Deep Snow

Build projects, things that guys have come up with to make a Pinz better (or worse?) and aftermarket add-ons.
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bikmakr
United States of America
Posts: 102
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 1:18 pm
Location: Livermore, Ca. Minden, NV
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Deep Snow

Post by bikmakr »

I'm appealing to those with experience with their Pinzies (712M) in deep snow. I'm starting to noodle a new bumper design for effectiveness in deep snow. It's common for us to have 2-3 feet on the road with days before the plow gets to our house. In deep snow, is it preferable to "ski" up and over the snow or allow the front wheels to plow through and dig in? The reason for asking is that I could possibly incorporate this "skiing" surface into the bumper design. Thanks all.
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Jimm391730
United States of America
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Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:58 pm
Location: Idyllwild, CA

Re: Deep Snow

Post by Jimm391730 »

In deep snow, is it preferable to "ski" up and over the snow or allow the front wheels to plow through and dig in?
Having grown up and learned to drive in the "snow belt" of Michigan, IMHO there is nothing worse than getting high centered on snow. So I'd never want to "ski up" on it; I'd rather push it to the sides so the snow underneath is shallow enough for the tires to reach down to tractionable ground. At least then you can back up if you cannot continue forward.

Two feet of relatively dense snow is doable, with tire chains to increase the traction:
Image
And FYI, these are BF Goodrich ATs with chains. Since then, we've gotten Treadwright retreads with their "Kedgegrip" compound and haven't had to chain up in the four years we've had them (hadn't had quite as much snow, as well) but those tires do really well in snow and ice.

But many years ago a Denver owner said he was negotiating 3-4 feet of fresh powder that fell the night before, pushing snow with the windshield before forward motion stopped (then he'd backup, and bounce over the pile he made!). It all depends on they type of snow you get.
Jim M.
712W and 710M
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GenevaPinz
Switzerland
Posts: 520
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:00 pm
Location: near Perth, Scotland

Re: Deep Snow

Post by GenevaPinz »

Jimm391730 wrote:
In deep snow, is it preferable to "ski" up and over the snow or allow the front wheels to plow through and dig in?
Having grown up and learned to drive in the "snow belt" of Michigan, IMHO there is nothing worse than getting high centered on snow. So I'd never want to "ski up" on it; I'd rather push it to the sides so the snow underneath is shallow enough for the tires to reach down to tractionable ground. At least then you can back up if you cannot continue forward.
I agree. I've driven in snow, mostly in Scotland of all places, and in snow that was never as light and powdery as what you could get at higher altitudes like in the Rocky mountains, and never frozen enough that the truck could stay on top. Traction was never a real issue up to 20 inches of snow, with more than that it depends on other factors, mostly how much traction you can get underneath and incline (every degree of slope going uphill being an extra little challenge), with snow quality having a big influence as mentioned by Jim.

Eventually, I would get stuck in snow banks deep enough to stop the truck, and I've always gotten stuck going uphill, meaning that gravity working with me instead of against would help enough that I always managed to back out of it without any issue.

The sloped bottom of the Pinz's front provides less resistance than the flat bumper of -taking example on the other trucks present at the time- a Land Rover Defender, but it tends to prop the front wheels up above the snow and away from the solid ground underneath and therefore away from traction. Good snow chains (König Polar in my case) are quite an investment if you want to fit them on all axles, but they make a big difference (in my case over Cooper Discoverers STT). The Defenders closed most of the snow performance gap donning snow chains over Insa Turbo Special Track tires (the most aggressive tire allowed for road use in the UK), but the front locking differential and the extra inches of clearance still give my Pinz the edge, although not by much.

If there were ever conditions where the snow surface is hard enough that a 2-ton truck can stay on top of it, I would be worried that it gives under the truck after a few hundred yards and you can neither go forward nor back. Especially on a sunny day with the top melting slightly and basically becoming more of a trap for your truck as the day goes.
Jan

'72 Pinzgauer 710M
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TechMOGogy
Canada
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Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:39 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Deep Snow

Post by TechMOGogy »

Going over snow = tracks (like mattracks: https://www.mattracks.com/) think snowmobile!
Going through snow = truck with tall skinny tires or in our case skinny as we have the tall built into the truck. Fat tires are not going to help you in deep snow.
72 Pathfinder | 75 710M 2.7i | 96 350GDT Worker
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