Hey All, first time post here. I wanna say thanks to all the great posters (and the humorous ones, of course) - I've learned quite a bit about these trucks reading these over the past year or so... This one got my attention in the title when cleaning out email. I had the same question in mind for some time!
I am new to this world (had a couple Cherokees years ago, but this is my first real truck (I know, good choice
)). I wanted to work and haul stuff when needed with it, cruise in style and comfort, and not get stuck in the snow... and maybe take it off the pavement on occasion. That is, I'll likely never lose the bug, but I have an awful habit of breaking my toys, and this is my daily driver... plus I like the paint the way it is.
Anyway, to the OP's Q: I had to bring this puppy back to the Maine dealer where I bought it (about 280 miles from home) over last Christmas. When it was close to time to leave there was talk of weather, and there was a break for only a day... after the freezing-rain storm passed early in the morning... you can guess what happened next. Yup, the highways were not cleared, they could not keep up, it just kept coming, and the cars in the ditches were like a bad dream or something. There was no stopping on those hills (I knew I'd be risking it with any false moves whatsoever). I started sliding sideways for a few seconds, looking down the steep slope that went back a couple hundred yards, with a sudden stop at some large rocks/ledge (feeling like an episode of Ice Road Truckers about now), just about crapping my pants, with the Mrs, the kids, and the dogs all on board... I had it in Auto the whole time - I just let up on the throttle, and the truck found it's way. Those hills are brutal, and it was the ugliest, giant sheet of sheer ice I've ever seen, and my Ram got us all home safely. Never lost traction again (took me 7 hours, lol).
It gives rise to what many here have mentioned - tires and skill make all the difference! But I'm a firm believer in whatever this truck has under the chassis... Leading to a question I have.
I saw the mention of 4WD Auto vs High vs Low. My selector specifically says "Lock", "Auto" and "Low". Is that the same thing? It's a '13 Laramie Longhorn, if that helps. I felt like the Lock mode grabbed fully and immediately when I had to call on it another time (damn New England weather).
I had pulled into a parking lot with 10" or so of fresh snow. I pulled in and stopped, stuck it in Lock and drove forward 40 ft and then backed into my spot, another 20 ft, and walked through it like it was nobody's business. The kicker was that there was a sheet of ice under all that snow. Yup, found out the hard way after the plow truck came, cleared the lower lot, and left a 3 ft snow bank in front of my truck while I was working. Had to do some shoveling, but I didn't need a tow
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I have to say these tires are getting it for me so far, but after reading this thread I went and checked into them some more. They claim to have some improved sidewall protection/armor/whatever, but idk, I'm guessing these are likely not a good choice to take on any rocky trails (not crawling, just occasional small boulders)?
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One more question: I saw one comment earlier about soft sand capabilities. Can anyone speak to the general consensus on that? Not much for trails around here, but a buddy has some access to some private land with trails... "You just have to get across the big patch of sugar sand" he tells me, lol
Thanks again!
