Hitting through snow...

[TRD Am]

I'm looking for some advice on getting through snow. I have a cabin in northern MN, and the last couple miles is a private road that is not regularly plowed. I have a 2016 TRD that I bought hoping to improve my winter access.

The road does see a decent amount of snowmobile traffic, so it is somewhat compressed, but it's basically untouched by full size vehicles throughout the winter. Would you use crawl control to get through this, and if so which setting? Am j a fool to even think about it without a winch?

Newb question, I know, but I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!

Edit: "Hitting" should be "Getting." Auto-correct troubles.

 

[nevada]

I'm looking for some advice on getting through snow. I have a cabin in northern MN, and the last couple miles is a private road that is not regularly plowed. I have a 2016 TRD that I bought hoping to improve my winter access.

The road does see a decent amount of snowmobile traffic, so it is somewhat compressed, but it's basically untouched by full size vehicles throughout the winter. Would you use crawl control to get through this, and if so which setting? Am j a fool to even think about it without a winch?

Newb question, I know, but I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!

Edit: "Hitting" should be "Getting." Auto-correct troubles.

I don't know much about the crawl control, as I do not own a vehicle that has it. but from what I have seen, that is something you would want to use only if getting stuck, or the snow is very bad. grainy, or sugared. but not for getting down the entire road. as I believe it does not allow for a very high speed.

as to the winch, it think it would be a VERY good idea to add a winch. especially if that road doesn't see a lot of vehicle traffic. if you get stuck, it may be a long time before someone comes along to help you. a winch will be good insurance against sleeping in the truck. lol.

 

[Ohcrymore]

Winch is good, snow tires are good, you could also use goodyear mt/r or goodyear duratrac tires and air them down if the snow is really bad. Also keep a recovery strap and some appropriately weighted shackles in the truck just in case.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

 

[techno]

There's way too many variable here for anyone to give you a perfect answer, other than 'see what happens and adjust as needed'. What is the snow depth? What is the grade? What is off to the side? How wide is the road? How far away are you from help? All these things plus more factor in.

Stock 4runners are very capable in snow. They have above average ground clearance and great traction control. Your tires will be a major factor too. At a minimum you'll want a good all terrain tread pattern, like Duratrac's.

Basically, you'll have to read the conditions and adjust your driving style and settings as needed. Obviously, start off in 4wd and see what happens. Let Atrac do it's thing and use the rear diff lock if you feel the need for more traction. I would use the mud/sand setting first. Low range is a judgement call too. If you need more throttle control or find you have too much wheel spin at slow speeds, then go low range. I highly recommend you experiment with all the settings and see what works best. Tire chains will help a lot, but use chains proactively, not re-actively. Trying to put chains on when you're already stuck is extremely difficult, so put them on first when you know it's going to get tough.

If you're going solo and getting help if you get stuck will be tricky, then be prepared with some basic recovery tools. A shovel will solve most issues in snow.

 

[TRD Am]

Thanks, everyone!

I realize there are a ton of variables, but this gives me a good start. I never thought of the chains. That's a great idea.

 

[Scramble]

I've been driving in snow my whole life & even AT tires fill up with snow on unplowed roads & become useless. MT's are designed eject mud, snow & rocks from the treads. I'm against all forms of traction control because I know how to freakin' drive. :sniper:

 

[Bikemedic]

Back in the '80's I had a Toyota 4x4 pickup in Vermont. I had a chains for all 4 wheels and that thing would climb a wall. In the snow chains rule.

 

[theMayor]

I'm a powder chaser in Colorado... meaning when I head to the mountains, it's early and almost never plowed. My car the past few winters has been a '99 CRV (manual and awd) with good snow tires. I've driven through closed mountain passes at over 13,000 ft and 2ft of deep snow to get to my lines... And never been stuck once and I never needed chains.

Your tires will help you more than any other factor. Get NARROW/ WINTER tires to cut through the snow.


People tend to think that you want AT's to get the most traction in snow because of the large threads. But you really want the most (tiny) threads as opposed to larger/ fewer ones. That is why winter tires have tiny grooves in the thread... to grab more snow in the tires! Snow is the best friction on snow!

 

[gm350reratliff]

Maybe get a set or two of these in case you do get stuck. https://www.tred4x4.com

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

People tend to think that you want AT's to get the most traction in snow because of the large threads. But you really want the most (tiny) threads as opposed to larger/ fewer ones. That is why winter tires have tiny grooves in the thread... to grab more snow in the tires! Snow is the best friction on snow!

This bears repeating. People mistakenly think they want a tire to eject the snow, and that's just not the case. Winter tires are designed to retain snow because that's what provides the best traction on snow.

 

[TRD Am]

Thanks again, everyone.

 

[m85476585]

The beefiest readily available chains I can find for the rear are:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HRI5MQA/

You might need a different size depending on your tires. They don't provide much side to side traction, so they are not ideal for slippery roads or front wheels.

For the front it's not clear what will fit since Toyota doesn't recommend any chains on the front. Maybe some very low clearance chains such as Peerless/SCC Super Z6 series to be safe.

If the road is rarely/never plowed then cutting through the snow with narrow tires might not be what you want since you might never reach the ground. It might be better to float on top. Slight differences in tire size probably won't make a difference whether you float though.

The grooves (sipes) in winter tires are not necessarily intended to hold snow. The way they work is that when you are stopping or accelerating the tread block deforms like flipping through a deck of cards, and then you have lots of little edges to bite the snow.