What 4wd mode should I be In for snow?

Just drive in reverse to relieve the windup

 

Great thread. I am from AZ and learning a lot.

 

Many things factor into bad winter weather driving.

I avoid the Interstate !! Sitting on a Shut down Interstate for over 24 hours is not fun.

I Like the option of turning around or driving through a field . Being away from the herd is a big plus.

The temperature the warmer the worse the traction

IF I need 4 High I get to the nearest place with food. Being in a Company truck The company says Go It is their insurance not mine.

It always comes down to the drivers call.

Most times I only use the 4x4 to get out my drive way.

Giving this more thought just like shifting gears most times I have no idea what gear I am in. The same with the transfer case shift in and out with muscle memory as needed .

Never giving it a thought.

 

Speaking from personal experience here.
I think I've tested these limits for you
I understand the concern of the whole bind up thing and it does happen when in 4wd and taking tight turns. The turns that cause bind up and chirping tires will be at low speed in parking lots and such.
You aren't going 55-65 on twisty highways with dry roads unless your in a sports car anyways, so that doesn't apply.
I am no expert by any means but I do drive on snowy roads more than half the year and have done so for 30 years now. Driving in 4hi on dry roads is not going to break your truck.
How many times or threads have you seen that state "my truck/4wd/drivetrain broke when in 4hi while driving on dry roads"?
I can't think of one ever
Not saying it has never happened, just that it is very rare and very uncommon.
Over the years I have seen probably 6 or 7 of my friends total their vehicles driving on roads just like the ones the OP posted, driving in 2wd because they were afraid of causing harm to their 4wd systems. Every one of them were trying to accelerate, hit a patchy spot and their back end broke loose and they lost control and crashed. Which I find very ironic being worried about a CV joint or something that rarely happens and not being worried about wrecking the vehicle as a whole losing control, which happens all the time.
There have been countless times I have forgotten to put the truck back into 2wd while on dry roads or patchy roads as well as driving on curvy roads while doing so. Your truck won't break. YMMV
Drove my 01 Taco like this for 240000 trouble free miles and it's still on the road killing it the past 3 years since I got rid of it

 

Your braking is actually not the same in 4wd. It's not intuitive and a little on the advanced side of vehicle dynamics, but I've scratched the surface a couple times previously. The effect may be small in real world situations, but it's always there.

Snow Driving Tips and Techniques
Steep Downhill in Snow/Ice - Advice

 

I think this is where the confusion comes from and how one comprehends it.
"Normal driving on dry and hard surface roads"
To me; normal, dry, hard surface is not even close to any of the pics posted in this thread.
I think we all know what a normal/dry road looks like so I won't bother posting a pic of one
Of course 4wd doesn't mean you are invincible and can still maintain the posted speed limits everywhere you go. This isn't confusion, this is more ignorance.
Meanwhile, I'll continue to pull out other trucks and 4wd's from ditches and watch them drift and spinout on highways that are in 2wd
Several times I have helped guys out of ditches and ask "are you in 4wd" and they answer no! I respond nicely telling them to do so but in the back of my head
!

 

The context for that particular reply I wrote was rebutting the previous poster's statement that "Toyota... says nothing about dry pavements.." :

I'm not sure what "excursive it" was intended to mean. I interpolated it as meaning "Toyota has no opinion or recommendation regarding using 4WD on dry/solid road surfaces."

 

Wide sweeping turns on semi dry pavement or in a straight line is just fine people.

 

Not an expert on this but I'm pretty sure those all of those types of small, light rally cars are AWD vehicles, with a center diff that allows unequal wheel speeds at all 4 tires. AWD is mechanically different from Toyota's "part time 4WD" system. Unlike part-time 4WD, AWD has no potential for "drivetrain bind up" when used on hard/dry/sticky road surfaces. For that reason, I don't think the comparison applies.

Here's a non-technical description of the 4 major classes of "4-wheels-driven" mechanical systems.

 

I did that once...in a dry parking lot.

Scared the crap out of me because the truck almost came to a complete stop...a little "spring action" took place because I was in a slow turn into a parking spot.

Minor turns were OK...a major turn of the wheel will cause the gears to bind up and not move forward causing the "spring action".

I've not done it since but I'm cautious in remembering to switch back to 2WD once I'm off straight aways.

 

One can turn off traction control so that you can better control your throttle/skid/spinning tires in snow and mud. If you're struggling through some snow/mud to make it up a hill, the traction control will cut power and/or apply brakes to the spinning wheel, which can result in you coming to a stop. Having it off allows you to keep momentum.
Very useful if wanting to do snow donuts as well. Which is fun and a great way to figure out how the truck will drive/steer/stop in snow. That's my usnderstanding anyway!

 

+1
My summer driving habit is to go into neutral for braking or turning. In the snow with 4wd on you can definitely tell the difference for both braking distance and ability for the wheels to track during a turn when in neutral vs in gear.

 

Sorry. I have falken wildpeak at3. They are good tires.

I did have the tail come out when it was about 26 degrees outside. I would be going thru a turn and there would be a patch of ice on the road.
So that’s why I was wondering if it’s ok to leave it in 4x4.

bonus picture. This was a Tesla with street tires. It was behind the crv, the road was banked….it just slid off the road.

 

It's true with my new truck



It's true, the braking was better. My mistake. The abs responds better to a wheel working. My 07 sport only has abs no traction control. I'll take it skiing next weekend and see how it does on the same stretch.

 

Put vehicle in 4WD it was designed for it

 

I’d say 4hi for the top and if hills then switch out of OD. I’d say nothing and if hills then switch out of OD. Just know your limits on corners and stops.

 

You should be in the moving south mode....