Your tips for driving Jeep Cherokee (KJ) down hill in snow
Discussion
We acquired a 2006 3.7L Cherokee a couple of years ago and it has been good at keeping us mobile on the West Yorkshire Pennines when it snows. After some brown trouser moments driving some other cars on ice and snow and their ABS kicking in when going down hill, a proper 4x4 has been a bonus. However, I would now like to know more about how to drive it in poor conditions - namely on the snow.
We moved house recently with our house being at the end of a dead end on top of a hill. The only way out is down our tarmacced drive, down the neighbours, then on to a steep down hill section of public road that is not usually cleared or gritted.
In the snow a few weeks back, I went down the first part of the drive in Full Time 4x4 mode, and when hitting the brakes, the ABS kicked in and I just had to keep steering the car down hill until I reached a bit of cleared road and got the grip back. I went as slow as I could, 1 in 1st gear (its and auto BTW), and it still picked up enough momentum to scare me.
Next time it snowed and I had to venture out, I decided that I would go down in Lo Ratio mode, 1st gear. The thing is, if the car is already moving, it is too late to select Lo Ratio, it really needs to be done when the car is stationary or <5 mph. So, if a wrong decision is made, it is too late to drop into Lo.
In Lo, I made it down the hill nice and slow, though at the back of my mind I was still worried that someone might pull on to the road in front and I may not be able to stop. Also, the Lo Ratio mode locks the front and rear wheels together (presumably a centre diff), so if I do get grip, transmission wind up can happen. When that happens, there is usually a bit of a bang/clank as one of the wheels unwinds itself.
So...just really wanting to check that I am driving the Jeep in the right way and using the gears correctly for the conditions. The handbook is pretty useless in this respect and I have not really found much about the Jeep KJ specifically, except lots of people of Youtube in the USA hooning through deep snow with them. However, they are usually drifting down hill with the back hanging out. Not something I want to try with my neighbours' cars parked down the side of the road.
Any tips any one can offer would be appreciated. Please note - I am on stock Wrangler tyres and appreciate the benefits of winter rubber, but would like to know about how to handle the car.
We moved house recently with our house being at the end of a dead end on top of a hill. The only way out is down our tarmacced drive, down the neighbours, then on to a steep down hill section of public road that is not usually cleared or gritted.
In the snow a few weeks back, I went down the first part of the drive in Full Time 4x4 mode, and when hitting the brakes, the ABS kicked in and I just had to keep steering the car down hill until I reached a bit of cleared road and got the grip back. I went as slow as I could, 1 in 1st gear (its and auto BTW), and it still picked up enough momentum to scare me.
Next time it snowed and I had to venture out, I decided that I would go down in Lo Ratio mode, 1st gear. The thing is, if the car is already moving, it is too late to select Lo Ratio, it really needs to be done when the car is stationary or <5 mph. So, if a wrong decision is made, it is too late to drop into Lo.
In Lo, I made it down the hill nice and slow, though at the back of my mind I was still worried that someone might pull on to the road in front and I may not be able to stop. Also, the Lo Ratio mode locks the front and rear wheels together (presumably a centre diff), so if I do get grip, transmission wind up can happen. When that happens, there is usually a bit of a bang/clank as one of the wheels unwinds itself.
So...just really wanting to check that I am driving the Jeep in the right way and using the gears correctly for the conditions. The handbook is pretty useless in this respect and I have not really found much about the Jeep KJ specifically, except lots of people of Youtube in the USA hooning through deep snow with them. However, they are usually drifting down hill with the back hanging out. Not something I want to try with my neighbours' cars parked down the side of the road.
Any tips any one can offer would be appreciated. Please note - I am on stock Wrangler tyres and appreciate the benefits of winter rubber, but would like to know about how to handle the car.
are you sure you're sposed to change ratios when stationary? In the old Jeep it was when moving at about 10mph.
My Cherokee would go down very steep snowy hills with no issues on normal 4x4 road tyres.
Low range, feet off brakes and accelerator. If you do need to brake do it very very gently, in fact, any inputs be they gas or braking or even steering perform gently, unless you need to rapidly apply some lock of course.
My Cherokee would go down very steep snowy hills with no issues on normal 4x4 road tyres.
Low range, feet off brakes and accelerator. If you do need to brake do it very very gently, in fact, any inputs be they gas or braking or even steering perform gently, unless you need to rapidly apply some lock of course.
Hi Craig,
The KJ can change between 2 wheel drive, 4x4 Full Time and 4x4 Part Time at speeds up to 55 mph. For Low Ratio, I believe that it is recommended that the vehicle is moving but speed is less than 5 mph, though I think it is acceptable to do it when stationary.
I have had no problems in changing when still. The main thing is that the change between drive modes is done with a floor mounted lever and it does take a steady yank on that to get it into Lo, not something I am comfortable with doing when already moving down hill on the snow.
The KJ can change between 2 wheel drive, 4x4 Full Time and 4x4 Part Time at speeds up to 55 mph. For Low Ratio, I believe that it is recommended that the vehicle is moving but speed is less than 5 mph, though I think it is acceptable to do it when stationary.
I have had no problems in changing when still. The main thing is that the change between drive modes is done with a floor mounted lever and it does take a steady yank on that to get it into Lo, not something I am comfortable with doing when already moving down hill on the snow.
vrsmxtb said:
In low range if your wheels break traction going downhill and you start to slide, it is often better to apply some gas instead of brake. Very counter intuitive!
Indeed...You are relying on engine braking for control, so don't brake or change gear. If you start to slide, the tell-tale sign is the increase in speed but the engine will drop down to idle... There is no point in touching the brake as you have no grip for it to do anything!!!
If this happens, you need to feed in some throttle until your wheel speed matches the speed you're moving at. Once you've matched the speed, you might not be able to slow down any further but you should at least get some directional control, so you can choose between the ditch or the tree!!!
If you are on snow/ice and this happens, try & aim for the soft powder stuff as this is where you'll find the grip.
M
Thanks for the tips chaps.
My car is a Lexus RX400h - which is not built for true off road capability, but the extra hybrid drive is great for getting up hills in snow. Coming down one time, I used the 'handbrake' technique after the ABS just let go of the car and I was rapidly heading down on snow and potentially out onto a main road (which would have caused some surprise for oncoming traffic). The difference with the Lexus is that the parking brake is operated by foot rather than by hand.
It did not go exactly to plan as the back slid out alarmingly, so much opposite lock was applied to avoid banging the back and side of the car into the dry stone walls either side of the narrow lane. Very much a brown trouser event with inches to spare.
My car is a Lexus RX400h - which is not built for true off road capability, but the extra hybrid drive is great for getting up hills in snow. Coming down one time, I used the 'handbrake' technique after the ABS just let go of the car and I was rapidly heading down on snow and potentially out onto a main road (which would have caused some surprise for oncoming traffic). The difference with the Lexus is that the parking brake is operated by foot rather than by hand.
It did not go exactly to plan as the back slid out alarmingly, so much opposite lock was applied to avoid banging the back and side of the car into the dry stone walls either side of the narrow lane. Very much a brown trouser event with inches to spare.
vrsmxtb said:
In low range if your wheels break traction going downhill and you start to slide, it is often better to apply some gas instead of brake. Very counter intuitive!
The above is good advise - I was taught how to do this on a training day (on a mud slope). It is quite bizarre to find a vehicle slowing down as it is given some throttle and the wheels find grip.
skyrover said:
I usually left the jeep in high range but changed to second gear which combined with gentle braking seemed to do the trick on the steep snowy hills of rural northumberland
I have some obstacles and bends to negotiate on the descent - 2 green houses and a couple of parked cars, and two bends. I find the ABS can cut in quickly and once that has happened, no stopping - just have steer the course until back onto the dry stuff. No good place to ditch the car, not that I would want it to come to that! It is interesting that you can still in high range - how steep a slope are we talking, how long a descent, how much run off do you have?
this is the hill most cars usually have trouble on
https://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=55.348865,-1.84772&a...
I can navigate it safely in 2nd in high range.
The car is shod in Cooper AT's
https://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=55.348865,-1.84772&a...
I can navigate it safely in 2nd in high range.
The car is shod in Cooper AT's
How I drive in very snowey icey conditions in my amazon landcruiser. Note this may not suit you.
1. Ensure i have suitable tyres for the conditions- either winter or all terrain tyres- NOT summer tyres or full muds (which are fine for deep snow, but dreadful on ice)
2. Disable ABS (in the cruiser i can disable this by dropping into lo and then out again.
3. Make sure centre diff is locked (if you have no traction then by definition you can't build driveline tension). A locking centre diff will split torque across axles- it will also split brake force, which is very handy.
4. Select an appropriate gear before descent- this is very much situation specific, BUT 2 thigs to bear in mind, if you are in too low a gear you may not be able to accelerate to increase your wheel speed to match your slide, if you are in too high a gear you won't benefit from engine braking(although agani this is vehicle and situation specific).
5. Assess snow depth and ase under the snow- is the snow unbroken lying on firm ground with traction underneat? in whcih case it drives much like sand. Is it semi compact with ice on top- in which case it drives much like wet clay with very little traction- often the only way to stop is to lock all 4 wheels and build up a snow wedge in front of the tyres. There are many variations on the theme.
6. If you are driving an auto one thing you can do (which i, and other competitors use in offroad competitions) is to lock the brakes completely, and drop the gearbox into the reverse and boot it. this will stop the car on just about hill which was the smallest iota of traction. be aware this can massively de-strabilise the car, and i certainly wouldn't use this on the road except for in dire emergencies.
7.accept that you might be driving a different direction home
1. Ensure i have suitable tyres for the conditions- either winter or all terrain tyres- NOT summer tyres or full muds (which are fine for deep snow, but dreadful on ice)
2. Disable ABS (in the cruiser i can disable this by dropping into lo and then out again.
3. Make sure centre diff is locked (if you have no traction then by definition you can't build driveline tension). A locking centre diff will split torque across axles- it will also split brake force, which is very handy.
4. Select an appropriate gear before descent- this is very much situation specific, BUT 2 thigs to bear in mind, if you are in too low a gear you may not be able to accelerate to increase your wheel speed to match your slide, if you are in too high a gear you won't benefit from engine braking(although agani this is vehicle and situation specific).
5. Assess snow depth and ase under the snow- is the snow unbroken lying on firm ground with traction underneat? in whcih case it drives much like sand. Is it semi compact with ice on top- in which case it drives much like wet clay with very little traction- often the only way to stop is to lock all 4 wheels and build up a snow wedge in front of the tyres. There are many variations on the theme.
6. If you are driving an auto one thing you can do (which i, and other competitors use in offroad competitions) is to lock the brakes completely, and drop the gearbox into the reverse and boot it. this will stop the car on just about hill which was the smallest iota of traction. be aware this can massively de-strabilise the car, and i certainly wouldn't use this on the road except for in dire emergencies.
7.accept that you might be driving a different direction home
t!Hi folks, new to the forum here, so an introductory post.
4x4s old cars American cars stuff like that I'm into.
Currently driving a military 90 pick-up.
As the for Jeep Cherokee driving tips...the guy in the video could have used some!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SvJ9BwGoQ
4x4s old cars American cars stuff like that I'm into.
Currently driving a military 90 pick-up.
As the for Jeep Cherokee driving tips...the guy in the video could have used some!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SvJ9BwGoQ
Falling Down said:
I find the ABS can cut in quickly and once that has happened, no stopping - just have steer the course until back onto the dry stuff.
Rather than staying on the brakes once the ABS triggers, if its not helping (which is often the case) let off the brakes and ease back on again gently, trying to keep it just below ABS threshold.Other than that as others have said, use engine braking (gear depends on slope etc) and smooth control inputs.
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