First time Jeep owner in the Snow.

[PyrPatriot]

I was told under 50 you could shift the transfer case on the Gladiator (sales guy said that)
My wife's Grand Cherokee is automatic, we never have moved that dial, and my Silverado can be shifted but I generally leave the knob in automatic as well. The traction control gets us where we need to go for the most part.
Our driveway is a pretty good hill, about 120 feet, to get to the road. I was driving my truck in deep snow (I get lazy when it's cold - didn't plow) and noticed that the truck was manipulating the brakes and I made it up the drive without doing a thing.
My Eagle SX4 with the NP129 can be driven on any surface in 4x4 mode so if it's iffy, I shift to 4x4. I have to stop to shift because the vacuum motors not only shift the transfer case but also break and reconnect the front axle on the right - that is not synchronized and can get messy if you shift while moving and one axle is moving a bit faster than the other. Bad, really bad.
So I'm used to vehicles that can be shifted to 4x4 and left there - other than my 95 F250 which you did NOT want to drive on dry pavement in 4x4 mode as things would wind up like an old clock and you'd never get it back out again!
So - this is a very interesting thread - not because I don't know about snow (I've driven through feet of snow with my first Eagle - it was hood deep!) but because this Jeep system will be like a step back in time for me with the transfer case it has.
Heck, I drove my AMX with rear window louvers backwards almost a mile during a blizzard when the 2 lane rural road was blocked by a jack-knifed semi and the only way home otherwise was a road we had passed almost a mile back. That was FUN!
The best vehicle I have ever driven in snow, deep snow, was my Eagle - only time I ever got the Eagle wagon stuck I was goofing around in big drifts and went up onto a drift and felt this sort of - well, uh-oh, and the car settled down onto the floor pan. Scooped under the car and drove out. I think the drift was about 3 feet deep where I drove up onto it.

Manual says best if done under 45mph. You may be able to switch above that.

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[tbaker]

The best way to handle that is to just stay at home and stay off the roads problem solved

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Manual says best if done under 45mph. You may be able to switch above that.

Usually the smart thing is believe the book over a sales person. ;-)
Thanks.

 

[jrf]

Manual says best if done under 45mph. You may be able to switch above that.

Should be no reason to be switching above that speed in my opinion. If the roads are bad enough to be switching to 4HI you should already be going slower than that. I would NOT use 4Hi on just WET roads. There is still plenty of traction in the rain to put a strain on the drivetrain in the wet. Off pavement or slippery roads.

Agree with some others on here. For those that are used to All Wheel Drive (AWD) or Front wheel drive this will be a fairly large departure from what you are used to. For reference I live in one of the worst snow fall areas of the USA, we average over 100" of snow per year. When I drove my TJ as a daily driver...I RARELY needed 4Hi. I was able to get around on most snow packed roads just fine in 2Hi.

I can not say these two things enough about driving in the snow. GO SLOW, BE CAUTIOUS. Plan for everything you normally do in your car to take 10x as long (to stop, to start, to turn, etc). You will find that snow itself can be very different to drive in. Wet snow vs dry snow vs slush on the road all handle differently. For those that don't know "dry" snow is considered snow when it's very cold (below 20deg F) It acts more like dust. Very wet snow (32deg F) packs up (like a snowball) and eventually turns into iceballs or slush (VERY slippery). You can not make dry snow into a snowball...it will just fall apart.

 

[PyrPatriot]

Should be no reason to be switching above that speed in my opinion. If the roads are bad enough to be switching to 4HI you should already be going slower than that. I would NOT use 4Hi on just WET roads. There is still plenty of traction in the rain to put a strain on the drivetrain in the wet. Off pavement or slippery roads.

Agree with some others on here. For those that are used to All Wheel Drive (AWD) or Front wheel drive this will be a fairly large departure from what you are used to. For reference I live in one of the worst snow fall areas of the USA, we average over 100" of snow per year. When I drove my TJ as a daily driver...I RARELY needed 4Hi. I was able to get around on most snow packed roads just fine in 2Hi.

I can not say these two things enough about driving in the snow. GO SLOW, BE CAUTIOUS. Plan for everything you normally do in your car to take 10x as long (to stop, to start, to turn, etc). You will find that snow itself can be very different to drive in. Wet snow vs dry snow vs slush on the road all handle differently. For those that don't know "dry" snow is considered snow when it's very cold (below 20deg F) It acts more like dust. Very wet snow (32deg F) packs up (like a snowball) and eventually turns into iceballs or slush (VERY slippery). You can not make dry snow into a snowball...it will just fall apart.

Thanks for the perspective! I actually didnt realize the driving would be different between FWD/AWD and RWD/4WD. Good to keep in mind. It hasnt snowed here yet, and the most we get is a few inches. But it sure does sleet/ice plenty

 

[jrf]

This is totally not something to brag about...but:
https://www.niche.com/blog/top-25-snowiest-cities-in-america/

we are #3...and out of the top 5, 3 of those are within a few hours drive from Erie.

However...my Gladiator will NOT be seeing snow this year...as the amount of salt and other agents used to de-ice the roads absolutely DESTROY vehicles and steel. My 10 year old Nissan Titan will be my winter ride this year and into the future. I'll save the Gladiator the torture of rusting away all winter in a nice heated garage. I'd much rather drive it with the top down anyways.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

jrf summed it up pretty well. Yeah, for me it will be like going back to my F250 - but with all the new stability and traction controls and such, even with my Silverado and highway tires, I just leave things where they are - I did switch one time when I was pulling a heavy load up out of next to my shop - dirt and gravel and up hill and loose gravel - the wheels were slipping and I was starting to dig through my gravel drive. Otherwise, I leave it in automatic. The braking system does a lot of the work - the traction control. 4H should be fairly rare even for our snows here. And yeah, rain wet roads with a modern vehicle, don't mess with 4 wheel drive. the traction and stability and ABS systems will handle it.
My Eagle SX4 is different - NO ABS, no traction or stability controls and it's made to run in 4x4 mode any time I wish - even on dry roads although it's better if I don't as those couplings inside can't be bought any more. Blow one of those and you can't fix it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is totally not something to brag about...but:
https://www.niche.com/blog/top-25-snowiest-cities-in-america/

we are #3...and out of the top 5, 3 of those are within a few hours drive from Erie.

However...my Gladiator will NOT be seeing snow this year...as the amount of salt and other agents used to de-ice the roads absolutely DESTROY vehicles and steel. My 10 year old Nissan Titan will be my winter ride this year and into the future. I'll save the Gladiator the torture of rusting away all winter in a nice heated garage. I'd much rather drive it with the top down anyways.

Lake effect snows? I was in Reading PA back in 07 to pick up a car a guy gave me - can't recall the layout but we sure had some hills to contend with. My trailer back then didn't have brakes - glad my F250 had huge capable brakes on it.

I have mixed feelings about having my Gladiator in the snow around here - they slime things so bad my F250 frame was flaking rust and the brake lines rotted from the outside due to the salts and brine. Bridges and city streets are often more slippery from the brine than the snow.

People wonder why my cars get parked and covered in winter - ha - my 82 Eagle is rust-free and I intend to keep it that way as long as possible. That crap gets into the seams and hidden boxed areas and you can't wash it out. Even car wash soaps are strong stuff and if you don't rinse the heck out of things after a car wash, it can cause trouble. It will eat at zinc plating. (I worked in a car wash as a teen as the owner of the hardware store I worked in had a car wash - I mixed up the soap and stuff and what that stuff did to the plumbing in the control room - ugh)

 

[jrf]

For years I have just leased a "sacrificial" winter vehicle. The last one was a 2017 Cherokee. I store my Titan, TJ and 350z for the winter. This year I got the Gladiator instead of the lease. But my Titan is now 10 years old with 36k miles on it. Some new tires and it should easily last me another 10 years even in the salt.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

For years I have just leased a "sacrificial" winter vehicle. The last one was a 2017 Cherokee. I store my Titan, TJ and 350z for the winter. This year I got the Gladiator instead of the lease. But my Titan is now 10 years old with 36k miles on it. Some new tires and it should easily last me another 10 years even in the salt.

Wow, you have me beat. 10 years and only 36k?
My silverado, which is a trade for the JT if it ever arrives, is a 2011 and just hit 47,000 miles.
My wife's Grand Cherokee is a 2018 and hit 9,000 miles,
on the other hand, my Eagle has over 193,000 miles and proud of it.
My 70 Javelin that I'm selling just hit 32,000 actual original miles and is also rust-free. (potential buyer coming today, it may go to Texas)

Luckily, I'm retired and other than set doc appointments and such, I can choose when I go out in the show and brine to some extent. I no longer had a daily drudge commute.

 

[sodak]

This is totally not something to brag about...but:
https://www.niche.com/blog/top-25-snowiest-cities-in-america/

we are #3...and out of the top 5, 3 of those are within a few hours drive from Erie.

However...my Gladiator will NOT be seeing snow this year...as the amount of salt and other agents used to de-ice the roads absolutely DESTROY vehicles and steel. My 10 year old Nissan Titan will be my winter ride this year and into the future. I'll save the Gladiator the torture of rusting away all winter in a nice heated garage. I'd much rather drive it with the top down anyways.

That list is no where

This is totally not something to brag about...but:
https://www.niche.com/blog/top-25-snowiest-cities-in-america/

we are #3...and out of the top 5, 3 of those are within a few hours drive from Erie.

However...my Gladiator will NOT be seeing snow this year...as the amount of salt and other agents used to de-ice the roads absolutely DESTROY vehicles and steel. My 10 year old Nissan Titan will be my winter ride this year and into the future. I'll save the Gladiator the torture of rusting away all winter in a nice heated garage. I'd much rather drive it with the top down anyways.

Wow..how unaccaret..we hget an average of 138" of snow a year...puts us in 1st place by that list..lol

 

[jrf]

138" of snow a year...puts us in 1st place by that list..lol

Ok, you win!!! Or we can both win and move south....

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Des Moines averages 33 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.
I used to live in northern Iowa and 33 was nothing up there.
Last Feb we got over 22" alone in that short month.
Some years we're hammered, some not, so the average can be deceiving - there are times that snow falls almost all in one storm - if your average is 33 and you get 15" of that in one storm........... then you are right up there with the other states for at least a while.

In any case, I don't care to set that record or even try to best it. You win, that's good for us! LOL

 

[hosejockey61]

I live south of Denver and we just had a pretty good snow storm. This is the first storm I drove in with the Galdiator. I have 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers and wanted to see how they handled in the snow as I have no experience with these new tires. I have to say that I cannot believe how well the traction control on the Gladiator does. I was expecting to get sideways for fun to see where my breaking point is and the damn thing will not let you. It is a VERY well dialed thing. The down side is, I couldn't tell how the tires act in the snow lol. Trust the traction control...it is truly awesome for its purpose. Part of it involves limiting your acceleration...you can't outrun it. Now if you want to fishtail and have some fun (who doesn't), then simply turn the traction control off.

Bottom line, I am extremely impressed with the handling!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That's great to hear. Not that you got the snow storm, but the Jeep part..........

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