07 Tundra on snow and ice, uphill?

[wileetundra]

I live in the southeastern US where we don't normally get any real snow, usually nothing more than a light dusting at best, but once in a great while we get a few inches. If it snows even 1" then the locals go crazy and everything shuts down. I am originally from the north so I can handle driving in the snow but my driveway is several hundred feet long and it goes straight uphill to the house then gets even steeper as it climbs to the workshop at the top. So if a light coat of rain or snow freezes on it overnight then it is like one giant slip and slide in the morning. This usually thaws by mid-day but during abnormally cold periods it can stay frozen for a day or two. The dry powdery snow is not an issue, it is the wet rain that freezes that I am worried about. It's not like a thick coat of ice or anything, just a thin coat no more than 1/8" or so but pretty evenly covered for the length of the driveway since the water freezes as it runs down.

I haven't driven my Tundra on it in these conditions yet so I am wondering how it will handle. My driveway is solid concrete in pretty good shape with no holes or ruts. My 07 Tundra is a DC Limited 4x4 5.7L with factory carved 20" tires. Can any of you with similar vehicles tell me how they have handled in the snow or ice, especially on driveways and steeper inclines? Keep in mind my speed will be slow and I will be starting from a dead stop before going up and down. I assume it will do ok in 4x4 mode but I am wondering if I will need to switch modes, salt the driveway, add chains, etc. I can't risk slipping up or down the driveway as I would end up crashing into my entrance gate, the horse fence, the traffic on our road, or the farm house across the road.

My 02 Tacoma was 4x2 so I never took the chance. I would either stay home that day or drive out through my yard and down the wooded property until I circled around to the driveway gate at the bottom. This was fun but not the best method since it marked up the lawn a bit and I still had to slide down the last 30 feet of the driveway to get out the gate.

I have wondered if the driveway would give better traction if I power-washed it then applied the concrete sealer like Thompsons Waterproof, but I figured this would only make it more slippery in the rain since the water would bead on top. What do you northern drivers with long driveways think?

[dani7]

if you start slipping just put on chains should be fine anyways!

[pagemaster]

Originally Posted by dani7

if you start slipping just put on chains should be fine anyways!

I don't think the Tundra can handle this type of extreme adventure. I vote for tire chains.

[seadragon]

Hey WileE,

The only thing I can say is that tires make a HUGE difference. My stock BFG Rugged Trails on the Tundra are garbage. I pulled my truck out of the garage last week after a day of snow/ice pellets. I pulled it out slowly and applied the brakes to stop. Well, it kept going! Slid down onto the road and scared the crap out of me since a van was coming down the street. I have a short driveway with a gentle slope. If these tires lose grip on my driveway at 1 MPH, then they are dangerous. No other vehicle I have had has done this. Even my RAV had no problems on stock Dueler H/Ts. I tested it too and it did not slide at all. I'm putting Dueler Revos on the Tundra this week. Here's a pic I took in the summer from my garage so you can see what it slid down.

[dafoot]

Your Tundra should handle that. I have pulled ice houses and boat trailers up icy inclines with no problem. Try not to let the tires spin. If you do run into trouble, a bucket of sand will go a long way.

[bertram928]

We just had a snow / ice storm, I had trouble staying on my feet on my level driveway.

My DC 4x4 made it up a steep paved hill (we live between to sand dunes) to get to the main road. No way to walk up it.

This was done in 2-wheel drive with no running start on my Blizzacks

[Cruiser13]

Seems like a mixed response so far. Last weekend I pulled up a dirt road to a ski cabin with about 6" of melting snow. No problem until I got to the hairpin 100deg turn, uphill. The hill made the weight shift over the bed (empty), the turn caused the tilted truck to not have weight right over the drive direction- in short everything you can do to lose traction, I did- and I lost traction because of it. I am not impressed with the rugged trails either. I slid coming back down the driveway too (again empty). I would put a few hundres pounds in the back (makes a huge difference) and keep it in first gear going down. Some sand on the driveway will probably make the difference. If you slide on ice, ABS are not going to help.

[tinik]

here is Video from GM test
YouTube - Silverado vs. Tundra Twist Ditch

[Billy Bob]

Here's a hill I climbed without even spinning the tires but on opening day of deer season it had about 5 inches of snow on it. I had it in 4 wheel High and I have Bridgestone Revo tires. With the stock Bridgestone H/T tires that came with the truck I highly doubt I would of made this hill.

MY TUNDRA WILL HANDLE YOUR DRIVEWAY LIKE A EVERYDAY TRIP TO THE BEER STORE

[martino4]

Originally Posted by tinik

here is Video from GM test
YouTube - Silverado vs. Tundra Twist Ditch

just give me a brake. bring me that chevy and i can drive the same way , exept the tundra is gonna win with me behind the steering wheel.

[mhadden]

^^Ditto.

Driving in the ice up here last night was fun, even with the tires I have that are excellent in wet/snow conditions. Ice is no match for anything, unless you have studded tires, which will help you out a lot, but only to a certain degree.

[Slooose]

Hello out there----Just joined today. I live on the Oregon coast which is usually wet but we had a little freezing the other day and when I took the Tundra ('07, Dbl.Cab,5.7,4X4 with about 4,000 miles) out I was surprised that it didn't handle the ice very well. (I still have the 18" BF Goodrich tires) I put it in four wheel drive and it wasn't much better. I drove relatively slow and it still "wiggled" going around a slight bend in the road. I've never owned a 4X4 before so I guess I just figured that it would take to the ice better. After giving it some thought I came to the conclusion that if there isn't anything to grab or stick to nothing is actually going to be "slip" free without running chains. Am I thinking correctly?

I'm certainly not complaining because everything else is super on this truck. the more I drive it the more I like it.

Question: what is the difference between 4 wheel drive as opposed to the VSC other than (I assume) that when I'm in 4 wheel drive all the wheels are grabbing the ground with the same amount of power? is this a correct assumption?

[mhadden]

Originally Posted by Slooose

Hello out there----Just joined today. I live on the Oregon coast which is usually wet but we had a little freezing the other day and when I took the Tundra ('07, Dbl.Cab,5.7,4X4 with about 4,000 miles) out I was surprised that it didn't handle the ice very well. (I still have the 18" BF Goodrich tires) I put it in four wheel drive and it wasn't much better. I drove relatively slow and it still "wiggled" going around a slight bend in the road. I've never owned a 4X4 before so I guess I just figured that it would take to the ice better. After giving it some thought I came to the conclusion that if there isn't anything to grab or stick to nothing is actually going to be "slip" free without running chains. Am I thinking correctly?

I'm certainly not complaining because everything else is super on this truck. the more I drive it the more I like it.

Question: what is the difference between 4 wheel drive as opposed to the VSC other than (I assume) that when I'm in 4 wheel drive all the wheels are grabbing the ground with the same amount of power? is this a correct assumption?

I thought quite the opposite, I thought it handled wonderfully in the ice. VSC was there to help when I was messing around and the 4WD did its job as well. With A-Trac, which is only enabled in 4WD, it will help distribute the power equally to all 4 wheels. VSC is off in 4WD, so if you start going in the wrong direction in 4WD, you have to correct for it yourself, the computer won't help you, but if you were in 2HI, then the computer would apply the brakes on certain wheels to help you go where you are steering.

[Slooose]

Just one question----what are you doing with "my" truck?
Wellll----maybe two questions. How do like those running boards?

[mhadden]

I'm guessing you are referring to me???

I dislike the running boards very much! Demello OR contacted me yesterday and I'm hoping to get a set of sliders to replace them...