Best Offroad Snow Vehicle

[treillw]

What is the best vehicle setup for snow? I currently have an 04 Grand Cherokee and a 07 Chevy Silverado. The GC works well most of the time, but it's kind of on it's last leg and I'm sure there are better off road vehicles out there.

There are some forest service roads I've come across that are impassible to me when they are dry, but almost every road is impassible when you start adding a good bit of snow. What is the best way to get through it? Chaining up all four tires gets you the biggest advantage. Then the snow starts getting under the frame and the chains don't matter anymore. I guess getting bigger tires would give you more snow clearance. Any other ideas? A lot of the roads are already technical with rocks and washouts; adding snow just makes it worse.

I really like the 4 door wranglers and am considering getting one. I like the rubicons for their locking axles - seems like every time I get stuck I'm sitting there with one tire spinning like crazy. Do locking axles help you in the snow, or is this the total wrong application for them? I would think it would help and probably matters more than for typical use on dry trails, but I'm not certain.

How are the 4 door wranglers with loading kids into car seats?

Any other vehicles worth considering?

Thanks!

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Not sure if this helps, but if there is a lot of snow on the roads, I dont risk it and I just take the 4 wheeler up and park the truck low where I can get out. I can move the wheeler around myself. If the snow is deep, there isn't a vehicle/tire combo that will get you thru it. Unless it has tracks and you can ride on top of it.

 

[Vandy321]

80/100 series landcruiser or lexus...absolute tanks.

 

[roosiebull]

the best snow rig I have been in was a 89' Toyota 4x4, standard cab with the 22re with front and rear lockers.... it went everywhere in the snow, didn't seem to dig down like the heavier pickups.

a buddy of mine had a 1 ton powerstroke 6.0 also a standard cab, of course it needed a bunch of money dumped into it for the engine BS, but that was a mean motor, he had 38's under it, and when he was chained up on all 4, it was hard to stop that thing.... not super practical though.

I think the little standard cab yota with lockers is hard to beat for a woods rig all year. I have an 18' taco right now, but thinking about ditching it and getting a tundra for a daily driver, and another standard cab yota for a woods rig, I miss those pickups, they are excellent in any conditions, and super handy in the hills.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Snowmobile, a/utv with tracks.

Don’t try to put a round peg in a square hole.

 

[MattB]

Wide, grippy tires aired down to 5-10 psi.