Gladiator in snow - disappointment?

[DavdZ]

I never had any problem with mine in the snow here in northern New England, with stock tires also

Sponsored

 

[Burton79]

So the other day I test drove an 80th Anniversary JT at a local dealer in Columbus Ohio. They had me purposefully go into a big lot with barely driven through snow to prove how capable it was in the 6 inches or there abouts we got. It handled wonderfully for me. I have driven Hmmwv’s in the Army in all sorts of conditions. One of which was a blizzard in in NY. If we are told to go static, get to an easily identifiable location and sit there, then I don’t care who you are, the weather is bad enough that it’s too dangerous to drive in.

The long of it is, know your own capabilities and that of the vehicle you are in, just because one has a Jeep does not make them instant offroader or anything. Just my two cents.

 

[Gladman]

I just drove in a snow storm this morning - approx 1 foot in 3 hrs - and had no problem in 2 wheeel drive. A couple of intersections were icy and I has LSD kick in for a second or 2, but overall not problems with traction at all. BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A snowflake rating. Very pleased with the traction and tires; as well as throttle control on the diesel.

 

[JCHGlad]

Mines an absolute goat in the snow, drove through roads and up hills with 20inches of snow on them the other day with zero issues....I have the falken MTs on, turned the traction control off.

 

[Deleted member 30519]

Mines an absolute goat in the snow, drove through roads and up hills with 20inches of snow on them the other day with zero issues....I have the falken MTs on, turned the traction control off.

Yeah , I think disabling traction control is key. I backed it up a few nights ago on my incline gravel driveway in the snow and had no tires spinning or burning the clutch like I did a few did a few times prior.

 

[JoseQ_80]

The ESS and TC buttons are next to each other for a reason, you can turn them both off with one finger.

 

[DAVECS1]

I had to run kids to activities the other night and we had 50 mph winds with blowing snow and iced up roads. I really thought tgis was going to be my Jeeps kryptonite. We live in a river valley and to go to town there is a long climb up the hill on a 4 lane highway. It is always dicey cause the speed limit is 70 mph. Everyone realizing it or not really test out their vehicles tech. I was pleasantly surprised. The stability control was quick to catch the ass end if I mashed the throttle to much. As long as I was not going to fast to steer, it would let me apply stupid power to the rear wheels and walk it back inline.

Scenario 2 I was now confident with my new rig so we took back roads home. Mostly plowed but blowing snow and ice covered. I was sure it would be a nail biter with the old fashioned transfer case and open diffs. I was literally smiling as the truck was seriously capable at speed and the TC and stability would just kick it back in line whenever a wheel caught traction wrong. The hardest part was learning the controller and trusting it to do it's job. If you dont gove it enough rope it doesn't have the power it needs to finish a maneuver. It is a bit zcary at first like one of those trust exercises, were the person behind you catches you, LOL

 

[Whiteknight]

Late last century I wrenched for a euro import shop. Mercedes then had a feature that locked the transmission in second gear for standing starts. Always, regardless of weather. It would, however, shift back to first with heavy pedal input. Light application held second. I still use second for the uphill, wet road take off. 2wd f150. The JT manual mode screws this up by downshifting to first when stopped even with second selected, if I read the manual correctly. The manual YJ would just idle up my snow covered driveway, second gear, 4 low. Touch the skinny one and all bets were off. Goodyear MTs. Please, no offence to any one but it seems as vehicles become smarter, the operators give up and do not use the best computer of all time. The Brain. Knowledge is lost.

The terrain select in snow mode, starts out in second gear. Found in Renegade, Compass, Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee. Interesting. Another like for Auto shift. Found in all automatic newer Jeeps.

 

[BuckeyeJeep]

Interesting thread. We got 8-10 inches here in Ohio last week, and I’ve got a 250 foot driveway. I didn’t notice any issues with my JT in the snow at all, in fact., loved how it performed.

Hopefully, it was a fluke for the OP.

Mine loved the snow!

 

[10ecHarry]

I drove my stock Sport S in snow in the mountains. Stock Bridgestone HT tires and it did just fine.

 

[Clay]

I saw a few flakes fall last week and didn't have any problem negotiating the roads. Gotta love the JT!

 

[Gladiator4Runner]

simple solution.

RAMMING SPEED IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO

 

[DiscoSlug]

Stock duratracs, haven't had any issue in the snow or ice in MD these past couple weeks.

Traction Control is best left on in my opinion. There are exceptions of course.

I haven't engaged my TC enough to know yet, does anyone know if the gladiator TC cuts engine power overall or just applies brakes when it senses traction loss?

If it is the former, where engine power gets reduced when slip is detected, the TC can get you stuck because you slip enough to cut enough power that the traction having tire doesn't have enough power to propel you forward. In those specific cases, you do need to turn it off and gas pedal it out, hopefully with a limited slip differential.

 

[redrider]

simple solution.

RAMMING SPEED IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO

There are times when Ludicrous Speed is necessary.

 

[CerOf]

Stock duratracs, haven't had any issue in the snow or ice in MD these past couple weeks.

Traction Control is best left on in my opinion. There are exceptions of course.

I haven't engaged my TC enough to know yet, does anyone know if the gladiator TC cuts engine power overall or just applies brakes when it senses traction loss?

If it is the former, where engine power gets reduced when slip is detected, the TC can get you stuck because you slip enough to cut enough power that the traction having tire doesn't have enough power to propel you forward. In those specific cases, you do need to turn it off and gas pedal it out, hopefully with a limited slip differential.

It can cut power.

Sponsored