Yay snow!!!

[hberdan]

The ice can't support the weight of the snow and sinks and water comes up making the snow in to slush. That make travel miserable or even impossible and slows down future ice production.

What about strapping some pontoons onto the T4WD? Make it amphibious!

[splatterdog]

Not a bad idea. Could do pontoon bumpers like the Suzuki Samurai's and Trackers like the resorts on Lake of the Woods use for early/late ice. I don't think I would go as far as the rubber flap for a driver door though..

Maybe just "great foam" every nook and cranny!

I definitely feel safer in the T4 vs the Burb on ice. Last year on the St. Croix river there was over 3 feet of ice. Where I was fishing there is a power plant and open water nearby. There were one ton trucks with wheelhouses within 100 feet of the open water. Even portable fish houses set up on the waters edge in the middle of the river! I still kept my ultralight car/gear twice as far from the open water as those crazies. If there wasn't a small city set up out there I wouldn't have been within a mile of it! There was still well over 2 feet of ice where I set up though.

[ARCHINSTL]

Three - FEET - of - ice ...
I simply cannot imagine it.
When does this thaw - in July?
It was 7° in STL this AM and maybe 5° tonight, but still...
Tom M.

[splatterdog]

Yep, 3 feet. One time on Lake of the Woods, the gas auger with extension(4ft.) didn't make it. Luckily it was only one spot. But all the other spots we tried, the powerhead was all the way down to the ice. Slush had to be carefully kicked away to keep it out of the carb intake.

I'm sure our friends even farther north have seen thicker.

[dlb]

i've been to lake of the woods a year and a bit ago for camping in the summer. beautiful place.

[Jarf]

hberdan - a TV 4WD is a TOYOTA VAN with 4WD. (87-89, 2.2L, 108hp, 5 spd trans and a 2 speed transfer case)

It is sorta like a jeep except it is reliable,has better traction, gets much better gas mileage, holds 7 people or 3/4 ton, is easier to work on, is a lot better looking and is WAY more fun to drive. Oh, and the seats fold down into a reasonably comfortable bed.

Had the Turtle out today and had a smile on my face the whole time, god that thing is a lot of fun.

[takza]

I recently found the limits of the T4WD in snow (AGAIN) trying to get thru a snow drift. Got into it just so far till the frame/floor pan rode up on the snow. Ended up having to dig the snow out from under the car by hand/arm and small trench shovel. Due to the clearance under there...that's about the only way you'll get one unstuck. Had to keep digging and punching till I saw daylight and the car would sit down on the tires. Didn't have my 2 hand winches and most tow straps...extra jacks, etc with me....wouldn't have helped cause there was nothing to winch on anyway. Snow had never seen above 32F temps...but was still packed some due to being old and near to 32F.

[Petros]

I had this same issue with the deep soft snow we got hear in dec 2008, had to clear out under the car twice. Makes me want to put in hydraulic lifts for those time when there is deep snow, water to cross, and mud. Than I can drive it around "normal" and raise it up when I have to go in deep.

[hberdan]

I recently found the limits of the T4WD in snow (AGAIN) trying to get thru a snow drift. Got into it just so far till the frame/floor pan rode up on the snow. Ended up having to dig the snow out from under the car by hand/arm and small trench shovel. Due to the clearance under there...that's about the only way you'll get one unstuck. Had to keep digging and punching till I saw daylight and the car would sit down on the tires. Didn't have my 2 hand winches and most tow straps...extra jacks, etc with me....wouldn't have helped cause there was nothing to winch on anyway. Snow had never seen above 32F temps...but was still packed some due to being old and near to 32F.

I've had the same experience, usually I have to wait for another vehicle to come by to help tow me out. I keep old climbing rope sections and carabiners for tow straps, plenty strong. Need a come-along winch in the thing for the winter, though.
If you really want a self winching kit for the winter, you would also need some kind of anchors to set and a way to set them, like several sections of 3 or 4' steel fence t-posts and a sledge hammer, and anchor slings. Drive em into the ground, sling em, and winch off the stakes. Properly done with the stakes equalized for the load, it is as strong as a good tree. Is it worth carrying all that crap around? Hard to say.

[takza]

I usually carry a "spiral augur" type anchor...but this won't work in frozen ground. Wonder what's the minimum fence post type stake that would be needed? Thinking maybe 4' and only one if placed right? Plus a short hand sledge? Put it in at about a 20-30* angle? I've got a 30' nylon tow strap...and maybe 25' of nylon strap that fell off a truck. Plus a chain and a thin 35' wire cable. Main thing is to have the stuff with you and first and foremost...don't get stuck.

[Petros]

strongest installation of a t-stake in the ground will be when it is 90 degrees to the direction of pull, at the max load. So give it say 5 degrees (for the spring back) over 90 degrees from the rope angle.

[Starbug]

I have snow this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Started falling about 7am when my boyfriend left for work, and now it's 9:35am and I have two inches of it (and growing!). YAY! My drive to work will now be AWESOME because I love driving in snow, although now I'd rather stay home and play in the snow instead. Stupid work.... LOL.

[Petros]

here in Arlington we only had a light dusting at our home (at about 500 feet AMSL), I had to drive to Everett this morning, they got a dump of 5-6" of wet snow. Everyone was sliding around, almost total grid lock on main roads, thanks to GPS I took back roads to my destination, passed a newer FWD corolla slipping and sliding around going up a hill, front wheels spinning. I just drove around him in 4wd (har, har,). I had to pick up the client I was meeting because his new honda accord could not handle it either (FWD and too heavy), we made it to the job site with minimal of slipping, despite many steep hills and lots of wet heavy snow. I will be sending him my bill for the day. would have not earned any money today otherwise, so this little inexpensive 4wd Tercel has more than paid for itself many times over. I will never be without one.

[Starbug]

The snow melted away in Redmond where I was working long before I got off work. But happily it was still snowing back home lastnight. So today I woke to 3 inches. Yay! And again I have to go to work instead of playing in it.... sigh.

I too will never be without one of these cars. I can't believe how good they are in 4wd; I pass all kinds of stuck vehicles without any trouble. During the last snowfall we had, I was going up a steep hill and had to come to a complete stop halfway up to wait for a van to finish slowly spinning out and crashing into a ditch. He slid all over the road during the process, so I didn't dare pass until he stopped moving. Then I just continued on up the hill as if I were on dry level pavement and not on snow-covered ice. Fortunately for the crashed van, this hill exits our neighborhood so he didn't have far to walk back home.

[LittleRed4wd]

Finally getting some snow outside of Boulder!