Tips for Driving in Snow / Slick Roads?

tanner709 · December 4, 2017

49 minutes ago, Loco-diablo said:

I also live in NE. Central MA snow belt to be exact. I’ve been driving in NE winters my whole life, however this will be my first with a half ton pickup. My prior truck, 2008 Tacoma V6 4x4, was an absolute beast in the snow. I’m hoping my Silverado 5.3 DC 4x4 is as good. I can’t wait to try it out! I have 18” duratrac tires, but I’m not sure how a bigger truck will handle in snowy weather. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’ll be experimenting with 4wd auto (Tacoma didn’t have it) as well as 4wd H. Which setting do owners prefer when driving in the snow and ice?

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AWD (Auto 4) is a good idea. Some will argue it will cause issue if maintained @ high speeds for long times - I'm yet to see it.

Those duratracs are probably the best all around tire, great choice.

Sierra706 · December 4, 2017

You've never had grade braking kick in outside of tow/haul mode? My truck utilizes grade braking almost every highway trip. It is not nearly as "aggressive" unless tow/haul is enabled though.

A few times. Hills in my area usually aren’t long, and if I’m on a long one I’ll blip it into manual or tow haul to drop down a few gears.

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truckguy82 · December 4, 2017

3 hours ago, Loco-diablo said:

I also live in NE. Central MA snow belt to be exact. I’ve been driving in NE winters my whole life, however this will be my first with a half ton pickup. My prior truck, 2008 Tacoma V6 4x4, was an absolute beast in the snow. I’m hoping my Silverado 5.3 DC 4x4 is as good. I can’t wait to try it out! I have 18” duratrac tires, but I’m not sure how a bigger truck will handle in snowy weather. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’ll be experimenting with 4wd auto (Tacoma didn’t have it) as well as 4wd H. Which setting do owners prefer when driving in the snow and ice?

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You don’t want to use auto4 unless it’s not going to be activated often. You don’t use it to get unstuck, you don’t use it on a full on snow road.

it’s for those slippery roads you didn’t put your tacoma in 4wd in but wish you could, like a road that is partially plowed or wet.

you can drive all day long in 4auto when you have decent traction. You just don’t want to use it when you know for a fact its going to be activated pretty much the entire time your drivinG

tanner709 · December 4, 2017

1 hour ago, truckguy82 said:

You don’t want to use auto4 unless it’s not going to be activated often. You don’t use it to get unstuck, you don’t use it on a full on snow road.

it’s for those slippery roads you didn’t put your tacoma in 4wd in but wish you could, like a road that is partially plowed or wet.

you can drive all day long in 4auto when you have decent traction. You just don’t want to use it when you know for a fact its going to be activated pretty much the entire time your drivinG

Can you elaborate as to why?

Ozer · December 4, 2017

Turn off Traction control, pedal to the metal and steer into the turns = have fun drifting

sdeeter19555 · December 4, 2017

I've tried defeating TC and Stabilitrac, I've never been able to fully defeat them (even when both are illuminated as "off"); there is always something trying to limit wheelspin. My point is, I think it's extremely difficult to completely rid yourself of any over riding controls.

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truckguy82 · December 4, 2017

9 hours ago, tanner709 said:

Can you elaborate as to why?

Auto4 uses what is basically a clutch activated center differential. It measures rear whee slip and then sends various amount of power to the front.

4wd hi, just locks it in place

so if you know you’re going to be slipping and constantly needed the front to be activated, auto4 will just heat up the transfer case from the slippage. It’s perfectly fine to drive around in auto4 in the rain, slippery, or dry conditions because it won’t be activated that often. But if your stuck, or just driving in 6 inches of snow, save your center diff and lock it in 4wd hi.

Loco-diablo · December 4, 2017

Just curious, do you folks put any weight in the bed? I never had to with the Tacoma.

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truckguy82 · December 4, 2017

1 minute ago, Loco-diablo said:

Just curious, do you folks put any weight in the bed? I never had to with the Tacoma.

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Not much point with 4wd, mostly a 2wd thing, which a lot of people dealt with for the past 100 years.

It’s point was to increase the percentage of the vehicle weight on the driven tires. With 4wd it’s 100% of vehicle weight on driven tires.

sdeeter19555 · December 4, 2017

Just curious, do you folks put any weight in the bed? I never had to with the Tacoma.

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I don't, and I never have...

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sdeeter19555 · December 4, 2017

I also live in NE. Central MA snow belt to be exact. I’ve been driving in NE winters my whole life, however this will be my first with a half ton pickup. My prior truck, 2008 Tacoma V6 4x4, was an absolute beast in the snow. I’m hoping my Silverado 5.3 DC 4x4 is as good. I can’t wait to try it out! I have 18” duratrac tires, but I’m not sure how a bigger truck will handle in snowy weather. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’ll be experimenting with 4wd auto (Tacoma didn’t have it) as well as 4wd H. Which setting do owners prefer when driving in the snow and ice?

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Never had auto, but on slippery stuff, I want all four tires pulling all the time.

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Cowpie · December 6, 2017

I could have missed it, but didn't see the one major thing to driving on ice and snow..... slow down.

But that being said, as a commercial Class 8 truck driver, 10 years of it in Alaska, and I stay primarily in the upper tier of the U.S. year round, and approaching 5 million safe miles under my seat, one of the best things to do is to keep looking as far ahead as you can so that you are not surprised by anything. One should be looking 1/2 mile ahead, minimum. Watch what is going on with the other vehicles up ahead of you. Keep as close to a solid pace as you can. Avoid the slow down, speed up nonsense that amateurs play out on the road. That is fine in warm, dry weather, but it can get you a hospital stay or the morgue doing it on snow and ice.

I took a line from the one of the professional pilot's associations, changed a couple words, and used to give this little slogan to my new truck driving students when I was doing the training thing.....

"A professional driver uses superior sense to avoid situations which require superior skill"

Sierra706 · December 6, 2017

Auto4 uses what is basically a clutch activated center differential. It measures rear whee slip and then sends various amount of power to the front.

4wd hi, just locks it in place

so if you know you’re going to be slipping and constantly needed the front to be activated, auto4 will just heat up the transfer case from the slippage. It’s perfectly fine to drive around in auto4 in the rain, slippery, or dry conditions because it won’t be activated that often. But if your stuck, or just driving in 6 inches of snow, save your center diff and lock it in 4wd hi.

Unless your really beating on it you won’t have overheating problems. The clutch is either 5% or 100% to the front. It doesn’t vary the torque level like some AWD systems do.

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redwngr · December 6, 2017

On 12/4/2017 at 8:51 AM, sdeeter19555 said:

I've tried defeating TC and Stabilitrac, I've never been able to fully defeat them (even when both are illuminated as "off"); there is always something trying to limit wheelspin. My point is, I think it's extremely difficult to completely rid yourself of any over riding controls.

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Stabilitrac will re-engage automatically when speed exceeds 35mph. Traction control should stay off.

truckguy82 · December 6, 2017

8 hours ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Unless your really beating on it you won’t have overheating problems. The clutch is either 5% or 100% to the front. It doesn’t vary the torque level like some AWD systems do.

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Its actually 5% or 50%, well torque split that is. I guess you could say it’s 100% if you mean its sort of locked front and rear at max.

But I’ve personally overheated a couple center diff’s in awd systems getting unstuck, i mean sometimes you have no choice but to “beat” on the 4wd system. I’ve gotten warning lights popping up for overheated center diff.

probably about as bad as overheating the trans.

I have no problem launching the living shit out of my 4auto in the dry and then switching it to 2hi at the top of 1st gear, but I will never drive around in a full on snow road with no dry patches in 4auto.