I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

On Feb 6, 3:14 pm, Windswept@home (Jack) wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

Nonsense. IMHO. Rumors might be true for some nose-heavy Detroit
big-iron; my recollections confirm them. OTOH, Nissan p/u-s I've owned
are very sure-footed. Well balanced. About 600,000 miles total use.

Various types of 4WD drive out there. Some pretty crude.

J

"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow. pickups are
particularly bad because they don't have much weight over the drive wheels.
But put it in 4wd and everything changes; ought to be much better than front
wheel drive cars.
And truck tires tend to have coarser tread than cars, which should help
also.

Jack wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged.

Yep, mostly due to the fact that there is no weight over the rear
wheels. Around here (Saskatchewan) people put sandbags in the truck bed
to help with this.

Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

That's really not that much snow (I've driven my compact car in 6" of
snow multiple times this winter).

The 4wd would have an edge on starting, but its ability to stop is no
better than a 2wd.

Chris

4WD should be better. Just as important does either vehicle have antilock
brakes? I kind of like the challenge of driving in the snow if there are
few other drivers on the road. With lots of drivers on the road you will
definitely need to make some unanticipated stops and/or steer around some
idiot who spun out. With antilock brakes you can slam on the brakes and
steer at the same time which is virtually impossible to do with regular
brakes.

Be careful.


"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

You drive whatcha got. Either you can drive in snow or you can't. A
rear wheel drive is the most challenging, but a few pounds in the rear
evens things out a bit. I recommend play sand in bags. Limited slip
differential is a real plus, a 4 wheel drive without it is nearly even
with a 2 wheel drive with it. Anti-lock brakes are a plus, but if you
can modulate your braking, you can get by without it. The very most
important thing is tires. Deep self cleaning tread will do more than
all the driver assists in the world.

On Feb 6, 3:14 pm, Windswept@home (Jack) wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

Gimme FWD with a limited slip and I'll run rings around a 4wd in the
snow until I run out of ground clearance, at which point I will stop
pretty quickly.

I've driven everything you could ever think of in the snow and the
absolute best was a Jeep Grand Cherokee with full time 4wd and a new
set of Wrangler AT/S tires. A pickup truck isn't balanced as well as
an SUV.

But, to answer your question, I'd take the 4wd truck over the little
front wheel drive car.

I like what Eric in North TX says: You either can or you can't. I
used to drive tow trucks for a living and I can't remember how many
times I'd get called to a car stuck in the snow, show up, and just
drive it out of the hole it was in. If that didn't work, 5 minutes
with a shovel and it'd come right out. I'd charge $75 without even
pulling out a winch cable.

Of course, I get to drive a Corvette home tonight in 4" of snow so if
this is my last post to this newsgroup then you can discount what I
just said.


-rev



On Feb 6, 3:14 pm, Windswept@home (Jack) wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

Jack wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

The one with REAL snow - winter tyres on it.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

You never drove a Corvair, a Sunbeam Imp or an original VW Beetle.

Actually many rear wheel drive front engine cars did very well. I
remember one winter my car was in the shop after a Greyhound bus hit it and
I had to rent. I had a Pinto (got stuck with half and inch of snow) and a
Toyota that did quite will with six or more inches of snow.

Today's trucks are all over the place with the why they handle in snow.
Some are good and some terrible.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

I hear what you're saying, but sometimes you just "can't." I have to
confess to having driven a Porsche 944 with summer tires in the snow a
few times, and it helps to know your limitations. The car is
excellently balanced, but if you can't move, it doesn't matter.

Since the girlie has been driving the car lately, I have invested in
snow tires. I don't feel the need to inflict my stupidity on others

nate

The Reverend Natural Light wrote:
I've driven everything you could ever think of in the snow and the
absolute best was a Jeep Grand Cherokee with full time 4wd and a new
set of Wrangler AT/S tires. A pickup truck isn't balanced as well as
an SUV.

But, to answer your question, I'd take the 4wd truck over the little
front wheel drive car.

I like what Eric in North TX says: You either can or you can't. I
used to drive tow trucks for a living and I can't remember how many
times I'd get called to a car stuck in the snow, show up, and just
drive it out of the hole it was in. If that didn't work, 5 minutes
with a shovel and it'd come right out. I'd charge $75 without even
pulling out a winch cable.

Of course, I get to drive a Corvette home tonight in 4" of snow so if
this is my last post to this newsgroup then you can discount what I
just said.


-rev



On Feb 6, 3:14 pm, Windswept@home (Jack) wrote:

I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.





--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

On Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:14:29 GMT, Windswept@home (Jack) wrote:

I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

Four inches ? That's nothing. A pickup truck with good tires can
handle that easily. In my opinion spending the extra money on
4WD is a waste of money if all you are concerned with is 4".

As far as your question. Neither front wheel drive or 4WD is needed
for four inches of snow. Bump the scenario up to eight inches and the
4WD easily outperforms the front wheel drive.

One factor that is often ignored is the weight of the vehicle. If you
are going to get stuck, and this will happen, it is best to get stuck
with a light vehicle. Many times I have pushed myself out of a
situation whereas this wouldn't be possible with a heavier vehicle.

Worst to best:

1.Anything with bald tires
2.Pickup (empty)
3.Rear drive front engine car
4.Front drive
5.Rear engine rear drive
6.4WD

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

You never drove a Corvair, a Sunbeam Imp or an original VW Beetle.

No, I missed all of those! I regret missing the Imp though.

"Toller" wrote in message
...

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

You never drove a Corvair, a Sunbeam Imp or an original VW Beetle.

No, I missed all of those! I regret missing the Imp though.
Beetles were great in the snow, but if they were over a couple years old,
you had to drive with your head out the window to see, since the tubes that
fed the minimal heat to the windshield rotted out rapidly. Once the pan
started rotting as well, you could count on getting wet driving through
puddles.

aem sends...

"Jack" wrote
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

Jack,

I've owned 4wd's since 1975, I think I'm on my 8th one. IMHO, 4 wd is
over-rated for the average person. I worked construction for a long time, 4
wd was almost a must, if you wanted to get close to the job site, plus you
pretty much needed a p/u to haul tools/ladders.

I plow snow for ODOT, in the Northeast. I'm always on expressways. I
believe most accidents and roll-overs I see or have to radio in are SUV's
or a 4 wd of kind. I don't have any statistics, nor do I know where to find
them. But, I truly believe most people with a 4wd believe they're driving a
tank. A 4 wd is great for starting out in the snow, they can be an asset
going around curves, the thing is with a 4 wd, you have to use the
accelerator to pull the vehicle through the curve. Most people hit the
brakes on curves, which a 4 wd doesn't stop any better than a 2 wd.

No matter what you drive, always drive for the conditions. Too many people
think just because there is a 65 (or ?) mph limit in areas, that you can
and should drive it.

Don't become a statistic.

wrote in message

Four inches ? That's nothing. A pickup truck with good tires can
handle that easily. In my opinion spending the extra money on
4WD is a waste of money if all you are concerned with is 4".

As far as your question. Neither front wheel drive or 4WD is needed
for four inches of snow.


Spoken like a man from the flatlands.

Although I manage with a RWD.

Bob

wrote:
"Toller" wrote in message
...

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard
that they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming
that there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that
all other things are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a
compact car with front wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD
engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

You never drove a Corvair, a Sunbeam Imp or an original VW
Beetle.
No, I missed all of those! I regret missing the Imp though.
Beetles were great in the snow, but if they were over a couple years
old, you had to drive with your head out the window to see, since the
tubes that fed the minimal heat to the windshield rotted out rapidly.
Once the pan started rotting as well, you could count on getting wet
driving through puddles.

I always heard that, but after 180,000 miles and 16 years, I still had
my original heater boxes and not problems. I had replaced a few mufflers
however and the floor was rotting through in the back. I live in Ohio where
snow and salt are standard fare.


aem sends...

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Toller wrote:


"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow. pickups are
particularly bad because they don't have much weight over the drive
wheels. But put it in 4wd and everything changes; ought to be much better
than front wheel drive cars.
And truck tires tend to have coarser tread than cars, which should help
also.

Only if you never learned to drive. I've driven 2wd trucks in plenty of
snow and can go better in them than a front wheel drive any day.

On Feb 6, 8:55 pm, Eugene wrote:
Toller wrote:

"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow. pickups are
particularly bad because they don't have much weight over the drive
wheels. But put it in 4wd and everything changes; ought to be much better
than front wheel drive cars.
And truck tires tend to have coarser tread than cars, which should help
also.

Only if you never learned to drive. I've driven 2wd trucks in plenty of
snow and can go better in them than a front wheel drive any day.


We got five or six inches of new snow here in SW Ohio tonight. My '87
F150 did fine in it. No one seems to mention transmissions as a factor
in traction. Mine is a 4 speed. Open differential. Consequently, using
the engine to brake and staying in the highest gear possible make
stopping and starting a breeze compared to most FWD automatics I've
driven. Deep lug tires help too. But it's really all about two things.
1) Driving skill. 2) Knowing the capabilities of your vehicle and
staying within it's limits.

Toller wrote:

"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...

I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.


All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

Nonsense. Some clever marketing folks came up with that in the hope of
selling front-wheel drive cars, and it worked -- a gullible public
accepted it as true.

pickups are
particularly bad because they don't have much weight over the drive wheels.
But put it in 4wd and everything changes; ought to be much better than front
wheel drive cars.
And truck tires tend to have coarser tread than cars, which should help
also.




--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 17:11:14 -0800, "Bob F"
wrote:


wrote in message

Four inches ? That's nothing. A pickup truck with good tires can
handle that easily. In my opinion spending the extra money on
4WD is a waste of money if all you are concerned with is 4".

As far as your question. Neither front wheel drive or 4WD is needed
for four inches of snow.


Spoken like a man from the flatlands.

This is true. If you throw a lot of inclines into the equation then
you are much better off with a 4wd.

Front wheel drive car up to 6". Deeper than that, i'd take the 4x4.

--
Steve Barker



"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

"Moe" wrote in message
...

"Jack" wrote
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

Jack,

I've owned 4wd's since 1975, I think I'm on my 8th one. IMHO, 4 wd is
over-rated for the average person. I worked construction for a long time,
4
wd was almost a must, if you wanted to get close to the job site, plus you
pretty much needed a p/u to haul tools/ladders.

I plow snow for ODOT, in the Northeast. I'm always on expressways. I
believe most accidents and roll-overs I see or have to radio in are SUV's
or a 4 wd of kind. I don't have any statistics, nor do I know where to
find
them. But, I truly believe most people with a 4wd believe they're driving
a
tank. A 4 wd is great for starting out in the snow, they can be an asset
going around curves, the thing is with a 4 wd, you have to use the
accelerator to pull the vehicle through the curve. Most people hit the
brakes on curves, which a 4 wd doesn't stop any better than a 2 wd.

No matter what you drive, always drive for the conditions. Too many people
think just because there is a 65 (or ?) mph limit in areas, that you can
and should drive it.

Don't become a statistic.

Yep. 4 wheels just makes you think you have more traction than you do.
When it comes time to stop, you find out.

Bob

In article ,
Jack Windswept@home wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

IME there's a noticeable difference between 1" and 4" of snow as far
as driving in it goes. At 1" most any vehicle will have little problem
(Snow, not ice) At 4 or 5 inches, depending on consistency of the snow,
some vehicles will have trouble. My old 3/4 ton 2WD pickup did not have
the greatest traction compared to our tiny Ford Aspire, but when the snow
is more than about 6" or so and sloppy, the limited ground
clearance of the car lets it to just sink into the snow and get stuck.
On the other hand, the pickup, having 16 1/2" rims, large tires, and
about 15" of ground clearance, could usually be coaxed to move with
a little finesse. FWIW that truck had a posi rear axle too. Anyway,
to answer your question more directly, if it was less than 4" of snow
the FWD car would probably be superior to a 2wd pickup.
--
No dumb questions, just dumb answers.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf.lonestar.org

On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 17:25:36 -0500, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

You never drove a Corvair, a Sunbeam Imp or an original VW Beetle.

Ah memories. I had a 1960 Corvair and drove it up hill thru mud so
deep you wouldn't want to walk thru it. And thru flooded streets were
the water was about to come over the door sill. They were
unstoppable.



Actually many rear wheel drive front engine cars did very well. I
remember one winter my car was in the shop after a Greyhound bus hit it and
I had to rent. I had a Pinto (got stuck with half and inch of snow) and a
Toyota that did quite will with six or more inches of snow.

Today's trucks are all over the place with the why they handle in snow.
Some are good and some terrible.

Jack wrote:
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.
Hi,
4WD is only on snow. If you use it on pavement it can be damaged easy.
Even 4X2 PU trucks will do OK with some weight on the cargo bed. Could
use some sand bags.

Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 17:25:36 -0500, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard
that they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged.
Assuming that there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that
all other things are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a
compact car with front wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD
engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

You never drove a Corvair, a Sunbeam Imp or an original VW Beetle.

Ah memories. I had a 1960 Corvair and drove it up hill thru mud so
deep you wouldn't want to walk thru it. And thru flooded streets were
the water was about to come over the door sill. They were
unstoppable.

We had a 1961. I was driving my father to work once when the front end
floated up but the wheel still worked as rudders and got us through.




Actually many rear wheel drive front engine cars did very well. I
remember one winter my car was in the shop after a Greyhound bus hit
it and I had to rent. I had a Pinto (got stuck with half and inch
of snow) and a Toyota that did quite will with six or more inches of
snow.

Today's trucks are all over the place with the why they handle in
snow. Some are good and some terrible.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

wrote:
No, I missed all of those! I regret missing the Imp though.
Beetles were great in the snow, but if they were over a couple years
old, you had to drive with your head out the window to see, since the
tubes that fed the minimal heat to the windshield rotted out rapidly.
Once the pan started rotting as well, you could count on getting wet
driving through puddles.


"Ever wonder how the guy who drives the snowplow GETS to the snowplow?"

A truck with weight in the bed (sandbags or whatever) will get better
traction.

4 wheel drive will get better traction than 2 wheel drive.

Limited slip "Positraction" will get better traction. This makes both wheels
turn even when one wheel is slipping.

Traction tires or snow tires will get better traction. (Studded tires will
get better traction on ice, but they can still slide on hills!)

And then there is something about a Jeep... For some reason these tend to
get better traction than a pick-up. I've seen them in pulling contests in
mud. They seem to do better, but I have no idea why?

Until they ran out of oil.

--
Steve Barker



"Ashton Crusher" wrote in message
...
Ah memories. I had a 1960 Corvair and drove it up hill thru mud so
deep you wouldn't want to walk thru it. And thru flooded streets were
the water was about to come over the door sill. They were
unstoppable.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message news:45c9d3c7
Ah memories. I had a 1960 Corvair and drove it up hill thru mud so
deep you wouldn't want to walk thru it. And thru flooded streets were
the water was about to come over the door sill. They were
unstoppable.

We had a 1961. I was driving my father to work once when the front end
floated up but the wheel still worked as rudders and got us through.

LOL. There's an image.

Bob

On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 02:20:42 GMT, CJT wrote:

Toller wrote:

"Jack" Windswept@home wrote in message
...

I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.


All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow.

Nonsense. Some clever marketing folks came up with that in the hope of
selling front-wheel drive cars, and it worked -- a gullible public
accepted it as true.


Part of the problem is that the instincts that you learn
for handling a rear-wheel drive car in snow are wrong
for a front-wheel drive vehical.

The trouble with rear-wheel drive is that it
doesn't often come with rear-wheel steering.
So you can go, but you don't get to pick where.

The trouble with 4WD is that it convinces
people to be stupid.

Because the tinny little pos's don't weigh anything. And they have better
front to rear balance, and they have a short wheel base.

--
Steve Barker



"Bill" wrote in message
...
A truck with weight in the bed (sandbags or whatever) will get better
traction.

4 wheel drive will get better traction than 2 wheel drive.

Limited slip "Positraction" will get better traction. This makes both
wheels turn even when one wheel is slipping.

Traction tires or snow tires will get better traction. (Studded tires will
get better traction on ice, but they can still slide on hills!)

And then there is something about a Jeep... For some reason these tend to
get better traction than a pick-up. I've seen them in pulling contests in
mud. They seem to do better, but I have no idea why?

On Feb 7, 12:54 am, Ashton Crusher wrote:

Ah memories. I had a 1960 Corvair and drove it up hill thru mud so
deep you wouldn't want to walk thru it. And thru flooded streets were
the water was about to come over the door sill. They were
unstoppable.

Yeah, I had a string of them in the early 70s. It was sort of like
driving a snowmobile.

Eugene writes:
Toller wrote:
"Jack" Windswept@home wrote
I've no experience driving a pickup truck in snow but have heard that
they provide terrible traction unless 4-WD is engaged. Assuming that
there are from 1" to 4" of snow, and assuming that all other things
are equal, e.g., tire tread, would you use a compact car with front
wheel drive, or a pickup with 4 WD engaged?? Thanks.

All rear wheel drive vehicles are terrible in snow. pickups are
particularly bad because they don't have much weight over the drive
wheels. But put it in 4wd and everything changes; ought to be much better
than front wheel drive cars.
And truck tires tend to have coarser tread than cars, which should help
also.

Only if you never learned to drive. I've driven 2wd trucks in plenty of
snow and can go better in them than a front wheel drive any day.

Amen, brother! I ran around in the mountains of Colorado
in my father's 2WD 1950-something International pickup
with no great problems.

Now try getting through some deeper snow in a 4WD with
one of the front wheel hubs disengaged...