vermont powder?

[Bene288]

My Tundra is incredible in the snow. I can do 75 in 4wd and feel solid. The combo of 4x4 and traction control makes it feel like a Subaru. The traction doesn't let the ass end swing out, so no need for 300lbs of tube sand in the bed. Just have to get over the higher center of gravity. The additional clearance helps with shifting lanes too. I've always had trucks, but this one blew me away with how awesome it is on snowy roads.

I made it to Gore in a blizzard in my usual 1 hour and 30 minutes. Snowlover also didn't seem to take into consideration that when a big snow event happens, a LOT of people choose not to drive. I would take a snowy rt 2 or rt 7 any day over Bean town rush hour traffic. Most if not all of us grew up in the northeast, driving in snow isn't a big deal.

 

[gmcunni]

Yup, pretty much. Some of the more disagreeable stuff that he posted in the last few days has been deleted in an effort to keep things civil around here.

i hope he rehabilitates and sticks around.

 

[wa-loaf]

People can learn to drive in the snow, but it's hard to make up having years of experience in it. If you survived your youth in a snowy state you got to do all kinds of dumb things in your car that taught you what you can and can't do in the snow.

 

[gmcunni]

People can learn to drive in the snow, but it's hard to make up having years of experience in it. If you survived your youth in a snowy state you got to do all kinds of dumb things in your car that taught you what you can and can't do in the snow.

i enjoy driving in the snow and feel very confident doing so. that said i've had a very hard time adjusting to driving the jeep wrangler in the snow. granted the tires need replacing - the short wheelbase, high center of gravity and very light backend make for an interesting combo.

 

[bvibert]

People can learn to drive in the snow, but it's hard to make up having years of experience in it. If you survived your youth in a snowy state you got to do all kinds of dumb things in your car that taught you what you can and can't do in the snow.

The best way to learn to drive in the snow is to play in the snow. There's nothing wrong with doing the occasional doughnut in an empty parking lot... to practice... even as an adult...

 

[wa-loaf]

i enjoy driving in the snow and feel very confident doing so. that said i've had a very hard time adjusting to driving the jeep wrangler in the snow. granted the tires need replacing - the short wheelbase, high center of gravity and very light backend make for an interesting combo.

Yeah, they really aren't the best thing for snow driving on the highway. And 4wd doesn't do much with bad tires. Drove to Sugarbush one year in a snowstorm. A friend was driving a Cherokee and we decided to do the Roxbury Gap. Turns out his tires were really bad and we couldn't get up. Some dude in an old VW with snows blew past us and we had to turn around.

 

[bvibert]

Yup, tires are king when it comes to winter driving. I was driving around in a small SUV with busted 4WD and almost bald all-season tires last winter... THAT was fun! :lol:

 

[bdfreetuna]

Last time I took Roxbury gap to Sugarbush was in my old 98 Forester (since then replaced with 08 Impreza) ..

It was something like 16" of heavy snow the night before and I was passing every vehicle and even the plow trucks in the old Suby.

I remember there was an old Buick on that road and it was spinning tires and going like 8 mph but I was impressed that it didn't seem to get totally stuck.

But anyway it's nice to have a vehicle that makes Roxbury a viable option on a big snow day.

 

[spring_mountain_high]

the first thing i do when i pull out of my driveway onto a snow-covered road is to get some speed and brake hard then do some hard turns side to side so i know what kind of grip i might have (provided there is no traffic, obvs)

 

[wa-loaf]

We should get Snowlovers opinion on snow tires when he's back. Also, it's been awhile since we had a manual vs automatic thread.

 

[MadMadWorld]

We should get Snowlovers opinion on snow tires when he's back. Also, it's been awhile since we had a manual vs automatic thread.

What about automatics that allow you to shift? That just throws a monkey wrench in that discussion.

 

[wa-loaf]

What about automatics that allow you to shift? That just throws a monkey wrench in that discussion.

Those still suck!

 

[C-Rex]

the first thing i do when i pull out of my driveway onto a snow-covered road is to get some speed and brake hard then do some hard turns side to side so i know what kind of grip i might have (provided there is no traffic, obvs)

+1

So many people think that "slippery" means you're driving on oiled teflon, and they couple that with zero understanding of physics. If you're going straight and you hit a slippery patch nothing will happen as long as you are not trying to brake, accelerate heavily, or turn. Just stay calm and let the car roll over it. Some people seem to think they will just fly off the road at any moment if their tires come into contact with snow or ice. Plus, these people have never gone into an empty parking lot and just played around or practiced controlling a slide. If they had, then counter-steering would be 2nd nature and driving in the snow wouldn't be a terrifying, life or death experience. They also do dumb things like try to brake and turn at the same time and can't understand why they're understeering so badly. If your car is FWD or AWD, you need to go into the corner slow and use the throttle to help turn the car.

I wish the US was more like some European countries, or even better, like Finland when it comes to driving. It takes years of serious car control training to get a license in Finland. Which is why in auto racing they say, "If you want to win, hire a Fin." The US allows the most inept drivers to get a license because they are only required to show the most basic of skills. Then when terrible drivers get in accidents they are able to blame everyone and everything but themselves for what happened. In the US, instead of making our people smarter and more capable, we just dumb-down the world around them. It really makes me sad.

 

[bvibert]

The US allows the most inept drivers to get a license because they are only required to show the most basic of skills. Then when terrible drivers get in accidents they are able to blame everyone and everything but themselves for what happened. In the US, instead of making our people smarter and more capable, we just dumb-down the world around them. It really makes me sad.

Hear hear! Hence the push for self driving cars... :roll:

 

[skiNEwhere]

If you're going straight and you hit a slippery patch nothing will happen as long as you are not trying to brake, accelerate heavily, or turn.

Not entirely true. Like I was saying earlier in this thread

I was driving to Breckenridge on I-70 in mid November (2013) with the temp hovering around freezing, and I went through the Eisenhower tunnel, elevation 11,000 ft, and started on a 7% downgrade for roughly 8 miles to Silverthorne, elevation 8,000ish feet. Speed limit was 55, I was going 30. Hit ice and started going sideways, which has happened to me a couple of times before, expect this time I wasn't able to correct it. My F-150 hit the median guardrail at a 30 degree angle, which spun me around and made my backend hit as well.

That is the best advise, just try to ride it out, but in my case I let off the gas, kept the wheels straight, did NOT hit the brakes but the ice still made me turn sideways. I only tried to correct it after I was canted 15 degrees to the left and still had no traction and realized I was going to crash if I didn't do anything.

 

[wa-loaf]

Hear hear! Hence the push for self driving cars... :roll:

Also, the younger generations aren't all that into owning cars anymore. Especially if they live anywhere near a big metropolitan area. Stuff like zip car makes it easy to live without, but cuts down on time behind the wheel for these kids ... lowering the overall experience level out there.

 

[C-Rex]

Not entirely true. Like I was saying earlier in this thread




That is the best advise, just try to ride it out, but in my case I let off the gas, kept the wheels straight, did NOT hit the brakes but the ice still made me turn sideways. I only tried to correct it after I was canted 15 degrees to the left and still had no traction and realized I was going to crash if I didn't do anything.

Actually, if you were going downhill and let off the gas, you were braking with the engine. I'm assuming you were in 4wd, so I think what happened is you let off the gas and the engine gave resistence to the wheels. The weight of the truck pitched forward and the rear tried to overtake the front causing the spin.

What I should have said was to keep just enough throttle to let the wheels roll freely. If you were in neutral, that probably wouldn't have happened.

There are always exceptions to the rules, and no one is perfect. The spin could also have been caused by the front tires hitting some slush or snow which would have the same effect.

 

[bvibert]

Not entirely true. Like I was saying earlier in this thread




That is the best advise, just try to ride it out, but in my case I let off the gas, kept the wheels straight, did NOT hit the brakes but the ice still made me turn sideways. I only tried to correct it after I was canted 15 degrees to the left and still had no traction and realized I was going to crash if I didn't do anything.

FWIW - If you let off the gas too abruptly that's about equal to hitting the brakes, especially if you were in a lowish gear...

 

[wa-loaf]

Actually, if you were going downhill and let off the gas, you were braking with the engine. I'm assuming you were in 4wd, so I think what happened is you let off the gas and the engine gave resistence to the wheels. The weight of the truck pitched forward and the rear tried to overtake the front causing the spin.

What I should have said was to keep just enough throttle to let the wheels roll freely. If you were in neutral, that probably wouldn't have happened.

This applies for short distances, roads curve and have slope to them. If the whole roadway was iced and it pitches off to the left or right, gravity will start to pull the vehicle over as well.

 

[Highway Star]

How do you guys get to vt area resorts in a snowstorm? Mount snow is barely makeable for a day drip at 2 1/2 hours with no storm. Maybe do that twice a year max. Local is where it's at. I'm sorry, but talking about helmets and you drive through vt backroads in a snowstorm? You're more likely to die on the road. Do you know how dangerous trying to drive 100's of miles in a blizzard is? And how are you supposed to get there for first tracks/first chair when the roads are snow covered? A hotel is a neccesity and that's more money and more time off from work ect. Very difficult to score fresh untracked powder anywhere on ec unless you live local. And how long would it take you to drive from hartford, ct to mount snow in the middle of a blizzard? 7 hours one way? Assuming you can get there alive with your vehicle in one piece. You can only go 30-35mph max the whole way and maybe 20mph on side roads if it's really bombing out. Yeah obviously a hotel is necessary.

You = Fail.