Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Got stuck in snow. Rubicon better?

17K views 82 replies 51 participants last post by  Gotnojeep 
#1 ·
Managed to get my Jeep stuck recently and was a bit surprised.
Vehicle: 2012 Sahara Unlimited automatic with new 17" Cooper A/T3 tires
Conditions: 8" melting snow over mud and some gravel on 18-20% grade
No winch (currently). Called AAA to extract me.

Wondering whether a Rubicon with front and rear lockers would have allowed me to drive out? Or were my tires inadequate?

I am off road only rarely but I do a fair amount of longer distance trips in the Jeep pulling a travel trailer, so I'm reluctant to have aggressive off road tires mounted, and having two sets of wheels for the occasional off road excursion is impractical.

Trade for a new Rubicon? Add rear locker to the Sahara? Other?
 
#3 ·
I am off road only rarely
Scary thought right there, i'm sure this is the root cause of the problem here, and lockers won't fix that, guaranteed... :drinks:
 
#4 ·
Off road fun!!!

You have BLD and it is there in 2wd and 4wd Hi and 4wd low. While not lockers it is a feature that transfers power from the wheels that slip to the one(s) with grip...remember momentum in the circumstance you were in is key.

I was out playing in the snow-mud-huge puddle with ice and mud,immediately followed by a steep hill(slick grass mud combo)...I had one hell of a lot of fun playing in that...shift the TC into 4hi and the 2door Sahara seemed unstoppable. I had a big shit grin from ear to ear roaming around in that stuff.
 
#12 ·
Rubicon better!



True its tricky and pretty variable. I had no problems driving thru my unplowed street with 32" of snow last week, using only 4WD-HI. It was kind-of like those Jeep commercials, with powdery snow flying all around me.

It took almost a week afterward, though, for me to get out all the snow and ice that got packed into my bumper, back out. :D
 
#6 ·
For the terrain ( snow covered mud15-20% grade ) you described an a/t3 is the wrong tire for the job. I doubt lockers or anything other than a winch would have sufficed. Your tires instantly loaded up with crap and do not have the ability to self clean (sling) the mud out. Once packed with mud all the lockers in the world will not take you up a grade on snow. The two shots show you your tire compared to a type you needed for those conditions.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Managed to get my Jeep stuck recently and was a bit surprised.
Vehicle: 2012 Sahara Unlimited automatic with new 17" Cooper A/T3 tires
Conditions: 8" melting snow over mud and some gravel on 18-20% grade
No winch (currently). Called AAA to extract me.

Wondering whether a Rubicon with front and rear lockers would have allowed me to drive out? Or were my tires inadequate?

I am off road only rarely but I do a fair amount of longer distance trips in the Jeep pulling a travel trailer, so I'm reluctant to have aggressive off road tires mounted, and having two sets of wheels for the occasional off road excursion is impractical.

Trade for a new Rubicon? Add rear locker to the Sahara? Other?
Add some Boogers and ground up Dirty Baby Diapers and you would have a surface the vehicles from Blade Runner would have gotten stuck.
 
#9 ·
Even Rubis get stuck in the snow. Lockers would have helped but nobody can say whether it would be enough. Tires are a big part as well. IMHO a jeep with a winch is going to get you in and out of much more stuff than a Rubi with lockers and no winch. Eventually everyone gets stuck. So you need a plan.
 
#10 ·
" 18-20% grade"????

and you got AAA to go there?
 
#13 · (Edited)
I have gotten Rubicons stuck in snow multiple times.

Snow is tricky because it will depend on air temperature, humidity, how dry or wet the snow is, how deep the snow is under your tires, etc. You will see a snow covered trail and assume that it is the same depth everywhere; the thing is wind drift will make it 1 foot deep in one place and 4 feet deep in another. Once your Jeep is resting on its belly, it won't matter if you have lockers, LSD or not.

And I also found those OE Rubicon tires to be worthless in snow once you venture more than a few blocks from home.
 
#15 ·
I have gotten Rubicons stuck in snow multiple times.

Snow is tricky because it will depend on air temperature, humidity, how dry or wet the snow is, how deep the snow is under your tires, etc. You will see a snow covered trail and assume that it is the same depth everywhere; the thing is wind drift will make it 1 foot deep in one place and 4 feet deep in another. Once your Jeep is resting on its belly, it won't matter if you have lockers, LSD or not.

And I also found those OE Rubicon tires to be worthless in snow once you venture more than a few blocks from home.
Whew, I thought you were talking about Me Aldo! My Wife says I think everybody is talking about me, Very stressful at Football Games :)
 
#19 ·
Did you air-down?
AT3s aren't good in mud and slop but usually are very good in snow. I'd still want ST-Maxx as my do-all tire.
And when the going gets tough, the tough air-down.
Airing-down has gotten my FIAT around stuck Jeeps in snowstorms....
 
#21 ·
I'm having the inner debate thing about the next set:
265/75-16
255/85-16
285/75-16

32, 33, or fatter 33?
My Grown-up side says the 32 or 33. The Child Within wants the bigger heavier one.
Which way will peer pressure steer me?
 
#22 ·
Especially without a winch, it's always good to carry a shovel in the Jeep. Unless the Jeep flat out slides off the road into a large ditch, a shovel will get you out of many stucks in the snow. Chains are also good for icy or light snow conditions.

Also, as mentioned here, try letting some air out of the tires. Unless you are already hopelessly high centered, lower PSI in the tires puts more biting edges of the tread on the ground. While driving in snow and ice on road, I usually don't recommend airing down, if you start getting stuck this can be a last ditch effort. You can safely drive a short distance to a gas station with air with 8-10 PSI at lower speeds. Until you get really bitten by the Jeep bug and install on board air. :)
 
#24 ·
Explain how you were stuck. I drove in 30" on unplowed snow all day long in my X with the same tires in 285 75 16. They were superb in the snow. That being said, I got stuck less than 100 yards from my house on my way home. It had nothing to do with tire tread or lockers. I got high centered on a drift.
 
#26 ·
Getting a Rubicon to avoid getting stuck in 8" of snow is like the proverbial taking a bazooka to a knife fight. Well, except that you should always win a knife fight with a bazooka but you may just as well get stuck in 8" of snow in a Rubicon.

Seriously, take some cat litter or sand with you if that is a concern. Or get those emergency chains I linked to, you can only go 5 MPH or so and can't run extended times on them but they should get you unstuck. Or get wheel spacers and carry real chains with you.

You can get stuck with 4x4 and chains (don't ask) but it takes a hell of a lot more than 8". I earned my Stupid Merit Badge in North Idaho one winter learning that lesson. I had to pay an idiot tax to get my truck back, but the lesson was well worth it.
 
#50 · (Edited)
These chains have a small 5.5mm links, go on easy and work incredibly well on and off road. I've used them in 3'+ of snow off road and never stopped moving.
Significantly cheaper than a rubicon.
Damn straight! I mentioned using chains in snow several times and I get ignored too. Must be a California thing...

Here, the CHP requires chains even if you have 4WD...

Even the big boys use them...

.
 

Attachments

#32 ·
Nice to confirm my suspicion that locking diffs would not have made any difference over the limited-slip diff I have.

I should have mentioned, I guess, that I have years of experience with driving in snow, on road and off. I have become stuck in remote places and managed to get myself out over and over again, but that was all long ago and involved mostly CJs and a few pickups loaded with firewood and hours of shoveling and back-and-forth and shoveling and cussing and begging and even a bit of kitty litter.

The set up I have is really great drying on unplowed streets and roads. I've had not problems with these tires getting around in those hours before the plows arrive.

The recent experience was all about the steep grade, I think.

I had driven down into the woods behind my house to pick up some firewood I'd cut a week or so before. I was kind of having a blast, driving through drifts and over dead fall and never sliding a bit.

Then it came time to drive up the short but steep grade to my driveway.

I got a good run at it several times, but then started sliding backwards and at one point, had the thing turned about 60 degrees to the grade and heeling over like a sailboat in a gale. That was new for me. I managed to get it straightened out, then worked for an hour or so with a shovel, moving snow out and gravel in and making slow but steady progress until I reached the steepest section where I finally gave up.

I suspect had I been somewhere remote and needed to get out in order to make it to dinner, I'd have keep going and maybe gotten out. But maybe not.

The AAA guy parked in my driveway and we ran his winch cable the 80 feet down to my Wrangler and I was soon out, although not without some sideways sliding with just the slightest too much right pedal.

As far as other options, like if I had a winch, there really wasn't a large tree that I might have winched to if I had a winch. Would I have been able to park my pickup on the driveway and winched to that?

Attached is a picture of where I was when I gave up.
 

Attachments

#35 ·
Nice to confirm my suspicion that locking diffs would not have made any difference over the limited-slip diff I have.

I should have mentioned, I guess, that I have years of experience with driving in snow, on road and off. I have become stuck in remote places and managed to get myself out over and over again, but that was all long ago and involved mostly CJs and a few pickups loaded with firewood and hours of shoveling and back-and-forth and shoveling and cussing and begging and even a bit of kitty litter.

The set up I have is really great drying on unplowed streets and roads. I've had not problems with these tires getting around in those hours before the plows arrive.

The recent experience was all about the steep grade, I think.

I had driven down into the woods behind my house to pick up some firewood I'd cut a week or so before. I was kind of having a blast, driving through drifts and over dead fall and never sliding a bit.

Then it came time to drive up the short but steep grade to my driveway.

I got a good run at it several times, but then started sliding backwards and at one point, had the thing turned about 60 degrees to the grade and heeling over like a sailboat in a gale. That was new for me. I managed to get it straightened out, then worked for an hour or so with a shovel, moving snow out and gravel in and making slow but steady progress until I reached the steepest section where I finally gave up.

I suspect had I been somewhere remote and needed to get out in order to make it to dinner, I'd have keep going and maybe gotten out. But maybe not.

The AAA guy parked in my driveway and we ran his winch cable the 80 feet down to my Wrangler and I was soon out, although not without some sideways sliding with just the slightest too much right pedal.

As far as other options, like if I had a winch, there really wasn't a large tree that I might have winched to if I had a winch. Would I have been able to park my pickup on the driveway and winched to that?

Attached is a picture of where I was when I gave up.
Not to stir up debate but I believe the most accurate answer to the original question would have been - "Hard to tell".
It sounds very much like he was in quite a Shizzlestorm cocktail of muck.
His Tires would have been issue #1 after that "IF" he had a Rubicon and was in 4lo - Locked- with that slow creeping delivery of power AND great tires He may have (likely would have) gotten out of more than not having the Rubicon with it's mix of capability. Whether that really matters in the end - who knows. A winch or having some form of recovery (a Buddy in a Jeep) is the best way to ensure getting In and Out w/o a call to AAA.
 
#36 ·
Lockers are not the cure all for not getting stuck--everything gets stuck sooner or latter--would they help you get further--yes and maybe even helped in this situation but I can't really say in this situation. Tires do more for you then lockers however in this case it sounds like you had good tires in this situation. If you are basing your decision on a single case then you could be rushing in to a rash decision. If this has been the one time that they could have helped and you never use them again --is it really worth the cost? Personally I hate paying for something I would seldom if at all use. One winch out is far cheaper then a new vehicle.
 
#37 ·
I am a firm believer that the tires are the main consideration for snow driving. I started switching to the BFG KO and now KO2's several years ago in both our trucks and Rubicon. They are awesome. I know there are other good tires out there but I don't have enough years left to try them all so I am sticking with these. Here in northern Wyoming my wife and I drive in snow a lot, and pull many trailers. And yes I carry chains, shovels and a bucket of common sense also.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top