• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Snow Wheeling

SUA SPONTE

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Pacific N.W.
what i have: 87 laredo 4.5 RE with 31 10.50 BFG AT

I Will be moving to alaska/canada within a year or two but have limited time in the snow. Mine will be used mostly for camping/fishing/hunting. Hard to get places. Is a wider tire better for snow? Open or locked front? open or locked rear? Any thing else about wheeling in snow i should know. Trying to build my rig up so its best suited for the north. Thanks for your help!
 
Where you coming to in AK. I live up in fairbanks. I'm running 33X12.50 BFG MT. Most are running a tire this wide or wider. maybe a couple ppl in our club are narrower. The tires work fine in the snow but suck on our roads in the winter as they are ice now and will be that way until about late april middle of may. I'm locked in the rear. Fine for the snow as long as you know how to dirve. The roads can be scary at times with the rear locked but I haven't had a bit of problems. One thing you want to do is winterize your vehicle. Block heater, oil pan heater, battery blanket and if you have an auto trans heater. Trust me the first time your rig freezes you will wish you would have done it. Also test your antifreeze and make sure it is rated for -60. The coldest I've seen since I've been here is -52. I run a lighter oil in the winter too. If you are going to be in the fairbanks area at all check out our local club www.arcticoffroad.com or www.alaska4x4network.com for an all over view. We have had an influx of XJ's show up over the past year. Anything you want to know about the area ask and I'll answer the best I can.

mel
 
i guess it also depends on what kind of snow you're talking about, if your tires are too wide it won't dig through the snow and if it's too narrow it'll just sink in the snow... tho i wouldn't worry about tire size, just tread patterns (if you have an option of changing to a better one) or how good you are at getting unstuck
 
I'm in British Columbia, we get a fair amount of snow, m/ts are good in the snow but scary in the slush and ice, I run snow and ice radials in the winter,235/75/15's. Open diffs are best in the snow, carry tire chains or traction aids and a shovel
 
Like Youngwon22 said it does depend on the snow. If it is slightly packed a wide tire on a light vehicle will help you "float" across the snow. But in my opinion it doesn't matter much as up here theres a good chance your going to get snuck in the snow. Last april we did a trip and in 8hrs we made it a little over 1/4 of a mile. The snow started off nice then about 200ft into it it turned into 3-5ft snow.
 
My kumho m/t are studdable but i have not not put them in and have not felt the need to. the work nicely on ice(they are not blizzaks though) and fantastic in DEEP snow. I have not wheeled in AK at all, But my family is from a part of Northern Ontario where it is regularly between twenty and fourty below. My advice is when it is that cold DO NOT go wheeling for recreation. Always be prepared to spend the night in the cold, and and unless there are lives on the line don't go alone.

In the spring always check the ice before driving on it. what was four foot thick and easily held your rig two weeks ago may only be four inches now. Many people lose their trucks through the ice and have to wait till may to fish them back out and get them back running.
 
Usually our cut off temp -15. Mine is usually before that. When it is that could things break much easier and fixing things isn't much fun. I try not to go anywhere when it hits the -30 mark except work and back.
 
Back
Top