Snowy Boston, love this Truck, but..

Deleted member 1634

I have to disagree with those who say AWD is not advantageous over 4 wheel drive. You really need to have experience of driving on roads with varying conditions, as @shred5 described. We get that crap here too. It can be completely clean and dry one minute, then glaze ice the next. AWD is a HUGE advantage over 4x4 in this case where you don't need to worry nearly as much about which wheels are powering the vehicle down the road. You don't really want to drive in those conditions in 4x4 because it is partially dry, but you don't want to drive in 2wd either because you risk the rear tires spinning and throwing you sideways.

Earlier this week on the way to work in the morning I damn near lost it on the highway in my Ranger. Temps were like -10 so all the chemicals they spray on the roads don't work well to melt the ice/snow, but they pretty much create ice. I got slowed up by a slower car so I switched lanes, accelerated (lightly) back up to speed because I figured the road could have been icy, and it was. Rear tires spun and Ranger started going partially sideways at 60mph. Between the Ranger's skid control and myself, it was quickly corrected and on down the highway I went. The moral of the story is that if I would have been locked in 4 wheel drive (or had AWD) this would never have happened.

I will say this though, switching between 2 hi and 4 hi in the Ranger is ultra smooth. I've never heard or felt a clunk or anything, which is the complete opposite from my previous 2 Toyotas.
Agreed. My last vehicle was AWD (Subaru), and it was amazing in any and all adverse conditions. I personally, would much prefer AWD for the majority of winter driving conditions. But alas, we don't have that option.

Also, I've experienced pretty much the same occurrence multiple times this past week. We got a good amount of snow Monday morning, then the temps plummeted well below 0F and stayed that way until late yesterday, freezing everything in it's place. Like you were saying, the road treatment doesn't work in temps that low, and after plowing away all the nice (relatively) grippy snow, the hot plow blades leave behind a nice shiny ice rink in their wake. The Ranger's rear end is all over the place just trying to maintain 30-35mph, not even accelerating. Part of that is because I have stock Hankooks on though. But the stability and traction control are a life saver in conditions like these. Hopefully it warms up enough this weekend where they can work on it before the next cold snap early next week. It's getting old going 35-40 in a 55 the whole commute.
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VAMike

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I have to disagree with those who say AWD is not advantageous over 4 wheel drive. You really need to have experience of driving on roads with varying conditions, as @shred5 described. We get that crap here too. It can be completely clean and dry one minute, then glaze ice the next. AWD is a HUGE advantage over 4x4 in this case where you don't need to worry nearly as much about which wheels are powering the vehicle down the road. You don't really want to drive in those conditions in 4x4 because it is partially dry, but you don't want to drive in 2wd either because you risk the rear tires spinning and throwing you sideways.
Well, we can agree to disagree. AWD isn't going to add traction to tires sliding on slick ice, so I'd change tires in those conditions to actually add some traction.
 

Rangerado

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Neither 4wd nor awd nor tires nor weight in the bed can stop you from making bad decisions and driving too fast for the conditions.
 

T-Wrecks

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I've been driving 4x4 trucks and SUVs for years and I can unequivocally state that AWD is a better snowy road vehicle (tires being comperable). Like my old Escape that was front wheel drive with the rear wheels kicking in when AWD is needed. The problem with trucks is they are primary RWD with little weight in the back so when you are on dry pavement and you hit ice the rear end will want to come around very quickly. It's better now with stability/traction control but it's a PITA trying to accelerate when there are ice patches. And if you have the rear diff in lock mode it's even worse.

Trucks have many advantages over AWD SUVs but they are not the best on partially snow/ice covered roads when you can't use 4WD.
 


Deleted member 1634

Neither 4wd nor awd nor tires nor weight in the bed can stop you from making bad decisions and driving too fast for the conditions.
Well sure. You could say that about anything. I think we can all agree that being an idiot and making stupid choices is detrimental in any circumstance, not just driving in bad weather.
 

Deleted member 1634

I've been driving 4x4 trucks and SUVs for years and I can unequivocally state that AWD is a better snowy road vehicle (tires being comparable). Like my old Escape that was front wheel drive with the rear wheels kicking in when AWD is needed. The problem with trucks is they are primary RWD with little weight in the back so when you are on dry pavement and you hit ice the rear end will want to come around very quickly. It's better now with stability/traction control but it's a PITA trying to accelerate when there are ice patches. And if you have the rear diff in lock mode it's even worse.

Trucks have many advantages over AWD SUVs but they are not the best on partially snow/ice covered roads when you can't use 4WD.
Yeah, trucks are not good winter vehicles just purely by design. Pushing (RWD) is less stable than pulling (FWD) on slippery conditions in the first place, but then having very little weight over the drive wheels on top of that is not helping anything.
 

RedlandRanger

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One thing that hasn't been mentioned - AWD or 4WD will help in getting going, but NEITHER will help you stop. In my mind, that is almost more important than traction to get going. And the only thing that will help there is either some kind of traction device (chains, studs, etc) or good winter tires. Driving on ice is about as tough as it gets.
 

BOT_ROCKET

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I have to disagree with those who say AWD is not advantageous over 4 wheel drive. You really need to have experience of driving on roads with varying conditions, as @shred5 described. We get that crap here too. It can be completely clean and dry one minute, then glaze ice the next. AWD is a HUGE advantage over 4x4 in this case where you don't need to worry nearly as much about which wheels are powering the vehicle down the road. You don't really want to drive in those conditions in 4x4 because it is partially dry, but you don't want to drive in 2wd either because you risk the rear tires spinning and throwing you sideways.

Earlier this week on the way to work in the morning I damn near lost it on the highway in my Ranger. Temps were like -10 so all the chemicals they spray on the roads don't work well to melt the ice/snow, but they pretty much create ice. I got slowed up by a slower car so I switched lanes, accelerated (lightly) back up to speed because I figured the road could have been icy, and it was. Rear tires spun and Ranger started going partially sideways at 60mph. Between the Ranger's skid control and myself, it was quickly corrected and on down the highway I went. The moral of the story is that if I would have been locked in 4 wheel drive (or had AWD) this would never have happened.

I will say this though, switching between 2 hi and 4 hi in the Ranger is ultra smooth. I've never heard or felt a clunk or anything, which is the complete opposite from my previous 2 Toyotas.
As a counter to that, I've had all four tires break loose in a similar situation. It's a lot harder to regain control if your steering tires have already lost traction. The only time I use 4x4 is when 2wd doesn't have enough traction to get me out of an intersection without becoming a hazard, or I'm in the mood for some fun four-wheel drifting.

Also, I'll take RWD over FWD every time. I can still steer if my rears are spinning, but I cant control anything if the fronts are spinning.
 
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doug910

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As a counter to that, I've had all four tires break loose in a similar situation. It's a lot harder to regain control if your steering tires have already lost traction. The only time I use 4x4 is when 2wd doesn't have enough traction to get me out of an intersection without becoming a hazard, or I'm in the mood for some fun four-wheel drifting.

Also, I'll take RWD over FWD every time. I can still steer if my rears are spinning, but I cant control anything if the fronts are spinning.
If your front tires lose traction you can't steer in any car lol plus, if you're roasting your front tires in a FWD and can't steer, that's your own fault for having a heavy foot.
 

THLONE

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It is amazing how many dont understand everything they know.
 

treimche

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Well, we can agree to disagree. AWD isn't going to add traction to tires sliding on slick ice, so I'd change tires in those conditions to actually add some traction.
Sure, agree to disagree. AWD or 4x4 adds a lot of traction in the case of accelerating. Sliding is a different story of course. Having a wheel pulling while another pushes results in much better traction than just 1 or 2 wheels pushing (RWD).

Yeah, trucks are not good winter vehicles just purely by design. Pushing (RWD) is less stable than pulling (FWD) on slippery conditions in the first place, but then having very little weight over the drive wheels on top of that is not helping anything.
You see it very clearly, and obviously have a lot of experience driving different vehicles on poor road conditions :thumbsup:

As a counter to that, I've had all four tires break loose in a similar situation. It's a lot harder to regain control if your steering tires have already lost traction. The only time I use 4x4 is when 2wd doesn't have enough traction to get me out of an intersection without becoming a hazard, or I'm in the mood for some fun four-wheel drifting.

Also, I'll take RWD over FWD every time. I can still steer if my rears are spinning, but I cant control anything if the fronts are spinning.
If your front tires lose traction you can't steer in any car lol plus, if you're roasting your front tires in a FWD and can't steer, that's your own fault for having a heavy foot.
Have either of you ever driven a FWD vehicle on snow/ice? It can be quite fun, but AWD and 4x4 are much more fun. If you get squirrelly in a FWD vehicle, you steer where you want to go and hammer the gas. The same goes for 4x4. If you start getting sideways or sliding when locked in 4x4, point the front wheels where you want to go and mash the go pedal. This works on roads with "some" traction, but on pure ice, it could be a different result. That's where experimenting and playing around comes into play to learn how your vehicle will react.
 

RANGER_MARC

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Guys, a few winter questions. We have not had any significantly stormy weather in Delaware since I bought my Ranger FX4 in August, but we usually have a couple of monster storms per year, the kind that can cover my driveway and the streets of our development with snow overnight. Sometimes the community snowplowing guy will do his work before I have to leave, sometimes not. Usually, the state services that clear the main roads and the freeway have cleared them before I leave, meaning that the tricky part is getting down my driveway and out of my development. (Obviously, I should shovel my driveway snow, but I am 66 with a bad back, and so I prefer just to plow through it with my vehicle, and park with the nose pointing outward from my garage for that reason.) My problem is, then, what is the best way to do so in the Ranger? My thinking is that I would start with "Grass, Gravel and Snow Mode" with the 4X4 function set to 4L until I get down the driveway and, if the roads in the development are still uneven with snow and ice, all the way to the main road, at which time, assuming it has been nicely plowed by then, I would switch to 2H. At that point, would I turn from "Snow Mode" back to "Normal," or just leave it on until I get to my destination, which requires about twenty minutes of freeway driving? Also, would it make sense to engage the rear locker at any point, perhaps just to get through the piled up snow on my driveway? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
 

Rangerado

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Guys, a few winter questions. We have not had any significantly stormy weather in Delaware since I bought my Ranger FX4 in August, but we usually have a couple of monster storms per year, the kind that can cover my driveway and the streets of our development with snow overnight. Sometimes the community snowplowing guy will do his work before I have to leave, sometimes not. Usually, the state services that clear the main roads and the freeway have cleared them before I leave, meaning that the tricky part is getting down my driveway and out of my development. (Obviously, I should shovel my driveway snow, but I am 66 with a bad back, and so I prefer just to plow through it with my vehicle, and park with the nose pointing outward from my garage for that reason.) My problem is, then, what is the best way to do so in the Ranger? My thinking is that I would start with "Grass, Gravel and Snow Mode" with the 4X4 function set to 4L until I get down the driveway and, if the roads in the development are still uneven with snow and ice, all the way to the main road, at which time, assuming it has been nicely plowed by then, I would switch to 2H. At that point, would I turn from "Snow Mode" back to "Normal," or just leave it on until I get to my destination, which requires about twenty minutes of freeway driving? Also, would it make sense to engage the rear locker at any point, perhaps just to get through the piled up snow on my driveway? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
4hi, no terrain management, no locker, let the traction control work. Flip it into 2hi when the road is no longer slick.
 

SubVet

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I will enjoy the âť„... next place has minimal flakes and an occasional, short-lived coating. Thank God!

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Another California and Vegas transplant to South Carolina....Love this state.
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