Best model for snow.

[wooderson]

I’ll be using my JT a lot in the snow. Would a certain model lend itself to be more capable in the snow ?

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[AngelArmorNY]

I live near Buffalo, NY and we spend half the year covered in heavy, wet snow. I chose the Sport S with the Max Tow package. This will replace a Toyota Tundra Crewmax for my daily driver/towing/hauling/etc. I don't know that one trim level will be more "snow ready" than another. Good tires, smart driving and weight in the bed will probably be more useful than a certain trim.

 

[tbaker]

I would go with the rubicon it had all the bells and whistles but any of the would probably do ok with the right set up like tires and wheels and a leveling kit on the front

 

[Renegade]

I’ll be using my JT a lot in the snow. Would a certain model lend itself to be more capable in the snow ?

All of them would likely do equally well in snow on road. The single most important factor would be tire selection.

 

[Cleankat]

Agree with renegade, vehicle is only as good as the tires on it in snow.

Last winter I had a Hellcat with snow tires on it and my wife had a GMC Acadia, guess which one ended up being the one we took in snow (much to my frustration lol)? Tires make all the difference.

 

[XJ2JTChris]

Tires tires tires! As everyone mentioned. I had a 92 fox body mustang with bridgestone blizzaks way back in the day. Not even studded and they got me anywhere in up to 6" of unplowed, and packed snow. As for the JT, I was always told lockers wont help for on road snow driving, open diffs are better so you don't plow in turns, and i believe there is a build option to add some sort of limited slip upgrade on any other model, i cant recall the specific name off the top of my head because I ignored it in my build. Sport S with max tow. Most of my XJ's were open diffs for the first year or two, and then i added lunchbox lockers, and still never had a problem. The key is find an empty parking lot, and learn your vehicle, how to handle extreme situations, and then graduate yourself to an empty backroad with no traffic during a storm and do the same. The combination of tires and skill will help you pass most built rigs without the right tire/skill combo. Also, maybe consider just getting a cheap steal wheel with a dedicated snow tire to swap on before the ice and storms hit if you get them often enough. Good luck. I expect to see all of you hit by snow this year posting plenty of pics. Mother nature has been slacking off on the snow count in CT lately. Lol

 

[Mark Doiron]

You would be best served by a full out winter tire--which no model of the Gladiator offers. But, if you want something usable all year without swapping out tires, then a snowflake-rated AT tire is your best bet. Not all AT tires are snowflake-rated. And some tires are rated with other symbols made to fool the neophyte into thinking they are as good as snowflake-rated. "Snowflake-rated" means they have the mountain/snowflake symbol on them. On top of that, some particular tires that are sold as snowflake-rated are also sold in certain sizes that are NOT snowflake-rated. So, you need to be on your guard about exactly what you buy.

If you don't plan to replace your tires from the get-go (many of us do), then some models of the Jeep come with AT tires. I don't know if they are snowflake-rated, but a quick visit to a dealership to examine the tires should be revealing. Don't necessarily go by what the salesman says, or even what you learn here on this forum or in magazine articles--because Jeep is not committing to specific tire brands for all models for the entire model year. They do this because as a vehicle line-up is sold through the year, they may renegotiate contracts for tires with different companies.

Here's some background info on AT and MT tires. Armed with that knowledge and a visit to the Jeep dealer, you should be in good shape to choose the best model for you ...

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/all-terrain-mud-tires-in-snow

 

[Mark Doiron]

... As for the JT, I was always told lockers wont help for on road snow driving, open diffs are better so you don't plow in turns ...

I think that will depend on the specific snow that you're in. Ice and compacted snow could be a problem since one tire (at least) will be slipping almost constantly. If in 4WD and in a turn, you may find that three tires are slipping constantly (since your front and rear axles are locked in 4WD). That means one tire pulling, and the other three not keeping you going whatever direction. You can imagine if one front tire is pulling, but the rears have no traction, you're in skid mode as you turn. However, with modern electronics and anti-skid, there are modes that are more effective than lockers on slippery surfaces. They do this by braking each wheel independently as it begins to slip, ensuring it never causes erratic motion of the vehicle.

As you wrote, it's a good idea to get experience in your new vehicle in the snow. But, even that can be deceiving since snow has many different forms, not only as it falls, but especially as it remains on roadways and ices up. So, I'd add to never overestimate your ability to be in control. Stay prepared and travel slowly and cautiously.

 

[Pat2Alaska]

I’m counting on my Rubicon. I know the K02s do pretty good as I’ve had them on my JK. My JT weighs about 5700lbs and will have another 300+ when I get the Decked System & Ace Engineering Upper Decker installed. All that weight in the bed. I’m excited for winter!

 

[AngelArmorNY]

This actually brings up a good mechanical question that I have not gotten a conclusive answer to. Do any trims come standard with limited slip differentials and/or independent traction control?

 

[Puttyandnapalm]

Tirerack.com has ratings for just about every tire out there. I have my gladiator overland ordered and I think it will come with the Bridgestone dueler ht, which has horrid snow ratings.
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/rating...eModel=Dueler+H/T+D684+II&fromTireDetail=true

I plan to swap to the sumitomo encounter or pirelli scorpion plus.
That or find a set of rubicon take-offs as the fallen wild peak seem to have good snow ratings.

 

[XJ2JTChris]

Just looked it up on their site. It's called trac-lok anti spin rear diff. It is a $500 add on and available all the way down to the sport trim. As for a basic limited slip as mentioned above where it applies brake independent to the slipping wheel, I'm not sure if they all come with that, but my sisters JK sport has it so I'd imagine it may be regular tech in newer JL/JT models, maybe someone can confirm.

 

[basicGlad]

Just looked it up on their site. It's called trac-lok anti spin rear diff. It is a $500 add on and available all the way down to the sport trim. As for a basic limited slip as mentioned above where it applies brake independent to the slipping wheel, I'm not sure if they all come with that, but my sisters JK sport has it so I'd imagine it may be regular tech in newer JL/JT models, maybe someone can confirm.

I agree, LSD helps in the snow. You also should learn how to correct a slide.

 

[LongTimeListener]

As many others have said, get a snowflake-rated A/T. Good tires help you stop. All the 4WD, ground clearance, lockers, and LSDs in the world have exactly zero impact on braking performance.

 

[Bobzdar]

This actually brings up a good mechanical question that I have not gotten a conclusive answer to. Do any trims come standard with limited slip differentials and/or independent traction control?

They all have independent traction control and stability control. In 4wd, it can be set to allow wheel slip but use the brakes to simulate a limited slip differential (BLD). Hence, they're basically all about the same in snow, only real variable is the tires they come with. Even the models with the optional limited slip rear won't perform much differently, the engagement will be smoother than the BLD so might be a little more stable but in terms of outright traction/getting stuck it won't help all that much.

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