Decending Snowy Mountain Road

[3rd Expyowner123]

Anyone have experience driving down Rocky Mountain roads with snow covered roads where I would normally use M6 or M7 to CO control speed?
Will engine braking be delivered to all four wheels if in snow drive mode or 4A?
I have New A/S tires, do not have chains.
Appreciate any tips!

 

[ColoradoJon]

I am not sure where you are located. I have driven Loveland pass several times this year and the I70 corridor here in Colorado. My experience is using the lockout gears function works better than switching to manual. The plus/minus button while driving adds/subtracts gears. I like it for reducing speed because you still have 10 options, not 7 like manual. I do this for towing as well. In conditions with snow and slow speeds (<40), I switch to the snow function and love how it reduces the throttle response and encourages engine deceleration. I believe I see both front and rear helping but I am not sure how you would know for sure. I don't use chains and have the mountain snow stamp on my tires. My general rule for 4 is to leave in 4H in nearly all scenarios and let the car figure out what it needs. I switch the diff in when our neighborhood streets are icy and full of snow and find better traction but it turns off over 25 mph I believe. I have a non-max and haven't really been in any weather that I wasn't impressed with traction and control of the vehicle.

 

[3rd Expyowner123]

Thanks, skiing this week at Wolf Creek, will travel east on highway 160 after skiing. NWS has issued a winter storm warning for Wednesday and Thursday.
Will need to decide whether to ski or stay in our rented cabin.

 

[ColoradoJon]

Thanks, skiing this week at Wolf Creek, will travel east on highway 160 after skiing. NWS has issued a winter storm warning for Wednesday and Thursday.
Will need to decide whether to ski or stay in our rented cabin.

Nice... I love Wolf Creek but too far for me most of the time. I would plan to stay if it is snowing more than 6 inches, that pass isn't one to be messed with although I think the worst is to the west of the ski resort. Not a lot of big towns or resources between that resort and 25, could be hard to get help if you do get stuck. I have a high confidence in my vehicle but no sense in being too risky. My dad nearly rolled our 1st gen Expy 20 years ago in Montana going on mountain passes between sleet and snow and came upon a stretch of ice that made us do a 360 and hit three corners of the vehicle, bent the frame but we drove out of it to Big Sky and the insurance replaced the frame 8K in cost, probably more nowadays. I look back at that with a lot of luck. We would have been stranded for hours in that remote part of the Big Sky Country (passes in/out of Glacier NP). Makes me more cautious and give the changing altitude during weather a little more credence.

 

[Going_Going_Gone]

This whole topic brings back vivid memories of times when I was younger, not wiser, and fortunately, lucky.
When you're driving up or down in significant snow, just remember that all four tires (especially the fronts) need to be turning in order to control the vehicle; whether you're descending a snowy/icy logging road or a highway. Then, assuming that there is some other traffic, try to run in the tracks of a heavy vehicle. But, if you find yourself "trail blazing," I would think that using 4-A and engine braking by selecting a lower transmission gear to run at a constant, safe speed is preferable to varying your speed and then having to brake to slow down.

 

[3rd Expyowner123]

I asked a couple employees at the ski area today, they said just drive slow and let everyone pass you! They said when it is really bad the police will escort vehicles down following a snow plow.
I will keep an eye on the forecast and make a decision in the morning.
Thanks for the suggestions. I used ColoradoJon’s suggestion today on dry roads to test out keeping transmission in auto and downshifting. That worked well!

 

[duneslider]

Also, hitting the tow setting seems to keep these maintaining/holding a speed better and does better with engine braking. I do this often going down hills to help with going slow.

I think a lot depends on the temps where you are too. Most of the ski resorts in colorado are at really high elevations and the temps are colder there and that causes the water under the snow to freeze and make for really slick conditions. Here in Utah our resorts are a bit lower and the temps aren't quite as low generally and that slick ice under the snow is less common. I've never had an issue coming down our canyons with 4wd. Packed snow, or deeper snow, is my preference to drive in over light snow over frozen stuff. Generally, keeping the speeds low in the snow is key.

 

[SyndicateZ]

Throw some skis on it and have fun.

 

[sjwhiteley]

Isn’t there a descent control button, also? Not sure how slow you need to be, or the expected steepness. (No snowy, sandy, rocky, steep hills round these parts, so don’t know how to use it!)

 

[5280tunage]

This is precisely why I put the raptor steering wheel in, so I could have paddle shifters. The buttons in the center console are completely useless when on super curvy mountain passes, I use the engine braking a ton in the mountains, as I have with every vehicle I've driven in the mountains since I was allowed to drive. The last thing you want to do in those rough conditions is take your eyes off the road, to look down to figure out which button to press. I do miss the manuals for this, I still remember my old manual Subarus and even the sketchy bronco II. I highly recommend using your gears in the snowy conditions, it helps stabilize the torque and helps reduce wheel spin.

 

[duneslider]

Isn’t there a descent control button, also? Not sure how slow you need to be, or the expected steepness. (No snowy, sandy, rocky, steep hills round these parts, so don’t know how to use it!)

based on my experience the hill descent control applies the brakes whichi may not be wanted on a snowy drive. It also only actuates at speeds below a certain threshold, don't remember off the top of my head what it is but its pretty slow like 10-15 mph or something like that.

 

[sjwhiteley]

based on my experience the hill descent control applies the brakes whichi may not be wanted on a snowy drive. It also only actuates at speeds below a certain threshold, don't remember off the top of my head what it is but its pretty slow like 10-15 mph or something like that.

Gotcha. Never seen anyone use it or talk about using it, so have a button that is never pressed. Lol.

 

[duneslider]

Gotcha. Never seen anyone use it or talk about using it, so have a button that is never pressed. Lol.

It does work reasonably well offroad though. I have used it a handful of times offroad towing my trailer and it does fairly well. Sometimes feels a little gimicky but I don't know if some of that is because I come from a background of jeeps and manual transmissions, so it somewhat feels like a not needed feature.

 

[ColoradoJon]

Gotcha. Never seen anyone use it or talk about using it, so have a button that is never pressed. Lol.

I have the same experience. My thought is it would be for 4x4 trail descent (not sure I would take mine on something like this). I have seen it used in a four runner and it is amazing cause you are not freaking out about holding brakes, you can just steer. I did use it towing on really washboard roads with super steep declines once, it held it at 20MPH if I remember correctly. I still prefer the lockout gears. I like the Paddle shifter idea as I am often freaking out trying to watch the road and look down for the buttons.

 

[chuck s]

Hill Descent Control is highly aggressive and only works at speeds between 3 and 20 mph.

Hill descent control cannot control
descent in all surface conditions and
circumstances, such as ice or
extremely steep grades. Hill descent
control is a driver assist system and cannot
substitute for good judgment by the driver.
Failure to do so may result in loss of vehicle
control, crash or serious injury.
Hill descent control does not

-- Chuck

 

[Peter L]

EVerybody already weighed in on the regular suggestions, slow down, 4A or 4H depending on your transmission/transfer case and maybe go into the manual selection mode. I'll just point out that if you are at a stop and shift into the sand/mud/ruts selector (for those without the 2/4H/4L option), my 2019 appears to lock the differentials in a "version" of 4-low. Great in really sketchy conditions like deep snow but you're limited to maybe 10 mph and it DOESN'T come out of "low" without stopping, putting in Park and changing the selection to snow or some other option. I'm interested if anyone else has found this option......

 

[Fort C]

I have a Gen 3 (2015 Limited-6 speed). and came back over Berthoud Pass from Winter Park last Friday night. Roads wer mostly dry. I was in 2W and the transmission seemed to be slipping in 3rd and 4th! The tow haul mode didn’t seem to help. Not sure if I’m starting to have transmission issues??

 

[Yupster Dog]

I have a Gen 3 (2015 Limited-6 speed). and came back over Berthoud Pass from Winter Park last Friday night. Roads wer mostly dry. I was in 2W and the transmission seemed to be slipping in 3rd and 4th! The tow haul mode didn’t seem to help. Not sure if I’m starting to have transmission issues??

You need to start your own thread in the 3 Gen section members can help you better there.
This might help,
https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/correct-way-to-start-a-thread.47954/

 

[Fort C]

Thank you

 

[3rd Expyowner123]

Thanks again, ColoradoJon, I followed your suggestions, used sand/rut/snow mode which activates 4A, on the steepest descents stayed in automatic and used the minus to limit to 3rd gear, where the truck maintained a speed of approximately 30-35mph.
Truck handled perfectly.
On level ground navigating unplowed parking lot with about 7” of fresh snow, and climbing a grade the wheels never slipped.