After reading the first few posts I ran in 2wd for the second half of my day and there were 3 times specifically I would have preferred 4wd. Starting off from a red light uphill no matter how little gas I give it the tires spin. That's where it lacked the most traction. Once I was rolling it was fine. I've got 21k miles on the stock 275-65-20 michelins and am running 60psi in the rear right now. Maybe I need to drop to 50 psi and put some sand in the bed next time I know it is going to snow. I've got 600 pounds of sand I put in the bed for road trips to make the ride a little smoother. I can just use those bags for snow too.

 

I highly disagree, my Excursion spends 6 months locked in 4-high speeds over 100 mph at times no problems, same goes for my 91 f250 plow truck. Also run studded snow tires. You don't bind unless you turn sharp and so long as it's slick let it hop a little won't hurt a thing. I've watched more people go off the highway when changing lanes/passing because they decided to switch into 2wd rather then leave it in 4x4...absolutely stupid.

All vids locked in 4x4 high

 

Im in the same boat as Russ. I use 4wd all the time and never had an issue.

 

Driving in snow takes some practice.The biggest thing is to make no quick changes when driving if you can avoid it. Watch the slush on the road as the snow melts it will "pull" you.Use 4wd if the roads are snow covered. And only go as fast as you feel comfortable going if traffic backs up behind you just find a place to pull over and let them pass.If you do start to slide normally the worst thing you can do is slam the brakes on.

 

A lot of these trucks have an archaic manual transfer case that isn’t really suitable for driving on hard, drip surfaces Locke in four wheel drive.

More modern systems have an inter axle differential or viscous coupling that accommodates wheel speed differences encountered when turning, and are much more enjoyable to drive in snowy conditions.

My truck has a manual transfer case and I consciously shift between two and four, as conditions require. The old Expedition, my wife’s Cherokee, and even the ancient 90 Aerostar awd were much better winter vehicles than any of my trucks.

The biggest issue with these manual transfer cases (without and capability) is low speed maneuvers in 4wd. You don’t notice the binding on the highway, except for the substantial fuel economy hit while in 4wd.

 

Also, 4WD doesn't do much for you if your tires are not up to the task.

 

This is absolutely true. Driving in the snow was a lot more interesting on my 1/4 tread Michelins than my full tread mud terrains and the all terrains I have now.

 

x2. I would take a 2wd with good tires over a 4wd with slick tires any day. This is what the tires look like on my company truck. This snow is the first time I have had to put on chains in 11 years. Even in 4wd it is helpless right now. It goes like a tank with good tires.

 

The max loss I've ever seen with 3 different V10 Trucks over a 8 year period with hubs locked and t-case in 4x4 on the highway is 1 mpg, around town it's exactly the same as in 2wd. The biggest killer on MPG in the winter is idle/warm up time. Not a lot effects a V10 with aerodynamics of a brick I've found. It gets 8.5-9 city and 11-13 highway just about any way you slice it.

I agree tires make all the difference in the world! I run true dedicated snow tires on everything I own 6 months out of the year.

 

Holy crap those tires are toast. Even on clean dry pavement those things are dangerous. I wouldn't pull out of the parking lot with those.

My company just put a set of Blizzaks on my company 2wd work van, and I put 600 lbs of sand bags in the back. Made a huge improvement and I'm impressed with them so far on ice and snow. We'll see what they're like in deep snow (so far it's been light snow with mostly ice on the roads).

 

Budget freeze, no money for tires till after the first of the year. I am pretty sure they could have bought a couple of though for the amount of time I have wasted in the past two days installing and removing tire chains.

 

You are on the right track.

If your axle is binding and hopping, you probably don't need 4WD at that moment.

And you are on the right track with adding some weight to the back of the truck. I recommend bags of sand or salt. Cover them with a good tarp (wet and frozen sand and salt are not very useful except as ballast) and don't forget to carry a shovel.

Dry sand and salt are another traction aid either for you or the person stuck in front of you.

I said "probably" above because I need to use 4WD to get up to my mountain home in good dry conditions, and it does hop on one of the turns. And turning radius is maybe not the right description for these trucks, the distance is better described as an orbit.

The right tires also make a difference, and most M+S tires lose capability when about 1/2 worn.

I've learned to leave my hubs locked when moving around the mountain, switching in and out of 4WD as needed. Binding really is not a goo thing for the mechanical parts so keep that to a minimum.

 

This has been driving me nuts. I upgraded over the summer to a SD from a F150 SuperCrew. The F150 had ESOTF and a LS front end.

My SD is manual transfer case and the front hubs are labeled AUTO and ON. The owners manual is worthless. I assume that;

1. AUTO and 4H would put the front end in LS
2. ON and 4H would be fully locked (no LS)

Seems like I could wait for the ice and snow to start, but I figured someone already knew.

2nd question, if I install new Warn hubs they are OFF/ON. Does off = AUTO with the manual transfer case?

Thanks, everyone.

 

“off” does equal “auto”.


When you have 4wd engaged, the transfer case in the front turns the front axles.

If the front hubs aren’t locked into the axle, the front tires won’t have power to them (but the axle will be spinning).

If they’re set on “auto”, the hubs should automatically lock when you turn on the 4wd (hi or lo). Sometimes the auto system fails though, so you always have the option to get out and physically lock each of the front hubs.

I manually lock my hubs each winter and leave them locked until spring.

 

Jeez how much snow did you get that required 4wd to get moving? I throw my 4wd on anytime theres snow on the roads. Weve had some bad storms and no problem. 4wd with extra weight in back and newer tires...cutting butter.