Mojave Owners; How Does Your Truck Handle Snow?

[Jayvis]

I'm thinking about moving from a JLUR to a new Gladiator, and am currently leaning toward a Mojave over a Rubicon. Can any of you Mojave owners who live in snow country comment on how their Gladiator does in snowy conditions? Any experienced comments on the Selec-Trac Full Time 4WD System would also be appreciated.

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[1968Cutlass]

Midwest farm guy here.

we got 8 inches of snow right around Valentine’s Day.

Plow trucks didn’t make it out this way for a few days.
so bitter cold, drifting snow, roads completely impassable With 2 & 3 foot drifts. I mean, we were pretty sure we were on the road still....

Except for my 2020 Mojave. An absolute BEAST, NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER!! PHENOMENAL IN THE SNOW

Even got to pull a few friends and their Ford/Chevy /Ram 4x4 trucks out of the ditch.

Quite frankly, we had a blast. Earned her “Blizzard Rated“ badge that week

 

[Mac]

I do not think there is anything about the Mojave model that will make it handle any different in the snow than any other model JT. The select trac transfer case is available on any of the trim levels, tires are different depending on the model as well, those two things will make the difference.

 

[ryan141]

Off-Road +

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

I had zero issues through that snow storm bullshit that happened. Love the A/T's.

eta: my area was hard hit during that winter storm that happened TONS of ice, they had the national guard helping locally. Of course I pulled my back moving a box in the garage smack dab in the middle of it all. My pic you see is me going to the chiropractor's office lol

 

[Choatecav]

I do not think there is anything about the Mojave model that will make it handle any different in the snow than any other model JT. The select trac transfer case is available on any of the trim levels, tires are different depending on the model as well, those two things will make the difference.

You're probably right, but wouldn't the fact that the Mojave is designed for use in sand and soft dirt lend itself to also be perhaps better suited for a substance like snow, with it's drifts than maybe the stiffer suspension from a Rubicon? Just wondering.

 

[mellendic]

i had no issues when others were getting stuck. In MD we get an odd mix of snow and ice and that is hard to drive in, the JTM was the most stable and sure footed vehicle I have ever driven in snow.

 

[Genoa Dave]

The issue of snow determines the vehicles we own. We live in the Lake Tahoe area half the year and California the other half. We therefore need to have vehicles that are capable of getting us back and forth in severe weather. Up to now, we have owned Range Rovers and still do. We purchased a 2020 Mojave for my wife as she has a horse and hauls hay etc. to the stables. When the Mojave was purchased I had the dealership replace the tires with BFG K/O's that are triple-peak M&S rated. This winter we had a few major snow events and the Mojave was amazing. We have a very step and long driveway that gets ice and this was a non-issue. The stables had deep snow and slush again, non-issue. I did put several hundred pounds of sand bags over the rear axel as a precautionary measure. However, I not sure that this was at all necessary. In summary, the Mojave is every bit as capable as our Range Rover, at half the price!

 

[CerOf]

The Mojave’s suspension isn’t going to do anything magical for you in snow. On the JT, it will be all about the tires. If in deep snow a lift will help to keep the body up out of the snow. But 1” extra up front won’t really do much.

More than the tires, is the driver.

 

[Josh00333]

Snow = tires and clearance depending how much. As noted the AT's and Snow rated tires will help the most.

 

[JET222]

If the springs in the Mojave are softer than the rest of the Gladiator line, that would increase traction in the snow.

 

[Knightindullarmor]

Correct me if I'm wrong about Mojave factory setup...

Sport = open diff F/R
Sport Max Tow & Willys = LSD rear
Mojave = rear selectable locker
Rubicon = front & rear selectable lockers

For packed snow & ice: LDS>open differential>locked lockers.

Lockers will slide you right off the road on ice, open diff will leave one front & one rear tire spinning on ice (and no power going to the other tire on that axle), limited slip - put slight pressure on parking/emergency brake & both rear tires will have power. Let off brake as soon as you are moving & you won't slide right off the road surface.

So... the best factory model for packed snow or ice is a sport max tow (more biting edges on street tires). Best factory model for mix of deep snow, packed snow, & ice is Willys (MT tires better in deep snow, but worse in ice than street tires).

Mojave & Rubicon cannot safely engage lockers in ice & packed snow, so they might as well be a non-max tow sport in those conditions.

 

[Wyofuy069]

Hate to bring this thread back from the dead, but as they say on Game of Thrones “winter is coming”. If you are worried about driving on ice and snow true winter tires are better than anything. I just ordered studded lt3 Hakkapeliitta tires and that was no easy task as most of the country is sold out. Hakkapeliitta is the best snow tire probably in the world. Now as far as lockers or lsd goes I’d take as many lockers as possible. Of course you will not engage lockers while driving on the highway, but in feet of snow one can never have too much traction. Weight in back has also been mentioned. I have about 200 extra pounds over the rear wheels. I’ll see how that does. The Mojave has one advantage over other models and that is the ability to drive faster while in 4wd. If you are going through deep drifts speed can be your best friend. And last but not least the more recovery gear the better.

 

[Gvsukids]

The Mojave has one advantage over other models and that is the ability to drive faster while in 4wd. If you are going through deep drifts speed can be your best friend. And last but not least the more recovery gear the better.

Faster in 4wd low

 

[JetSkiJeff]

the only Snow I will ever see again in real life will be on TV. One of my Top 5 reasons moving from NYC after I retired to Sunny Florida. But good to know my Mojave will perform well if it snows in South Florida.

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