Gladiator in snow - disappointment?

[ShadowsPapa]

Adding more power to that wheel helps when going up hill in poor conditions because the tc slows your tires and momentum, in order to make it up a hill you need momentum, to get the momentum you need the skinny pedal. If skinny pedal is he’d up by tc not letting it spin then turn of tc, you sir are arguing with everyone who is giving reasonable answers just admit your wrong

Ask truck drivers - that's who I learned from as far as a teen driving in Iowa winters. 3 truck drivers, and eventually the guy that owned a shop I worked in (he ran 2 wreckers, 24/7/365 towing)
They all said keep as high a gear as possible to prevent sending too much power to the tires. Too much power - too much gas causes spin - loss of traction.
Keeping it in a high gear ensures the tires can't break loose.
TC does similar. You want controlled power.
All said don't downshift, but don't "lug" the engine either. Keep as high gear as possible to keep moving.
My shop owner/boss had been a truck driver hauling gravel for years before he took over his father's shop. He went back to basic physics classes - changes in speed or direction cause troubles. If you don't change speed or direction, you'll keep moving. If you must change direction, do it slowly - objects in motion and all. Same for speed - if you must slow or speed up, do it gradually. Again, objects in motion.

Yes, you need momentum going up a hill, but giving it enough "gas" to spin the tires is counter-productive.

The advice of those truck drivers back in the 1970s hasn't failed me yet.

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[Heikkin2]

Thought I’d add my opinion from a woman’s perspective driving a sport s gladiator in the upper peninsula of Michigan, where last year we had over 300” of snow.
Driving the gladiator was fun last year as I had just moved back. Can drift and slide around no problem. Did a lot of back country driving and as long as I had momentum I was good to go. Got stuck a few times and only had to be pulled out once.
However, this year I have an infant and am considering getting rid of my gladiator because it is terrible in the snow! I would highly recommend any person with children to reconsider if you live in an area that has snow more than half the year and commute on icey/snow covered highways.
The truck is too light. Even with 2 60lb sand bags in the back, Cooper rugged treks, I’ve seen little improvement in my ass end not sliding out from underneath me. Ex: driving 50 on a snow covered highway in 4H. Two cars 20 car lengths ahead stopped to make a right hand turn (why they stopped I have no clue) and my brakes were frozen (didn’t realize up until that point but assuming snow got up into the brakes and froze as it was a negative temp day) so the light touch I gave them caused my tail to spin out to the right. Thankfully I know how to drive and could gain control from the fish tailing but it was hairy. Was not the only time such a situation happened.
I’ve also noticed the truck pulls all over in slush. Even with one side of tires on pavement.
Lastly, with the hinges on the outsides of the door, be prepared for rust to start there first.
Maybe I’ve lost a part of my fearlessness or recklessness, not sure. Maybe I need some meaty snow tires. But felt compelled to share my 2 cents.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you have a stock Sport S, you need different tires. Huge difference.
The Falken tires as installed on stock Rubicon Gladiators are ok - a huge improvement over the stock tires on Sport and Overland, but even better was going to General Grabber A/Tx tires.
I've driven on snowy and icy roads and forget I was still in 2 wheel drive it was such a difference.
And now with those General tires and the Selec-Trac transfer case, I leave it in full time auto 4 wheel drive and just go.
In fact, it's so good that I haven't put my truck in 4 part time high or 4 part time low in a long time - even with the snow plow going up our slick driveway pushing wet snow up the hill.
Tires tires tires.
I was afraid that I'd bitten off more than my truck could chew when I put a snow plow on it - nope, it's a trooper. I did try it in 2 wheel drive just for kicks, and got 3/4 of the way up and hit a slick spot and the snow in front of the plow, which was angled right as far as it would go, shoved the front of my truck to the side and the rear sort of slid to the left because of how badly our driveway slopes two directions, but putting it back in 4 high auto/full time - I gave it a little gas, it bit in and took off again, not even lifting the plow.

But even with my 2020 without the SelecTrac, the tires made a huge difference and I found myself able to travel unplowed roads without trouble in 4hi part time.

 

[ZoMojave]

Here in NW Wisconsin, we have had a brutal '22-'23 winter season with 60" of snow so far and counting (we know how March can be). My Mojave with 33" KO2's is an absolute beast in the snow. I have no weight in the bed. I do have Selec-Trac and have had been using it full time since the first snow in early December. No issues whatsoever and 100% confidence driving in very bad weather (including three ice storms).

Probably the best winter driving vehicle I have owned in my 45 years of driving.

 

[Lunentucker]

Gearing down is usually better than braking on snow and ice, or at least using the two together.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Gearing down is usually better than braking on snow and ice, or at least using the two together.

I''m gonna disagree, being an Iowan who lived and drove through blizzards, and lived in northern Iowa for a few years (on a farm way off the highway, not one of the first roads ever plowed)
Not according to truck drivers who taught me (or my former boss)
"Gearing down" or downshifting, decreases the speed of the rear wheels only, slowing them in comparison to anything else, and it's often a fairly sudden decrease in speed.
Physics is your friend - change speed and/or direction slowly, not suddenly. Make changes gradually.
Brakes of course will apply more evenly - slowing all wheels together. TC and ABS will try to make sure of that.
Truck drivers, two of them plus a boss I had to drove gravel trucks during the 30s and 40s, then took over his father's shop and ran two wreckers, said to stay in as high a gear as you could without lugging the engine. They suggested avoiding downshifting unless you need to because the engine was lugging and couldn't handle it.
Neil, my former boss, also drove a Model A to Alaska before the highway even existed - with his new bride. I wish he was still around today to hear more of that adventure.
I figure anyone who can drive dump trucks, wreckers, or take an old Ford to Alaska before it was a state must have known a little bit.
The two truck drivers worked for Anderson-Erikson Dairy and had to keep trucks moving regardless of weather due to their hauling milk. Can't sit and wait out the weather.

Those are the men I always took my cues from.
My former father-in-law knew a few things while he was alive, living in snow country of Cerro Gordo County. (where it got so bad the county sheriff closed the interstate by ordering county road graders and plow trucks to block the entrance ramps to I35. He caught crap for that life-saving measure but 5 years later we saw the state put barricades across the ramps so they could close the interstate at times. We all laughed - hmmm, where'd they get that idea?)

 

[Dougstdig]

I really dislike topics like this. …click bate.

First of all, there could be any number of conditions regarding snow and corresponding layers of hard pack, ice and powder…and what kind of powder?

Secondly and most importantly, in my opinion, folks are so quick to point out what they think is a flaw, when in fact they didn’t sit down and read the owners manual, go out and tinker with all the settings and of course…go out on practice runs to test and get used to their new equipment to help see what it will do and when what should be turned on or off…in what drive mode etc. Folks just want to jump in, point and shoot with no driver interaction. For these people…should have gotten a Subaru. He may be all set in your driveway, but don’t go off the curb, because owning a Jeep is about options.

Sorry about the rant, but it is what it is.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I really dislike topics like this. …click bate.

First of all, there could be any number of conditions regarding snow and corresponding layers of hard pack, ice and powder…and what kind of powder?

Secondly and most importantly, in my opinion, folks are so quick to point out what they think is a flaw, when in fact they didn’t sit down and read the owners manual, go out and tinker with all the settings and of course…go out on practice runs to test and get used to their new equipment to help see what it will do and when what should be turned on or off…in what drive mode etc. Folks just want to jump in, point and shoot with no driver interaction. For these people…should have gotten a Subaru. He may be all set in your driveway, but don’t go off the curb, because owning a Jeep is about options.

Sorry about the rant, but it is what it is.

Worse, it's a ZOMBIE topic from 2 years ago that got revived, so I guess we all live it again.

 

[Dougstdig]

Worse, it's a ZOMBIE topic from 2 years ago that got revived, so I guess we all live it again.

Yeah. Very few posts over the last several years with the last being in 12-22. Wonder if he read the manual yet or sold it.

 

[Summitsearcher]

I’m in Michigan and fortunately I don’t have those issues with driving even on snow covered roads. I was a professional semi driver for 25 years so that could be why. I don’t even put sand in my bed with my M/T’s on my Rubicon. Poor girl, a squirrelly truck is no fun to drive especially with a child in the vehicle. Adds to the stress!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’m in Michigan and fortunately I don’t have those issues with driving even on snow covered roads. I was a professional semi driver for 25 years so that could be why. I don’t even put sand in my bed with my M/T’s on my Rubicon. Poor girl, a squirrelly truck is no fun to drive especially with a child in the vehicle. Adds to the stress!

I put sand in mine but only to keep the ass-end on the ground when I raise the snow plow.

My first wife used to like to had us go into Des Moines with my AMX after an ice storm - when Southridge mall was closed for the night. Man we could make that car spin FAST - almost got dizzy.
But the car was really quite good in snow because the 77 was a hatch back- really heavy in the rear half.

 

[Chunky White]

Interesting topic and I disagree with about half of what I read from what experience I have had snow driving over the years. I always turn traction control off in mud or snow so I can spin the tires and clear them out of if needed and have rarely added weight other than whatever snow is already in the bed.

I feel like I have had better luck in full size trucks with auto locking rear dfferential or Grand Cherokees with Quadradrive than I have in mid size truck though. I seen more snow in the Hellcat Challenger I just traded than I have in the Gladiator though and that was very little and a fun trip to the house.

 

[Kevin_D]

I always turn traction control off in mud or snow so I can spin the tires and clear them out of if needed…

Huh?
What the frack are you talking about?

Kevin

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Huh?
What the frack are you talking about?

Kevin

I wondered that as my tires don't accumulate snow in the treads. You could ID my truck by the perfect tracks in the snow....even tell tread depth.
I always leave it all enabled and it works just fine. Even with tc on i can spin the wheels.

 

[AstroZombie]

i got stuck on a flat road 4lo and lockers took forever to get out and super high revs.

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