle of winter. It's about the worst car you can put on a winter road. OP will be fine. Just be smart

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep everything in mind to prep the 'rig'
Honestly, I'm not too worried. I think a lot of people underestimate what a RWD is capable of

 

I was the guy earlier talking about floating 35" tires with horsepower over hood level snow with @theesotericone. You're fine with your truck. Just do it to it and have fun mate.

 

Didn't read all of the 4 pages, so this may very well be a repeat.. From experience. Winter tires will make a world of difference, more than any other solution mentioned.

Look at the type of road condition you are most likely to encounter.

Deep drifts of dry snow, or big wet flakes right near the freezing point ?
One needs a cold temperature rubber compound with good tread depth, lugs. The other more icy condition needs a cold weather temperature rubber with siped, more closed tread pattern.

Engaging locker has its risks, when one wheel is on very slippery conditions, and other side has traction. With locker engaged, the drive wheel with traction will steer the vehicle over to the side without traction. If that were to happen at highway speeds, you would spin out in an instant, and its why you cannot engage the locker at higher speeds. At slow speeds it does work to make forward progress, you'll just be counteracting with lots of steering input.

 

I was up there like 2 weeks ago. Not much snow yet.
I have a season pass to Bear, so I'm waiting for fresh snow

 

Is it Friday?

 

god I hope so. Oh wait, it's barely Tuesday. dammit.

 

For bed weight check out Tube Sand bags. They are 60lbs a bag and longer than normal sandbags. I can fit 5 across my bed above the axle. Home Depot sells them.

Nice part is if you need traction sand you can slice one open if needed vs metal weights.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-60-lb-Tube-Sand-115960/100318522

 

That's subjective I guess. But anything more than a few inches I found the Duratracs to be just has good as most snow tires.

However, in light snow, packed snow, slush, ice, etc a dedicated snow tire will win that battle every time. In fact, I sold my Duratracs and went back to a snow tire because my winter driving involves more of that type of thing than driving around in 15" of snow all winter long.

 

You might have to turn around at a police checkpoint if you don't chain-up.

 

Yea, you don't want to be that idiot trying to climb a grade, and spinning out, holding up the more capable, responsible drivers.

 

I wish Colorado had police chain checkpoints to actually enforce the traction laws we have. Currently they are just used to add fines when people crash or get stuck and cause traffic on the highway.

 

For those of you who don't know...the road the OP is talking about is one close to basically Los Angeles. It starts around 700 feet in elevation and goes to over 7000 in elevation in about 15 miles. There are plenty of unprepared going to wanting to see the snow in the mountains.

 

I currently live in central Iowa. We just had the first serious snow. The storm began with rain @34 degrees, changed to freezing rain, changed again to snow. When the storm had finished giving. We had a layer of ice on the road with 7" wet snow on top. Temperature hovering around the 30 degree mark. Fortunately, the snow was too wet to drift very much. Since then the temperature hasn't cracked 30 for the high, lows in the teens. When January arrives, we will wish for the December warmth.

I'm sure the roads are much more difficult in other areas of the country. If you want practice on ice, snow, snow pack, mixed......come to the mid-West. We have this stuff for many months.

I recall my first drive day in Driver's Ed. It was January and a snow storm had just passed. I was glad my Dad had been teaching me how to handle a car on slippery surfaces. This was long before FWD or 4WD were common and on bias ply tires, not radials or snow tires.

 

No, i am confident that many people who live in mountain towns, or travel frequently through serious winter weather know exactly how capable a RWD vehicle is, and thats why you are getting the answers you are. Everyone didnt come into this thread to shit on you or your truck. Nobody is just making up a biased opinion because they hate RWD trucks. It is obvious, since you are ASKING HOW CAPABLE A RWD TRUCK IS IN THE SNOW, you yourself do no understand what you are claiming what others are underestimating. You didnt get rousing validation from everyone, so now your stance is "nobody knows what they are talking about, ive seen a pre runner drive over some rocks in the desert, so clearly itll be perfect on a mountain pass covered in snow, people are just #haters and underestimate my 2wd truck"

you asked a question, you got answers. Good luck, bring chains.

 

The stock OR tires are actually pretty decent in snow. They have a ton of siping and don’t get rock hard when it’s cold.

get chains, if for nothing then just to show you have them. Drive slow but steady

 

I do know from experience and experimenting that 4WD is nearly as useless as 2WD on ice or snow pack.

If you get into a slide, the 4WD will tend to crab sideways. Difficult to recover, but possible.

Granted, the start of a slide is less probable with 4WD, but it remains an issue.

Yes, 4WD can crawl through deeper snow than 2WD, depending on the snow. The wet heavy stuff is difficult no matter what you have, unless you have tracks.

The reality is the snow on roads will be a mix of loose snow, packed snow and ice. Very rarely will you be able to drive in undisturbed snow on the road. Off road, I'm sure you can find virgin snow.

Tires/chains can make a significant difference. Same with driver experience and skill on snow/ice covered roads.

I have crawled a Corolla through 6"+ snow, spending 4 hours to make a 70 mile drive. I can drive through this crap, but I would rather not. Living in the mid-West can bring quick weather changes, same as mountains. The road becomes difficult to drive on, regardless of elevation changes or curves. Generally, you're going sloooooowww, so you don't really notice curves or elevation changes. Your focus is on control of your car/truck and the ID10Ts on the road with you.

As a driver, you must have the skill to avoid a skid/slide and be able to recover when a skid/slide happens. Trust me, skid/slide can happen in a heartbeat.

So OP, ask yourself before you take on the slick roads....Do you have the skill to avoid a skid/slide and the skill to recover from a skid/slide. If you have a shred of doubt, then wait 1 day for the roads to be plowed and cleared.