Snow - Simple question

Iv'e been driving this CJ for a long time - but the recent snow and ice combination has once again raised the question....

What's the best way to get traction to the rear wheels? Is there a better alternative to sandbags?

Great traction to the front, pulling around corners, but the rear slides.

Thanks

 

i dont use sand bags, i use dog food (40lb bags of the biggest kibbles you can find)....that way it provides weight, i can use it to dump behind the wheels if they get stuck in the snow, and critters can eat it afterwards

are chains legal?

other than chains, weight is the only thing that will help

 

pea gavel is cheap and readily available for free in the evening hours. Works good for getting unstuck too. Do not eat.

 

That was my thinking - just looking for something that took up less room....

I had passengers in the back seat last night and had to off-load the sand.

A little inconvenient, not to mention the lack of ballast after dropping off the passengers.

Thanks

 

Some 2x4 steel bars. They don't take up a lot of space and they would weigh enough for some balast.

 

Mike that was one thing I thought of after I posted that. Trust me those bars even a foot long weigh a good bit.

 

Add the weight to a bracket on a reciever hitch (like the tractor pullers) I also use those kitty litter plastic jugs filled with tailings from the mines, it's granite, very heavy and sharp best I've found so far. I tie the handle to the bar! I also just use 2wd unless I have to use 4, I think the biggest thing is to buy yet another set of tires, tall skinny SNOW tires, they really work, like nokia (sp)!!!

 

I think tire pressrue helps quite abit also, air down to the lowest ( and safest) pressure you can for the wieght you are hauling. Most cj's do not need anywhere close to the tire pressure listed on the side of the tire. That pressure is for max load. I only run around 15psi in my 32-10.50 BFG tires. And I think I could go lower for snow/city driving. With the lower pressure you will be amazed at the increase in traction.

 

I read if you have bead locks and air down to 5 psi or something, you simply don't get stuck...in anything

 

All great suggestions....

Thanks

 

I would have to disagree on tire pressure going that low. IT may be OK for straight ahead traction or getting un-stuck but driving around a corner at 35 mph would be very dangerous. If you have an OBA setup then you can refill the tires.

Good snow tires would be the best bet. I run the light truck equivalent of Blizzaks on my wifes jeep but I still run 33 X 12.5 AT's all winter when I'm plowing snow on my 76 CJ5. As for rear weight I have a 4" ship channel bumper with 2 ea. 5 gallon jerry cans and a spare mounted on the rear.

A locker in the rear was horrible when you carrying 700 lbs of snowplow on the front. An open diff worked better because if one wheel lost traction the other wheel more or less rolled along providing some directional stability.

A lot depends realy were your driving in the snow. If it's off road or on road you will need different setup. Still tall narrow tires seem to be the best all round snow tire. So why d I run 33X12.5's? Well when plowing on lots that have a lot of icy puddles, I found that putting as much rubber rubber as you can on ice helps a lot. The wide tires seem to find some traction by spanning wide enough over the ruts narrow tires leave and fill with ice.

Must fun I had was pulling my cousins F350 quad cab off an icey lot with my little CJ. I pulled backwards of course with the added weight of the plow adding traction.

 

My vote would be for the skinny, studded snow tires. For adding weight, Id fab up a 2" x 4" tube steel bumper with removable end caps. In the winter, slide in lead " blocks " sized to fit the ID of the tube. Might give you enough weight to make a difference.

 

I agree that tire has a lot to do with it. Siping really makes the biggest difference. I unlike many prefer the lockers front and rear in my plow jeep. I am half as likely to spin a tire than someone with an open diff. I ran 33X12.50 pro comp mud terrains last year, but I sold those tires. This year I am going to run my swampers and that has me very concerned.

 

Yes, lockers when plowing will be great but on the road I can't stand them. Maybe the answer would be switchable lockers.

 

What is the issue that people have with lockers, power locks or whatever on the road? I don't see where it has that adverse of an impact. Unless your tires are missmatched or something it shouldn't jerk back and forth. If the issue is sliding sidways when the tires spin with the locker your less likely to spin the tires in the first place.

Nothing I hate worse than to watch my wife drive out of a parking spot right beside me in her Grand Prix while I sit there and spin one tire. I am pretty happy with winter driving and some form of locking diff.

 

I agree on the lockers being a little scary on the road, Can't beat them off road! They are more for very low speed driving. I also agree on a winter tire or siping, the blizzaks turn my wifes all wheel drive audi A4 into an incredible snow vehicle, and I sipe my year around tires on my truck. I mentioned the air down because I thought you might be looking for something temporary for the snow.
Last night I saw a jeep wrangler fooling around and slid into a curb on the snow sideways and broke both his left side wheels, pretty cool! Maybe his dad should buy him some snow tires/wheels!R)

 

my experience has tought me that driver skill is 85%, 10% is the vehicle and 5% is luck.