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Old 01-11-2022, 06:31 PM   #1
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Towing a 5.0 in snow and ICE.

Hey everyone:

Today, my wife instructed me that I will move the camper to our storage spot.

I don't mess with her when she gets that tone in her voice.

So I moved the 5.0 even thou our street has a solid 6 inches of snow and ice covering it. Not to mention a bunch of cars.

I tried to get out in 2WD. Nope! 4WD was a little better but the weight on the back end made the truck drive straight, even thou I was turning. Great tires too!

I thought I would get more traction with all that weight on the pin. No way.

The short drive was terrifying and sliding was way more prevalent than traction. Fortunately it was mostly safe and very short. Then I had dry pavement.

That's the last time for that for me. Or else I get chains all the way around, trailer included.

Terrifying.

Tim -out
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Old 01-11-2022, 06:37 PM   #2
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Certain things you can do but you shouldn’t do and towing on ice is one of them. I drove abut 100 yards of glare ice this afternoon with our Nissan Rogue. I took it pretty easy and had no problem but it reminded me that I do not enjoy it anymore. Easy does it for sure.
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Old 01-11-2022, 07:32 PM   #3
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I have pulled many different types of trailers all through the winter months and other than taking a bit more care I have never had troubles.

Just below freezing, fresh snow is the worst.

Just last week towed a heavy dump trailer to the dump full of renovation waste. Cold and lots of snow, but no troubles. A little slip here and there, but nothing of it the normal.

I bought a set of chains for my truck when new in 2015., but they never got used yet.

Mind you, something I have lived with all my life.

Picking up my 5.0TA from Escape.
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Old 01-11-2022, 08:33 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by UncleTim View Post
I tried to get out in 2WD. Nope! 4WD was a little better but the weight on the back end made the truck drive straight, even thou I was turning.
That's not "the weight in the back" - it's likely a crude 4WD system without a centre differential which forces the front and rear wheels to turn at the same speed, which is really only compatible with going straight forward.
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Old 01-11-2022, 09:07 PM   #5
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Just last week towed a heavy dump trailer to the dump full of renovation waste.
Jim, I had understood that you were Retiring.

You're not back-sliding on us are you?!?
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Old 01-11-2022, 09:46 PM   #6
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Your story reminded me of our delivery day experience.

We took delivery of our 5.0 last January in the midst of a winter storm with snow and freezing rain.

Not the kind of conditions I would have wanted for towing a new fifth wheel for the first time but the trailer handled very well on the snow covered roads. The 4 wheel drive, locking rear diff. and new winter tires on the tow vehicle all came in pretty handy that day as well.

I wouldn't want to tow in those conditions again any time soon but it's good to know that the rig can handle it.

All part of the adventure.
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Old 01-11-2022, 10:37 PM   #7
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Jim, I had understood that you were Retiring.



You're not back-sliding on us are you?!?
In June I sold the large project house I was doing and made a good chunk for my retirement fund. I am now doing a major reno on my forever home. Then I'm done...... I think. [emoji16]
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Old 01-12-2022, 09:22 AM   #8
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My biggest fear with towing in snow are ice is no anti-lock brakes on the trailer being towed, and when you do get on the binders you could jack knife.
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Old 01-12-2022, 10:12 AM   #9
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My biggest fear with towing in snow are ice is no anti-lock brakes on the trailer being towed, and when you do get on the binders you could jack knife.
After many thousands of stops with a trailer on ice and snow, jennifer has never happened. Maybe someone else has had this happen.

A few times where both units have slid some tough, but something I am always aware of possibly happening when towing.
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Old 01-12-2022, 11:08 AM   #10
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In 2019 my team took three engineering trucks to an area east of Pittsburgh. The day we we're scheduled to drive home, a winter storm was expected. We pulled out at 3:00AM trying to beat the storm home, but got into a heavy snowfall while still and hour east of Toledo.

I was driving a 6x2 tractor on super single tires. Basically worst case as I had one driven axle out of five carrying the load, and my tires were big wide things with terrible traction on snow.

I was crossing the Maumee river when I guy in a 4x4 Cherokee spun past me an hit the center divider. That trip was white knuckle all the way.

So yeah......when possible I don't like towing in snow. And I sure empathize with our nation's truck drivers that don't have a lot of choices to stay out of it.
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Old 01-12-2022, 11:12 AM   #11
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I've twice had people driving Jeeps spin out in my path. Got to anticipate that they will do something stupid.
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Old 01-12-2022, 11:21 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
That's not "the weight in the back" - it's likely a crude 4WD system without a centre differential which forces the front and rear wheels to turn at the same speed, which is really only compatible with going straight forward.
You know, I didn't engage the LSD (limited slip differential) system. I wonder if that would have helped? I just put it in 4WD and took off.

Good point.
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Old 01-12-2022, 12:12 PM   #13
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I've twice had people driving Jeeps spin out in my path. Got to anticipate that they will do something stupid.
It's interesting how different vehicles are accompanied by different reputations.

I learned to drive operating an old mid-sixties Jeep CJ-5 with no brakes on a cattle ranch in steep country where the roads were paved in a liberal mixture of silty clays and cow patties. As the Jeep did not have any brakes, I learned to double-clutch and to A-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-e-! what was going to happen next. I think this experience was part of why I became a defensive driver.

While it was an awesome vehicle, I disliked owning and driving the Audi Q-5 because of the common perception (which I share!) that a significant number of luxury car drivers are jerks, something that has apparently been upheld by one or more studies. That was one of many and more significant reasons why I replaced it with a Jeep Grand Cherokee instead of a Q-7 when we acquired the Escape 21.

So, I submit that the fact that I'm a jerk has nothing whatsoever to do with my choice of vehicle!
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Old 01-12-2022, 01:22 PM   #14
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I think it comes down to over-confidence in the the vehicle and one' own ability to drive in adverse conditions.
In the first case, the CJ passed me and swung back into my lane, kept going in that direction and side-swiped three parked cars. I was going slow enough to carefully pass him and the cars he hit.
In the second case the Jeep was heading down a slope to a right turn. I was approaching the same corner from the opposite direction. I just stopped and watched him do a 360 in the middle of the intersection.

Just because he could get going doesn't mean he could stop or turn.

And, I've never done a jennifer either.
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Old 01-12-2022, 02:26 PM   #15
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I think it comes down to over-confidence in the the vehicle and one' own ability to drive in adverse conditions.
Agree fully! I've done my share of highway driving in winter conditions (though none of it while towing). It seems that the majority of vehicles that end up in the ditch during/after a storm are 4wd SUVs and trucks. Some drivers only learn the lesson that a 4wd vehicle does not allow you break the laws of physics the expensive way......
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Old 01-12-2022, 03:29 PM   #16
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Agree fully! I've done my share of highway driving in winter conditions (though none of it while towing). It seems that the majority of vehicles that end up in the ditch during/after a storm are 4wd SUVs and trucks. Some drivers only learn the lesson that a 4wd vehicle does not allow you break the laws of physics the expensive way......
soccer moms in SUV's ...They want to show everyone they have 4 wd...usually doing 60 mph while the rest of the traffic is at 40 mph
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Old 01-12-2022, 06:28 PM   #17
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Quote:
Your story reminded me of our delivery day experience.

We took delivery of our 5.0 last January in the midst of a winter storm with snow and freezing rain.
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Come to think of it, we had a trace of the white stuff when we picked up our 21 in February of 2018.

That was practically the same time of year - maybe there's some sort of mysterious pattern going on here?!?!
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Old 01-19-2022, 10:29 AM   #18
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I have an F250 4 x 2. I don’t drive through snow and on ice. I carry chains to get unstuck in the event they become stuck. While driving back-and-forth to Florida from Chicago I have experienced heavy snows. I just get off the road, preferably at a motel, and wait. I wait until the parking lot is plowed; until the roads are plowed, and the temperature and traffic is high enough to melt the ice on the roads. I can actually drive fairly well on snow and ice, I just don’t think it’s worth it. Life is just too short to make it shorter or waste time recovering from an accident.

As an aside, I have a 4 x 2 because I don’t find a 4 x 4 very useful given my driving patterns. I don’t go charging over snow drifts; I don’t take it off road; I don’t tow a boat; etc. I can lock the rear wheels, which Seems to work in snow -At least well enough to get into motel parking lot.
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Old 01-19-2022, 10:29 AM   #19
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Towing on snow and ice

We’ve never had a problem. That being said, don’t overdrive. By that, I mean, don’t speed. The 5.0 tracks very well. Heavy snow packed roads are no problem. As far as glare ice, stay home! Nobody can drive on that. We have done winter camping and you best know how to drive on snow.
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Old 01-19-2022, 10:57 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
After many thousands of stops with a trailer on ice and snow, jennifer has never happened. Maybe someone else has had this happen.

A few times where both units have slid some tough, but something I am always aware of possibly happening when towing.
Growing up in freezing weather and having to haul construction or implement trailers taught us how to drive in those conditions. Keep plenty of space in front of you and don't overdrive the conditions.

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Originally Posted by UncleTim View Post
You know, I didn't engage the LSD .
Thank goodnesss those days are gone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Connie and John View Post
We’ve never had a problem. That being said, don’t overdrive. By that, I mean, don’t speed. The 5.0 tracks very well. Heavy snow packed roads are no problem. As far as glare ice, stay home! Nobody can drive on that. We have done winter camping and you best know how to drive on snow.
For 19 years we lived on Interstate 94 between Alexandria, MN and Fargo, ND. It always seemed 90% of the vehicles in the ditch were 4wd urban assault vehicles. The heavier the snow and ice the more assault vehicles.

The best ice vehicle we ever had was our 2003 Honda Odyssey with optional differential lock (?). It had just enough traction to keep us going, but not enough to be stupid. It was much better on ice than either of our recent F150's, even the 2019 with all-wheel drive. However, one time driving back to Ashby, MN from Des Moines on I35 in massive ice conditions we finally decided to get a motel in Mason City, not because we had issues with the Odyssey, but crazy drivers nearly hit us a couple of times. You can't fix stupid, but you can get off the road.

Enjoy,

Perry
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