Winter Wheeling

[TJ54]

It's that time of the year, I thought I should start a thread about wheeling in the ice and snow.
If anyone has any good advice or questions about wheeling in the great white north, post them in here. I will sticky it if it becomes a good discussion. For future reference.

I will start with a question.
Alot of people believe that skinny tires work better in the ice and snow as the weight of the vehicle is on a smaller contact patch. Any thoughts :?:

Along the same line. Should you air down on the trails in winter time :?:

One more.
Which chains are best :?:  2 wheels or all four :?:

[Dragonmaster]

Vbar chains on all fours don't air down with chains.  JMO on what works best.

[FiEND]

I found airing down to be a big improvement on snow and ice.  I wouldn't air down though with chains.

I also found that fitting chains with the spare tire doesn't work too well as the tires on the vehicle will have a flat spot touching the ground so will be smaller and the chains may fit too loose.

I found the long drive to and from wheeling to be quite a cold ride when you have air leaks in your firewall.

I found that my drivers side husky floor liner quickly becomes a swimming pool.

I found the clutch pedal to be slippery when wet.

I found TJ54 to be a great trail leader who always shows you the best places to get stuck.

[cLAY]

For around here I have found a wide tire, aired down works best. Then you can stay on top of the snow pack instead of diggin thru. Typically the snow is deep enough that unless you are running 38" or bigger tires digging thru will only get you high centered.

Chains will work great on a hard packed icy trail but if the snow is deep all you will do is dig in and get high centered.

[dunl]

I found TJ54 to be a great trail leader who always shows you the best places to get stuck.

LMAO.  :lol:

[whitetrash96]

I could see airing down helping in deeper snow conditions (though I've never tried it) but I think nothing is going to compare to the traction chains provide when you come to an icy hill.

A couple weeks ago a few of us went on a snow run and one rig snapped both his rear axles simultaneously, if we didn't have chains with us we would have had to come back later to rescue the broken rig. If you want to snow wheel without chains great, I just wouldn't leave home without them.

[TJ54]

I wheeled on the weekend without airing down (28psi) The snow was not deep, I had no problems with traction.
I always carry my chains, V-bar cam lock, Just for the back.
I have heard differing opinions on chaining all four wheels, The biggest argument I have heard and I am not sure I agree with, is that by having chains front and back you can develop too much traction which can build up pressure in the drivetrain causing things (axles, T-cases) to break.
I only carry one pair of chains because that's all I have.

Winter wheeling rocks. I'd rather wheel in the snow than in the mud any time.

I don't have a snappy comeback for Al yet.  Give me a while to think about it

[dunl]

Anyone air down for highway driving, a little?

[Elsifer]

Anyone air down for highway driving, a little?

Yeah, I typically knock 10 pounds of pressure out of my tires for booting around the city.  Bringing me to around 15 to 20 psi. Especially in this slop. Lots of loose snow makes for great traction, the icy curling sheets are slightly better too.

Gas milage really suffers though. As well as a bit of handling on the rutted Deerfoot. The heep really tends to wander when the tires have some bulge. Not to mention bad flat-spotting when she's been parked for a while.

Works great though, but not without its trade-offs.

As for trail use, I always air down, 10 psi or less per wheel. Whatever season. Makes for great traction, and a much more forgiving ride when cruising in 5th gear in low range.

As for chains, I've never used em (yet), though I could have used them a couple of winters ago. Backwards tobogganing down a hill is really not fun. If I had em, I'd put them only on the rear, and at near full pressure, otherwise the loose links can and will cause body damage. Front's if they had em, better have wide backspacing/offset; cause chains will shred the fender and mash up the frame-rail and anything that gets in their way.

That's my $0.02

[Bnine]

Flat chain is cheaper, useable on both sides, and just as effective as v-bar.

Skinny's work better in warmer climates where you arent spinning into ice instantly. Here its so dry and cold, as soon as you spin on the frozen ground, it makes ice. So digging isnt recommended.

Mall terrains are better then MT's no matter how good your friend tells you his siped MTR's rock in the snow  :wink: With the one possible exception of Iroks.

Smooth throttle when ever possible to try and stay on top.

Use the high spots when rocking as runways. Something that takes some practice, but once you get it, its easy.

Most importantly you preparations. Food, clothes, emergency stuff, letting people know where you are going, etc etc etc

[FeatherFoot]

Skinny's work better in warmer climates where you arent spinning into ice instantly. Here its so dry and cold, as soon as you spin on the frozen ground, it makes ice. So digging isnt recommended.

Smooth throttle when ever possible to try and stay on top.

Use the high spots when rocking as runways. Something that takes some practice, but once you get it, its easy.

I did a whole blurb on snow and ice driving last year, but the bottom line as implied by Bill, is "dont spin".  It takes practice and diciplin, but it's the most effective way to get through the stuff.  Rolling on packed snow has reasonable traction, if you spin it off, you loose.  If you spin on ice you create a film of water and loose again.  Find the optimum torqe just before you create wheel spin and that is your best traction.  As you go up a hill and the speed decreases, ease off the pedal rather than follow the impulse to give it some more.  Ya gotta learn to work with what nature gives you.

[Mudhawg]

also when winter wheeling if you begin to slide do not slam on the breaks... it makes things worse

[frenchy]

Most importantly you preparations. Food, clothes, emergency stuff, letting people know where you are going, etc etc etc

Agreed, if you are going for the day, be prepared for 3, minimum.

I love my chains, cause the ground is usually frozen under the snow and hard to get traction without them, up to around 2 feet of snow.
I guess 3 feet or more and I'd rather be able to stay on top and not dig to the bottom .

A little tidbit of info from this article...(6+ feet of snow)
http://www.can4x4.com/articles/winterCamp/winterCamp.htm


The trick to this type of wheeling is staying on top of the snow, using maximum floatation. Our Krawler weighs 5600 lbs, which is quite heavy for one of these snow trucks. We use a 46 Baja Claw. When aired down to between 1 and 1-1/2 psi we have four square feet of tire on the snow at each corner. That works out to 2.4 lbs per square inch! In comparison, the average 200 lb man puts 3 lbs per square inch on the ground when standing up.

[BlackYJ]

Mall terrains are better then MT's no matter how good your friend tells you his siped MTR's rock in the snow  :wink: With the one possible exception of Iroks.

Hey now, I never said that, JERK!!

Billy, we are now fighting

[Bnine]

Mall terrains are better then MT's no matter how good your friend tells you his siped MTR's rock in the snow  :wink: With the one possible exception of Iroks.

Hey now, I never said that, JERK!!

Billy, we are now fighting

huh  :shock:  :?  :?: