Snow Wheeling Tips n Tricks

I'm going snow wheeling for the first time this Saturday. I live in Wisconsin, so I'm not new to snow driving. But, I figured I'd run this by some more experienced off-roaders.

I currently have LT/C 285/70/17 Toyo AT3's on the 4runner. They're my "winter" tires. But, I have a set of 295/70/17 Yokohama MT's in the garage.

I was debating whether it would be worth swapping to the Yokohamas for the trip. I know MT's are supposed to be very good in fresh snow. But, the Toyos are way better all-around in winter.

What would you guys do?

 

If the roads are dry, you could take the MTs. If the roads are wet or icy or there’s weather, take the ATs. You’re probably not gonna get into enough trouble that the ATs couldn’t get you out.

 

Thank you! This was the way I've been leaning.

 

We got 6-8" overnight and roads would have kept me home in my Charger. Dad's 2020 Sport made quick work of it, even with just the OEM Toyos. I went looking for unplowed roads and parking lots just to see. Check the dune/snow buggy at about 40 seconds:

https://youtu.be/WnQIzvwp-q8

 

Had a blast snow wheeling today.

Here is the angle from the Heep following me.

 

Who else is out there gettting the powder flying?!?

 

Went snow wheelin with my brother in law to break in his new Jeep

 

"Let er eat!" haha love it.

What PSI were you at in that video? Also, folks dont mind you being out on those trails in the winter? They arent used for snowsleds during the winter?

 

8 PSI front / 6 PSI rear, for this adventure.


So I have been working for about 4 years, with the local trail system. I was on the board for a bit and pushed the idea of dedicated trails for 4x4 trucks in the winter. This was really the entire point of me joining the board. It worked.

https://www.vmuts.ca/

As usual for small groups and local trail system, they are a bit 'light' on the details on the site.



The trails high lighted on this map are available for 4x4 vehicles to use in the winter for snow wheeling, as well as trail #70.

All of #93 should be highlighted as it is dedicated for 4x4's in winter. At the west end of #93, the small section coming off #36 which is #48 to #93 and back to #36 a small loop is what we attempted to completed in that video.

 

Ahh yes, I think you mentioned something like that in a pervious post of yours. Thats super cool that you have that system available to you and were able to get a portion dedicated to winter 4x4. I cant imagine anyone here in the New England area would even entertain an idea like that, they get very touchy about their sled trails..

 

I am very very lucky where I live. We have so much space, with sooooooooooooo many trails. They can not groom and use it all.

 

We had some fun this past Saturday in Wisconsin. I've never been snow-wheeling before, and I'm pretty sure none of the others had, either.

We met at an unmaintained park and ride, where some of us got stuck right away as we hadn't aired down yet. So, the lesson there was to air down before getting into the deep stuff!

We stuck to forest service roads and easier sections of the trails. The only time anyone got stuck was when we would stop, or pull to the side to let snowmobiles through. The roads that see more traffic had about 12" of packed snow with maybe 6" of fluffy snow on top, and you would get sucked into the softer stuff on the shoulder if you got too far over. Most of the time, you could get out by backing up the way you came.

One of the crew has a really nice drone and snapped this picture. This is probably a degraded version, though, because he texted it to me.

We have a similar situation to @SR-71A with a lot of trails being dedicated to snowmobiles in the winter. We also share a lot of trails with ATV's and UTV's during the summer. Most of them seem ok, but I've occasionally gotten the stink-eye from some who probably weren't aware that road legal vehicles were allowed on some of the trails as well.

 

@3JOH22A showing me how to snow wheel on 35's.








Awesome weekend of this type of stuff until someone got stuck, then recovery, repeat.

 

Perfect example of why its so important to air down.

Came from 5 PSI on the trail. Aired up to road pressure (37 PSI) and it looked like the tire was jacked off the ground.


The footprint on my tire expands substantially at 5 PSI. The sidewall bulge is a great indicator of what PSI you are at.

But the real advantage to airing down is the increase in contact area length. Makes your tires like tracks instead of a tiny contact area touching the ground.