Snow season are around the corner. Plenty of 4wders (and our members) have never driven on snow before. If you are a experienced 4wder, please share your snow driving experience and tips. 

My 2 tips are mud tyres are better than AT's I found that out the hard way and second which is a surprise and some may disagree but a slightly higher tyre pressure than what you would normally use off road, reason being that you don't want to spread your weight over the top of the ice and snow because you are then more likely to aquaplan. A higher pressure will help you cut into the snow and reduce the slip and slid.

A good heater is also handy but don't have the car to hot because you then freeze when you get out, also have a seperate coat and beani to wear outside and remove both when in your vehicle

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I would disagree Matt. The art of driving in the snow is to keep up momentum without breaking traction so as to not cut in to the snow. The biggest problem with snow driving is when you do cut in to it, you end up to the belly in snow very quickly. In fact so quickly, it can happen within a few metres if you give it to much right foot. We were up at Mt Skene one year and had all aired down to around 15-20 pound. We passed a group of people stopped at the first right hand hairpin on the way up who told us they couldn't get up any further. We continued and made it up to the picnic area half way up and watched in disbelief the amount of people trying to get up to the top from there on high pressure. It looked like a mass beaching of whales. We tried to help a few people who bluntly refused any sane advice to air down. We gave up, aired down a bit more for those on 20 and drove around them after finishing our lunch. One of our guys in a range rover with H/T tyres was the second of ours to go around as we wanted to prove a point. He drove up and around the corner without stopping and the rest of us followed. 

When you air down, you create a longer footprint which provides better traction and a more stable footprint on the snow surface. Just like those funny tennis racket looking snow shoes. I have done a heap of snow driving where you never even touch the ground underneath because it is so deep.

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Agree with matt , slightly higher tyre pressure helps , keep an eye on where the track goes as its easy to think the track is wider than it is and slip into holes or off the edge .dont go plowing into deep snow as snow hides dangers

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Are you guys talking about driving in deep snow or on a track that has a litle bit of snow?

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Also snow has a tendency to pull you of line which goes with what has been said above. I learnt the hard way on my first ever snow trip as the truck got pulled sideways in an instant and put me in to the ditch. Lucky it wasn't the other way.

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I'm with you Simon All The Way! I ran my tyres at 15psi (Range Rover lighter than Patrol or Land Cruiser.

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Driving Tips for the Snow.  First of all it is great fun. 

Tyre Pressures- Slightly higher pressure helps cut through the snow for light snow conditions.  My experience in really heavy snow (up to 1M thick), is that the light vehicles that sit up on top of the snow tend to get further down the track. 

Snow Chains- I am not a big fan of snow chains as they chew up the ground underneath. The only time I have used them was to pull a broken down Navara up a steep snowy hill to get him to a spot where repairs could be done. Also- If you are going to buy snow chains, make sure the first time you fit them is not when you need them. Do a few dry runs in your driveway where you can relax and figure it out.

Alpine Diesel- Normally not needed.  You need to be camping in extreme conditions to warrant alpine diesel.  If you are worried, just fill up at the major towns near the snow (Mansfield, Marysville) as their diesel usually has an anti-freeze additive. Also, make sure you’re running anti-freeze in the radiator and not straight water. If the water freezes, you may crack the engine block.

Driving Style- Smooth is king in this space.  Gentle accelerating and gentle braking.  When going up or down hills, keep in the ruts.  If you lock your wheels on the way down a hill, the ruts will keep you on the track. One vehicle at a time when climbing a hill (you don’t want the person in front sliding backwards into you). Also, slight left foot braking (5-10%) while accelerating will help get drive to all wheels (poor man’s Diff-Lock).  For general driving (slightly up and down tracks) use the gears as much as possible- Pretend you have no brakes and that you have to rely on gears only.

Black Ice- This is a real bitch, and is worse than the snow itself. Black ice is hard to see and is worse at dawn and dusk. The only suggestion i have here is assume every corner has black ice and drive at 1/2 the recommended speed for the corner. I have been caught out by black ice before and it was probably the scariest moment in a 4WD.  Slow is the go on the bitumen at around alpine areas.

Pulling Over-  Most times I have seen people stuck (especially at Mt Skene) it was because they pulled over to the left too far and got stuck in the ditch (i have been victim of this myself), so be careful not to pull over too far when stopping.  Also, when you do stop, reverse 2-3 meters then stop again.  This gives you a nice compacted track when you start moving off again and will help avoid wheel spin on take-off.

Parking overnight- Avoid handbrake (due to overnight freezing), and lift you windscreen wipers off the windscreen.  DONT use hot water to de-ice the windscreen- it will crack.

Camping- I have camped many times in the snow. It can be quite fun.  Take a milk crate of kindling with you to get your fire started. Once the fire is raging, the wettest of forest wood will still catch alight.

Clothing- Layered clothing is better than simply one big jacket.  Try 4-5 layers, then a final jacket.  For the kids- Many changes of clothing.  Even for day trips where the kids are going to play in the snow- make sure you have 3-4 pairs of socks, several pairs of shoes, 3 pairs of pants-  And keep you last set for after the snow play is finished.  Kids love the snow, but there is nothing worse for them than being wet during the long drive home. Lots of towels will be hady and a few blankets.

Final Tips- Drive with your lights on even in the middle of the day.  The quicker another vehicle sees you, the sooner they will likely slow down.

Enjoy and take care.

Cheers- Tony.

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Ah love a good descussion on tyre pressures

I agree low tyre pressure in really soft deep snow the same as sand but for the most part that is not the surface that is driven on. 95 % of snow trips there is only a foot or 2 at most on the tracks as a couple of groups go through and it starts to melt and get flattened out, then it freezes and leaves a hard and icy surface on which a higher pressure does give much more traction, as far as actuale pressure that depends on the tyre construction and the weight of the 4by.

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Fair point Matt.

I tend to do the same in shallow snow. I don't tend to go up in to the snow line unless it has been dumping good and proper. The last time I went up to Matlock with a light covering I found it had been chewed up, and was just a mudpit at the top. People just can't help themselves. It's like p platers and wet roads. It adds 200hp to their cars.

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