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Old 06-28-2017, 03:33 PM   #11
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Instead of spending money on lockers and such for snow and ice, get yourself a second set of true winter tires for the rig. Maybe even stud them. Most AT tires are very capable, but winter tires are far superior again. If I lived in the snow and drove my van in it every day, I would for sure go that route.

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Old 06-28-2017, 03:46 PM   #12
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I have been trying to figure this Snow stuff out as well. Since 95' I have had two 92 toyo p/u a t100 & currently have a 1st gen. Tundra. All stock with BFG A/Ts. All were very excellent in the snow. Tundra especially even with a FWC on the back! I pass like crazy on Wolf Creek Pass in southern Co. As soon as the roads got the slightest slick I would be in 4h. Have a E350 5.4 v8 @ Ujoint right now getting a coil. Looks like I'm getting a front axle with LSD with truetrac. But also getting a rear locker. This is the setup Chris recommended. Not sure if the rear has LSD? After reading through many forums this is the setup Agile&Ujoint prefered. But others like the locker up front. I plan on in snow conditions to just engage the 4H & go? Like in the Toyotas? Locker only for those tight stuck spots. I will be in the mtns half the time desert SW/Baja the other half. Would rather be sure footed in the snow for sure. I'm kinda just learning about all this for sure so hopefully someone could educate us both. Not sure how much time Agile/ujoint spend in the snow as well?
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Old 06-28-2017, 03:55 PM   #13
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Driving in snow is really about driving no faster than you are willing to crash.

All of these systems are just truck systems adapted for the vans. Not much more to it. It comes down to driving habits, tires, and chains if necessary. LS is helpful in snow and on ice.

But I boil it down to driving habits and tires. My Agile did fine in the snow and ice. But I slowed it way down, gave myself tons of time to stop, and just took it real easy. I also blew through some wet snow patches when I was out wheeling around, van did great.
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:24 PM   #14
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Us, e350, 4X4, ARB LOCKERS FR AND R: when driving in the snow slow and steady. As Flux says, '... no faster than you are willing to crash.' The lockers never entered our minds in the snow on the highway. Now, crawling around Anza Borrego or chunks of granite boulders in the back country/East Side of the Sierras, lockers Yes.
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:25 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flux View Post
Instead of spending money on lockers and such for snow and ice, get yourself a second set of true winter tires for the rig. Maybe even stud them. Most AT tires are very capable, but winter tires are far superior again. If I lived in the snow and drove my van in it every day, I would for sure go that route.
Yep. I will never need em but if I lived where it snows I would also most definitely have dedicated winter tires.

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Old 06-28-2017, 06:15 PM   #16
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Here's my two cents to the conversation. I live in the mountains of British Columbia. As such I do a lot of driving in the snow and the mountains. First of all, in my opinion, I agree with others comments that if you're planning on doing any significant driving in snow get a good quality set of snow tires. I run on studded winters and would never go without. My current rig has a factory L/S in the rear and an open diff in front. This IMO is the best configuration for driving in snow. With this set up I have never been concerned or worried. I have also never been stuck in the snow (Knock on wood). The biggest thing that you can do is to drive to the conditions.
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Old 06-28-2017, 06:26 PM   #17
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depark, open diff in front means 4x4 is engaged, but not locked correct? you can havae a arb locker in front and just not lock it and 4x4 is still working, mainly one tire is powered in front, correct?
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Old 06-28-2017, 07:41 PM   #18
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I drive in the snow a LOT in the winter as the Vanaconda is the primary skimobile. Usually once I get up to elevation is when I have to start worrying about road conditions. At that point, I'll get out and lock the hubs but leave it in 2WD unless I need 4WD, at which point I can just grip and rip on the T-case. Van doesn't like doing over about 45-50 with the hubs locked, so I only do that once I know there likely won't be any more high speed driving. I have factory limited slip in the back and an ARB up front that I have honestly never used other than to see if it actually works. I haven't tested any really steep grades in the winter in 4WD, but that comes down to tires, not whether or not you have a locker. The only time I got "stuck" was when I got into a pretty big drift/rut and 4-Hi just wasn't enough guts to get it moving. Put it in 4-Lo and off I went. I'm running the Toyo Open Country MT 37's for reference.
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Old 06-28-2017, 11:45 PM   #19
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Where I live it's 90% driving on pavement and 10% snow. I will say in most hard packed snow my van does well even in 2wd. Stopping also matters. Mud tires aren't the best in snow but even AT's can pack. If you need chains you need chains. It sucks when you're stopped and the van starts sliding sideways off an edge to who knows where.
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Old 06-29-2017, 07:36 AM   #20
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I will add another point to this, it's been long debated, with tons of differing opinions. I have learned that the key to this debate is that it not only depends on who you talk to, but what they drive and where. There is no best set up, it all depends.
That being said, and I could be wrong, keytothestone, I would think twice about running a limited slip type or truetrac in the front if you will be driving in any icy or snowy conditions and canyon, mountain or twisty roads. I have gathered that the problem with that set up, esp in our heavy vans, is that it engages more frequently and you will be constantly feeling it through the steering wheel. It also introduces added stress to the front end components and added tire wear when it binds up around turns. I would also make sure that rear end they're building has some sort of LSD, not just the locker.
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