Yesterday, I drove 40 miles on I-90 in the worst snow storm I ever experienced. There was thunder and lightning accompanying the most intense snowfall I've ever seen in my 54 years. At times I could only see maybe 100 yards in front of me. An absolute whiteout, not with blowing snow, but actual falling snowflakes. I had sucessfully negotiated 38 miles of the interstate driving home from work, and was only 2 miles from my exit when the traffic came to a grinding halt. A number of big rigs were stuck on a series of hills and were partially jack knifed. Among them were numerous cars that had become stuck in the 10 inches of fresh powdery dump that the plows hadn't touched. I sat there for at least 30 minutes comtemplating the possibility of going around them on the grassy section alondside of the road. Taking I-90 everyday, I am very familiar with the terrain alongside of the "MassPike" as it's known out here, so after a quick recon, I decided to give it a go. The truck performed amazingly well in 4 LO, and I pushed thru the plowed berm and into the deep snow on the other side. I'm sure there were comments like "Look at that idiot!" coming from the drivers stuck on the roadway, but I negotiated around the last semi, and made it back onto the roadway with a nose full of to snow for the effort. The diesel's seemingly endless torque was just incredible, and it never felt like it was giving up; just kept pulling. I made it home with enough light to clear the 14" which had fallen in my driveway. I might add that my road had not yet been plowed and I climbed nearly 300 feet to my house in less than a mile. Again it ran flawlessly this time in 4 HI.

 

Diesels are great in 4x4 in the snow. Snow isnt like mud. You need weight in snow, and diesels(our CTD's especially) have that. You dont want a tacoma in the snow. It would do great in the mud, but snow, they just wont go near as good. Its always fun stopping to pull people out of the ditch in the big snow storms

Eric

 

Yesterday was my first time driving the Cummins in the snow. Having a stick again is really nice, especially going down hill to a stop sign.

I DID miss a chance to pull my bro-in-law out of a situation, though. He bought his 05 Brand C soon after I got the Cummins in May. 2500 extended cab 4x4, basicly like mine except a gasser and auto. He also bought a plow and was pushing the snow way back off his driveway when he went where his above ground pool used to be. His front end, plow and all of course, sunk. It took him an hour to get it out. I can't wait to see his lawn in the spring.

If anyone near north central MA, and has something they need buried like an old feline, or maybe a tank, I think I know a spot.

 

Great story, the best decision when 4 wheeling is to put it in 4x4 BEFORE you need it. Good call on the 4L too! Most guys never use that range. As soon as I'm off road I use 4L.

 

The diesels are great in 4x4 in the snow, but if you get her stuck, that extra wieght from the motor can cause getting it unstuck to be more difficult. I always carry a tow strap and a chain with me in the winter time to pull all of the drivers out of the ditch. A buddy of mine gives me crap, "why you got all that horse power and torque? So you can pull your girlfriend out of the ditch"

 

My '99 RWD dually is like an animal in the snow too.

Kinda like one of those otters that slide around on the ice and snow in those nature films.

New rubber on the rear and WEIGHT in the bed helps some.
Turning the Comp down to Level 1 helps some too.

Taking Wifey's Landcruiser on real bad days is the safest bet.
Then the other drivers will run into HER truck instead of mine on the commute. SHHHHH

don't tell her.......

 

That's a real nice thing to say.

 

Mine too. Had the first snow of the year the other day (only around an inch) but I decided that 1-wheel-drive on 25% tires with warped rotors wasn't a real wise choice so I took the car. Better safe than sorry.