am I doing something wrong in snow/ice Winter driving?

[ParadiseMo]

This is the first significant snow/ice since getting the gladiator - it's all stock standard mojave, and this isn't about the tires, Falken Wildpeak ATs.

I've driven these same roads no issue in similar conditions in previous vehicles. Sealed surface, fun and windy with sections unplowed, unsalted, salted, salted/plowed. I have only needed to use 4H/4L on soft gravel a few times.

Driving in 4H seems like the appropriate choice for mixed snow/ice... but anything short of the slightest turn seemed like the wheels were dragging laterally and without power steering. (as opposed to expected heavy load). This is all driving at low speed. Trying to maneuver for parking was a nightmare.

Driving in 2H was a delicate endeavor, frequent loss of traction but at least I could make a regular turn at the stop signs and sharper corners. Again, driving at low speed.

Any advice, suggestions, recommendations?

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[Maximus Gladius]

First thing I do when I see snow is dumping or the roads have all iced up is air down to 30lbs and throw in my dedicated sidewalk blocks (150 lbs) in the back between the wheels. Along with my recovery straps and tool bags, I’ve got 200lbs back there.

I often have to use 4H when the freeways are ice. I run KO2’s and don’t mind them at all. Spring time I’ll look for some other brand.

 

[kevman65]

4 wheel drive is not going to help on ice.

Throw some weight (250-400 pounds) in the bed of the truck.

When in 4x4 all tight maneuvering is out the window, front wheels are locked together trying to make a turn at the same speed, bounce, hop, skip.

 

[TestMule]

4 HI is the right setting for what you are experiencing.

The lateral drag or some jerking and loss of power steering feeling you are experiencing is the driveline binding because all four wheels are engaged and moving at different speeds while turning. It is less noticeable at higher speeds.

That's normal but once the snow, ice & slush disappear it's time to get out of 4 HI.

 

[Almost]

If your tires are binding while turning you have traction and no longer need 4wd. That binding you feel is horrible for your drivetrain and transfer case. Unless the roads are completely snow covered I don't use it at all.

 

[kevman65]

My rule of thumb is, less than 4" of snow I leave it in 2Hi.

4"-10" 4Hi

12"+ 4Lo and keep it slow on the streets. There WILL be people out in it in vehicles that have no business being out in it doing stupid shit they have no business doing.

 

[Redleg37]

'" Driving in 4H seems like the appropriate choice for mixed snow/ice... but anything short of the slightest turn seemed like the wheels were dragging laterally and without power steering. (as opposed to expected heavy load). This is all driving at low speed. Trying to maneuver for parking was a nightmare."

Are you talking about the really jerky steering you get in 4hi when you turn sharply? For me it only occurs when my steering is nearly locked to the side (think turning 90 degrees to park in a spot) My understanding is that this is normal, although bad for your drivetrain. My JK wrangler does it as well. I "solved" this by going back into 2Hi while parking or when I anticipate sharp turns.

 

[bleda2002]

4hi to get going if needed, if you are making turns, and its binding you should be in 2hi as you have enough traction as to not need 4hi. Not sure if you've driven 2wd trucks in the winter before, but you need to add 200ish pounds to the rear so that the back axle has some traction and it will drive more as expected.

 

[Rahkmalla]

if your steering is getting jerky, your tires have too much traction for safe use of 4hi.

That jerking you're feeling is your driveline binding up and then the restrained torque being released forcing the tire(s) to slip and then rinse and repeat rapidly.

4hi and 4lo are meant for conditions where slippage is the expectation. Not conditions where it could happen. This is why a lot of people who live in areas that experience lots of snow want the 4A transfer case.

Same story with locking diffs. It's great to have when you expect slippage, but when you're trying to prevent slippage you're better off with an LSD over a locker.

 

[ParadiseMo]

Are you talking about the really jerky steering you get in 4hi when you turn sharply? For me it only occurs when my steering is nearly locked to the side (think turning 90 degrees to park in a spot) My understanding is that this is normal, although bad for your drivetrain. My JK wrangler does it as well. I "solved" this by going back into 2Hi while parking or when I anticipate sharp turns.

yeah, that's the most noticeable part, I have some acute angle stop signs on narrow roads.
I was unaware that tight turning would be bad in 4HI, yet that's where in other vehicles I have most benefited from 4 wheel traction... eg RHS loses traction, LHS maintains and compensates.

 

[ParadiseMo]

4hi to get going if needed, if you are making turns, and its binding you should be in 2hi as you have enough traction as to not need 4hi. Not sure if you've driven 2wd trucks in the winter before, but you need to add 200ish pounds to the rear so that the back axle has some traction and it will drive more as expected.

Nope, first truck in Winter conditions. Appreciate the insights and shared wisdom of direct experiences here.

 

[Sting-Gray Neutral Pres.]

It's a bit more than standard part-time 4wd binding, which as others have noted is caused by locking the front to the rear which have a speed differential in the turn. No, Jeep has also blessed this vehicle with cheap old U-joints in the front driveshafts, which additionally adds crow hop when the wheels are turned. This is a change in rotational speed of each front tire that occurs every half-turn, and it gets worse the harder the steering angle. It's really annoying and reduces the winter drivability of the truck. The cure is to swap in constant velocity joints. Many other trucks have these from the factory and Jeep makes them for the Selec-Trac models, but so far no one has attempted (or documented) a swap of Jeep CV joints into a standard 4wd truck. There is an aftermarket option that is 10x the price that folks here have done.

So if you are used to driving pickups with locking (part-time) 4wd systems and this one binds worse than those did, it may be prior trucks had CV joints and now you've got U-joints.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is where I love SelecTrac.
CV axles, no binding or jerking when you are making turns or parking.

Around here if you aren't in 4H when at a stop, you may not get going again. It's that simple. I've seen a whole lot of both front and rear wheel drive cars and so-called "SUVs" struggle in these last several days. Hundreds of them off the road.
I went with SelecTrac because my 2020 with only 4H and not 4H auto was a pain in the butt - you were constantly shifting in and out, in and out, then you hit a patch of black ice, or snow pack, or where the snow is blowing across the highway and just deep enough to want to pull things to the side........... I recall one trip with my '20 where I shifted it in and out of 4H over a dozen times - it would hum and bind in 4H when i hit the dry spots so I'd pull it out into 2 thinking cool, there's a mile of clear, only to run into another area of snow blown across I80.

You need to just deal with shifting in and out if you don't have the 4H auto transfer case.
And those who have argued have obviously never driven in the types of snow or conditions we get here. Different snow types, winds and so on........ spots on the interstate where if you were not in 4H you were not going to make it up that hill and across that bridge (and I'm' talking speeds of only 45-50 because that was the prevailing traffic speeds at that time). I watched others fail to make it through the same places I did. I had my '20 fishtail and slide all over on our snow pack (with Rubicon take-off Falken tires, too) unless I was in 4H. Then - I'd hit a mile of clear and had to take it out again or she'd bind up.

I've had pickups and have driven thousands of miles over the decades in Iowa winters. My first truck I was something like 18 or 19, have had a truck ever since with the exception of a couple of years in the 1990s. 2 wheel drive, 4 wheel drive, Fords, Chevy, Jeep, and you'll never pry the SelecTrac outta my hands. It's very similar to how my Silverado was - in bad weather, you'd put it in 4H auto and forget it.

I have 210 pounds of sand at the very rear of my truck bed to offset the 300+ pounds of snow plow but even when I drop the plow off, I can feel better stability.

 

[nanook12]

I just drove the new Gladiator through a mountain pass yesterday. The roads were icy in the pass, temp was +7F. I ended up with a RSI Smart cap on the back of this rubicon diesel, so maybe 200lbs on the bed. Ran the pass in 4H and left the traction control on. There was no slipping from the front or the rear tires. Tires are new Falkens A/Ts. The diesel is heavy and pins the front end to the ground. The rear is good with the canopy weight on it, tires are in the mid 30s in the cold. My dodge Cummins has to be in 4H to keep the rear end behind the heavy front. I run a Lear cap and a 150gal steel fuel tank in the back. If I end up on dry pavement while slow maneuvering, it is imperative to switch to 2H.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It's a bit more than standard part-time 4wd binding, which as others have noted is caused by locking the front to the rear which have a speed differential in the turn. No, Jeep has also blessed this vehicle with cheap old U-joints in the front driveshafts, which additionally adds crow hop when the wheels are turned. This is a change in rotational speed of each front tire that occurs every half-turn, and it gets worse the harder the steering angle. It's really annoying and reduces the winter drivability of the truck. The cure is to swap in constant velocity joints. Many other trucks have these from the factory and Jeep makes them for the Selec-Trac models, but so far no one has attempted (or documented) a swap of Jeep CV joints into a standard 4wd truck. There is an aftermarket option that is 10x the price that folks here have done.

So if you are used to driving pickups with locking (part-time) 4wd systems and this one binds worse than those did, it may be prior trucks had CV joints and now you've got U-joints.

Yeah, it's a double-whammy. Standard Cardan or cross joints have a rotational speed change every 180 degrees. The wheels are not turning the exact same speed as the axle due to this - they turn faster than the axle for half the turn, and slower than the axle for half the turn.
Add to that the fact that you have a larger amount of ground to cover on the outer wheels, the toe out on turns of the front wheels and suddenly every wheel is needing to turn a different RPM.
My F250 would bind up so bad it sometimes took several minutes to work the bind out and get it out of 4H if I drove it too much on dry pavement. It was nasty and did those front joints ever hop.

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