Stuck in snow

[Kickboxer]

You have to turn off the traction control to get all of the wheels to work.
What happens it when it detects wheels spin it shuts that one off, then the
others don't work either as you need.
Its that simple, all brands of pickups have the same issue.
You should not have to use 4 Low, just use 4 high, and have common sense.
Trying to power yourself out may not work.
Experience is the key here.

 

[mbRam4x4]

You have to turn off the traction control to get all of the wheels to work.
What happens it when it detects wheels spin it shuts that one off, then the
others don't work either as you need.
Its that simple, all brands of pickups have the same issue.
You should not have to use 4 Low, just use 4 high, and have common sense.
Trying to power yourself out may not work.
Experience is the key here.

Thanks. Very helpful! I did not turn traction control off.

 

[Bob1313]

Just a cursory look at this conversation didn't reveal anyone discussing weight. Here in what used to be snow country (climate change has curtailed much of our snow) carrying extra weight in the bed is pretty much mandatory. I keep 6 Tube-O-Sand over the rear axle during the winter. Most everybody here does the same.

 

[Dean2]

So, 4 Lo is not needed for the torque, what it does do however is fully defeat the traction control systems, which is needed when driving in deep snow. TCS is useful on ice, in deep snow or mud it is a real hinderance. You can partially defeat it by holding the TCS off button for 10 seconds but i is not totally off doing that, like it is in 4 LO. As others said, go easy on thte gas, very easy to break stuff hammering in 4 LO

 

[jimmyfjk]

read your owners manual about how to engage and use 4wd low. It would have helped most likely as you would not have been spinning the tires. You have to go to neutral and not be moving to engage 4wd low. My 2021 rebel easily handled 14" of snow with ice in it last winter on a dirt road in the mountains where i went just to see what it would do. Of course i do have at type tires and not street tires but still i think you would have had better results in 4wd low.

 

[mikeru]

Just a cursory look at this conversation didn't reveal anyone discussing weight. Here in what used to be snow country (climate change has curtailed much of our snow) carrying extra weight in the bed is pretty much mandatory. I keep 6 Tube-O-Sand over the rear axle during the winter. Most everybody here does the same.

Please refrain from talking about sensitive political subjects like climate change. You can make your point without any of that.

Plenty of us will disagree with you on whether or not carrying extra weight benefits you if you have 4WD. Carrying sand can be a big help for use as traction material though if you've gotten yourself into trouble. The trick is to NOT get yourself into trouble. Kind of like crossing water, if you don't know how deep the snow it don't attempt to cross.

 

[JW2 Innovations]

Get some play sand and keep in bed of truck. Hardware store of choice, how many depends on preference. If you find yourself stuck, you can even take a bag and pour some in front of tires and slowly move off of the slick spot you have discovered. 4wd in high is probably all you might need if you take it easy in most situations. Min tire spin at all costs. Faster spin outs in this situation often doesn't get you free. And in spring, use the play sand left in your yard to help level it out where needed.

 

[ramffml]

read your owners manual about how to engage and use 4wd low. It would have helped most likely as you would not have been spinning the tires.

I have never once been stuck in snow, and gotten out without spinning tires. The trick is finding the right amount of wheel spin, too little and you'll never get out, too much and you just make ice (or worse, use the buried little rocks underneath as sand paper while you shred your tires over them). You definitely don't need 4wd low, all you need is a gear to get you moving/rocking.

In fact, if you have a mud or snow mode in a modern 4x4, they are programmed to give you a decent amount of wheel spin for that very reason. You absolutely need to spin, you're not going to get anywhere trying to rock crawl in low.

 

[mikerino]

Where tires spinning when you were stuck? I am trying to understand why you would need to go to four wheel drive low.

 

[Doug Ram]

As you can see from my profile picture, I live in snow. Even with the crappy tires a Ram with 4wd should go in 6 to 12 inches of snow, even on a moderate slope. So here's my advice. FWIW...
- Read your manual's 4wd section thoroughly so you know which transfer case yours has. Most 2019 to current new style Ram 1500s have an automatic 4wd selection, while most Classic 1500s don't. Automatic 4WD engages when excessive rear drive wheel spin is detected. It prevents getting stuck in "most" situations. When its not slippery only the rear wheels are engaged.
- If you have automatic 4WD, use it whenever roads could be slippery. I leave mine on most of the winter. A green light on the dash goes on when its on.
- Don't use regular locked 4WD unless 4WD will be needed continuously and be careful about speed, especially on curves. Why? Because 4wd locks the opposite corner wheels together (and if you have locking diffs it locks all wheels together) reducing (or eliminating) differential action. Wheels on the opposite corners of the truck spin at the same speed and may put the truck into a sideways skid on tight curves taken too fast on the slipperiest snow and ice.
- Traction control: I leave the traction control on until I get stuck.
- Once stuck: Traction control off, regular 4wd engaged. I gently rock the truck and try to follow my footsteps back to where I came from. I'll rock it back and forth a few times.
- If still stuck, then I open my 50 lb bag of sand, shovel a bit of snow out from around all 4 wheels and throw some sand behind and in front of each. I take a look underneath to see if its hung on something. If not hung up I repeat the rocking action while in 4wd high, traction control off.
- What if I am still stuck? More sand. Lots more sand. Lots more digging of snow from wheels and from the direction I want to go. I double and triple check under the truck to see what I am hung up on, because unless I am in a ditch this thing should be moving by now! Try rocking it harder again in regular 4wd, allowing wheels to spin more.
- Put truck in 4wd low, no traction control. More sand. At this point its past time being gentle. After I am sure I am not hung up I try to over power whatever hump of snow and ice I am on. I let it rip, give it the gas, let wheels spin. Rock it hard a few more times.
- Still stuck? Sorry. You need help. Try to get a friend to tow you out. Use tow straps. Read manual for where you should hook up tow straps.
- Don't get friend stuck too!
- Call for a tow truck. Sorry. Make sure truck is in neutral, follow all towing procedures in manual. This is where truck's transmission, transfer case and undersides can get really messed up.

 

[TorqueWagon]

There's another very significant issue. Most trucks have open differentials from the factory rather than any kind of locking or limited slip differential. What this means is that if you're on really slippery snow or ice you may get one wheel on each axle slipping which means you won't go anywhere! That's why I always carry chains if I'm going to be in deep snow or any chance of ice. Four-wheel drive isn't really four wheel drive unless all your tires can bite, or you have limited slip or locking diffs.

 

[Doug Ram]

As you can see from my profile picture, I live in snow. Even with the crappy tires a Ram with 4wd should go in 6 to 12 inches of snow, even on a moderate slope. So here's my advice. FWIW...
- Read your manual's 4wd section thoroughly so you know which transfer case yours has. Most 2019 to current new style Ram 1500s have an automatic 4wd selection, while most Classic 1500s don't. Automatic 4WD engages when excessive rear drive wheel spin is detected. It prevents getting stuck in "most" situations. When its not slippery only the rear wheels are engaged.
- If you have automatic 4WD, use it whenever roads could be slippery. I leave mine on most of the winter. A green light on the dash goes on when its on.
- Don't use regular locked 4WD unless 4WD will be needed continuously and be careful about speed, especially on curves. Why? Because 4wd locks the opposite corner wheels together (and if you have locking diffs it locks all wheels together) reducing (or eliminating) differential action. Wheels on the opposite corners of the truck spin at the same speed and may put the truck into a sideways skid on tight curves taken too fast on the slipperiest snow and ice.
- Traction control: I leave the traction control on until I get stuck.
- Once stuck: Traction control off, regular 4wd engaged. I gently rock the truck and try to follow my footsteps back to where I came from. I'll rock it back and forth a few times.
- If still stuck, then I open my 50 lb bag of sand, shovel a bit of snow out from around all 4 wheels and throw some sand behind and in front of each. I take a look underneath to see if its hung on something. If not hung up I repeat the rocking action while in 4wd high, traction control off.
- What if I am still stuck? More sand. Lots more sand. Lots more digging of snow from wheels and from the direction I want to go. I double and triple check under the truck to see what I am hung up on, because unless I am in a ditch this thing should be moving by now! Try rocking it harder again in regular 4wd, allowing wheels to spin more.
- Put truck in 4wd low, no traction control. More sand. At this point its past time being gentle. After I am sure I am not hung up I try to over power whatever hump of snow and ice I am on. I let it rip, give it the gas, let wheels spin. Rock it hard a few more times.
- Still stuck? Sorry. You need help. Try to get a friend to tow you out. Use tow straps. Read manual for where you should hook up tow straps.
- Don't get friend stuck too!
- Call for a tow truck. Sorry. Make sure truck is in neutral, follow all towing procedures in manual. This is where truck's transmission, transfer case and undersides can get really messed up.

ALSO: LOWER TIRE pressure. Yeah, just like when you are off road in sand and mud it can really help to lower the tire pressure, as low as 10 I guess. I've never had to resort to this to get unstuck in my truck, and its been years since I did this to get my Jeep Cherokee out of snow so I forgot about it. 20 plus years ago I was volunteering for a local hospital in a blizzard. We got between 3 and 6 feet in 24 hours. (Thanks to a coastal strorm and Lake Ontario). The jeep got hung up on a drifted over (buried) snow bank in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't until I lowered the tires down to 20 psi that I got out.

 

[Raydulce]

You have to turn off the traction control to get all of the wheels to work.
What happens it when it detects wheels spin it shuts that one off, then the
others don't work either as you need.
Its that simple, all brands of pickups have the same issue.
You should not have to use 4 Low, just use 4 high, and have common sense.
Trying to power yourself out may not work.
Experience is the key here.

I strongly suggest 4-Low.

Unfortunately RAM does NOT allow you to turn off Traction and Stability control. You can only reduce it's functionality in 2-Hi and 4-Hi, but not turn it off. The only way to turn it off is to pull your ABS fuse or put the truck in 4x4 low. When going through deep snow in 4x4 High, the computer will often kick in and ruin any momentum you had going for you.

This "feature" is outlined in your manual. Go put your truck in 4x4 hi, turn off traction control, and try to do a doughnut in an empty parking lot. It'll shut you down at about 35 degrees from normal.

 

[Dean2]

I strongly suggest 4-Low.

Unfortunately RAM does NOT allow you to turn off Traction and Stability control. You can only reduce it's functionality in 2-Hi and 4-Hi, but not turn it off. The only way to turn it off is to pull your ABS fuse or put the truck in 4x4 low. When going through deep snow in 4x4 High, the computer will often kick in and ruin any momentum you had going for you.

This "feature" is outlined in your manual. Go put your truck in 4x4 hi, turn off traction control, and try to do a doughnut in an empty parking lot. It'll shut you down at about 35 degrees from normal.

SPOT ON!!!!! True in mud too.

 

[JW2 Innovations]

ALSO: LOWER TIRE pressure. Yeah, just like when you are off road in sand and mud it can really help to lower the tire pressure, as low as 10 I guess. I've never had to resort to this to get unstuck in my truck, and its been years since I did this to get my Jeep Cherokee out of snow so I forgot about it. 20 plus years ago I was volunteering for a local hospital in a blizzard. We got between 3 and 6 feet in 24 hours. (Thanks to a coastal strorm and Lake Ontario). The jeep got hung up on a drifted over (buried) snow bank in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't until I lowered the tires down to 20 psi that I got out.

Years back while driving on Daytona beach (legal then, now not sure?) I got stuck in dry sand. More I tried to get out deeper I got. A construction guy working on a house not too far from where I was let me borrow a shovel and told me to let the air out of my tires. I used the shovel, but thought he was crazy about the air. Finally after still being stuck and tired from shoveling sand around all 4 tires I tried it and drove right out of the dry sand. Found the closest gas station to the beach exit for air and then went back and bought the guy lunch for his help. I still shake my head thinking about that day, but it works.

 

[4xdad]

4low is not needed unless you’re truck can’t spin the tire as stated you need a little wheel spin shut off traction control computer control clamps the brakes on the spinning tire to transfer power to the other side tire when it starts spinning same thing so it goes back and forth locked diffs like on a power wagon will help but can cause tricky handling be very careful when driving on slippery roads with lockers

 

[4xdad]

The type of snow makes a difference to light powdery or heavy wet snow makes a difference on how you drive we drive in the snow here a lot in Edmonton

 

[4xdad]

Momentum wheel spin can help but traction is king

 

[4xdad]

Only a little so far this winter but it’s not near over yet

 

[Ramalanche]

My Ram 1500 4wd exists for only 2 reasons, get stuff from Home Depot and get me thru deep snow. I use 3PSF tires, never let me down, even in snow over 18 inches. But it helps to know how to drive in the snow.