1st heavy snow 4WD debacle - what can I do differently

[Josalbrec6G]

Hello 6th gen community,

I have an Everest ORP with new cooper R&T tires. We had our first big snow of the year in Ohio and I got caught in the downfall with 5-6” on the ground and it coming down heavy. I put the truck in 4H and slid all over the place. I changed the MTS to snow and noticed the traction control turned off. The truck shored up instantly and I couldn’t get it to slide at all. Drove like a dream. Do you always have to select a MTS option for 4H or just turn off traction control? This seemed odd to me

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[bird]

Pretty sure MTS defaults to "auto" mode, and you could manually disable TC from there for a similar effect. Snow mode does that automatically though, and might tune the power output a bit better than auto would figure out how to.

 

[watchbuzz]

Now I’m wondering how the SR5 would handle that situation with no drive mode selection available.

 

[Lamuncha]

I could be off here but I believe 4H locks up the wheels such that they are no longer independent and tend to bind if not pulling straight (poor choice of words) which causes the slipping and sliding.

Ideally in slippery conditions non independent 4 wheal drive should be used carefully. Great to get up and go but cornering etc is not.

 

[shine]

I could be off here but I believe 4H locks up the wheels such that they are no longer independent and tend to bind if not pulling straight (poor choice of words) which causes the slipping and sliding.

Ideally in slippery conditions non independent 4 wheal drive should be used carefully. Great to get up and go but cornering etc is not.

You're absolutely right!

AWD (aka FT4WD) is best for maintaining traction and not ending up in the ditch. 4WD is best for getting out of the ditch!

 

[127.0.0.1]

Now I’m wondering how the SR5 would handle that situation with no drive mode selection available.

it's the tires and conditions and the nut behind the wheel.

my SR5 with it's tires (LTX MS2) is fine in 4wd in snow...

like anything else...find an open place with no one around,
get frisky with the throttle and find how it behaves in conditions, drive accordingly.

 

[Josalbrec6G]

Well the nut behind the wheel could be the issue!!! Ha! I had a PT4WD wrangler for years and a PT4WD Tacoma before the 4Runner and never had this issue. After selecting Snow and having that automatically turn off the traction control, it drove the way I would have expected. Do you turn off traction control when you are in your SR5?

 

[127.0.0.1]

only been in one week of snow with it
and my SR5 behaved as my Tacoma or '99 4runner does,
so I didn't think of mode changes for any reason

all my vehicles have Michelin Defender LTX MS and all feel pretty
consistent in rain and snow

if/when it gets sloppy again I'll mess around with trac and see
what happens

 

[watchbuzz]

There are basically no off-road or snow reviews or YouTube videos of the SR5. That’s usually nice to see what other people are doing before you drive in.

 

[LLL1990]

In most vehicles snow mode can reduce throttle sensitivity, change transmission shift points, may start in 2nd gear and change the traction control's algorithm for snow conditions. Traction control isn't off but it may be allowing more wheel spin. It does a lot more than just turn off traction control.

As someone else said, AWD is superior for driving in snow especially if they can transfer power to the tires with the most grip. But 4WD with a low range is better if you do end up sliding off the road. But regardless of what system you have no 4WD system will allow you to defy the laws of physics and you should drive a 4WD with the same carefulness you would if it was 2WD.

 

[Josalbrec6G]

100% agree with you. My concern is how different it drove from my previous Tacoma and Wrangler.i am always a slow and steady regardless when it is snowing. This seemed to be sloppy and acted like it was not in PT4WD at all. Once I hit snow the vehicle shored up and behaved the way I would expect a 4WD to act (not AWD).

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