Just curious if its ok to pull someone out of snow in 4wd high or do I have to be in 4wd low. How do you guys do it?

 

I personally would do it it in 4lo. Why put extra strain on the transmission.

 

use gearing.. NOT slippage of transmission torque converter.. (major heat)

Low. 4x4.... if manual hubs.. lock them.

do it correctly, your truck will thank you. by living longer.

 

Depends on the job. If you just trying to move a car that is stuck on a snow covered street because of poor traction then a fullsize 4x4 truck will move it pretty easily in 4x4 high, but if that same car went off the road at speed and is now high and dry up on a snow bank then it's gonna take a lot more effort to move it. In that case you want 4-low and even then it will take a few good jerks to pull the car out unless the tow vehicle is on completely clear pavement.

 

One of the things you guys did not say is when pulling you want to pull from your rear going forward like driving down the road.


The reason for this is the ring & pinion are stronger going forward then backing up. But sometimes you have to do it backwards just go easy.
Dave ----

 

The "not pulling in reverse while in 4Lo" is a known problem for my half ton truck. It's a quick way to blow the front differential. I was hoping it wasn't also a problem in the Superduty. Any thoughts on that?

 

ANY differential , the ring and pinion is weaker in reverse that going forward, just because of the way the gears are cut. Pulling forward, the mating surfaces in the gears are more "vertical" and in reverse there is more "slope" to the mating surfaces. Hope I made this as clear as mud for you!!

http://www.proformance.com.au/single...OR-UPSIDE-DOWN

 

In general, I understand the ring and pinion issue. At least on the Titan that I currently drive the front differential housing is known to be rather weak and will break under stress. There is a video on Youtube of a guy in a Titan making other folks look bad on the sand dunes. He gets a little too c0cky and goes too far by driving up the sand dune in reverse. Boom! Differential parts are left all over the dune.

Given that the Superduty is a solid front axle I would expect the differential housing itself to be more reliable than one on an independent suspension front axle. Since the Superduty isn't a half ton truck I would also expect the front ring and pinion gears to be able to handle more stress.

Anyhow, it's good to know I still need to be careful about using reverse when in 4x4 mode.

 

Yup!! The Dana 60 up front is one hell of a good diff, and yup, it can handle a lot........BUT.....the superduty is a large, heavy rig that will dish out a lot, and when in 4L will put a tremendous amount of torque to the R&P; so it is still best to err on the side of caution!!!!

 

Biggest thing is pulling them out the way they went in. A lot less forces working. Mud or snow, I have used high and low. Just depends on how deep they are buried, and how far I they are.

 

Quite right.

If you can have the vehicle being extracted, applying enough power to turn the wheels, but NOT spin, it is easier to walk it out in snow. Spinning the wheels just settles it further down into the snow, and creates more drag.

If you have to extract the stuck vehicle by pulling them uphill (commonly they drove down into a ditch), and they are usually now sitting in their own wheel ruts from trying to back out on their own, sometimes it can help if you can move them forward (further downhill) a foot or two, so you have some momentum pulling them out, before their wheels drop in the ruts again. It is always helpful to begin by digging out the snow in front and behind all four wheels of the stuck vehicle, so you can get them moving initially, then KEEP moving. If the underside of the stuck vehicle is hung up on heavy/wet snow, dig out as much of that as you can. It can cause damage to linkages/exhaust parts/wiring when being pulled out.

 

Use nylon straps of adequate strength, rather than chains. Chains will break things.

 

That is smart Fuzz. But unless it is your job to pull them out, and nobody is endangered by leaving them where they are. Best to make a phone call for them and not risk your rig at all. Too many possible things to go wrong.

 

This works pretty good too if you have one.


Just put the truck in "N" and step on the brakes, chock a wheel