Driving through snow

slowginjoe

slowginjoe

New member
We went to Reno Nevada over Thanksgiving weekend. We didn't expect it to snow so we were deciding wether to take the 2wd Highlander or the 4wd 4Runner. We decided on the 4Runner since we hadn't taken it on a road trip before and sure was glad we did! It took us about 5 hours to drive to Reno in sunny weather. Well on the day we were coming home we woke up to our suprise to over a foot of freshly fallen snow and still snowing! So there was mandatory snow chains/4wd in effect. We were stuck going through the 2 land mountain road behind people slipping and sliding and stopped on the side of the road struggling to get chains on in deep snow. It felt like a sunday drive in the 4Runner with the stereo up and bun warmers on full blast! It almost made the 11 hours trip home feel relaxing. At one point we were crawling along so slowly, I spotted a service road on the navigation which ran along the main road for 5 miles. So we veered off and drove down the unplowed service road, through about 18" of fresh snow with no problems whatsoever. It was like it wasn't even there. Then we merged back on and started crawling along at 5mph again. It was the first time I took this 4Runner through some real snow and I was very impressed!

I now wish I would've taken better pictures of the 4Runner in some deep snow, but I was too comfy inside the truck at the time! :driving:


Which should we take?
 

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Awesome bro! Yeah I saw that storm on the news. Reassures me in the capabilities of the T4R.

Did you the Michelin tires?
 
sharp4runr said:
Awesome bro! Yeah I saw that storm on the news. Reassures me in the capabilities of the T4R.

Did you the Michelin tires?
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yeah, all over the news that day were frustrated motorists who were stranded.

not michelins, these are the stock duelers! i can just imagine how much better good snow tires would handle!
 
What a difference!

I drove to Truckee/Reno about three weekends ago LOOKING for some try out the 4R's capabiliites. Could not find any snow to save my life. Had to drive up and down the ski resorts looking for a parking lot or something with some snow and muck left.

Glad to hear of your great expereince with teh 4R's tank like capabilities. Personally, I would not have taken the side road as you did. Sierra weather can be treacherous and while the 4R is awesome, it cannot defy the laws of nature and if anyting got you stuck really bad, and if it can get your 4R stuck, it must be really bad, you're out in the middle of nowhere and it's a long way down to get help. And with temps falling fast and more snow coming down, can even be dangerous. Sometimes it may be better to just roll along with the crowd.
 
Re: What a difference!

olliebear said:
I drove to Truckee/Reno about three weekends ago LOOKING for some try out the 4R's capabiliites. Could not find any snow to save my life. Had to drive up and down the ski resorts looking for a parking lot or something with some snow and muck left.

Glad to hear of your great expereince with teh 4R's tank like capabilities. Personally, I would not have taken the side road as you did. Sierra weather can be treacherous and while the 4R is awesome, it cannot defy the laws of nature and if anyting got you stuck really bad, and if it can get your 4R stuck, it must be really bad, you're out in the middle of nowhere and it's a long way down to get help. And with temps falling fast and more snow coming down, can even be dangerous. Sometimes it may be better to just roll along with the crowd.
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i agree, if i had not had my cell phone with full reception i don't think i would've gone that route either! :D but but the service road was actually just a stone throw's distance running parallel to the main road.
 
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Did you have to use the diff locks?

Did you need to lock the diffs into 4HI or was it all on the AWD? The snow probably did not even tax the 4R's capabilities in AWD.

At least you did not get stuck in the 10 mile back up over Hwy 80 over the weekend.

Must have been a blast!
 
Re: Did you have to use the diff locks?

olliebear said:
Did you need to lock the diffs into 4HI or was it all on the AWD? The snow probably did not even tax the 4R's capabilities in AWD.

At least you did not get stuck in the 10 mile back up over Hwy 80 over the weekend.

Must have been a blast!
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i was in awd the whole time. i did feel the traction control kick in a couple times (feels weird) probably because i have the stock duelers. i think i was stuck in that 10 mile back up you're talking about, from truckee down to kingvale i believe? that's when i took the side road. it didn't save me much more time over the course of the entire trip, but it sure was some adventurous fun!
 
slowginjoe said:
yeah, all over the news that day were frustrated motorists who were stranded.

not michelins, these are the stock duelers! i can just imagine how much better good snow tires would handle!
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Duelers came stock on the 4Runners? Hmm, always thought that it was either the Dunlops or Michelins. Figured you had the Michelins since they usually come on the Limited.
 
sharp4runr said:
Duelers came stock on the 4Runners? Hmm, always thought that it was either the Dunlops or Michelins. Figured you had the Michelins since they usually come on the Limited.
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yeah, these came with my limited here in northern cal. looking around the internet, they got pretty bad reviews! seeing all these guys putting on the NE lifts and bigger tires makes me want to as well, but i'm worried about road noise, handling and mpg changes....
 
got those Duelers too

Dueler H/T on mine too. They ride pretty well on dry ground. But I will change them out when they wear.

Can't decide on BFG A/T, Pirelli Scorpions (which I really liked on my Tahoe), Toyo Open Country A/T that I currently have on the Tahoe, or Revos.

Seems like most folks here are either Revos or BFG A/T.

265/70/17, but will stay stock without a lift.
 
i like how quiet the duelers are and performs fine on dry ground, but would like something better for rain and snow. i guess they figured us californians wouldn't get too much of that! i was just looking at the revos as well. do you plan on changing out all 5 or just the 4 on the ground? if only replacing 4, i wonder if when the 70 vs. 65 side walls are mixed together when you have to use the spare if it will play havoc on the vsc system? i've got 21k miles on the duelers and i think they may make it to 30k...
 
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I was stuck in that mess as well. It took me 5 hours to get from Reno to Sacramento, normally 2 hours. I believe the road you are talking about is Old HWY 40. It doesnt get plowed too often so it can be a lot of fun as long as the snow is not too deep. It can be great if 80 is too backed up, just doesnt go for too long before you have to get back on I-80.
 
If you are going with 265/70-17's or even 16's in a comparable size, get the Dueler Revo's---freakin awesome!
 
Those pictures make me jealous. It looks like you had a lot of fun. Glad you made the decision to take the 4Runner!! By the way, what year is your highlander? Is that the 2005?
 
Nice pics!!!

i was in Colorado for the thanksgiving...and my 4runner did well in snow covered roads with 6 F temp......

Here are some pics!!!!!!
 

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