Snow in 2wd w/ No Chains?

From my experience going up to Big Bear when there is snow chains are REQUIRED AND INSPECTED FOR. Both times I've gone up I've run into an inspection spot where they look for you to either have chains or have a vehicle that is 4WD.

 

So, lets see a 4WD on Winter tires............ with a comparison on ice.

 

When my family lived in Washington our neighborhood had a massive 300 foot incline on the road at roughly 30 degrees maybe. Our old XJ was 2WD and we had some pretty crap tires on it, but with some cheap Walmart chains we never had any issues. Had some dude in the neighborhood with a built f150 4x4 on average all terrains at the time who would always struggle. Just hop on over to Walmart and get yourself some cheap chains and you ought to be fine with how this snow season is for the western USA.

 

Grampa drove a 69 Toyota with bias ply tires throughout the Cariboo Chilcotin in BC year round,



He was a skidder operator so back and forth to the bush every day.. no chains, no TCS/VSC, no drama.

Out of all of his rigs the Toyota was up there as one of his favourites - he always brought it up when he saw me working on my 86.

They used to drive Williams Lake to Vancouver for weekend fun..

Drive careful, nice and slow, give yourself room, you'll be fine.

 

yesssss that's all the fools going through i70 to/from Denver to the resorts.

 

Not gonna read 7 pages, but if you're going up into Big Bear when there's snow or a snow storm, they will require chains if you are 2wd. The CHP sets up check points for them on all the main roads up the mountain.

4wds they will usually just let through, in really heavy conditions they will ask 4wd to carry chains in the truck to be safe.

Get a cheap set of chains just in case...but on that note, there hasn't been any snow up on Big Bear since the last rain storm we had over a month ago, I don't think any is forecasted through xmas? I haven't looked in a few days though

edit - just looked it up on weather.com, no snow in the forecast for the next 10 days. I doubt there's any still up there from the storm last month given the warm weather we had in between

 

So I'm a 2wd guy as well and I've been looking at this product called truck claws for off road usage when shit gets sloppy. Anyone have experience with those?

 

Very true. I drive a semi I'm neighborhoods, every now and then am bobtail and hardly ever have issues. I have also driven a 2wd tacoma for a few years with all season tires and sand bags with no issues

 

i have a 16 2WD. or issue is it is 1WD, that crappy simulated limited slip is junk., it transfers power to the other wheel via the brakes??? what the hell is that. i have been contemplating installing a true posi traction rear end, the kind with a clutch pack and both wheels turn, AT THE SAME TIME.

 

Where can I get some nice, cheap chains?

 

I like the Super-Z cable brand. They're super simple to slap on and are about a hundred or less on ye ol Amazon.

 

I've seen the Auto-LSD in action before, on a 2wd Sport. Because the differential allowed for one wheel to spin faster than the other (for when you're turning a corner), it will cause one wheel to spin uselessly when your rear end lifts off the ground. When that happens, one wheel is spinning uselessly while the tire with traction is just sitting there To help that, the truck with brake the wheel that is spinning--therefore sending power to the wheel that has traction--and getting you unstuck

 

I'll check 'em out! Do they work well?

 

In my experience, only tracked vehicles like snowmobiles and snow cats can float on soft snow. With a wheeled vehicle I think you are normally better off keeping the tires inflated to maximize ground clearance and the ability to either compress the snow or dig down to the hard surface under the snow (assuming it isn't a frozen lake). I don't know anyone in Minnesota that airs down their tires to drive snow covered roads.

One exception is bicycles. They are light enough that a fat tire bike (4-5" wide tire) has a much greater ability to float on the snow than a skinny tire mountain bike (2-3" tire). They are nothing like snowmobiles though.

 

It's most definitely helped me out more than once. In fact, the 1st thing I do when driving in any kind of snow is turn on the LSD which kills that damn traction control....which is useless in the snow.

 

Not in places like I posted. Around town, sure. I'm talking about deep snow up in the mountains. The best vehicles I see up there are 80's yotas, zuks and other small vehicles running 37s and up aired down real low.

 

You just aren't in snow deep enough. Driving in mountains that see 300" a year, youre not digging down to anything. When traveling in deep snow (offroad only), i always put my tires down to about 7psi. It spreads out the contact patch to keep you from sinking and lets more tread lugs dig into the snow and act like a paddle. My buddies that do real intense snow wheeling, on 14.5" wide beadlocks and 46" tires usually just pull their valve cores entirely for the day

 

7 pages of replies, I don't think you have enough information.

I grew up in Chardon, The Snow Belt in Ohio. I'd clean my s10 off with a push broom before going to school, start it and go inside to eat breakfast. It was rear wheel drive, no locker, but I had snow tires. Never got stuck, just drove smart. Tires and brains my friend. Just be careful and like others said, it's ok to turn around.

 

Granted the mountains out west get a lot more snow, we get plenty of snow in Minnesota to stop any wheeled vehicle including my OR with a 2" lift and 33" tires. I've seen giant road graters stuck in the snow. Disregarding ice, steep slopes, and other obstacles, I typically don't get stuck until the snow is so deep that if forces itself under the truck and lightens the weight on the tires. Airing down the tires doesn't strike me as a good idea in these cases.

 

I didn't have to travel very far when I used mine but the reviews put me in a very trustworthy mindset that they would - and the company has been around for a little while now. I'm gonna buy another set for my 35s if they make them that big. I didn't skip a beat driving. Just make sure you travel at or below the recommended speed limit when wearing them. I suggest a hair below just to be safe.