What can I do to not get stuck again in my Tacoma Sport? Mild offroading

Hello Tacoma World,

I know this could be answered with two words " diff lockers ", but I was wondering what else can I do to improve my 3rd generation Tacoma TRD Sport.

Yesterday has been one of many times I've gotten stuck with my Tacoma. I was dealing with 5 inches of mildy frozen snow and couldn't get up a hill for the life of me. Had to get a Jeep Wrangler to get me up the hill.

I have 33's BFG KO2s. 3 inch spacer lift (I know, I know, soon I'll be able to afford real extended travel).

I've aired down multiple times.

I've had another person drive the truck and noticed the axles don't move while in 4 HI or 4 LO.

I believe it's this amazing yet at times troubling IFS axles that's keeping me from moving out of a rut.

I'm assuming I should invest into a Detroit or ARB true diff locker for the rear or both (front/rear) to make it solo worthy? I might have to consider re-gearing as well to 4.88s or 5.29s.

I just don't know exactly what I should mainly be focus investing on for more performance trail upgrade. I'm wondering what other Sport-owners have done to their rigs to make it trail worthy.

I'm trying to learn a lot about this 4WDemand Part Time System that my truck came with.

Thanks to all who have their piece of mind in this thread.

 

Diff lockers can only do so much when it comes to snow. Snow is a different animal. So dont feel bad. Lockers honestly wouldn't have helped much in that situation. Traction is the biggest factor for snow.

 

Just floor the gas always.. can't get stuck if you never stop!

 

Momentum is key, how are you liking the ko2s? I've heard they may not be the best when it comes to snow.

 

Yeah tires could be the biggest factor regarding snow. Especially the condition of wear on them. I might have to consider getting new set of tires - I've driven over 30,000 on them. I'm wanting to upgrade to 35's or 37's for more ground clearance from rocks to water forging. Less chances of bottoming out even in mud.

 

Snow is tough, I've seen trucks with front and rear lockers struggle. Others do not.

Speed is key.

 

Snow and ice make for rough conditions. I was attempting to get up a snow covered hill in a trd offroad with my locker in and couldn't due to ice. I kept sliding. Made it higher up in 4hi keeping the rpm's up. Went up another steeper hill in 4lo that had fresh snow, not ice and made it up after two tries. Point being a locker isn't going to help you on ice necessarily. My parents had their jeep up there with me, with duratracs on and I could tell how much less it struggled vs me with ko2's as well. Tires play a massive role in snow conditions. Get some maxtrax boards or different brand to help in sticky situations as well.

 

They're great. Most of my driving is on highways, racked up 30,000 miles in one year, they're 285/70/17s. I live in a relatively dry climate in Sacramento California.

 

100% this. Can't just run and gun and lockers won't really help. When i took a friend for some winter offroading, there was about 6-7 inches on the ground. Was able to get up a fairly steep hill keeping it in 4-4lo, light and consistent throttle and going slow. You want to keep a very steady pace and avoid the brakes. Once the traction breaks is when you slide. Downhill was a different story. No lockers or crawl control. Took trac off, 4lo and held the brakes enough to keep the tires moving but keep the truck from accelerating. It was dicey and would not do it again because if the truck had started to slide, there would be no stopping. Key to snow = patience.

 

Good point. Thank you for your insight and first hand experience w/lockers. All this time I've had this belief they're the ultimate GOD MODE with snow and mud. I definitely will carry 2x4s with ratchet straps as well as traction boards for last resort resources.

 

I think you just need more experience driving offroad in the snow and Ice. When in doubt, get you some chains. I used to operate a snow plow in Mountain Village, CO. Chains were a huge help when I got into a slippery situation.

 

Huge role. Usually a good amount of snow where I live so for the snowier months i switch the set over to Bridgestone Blizzaks. Have never failed me

 

What RPMs are you guys revving the truck to? I fear burning out the transfer case or whatever sometimes. I give it a good blast here and there but if it sits then I jump out to shovel some clearance for the wheels.

Good point. As always said it's tires and the driver. You can have the very best setup in the world but if you can't use it to it's fullest potential then it's no different from a base truck.

 

Pizza Cutter Duratracs! They come with the 3 peak snow designation.

 

What was the incline of the hill, and how fast were you trying to go up it? Did you have much room prior to the hill to get more speed to gain better momentum? I really don't think the lack of lockers or any other tech was/is the problem in this scenario.

 

Not high at all. I will use up to maybe 2k. Keep in mind when I was going up this hill i was only going between 2-4mph. Slow and steady to keep traction and pick a path. Also remember snow hides things that might otherwise be easily avoidable

 

Speed, tires and experience are key factors driving in snow. If you've got 30,000 miles on those tires you might look at getting another set.

 

Yeah basically you are mostly limited by the traction the tires have. Even if you completely locked all 4 wheels, you can still get stuck if all 4 are spinning and have no traction. Like others said, better tires make a huge difference. Also maintaining momentum and tire speed are essential. When you are going up hill, try not to accelerate or decelerate but maintain the same speed. You can also get a winch, if that is not an extreme solution for you .

 

Winter tires.

 

Get rid of the k02s in the winter. Single worst “winter” tire available. Stock Goodyear’s all seasons outperform them in snow. With any other tire, you would have been fine.