Gladiator in snow - disappointment?

[MoparDave]

Just had a nice Blizzard here in NY....

Zero issues with TC on and my 37 inch Mile Star MT Patagonia's.

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[balakachai]

We had over 30" of snow here in NJ. The Gladiator had no issues driving through that (and the snowdrift) as I had to relocate the vehicle to get all the snow out. Again, stock Gladiator Rubicon with their Falken MT tires and plain 4WD-High got it done; no 4L no diff locks, nothing.

 

[Len]

Take traction control off and lock your rear lockers that willl help a lot!

 

[gitnit]

So let me begin by saying I have a crap driveway, its not huge but its a hairpin turn and up maybe 3-400 feet of include. I have lived here with my ram 1500 sport for 5 years and never once did i think, man i wish i had a jeep so i could get up this driveway, it rocked it like a champ.

We just had a snowstorm, maybe a foot, cleaned it up with tractor, then we had another 4-6 inches of hail. i cleaned that up as well as could be with my tractor as well which is just a small sub compact. By god my jeep almost got stuck and felt like it was lugging its way into the ground trying to go up in 4 high. I am fairly confident my ram would have had no issues.

am I doing something wrong? as I am fairly discouraged right now, I am going to try to manually turn off tractor control next time to see if it helps.

So let me begin by saying I have a crap driveway, its not huge but its a hairpin turn and up maybe 3-400 feet of include. I have lived here with my ram 1500 sport for 5 years and never once did i think, man i wish i had a jeep so i could get up this driveway, it rocked it like a champ.

We just had a snowstorm, maybe a foot, cleaned it up with tractor, then we had another 4-6 inches of hail. i cleaned that up as well as could be with my tractor as well which is just a small sub compact. By god my jeep almost got stuck and felt like it was lugging its way into the ground trying to go up in 4 high. I am fairly confident my ram would have had no issues.

am I doing something wrong? as I am fairly discouraged right now, I am going to try to manually turn off tractor control next time to see if it helps.

So let me begin by saying I have a crap driveway, its not huge but its a hairpin turn and up maybe 3-400 feet of include. I have lived here with my ram 1500 sport for 5 years and never once did i think, man i wish i had a jeep so i could get up this driveway, it rocked it like a champ.

We just had a snowstorm, maybe a foot, cleaned it up with tractor, then we had another 4-6 inches of hail. i cleaned that up as well as could be with my tractor as well which is just a small sub compact. By god my jeep almost got stuck and felt like it was lugging its way into the ground trying to go up in 4 high. I am fairly confident my ram would have had no issues.

am I doing something wrong? as I am fairly discouraged right now, I am going to try to manually turn off tractor control next time to see if it helps.

I have a crap driveway as well. I like it that way because it keeps visitors away.
I never clear snow because I've always had a Jeep. The last two snow storms were no exception.
It's about the same after the rain. My wife's Wrangler does just as well as my Gladiator

 

[MacJTCanada]

I've wheeled the gladiator in deep snow off-road and on road after a big storm. 4H with TC off is the best bet when you're in the thick of it on side streets, and tc on when on the highways. No sand in the back or anything.

I did find the trucks loves to kind of skip itself a lot in the snow (with no weight in the bed, a very awful jerking and bouncing feeling. When you're in deep deep snow (4/5+") Even in 4L.

Done in snow with both the stock MTs and 37 patagonias.

 

[MadMojave]

I have 3 miles of driveway, including a 15 degree hill to get home. Not disappointed at all with Gladiator!!! I have other truck, 4x4 high and low, 33” tires and in the snow with that truck I even could get out of the garage.

 

[flowerskraig]

I just drove to work in the snow this morning - 45 minutes worth. No issues. Handles it like a champ. Love driving this thing in the snow.

 

[CerOf]

I have 3 miles of driveway, including a 15 degree hill to get home. Not disappointed at all with Gladiator!!! I have other truck, 4x4 high and low, 33” tires and in the snow with that truck I even could get out of the garage.

I want your driveway! That’s beautiful!

 

[Pappa Sally USMC]

2020 JTR w/ auto tranny on stock 33 Falken M/Ts here in Alaska. This year has been alternating light snow and heavy freezing rain over gravel roads. Unstudded M/Ts are the worst for winter (and yes we stud M/Ts up here if you want). If don't want to buy dedicated snow tire, then good A/Ts are way better choice than mudders. Run BFG A/Ts on my manual tranny '96 Cherokee XJ, and Falken Wild Peak A/Ts on my 2021 RAV4 TRD. Again, I am old school. Drive all the time with VSC and TCS turned off, use light throttle and light left foot brake (or 4-hi when absolutely necessary) AND let the vehicle do its thing. 99.8% of time never an issue in 2WD. When I see a hill coming up, go for a little momentum (10% to 20% extra over pre-hill speed), and very slowly ease off the throttle as I climb up (to help limit chance of tire breaking loose), so I am back at starting speed when I crest the hill. Starting uphill from dead stop, do the same as others; start in 2nd gear and ease into throttle while easing off the brake. Again, let the vehicle do the work. PS I have to start my XJ in second gear 70% of the time, because synchronizer on the first/reverse shaft is effectively toast. Good training though.

 

[salvino]

So let me begin by saying I have a crap driveway, its not huge but its a hairpin turn and up maybe 3-400 feet of include. I have lived here with my ram 1500 sport for 5 years and never once did i think, man i wish i had a jeep so i could get up this driveway, it rocked it like a champ.

We just had a snowstorm, maybe a foot, cleaned it up with tractor, then we had another 4-6 inches of hail. i cleaned that up as well as could be with my tractor as well which is just a small sub compact. By god my jeep almost got stuck and felt like it was lugging its way into the ground trying to go up in 4 high. I am fairly confident my ram would have had no issues.

am I doing something wrong? as I am fairly discouraged right now, I am going to try to manually turn off tractor control next time to see if it helps.

I'm running 37' KO2s on a two inch lift and crossed a mountain pass in NE AZ with 15-18"s of snow without the slightest trouble. ATs are reportedly much better than Mts. Also, it's important to not have too much air in the tires on snow,.

 

[JeepJunky]

I'll be darned. I haven't had that issue, but the whole time people are mentioning about disabling TC, I am thinking 'Don't we WANT traction to be controlled? I know I would like that, it sounds like a good thing!'
I couldn't ask of course, or people would know I was stoopit and didn't know about these magics. I'll keep reading, maybe someone will explain more about this. (Who knew?)

 

[Gvsukids]

I've wheeled the gladiator in deep snow off-road and on road after a big storm. 4H with TC off is the best bet when you're in the thick of it on side streets, and tc on when on the highways. No sand in the back or anything.

I did find the trucks loves to kind of skip itself a lot in the snow (with no weight in the bed, a very awful jerking and bouncing feeling. When you're in deep deep snow (4/5+") Even in 4L.

Done in snow with both the stock MTs and 37 patagonias.

Were you in the ditch?

 

[77badriand]

I had to turn off TC to go anywhere in the snow

 

[gpwrang33]

I'll be darned. I haven't had that issue, but the whole time people are mentioning about disabling TC, I am thinking 'Don't we WANT traction to be controlled? I know I would like that, it sounds like a good thing!'
I couldn't ask of course, or people would know I was stoopit and didn't know about these magics. I'll keep reading, maybe someone will explain more about this. (Who knew?)

I leave my TC on unless I'm stuck in a snow bank or I know its going to be a slippery start

 

[Delhux]

As for traction, I just throw it in 4-hi if there is enough snow on the road to have the wheels slip and I drive safely.

Personally, I don’t change my traction control or tire pressure and have no trouble gripping.

What does happen during actual snowfall is the LED headlights and fog lights get covered and nighttime visibility drops.

I am half-considering some amber cube lights, but I’m not sure if the typical a-pillar cowl mount would actually give me decent visibility in snowfall driving.

I’ve also heard of people putting rain-x or Aquapel on their headlights to reduce slush buildup.

Anyone else done anything to improve nighttime snow driving visibility?

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