Winter driving w/TC
I am no stranger to winter driving. We ski and I drive a lot in nasty/icy conditions. However, we usually don’t take the TC skiing until the shoulder season (late Feb/early March) when day time temps ...
Forum Discussion
I understand what you are saying about crashing with the TC. There is potential for a lot more expensive damage to be done than with the truck alone. I think about this every time I head out in the winter.
I know you understand all the physics of driving during the winter, like a TC will increase your traction for accelerating away from a stop or going up a hill but the trade-off is increased stopping distance and the tendency to continue in a straight line through a corner and off into a ditch.
I much prefer driving my DRW truck in the winter with the camper loaded but like Desertboy wrote, I slow way down, increase following distance and drive in a much more defensive mode than other times of the year.
Back in the 90's I had a friend with a TC who would leave it on all year. We took his truck to go snowmobiling one day and drove up a long steep grade in about 8" of fresh snow to get to the sno-park on top of the pass. While we were turning around in the sno-park we got too close to the shoulder and got stuck. I got out to survey the situation and noticed only his rear wheels were turning. We had driven all the way up the mountain in 2 wheel drive because his TC provided so much traction to the rear wheels we didn't even think to put it in 4x4 until we got stuck in the parking lot.
Yes the thought of crashing is scary and the damage can be very expensive however I don't let that stop me from enjoying life. Winter last's for way too long out here in Idaho that I won't sit on the couch for 4-5 months and miss out on all the fun to be had with my TC during that time. Accidents and crashes are an inevitable part of life and the likelihood does increase with adverse weather conditions. All I can recommend is to make sure your insurance is paid up and go enjoy all that winter has to offer.
I know you understand all the physics of driving during the winter, like a TC will increase your traction for accelerating away from a stop or going up a hill but the trade-off is increased stopping distance and the tendency to continue in a straight line through a corner and off into a ditch.
I much prefer driving my DRW truck in the winter with the camper loaded but like Desertboy wrote, I slow way down, increase following distance and drive in a much more defensive mode than other times of the year.
Back in the 90's I had a friend with a TC who would leave it on all year. We took his truck to go snowmobiling one day and drove up a long steep grade in about 8" of fresh snow to get to the sno-park on top of the pass. While we were turning around in the sno-park we got too close to the shoulder and got stuck. I got out to survey the situation and noticed only his rear wheels were turning. We had driven all the way up the mountain in 2 wheel drive because his TC provided so much traction to the rear wheels we didn't even think to put it in 4x4 until we got stuck in the parking lot.
Yes the thought of crashing is scary and the damage can be very expensive however I don't let that stop me from enjoying life. Winter last's for way too long out here in Idaho that I won't sit on the couch for 4-5 months and miss out on all the fun to be had with my TC during that time. Accidents and crashes are an inevitable part of life and the likelihood does increase with adverse weather conditions. All I can recommend is to make sure your insurance is paid up and go enjoy all that winter has to offer.
