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Old 01-27-2016, 12:20 PM   #21
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Or firewood. My cousin and my brother both acquired large sheets of plate steel which they affixed to the floor of the box on their two wheel drives. The both got around pretty good. That 3/8 plate weighs up. Best traction I ever got was with a pickup camper and Super all traction tires. Can't remember if they were Firesones or B.F. Goodrich. Great ice fishing rig. At my last job, it was a ten mile drive home, I saw the same 4 WD full size Chevy pickup in the ditch at the same place two Friday nights in a row. Who said" If I did not have bad luck, I would not have any luck at all?"
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Old 01-27-2016, 12:35 PM   #22
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Born Under a Bad Sign, written by Stax R&B singer William Bell, made popular by Cream(Eric Clapton).
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Old 01-27-2016, 12:37 PM   #23
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I do see a lot of vehicles in the ditch in our area. Most can be attributed to alcohol and not to any one type of vehicle .
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Old 01-27-2016, 01:03 PM   #24
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Well it was Friday night about 5:30 PM. Might have stopt off. As they say.
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Old 01-27-2016, 01:40 PM   #25
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I currently live (well except when I escape to Quartzsite) in the Lake Ontario snow belt. Average winter snowfall is between 150" & 200" (last winter was 196"). While I've driven both 2 wheel & 4 wheel drive vehicles, I've always gotten home with the 4 wheel drive; not so with the 2 wheel drive, even front wheel drive.

I agree that you tend to see more 4 wheel drive vehicles in the ditch, particularly during the first or second snow storm. Most of the time it is new users convinced that they will go anywhere (could be those pesky Jeep ads). Once they learn how to use their 4 wheel drive, they usually do better than 2 wheel, rear wheel drive vehicles, particularly pick up trucks. I'm not saying that one can't drive in snow with a 2 wheel rear drive; our fathers & grandfathers were doing it for years. Still, given my choice, it will be a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

By the way, I learned to drive on ice plowing a lake on a private estate. The owners wanted to skate so no chains, but it was a 4 wheel drive jeep. We often put it in 2 wheel drive to "play" (at least when the owner & supervisor weren't around). This was back when most vehicles were 2 wheel, rear drive. I learned a great deal about winter driving during that job!
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Old 01-27-2016, 01:48 PM   #26
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I remember my first truck, a two wheel drive with posi-traction or locking rear end. Put a set of chains on it and just point where you wanted to go. A lot of todays all wheel drive are really one front and opposite rear, my Subaru is like that. But you can still find locking 4 wheel drive vehicles, install 4 chains and you will be able to stop and go just about any place.
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Old 01-27-2016, 04:20 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
I remember my first truck, a two wheel drive with posi-traction or locking rear end. Put a set of chains on it and just point where you wanted to go. A lot of todays all wheel drive are really one front and opposite rear, my Subaru is like that. But you can still find locking 4 wheel drive vehicles, install 4 chains and you will be able to stop and go just about any place.
I think you voiced the most important part of this traction discussion - being able to 'stop'. 4WD certainly help you get going but not so with stopping. Probably most of those vehicles in the ditch are there because they spun out or could not stop, along with the expectation that the 4WD will do it all for you.

The best all around traction vehicles were the old VW Bugs from the 60's +/-. They could go anywhere a 4WD could go (except for where high clearance was required) and if they got suck you just got out, picked them up and moved them aside the ruts and off you went. The 4WD drives were left behind in the mud hole dragging out their winch cables.
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Old 01-27-2016, 04:40 PM   #28
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The old vehicles with skinny tires were known to traverse muddy roads...
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...BBF&FORM=VIRE1
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Old 01-27-2016, 04:51 PM   #29
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The best all around traction vehicles were the old VW Bugs from the 60's +/-. They could go anywhere a 4WD could go (except for where high clearance was required) and if they got suck you just got out, picked them up and moved them aside the ruts and off you went. The 4WD drives were left behind in the mud hole dragging out their winch cables.
This made me laugh remembering using my Bug to "plow" the long uphill driveway of a rural place we spent a winter in North Central Wisconsin. I'd hit the bottom of the drive at about 40 - 50 mph, go up as far as I could before the flat bottom eventually floated up on top of the deep snow. Then we'd push it back off the snow, I'd back down to the road and repeat the process until we had tire groves cut in all the way up.
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Old 01-27-2016, 04:57 PM   #30
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The old vehicles with skinny tires were known to traverse muddy roads...
This would work, at least for snow.
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Old 01-27-2016, 05:32 PM   #31
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Clearance, camping and primative motoring

The Mississippi River rally will be held very near the Lincoln Highway which is celebrating its one hundred year anniversary. If you have interest in early cross country driving, you might want to google Lincoln Highway Association. They have some great photo resources online. I have visited many Lincoln highway sites across the country and can give you some interesting insights if you are coming through Iowa on Highway 30 which follows quite a bit of the Lincoln Highway route. That early motoring with Model T's with necessary modifications fascinates me. I have a good friend who is one of the recognized experts in the United States on early Fords of all types. I'd be happy to introduce you if you'd like.
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Old 01-31-2016, 04:55 PM   #32
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1WD vs 4WD

As mentioned a few posts back, just talking about 2WD or 4WD vehicles does not address the real issue. Having lived in Vermont, Montana and Colorado before moving t Northern AZ I have owned numerous 4WD vehicles. I admit to getting suckered in to getting good and stuck on several occasions by trying to get my 4WD through unmaintained mountain dirt roads. I recall getting a Jeep Grand Cherokee wedged into a snow drift miles from civilization in Utah's Abajo Mountains. The right front and left rear wheels spun while the other 2 wheels did nothing. A lot of digging and finding dirt to put under the spinning tires finally got me out. So my 4WD was really a 2WD under duress! Same story on a lot of cars I managed to get stuck as a teenager ...2WD was really 1WD. When I bought my current F150, I decided 2WD was fine since I am now in Sedona, AZ where it snows infrequently and it usually does not last. I made sure to get the optional limited-slip axle, and with a topper on the back, I have been impressed with the traction. I have climbed some pretty steep hills on rough dirt roads by just creeping along and with both wheels doing their share of the work. I'd never get any vehicle again without some type of a locking differential. It really makes a difference.
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Old 01-31-2016, 05:07 PM   #33
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There are several types of 4 wheel and all wheel drives on the market today. In Jeeps there is select trac and command trac, one has the one front and one rear which you can use on dry payment and then there is the true 4 wheel drive, only to be used on wet roads since all wheels are in traction. Proper research will give you what you need. That said, a 2 wheel vehicle with locking rear end is very capable, particularly with chains for going and stopping.
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Old 01-31-2016, 06:49 PM   #34
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There are several types of 4 wheel and all wheel drives on the market today. In Jeeps there is select trac and command trac, one has the one front and one rear which you can use on dry payment and then there is the true 4 wheel drive, only to be used on wet roads since all wheels are in traction.
There are actually several more variations than that in the Jeep lineup, and multiple operating modes for some of the systems. I agree that it is not a simple matter of 4WD or not.

A recent round of discussion of drive systems (including listing Jeep systems) was in the middle of Why not buy an old tow vehicle - try starting around post #62.
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