re: Driving on roads with snow...

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He lives in Louisiana, trust me he knows what I mean about driving on a dirt road.

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While Utah is know for it's sandstone, it has some of the finest particle, greasiest clays I've ever seen. Many of the roads here are almost impassable for regular vehicles when it rains. There are signs all over the BLM land here stating that the road are impassable with even the smallest amount of rain/snow.

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I might be wrong but your photo that looks like the east side of Capitol Reef NP, maybe the Notom/Bullfrog road? I dunno, lots of the desert looks the same. I didn't have a far enough view to really figure it out.

What others have said - since you have that funky jeep pick up as otehrs have said would put some weight (300+ lbs in the box over the rear wheels) will help w/ traction and keeping the back end straight. Also dont ever pass the snow plow ..... ya I got that T shirt when I was 18

Best thing is to mentally prepare yourself for making the drive like a turtle: slow and steady wins the race.

When you lose traction take your foot off the gas. Continuing to spin only heats the extreme surface making it even more slippery with a thin sheet of water over ice.

Lived in Memphis when I learned to drive. They get big wet snowflakes there a lot. Talking seen single flakes almost as big as my hand and have had to get out and push as others slowly accelerated up major streets with hills. Learning to drive, Dad had me start us back from his parents near Bastrop where snow was just starting. Trying to get on I-55 had to stop and get out and manually determine the road location to find the service road for the entrance ramp out in the middle of rural MS.. That flat delta land under a couple inches of fresh snow is just a white sheet with zero landmarks, can't tell where pavement starts and stops.

Since then have lived in Tulsa and Stillwater, OK where they get a lot of ice storms. Did finance company collections on NY Eve one year from the KS state line south to just below I-40 all in one day including finding ways around some too steep hills covered in continuing sleet falling. I have a pics I took to show my parents from house sitting in S. Tulsa one Easter when they traveled to be with family down here in La. Snow drifts to the top of the 6' fence and only 3-4" of a yardstick on the flat level patio, no sign of the furniture underneath. When they got back on Monday afternoon only a couple small spots of mush was left in the shade between houses.

Used to drive back and forth to Tulsa on breaks from LaTech in mid 80's. Indian Nations Turnpike is no joke when iced over. Parked on down slope between 2 hills to check on the Lincoln Continental of old folks from GA that passed me and then spun out and slid about 20 yards off the road. When I stepped out of my car my feet slipped a little, but it my car sliding a few inches when I lightly closed the door made me realize the 50mph I had been driving was too fast for conditions.

And if you ever see a long line of vehicles in the right hand lane going slow with a completely empty left lane, don't think how great it is and try to get around them. I did that and got so close to rear ending the plow/sand truck that the sand spreader device was throwing sand on my hood.

Then I lived in KC, KS one Winter and another in Gunnison, CO.. Polar opposites in that KC was basically flat prairie and CO was never a straight line, mountain roads.

Slow and steady no matter the distance to your destination. "Arrive" is all that matters, "when" takes care of itself.

Got about 2" here overnight, but I can see the glare ice on the road out the front window...

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Plow that's been running laps in a light snow on the Denver metro highways all night...not waiting for that shite

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Sure the roads are fine in that situation, but the plow will pepper your car with rock salt when you go past...

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If going down steep grades downshift gears and let your transmission work for you.

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The jeep is an automatic with "decent control" I've driven down some steep muddy slopes in my other jeep using it and I just let my foot off the gas and let the jeep drive itself.

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If you’re in a truck, throw some sand bags/logs/cinder blocks in the bed to weigh it down some.

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I installed a deck drawer system in the bed and I'm waiting for my ARE camper shell. We'll be fully loaded as we are car camping.

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Carry a -20 degree rated sleeping bag in case get stranded waiting for help.

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Me and my daughter will both have 20 degree 650 down bags plus liners that give us another 14-20 degrees. We're also geared (clothing wise) for the cold as we plan on doing some day hikes.

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What helps a tired in winter driving is compound and sipes. Sipes are the extra cuts on the tire and they helps with winter traction

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The siping on the KO's is pretty significant:

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Next time buy duratracs instead of those KO2s. They are severe snow rated in most LT sizes.

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BLASPHEMY!

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The top-rated tire for snow traction, along with off-road traction, is the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2. It has earned the snowflake/mountain branding on its sidewall by providing at least 10% more traction in a spinning snow tire test developed by the U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) and the Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) in 1999. In addition to achieving this higher snow traction rating in testing, customer surveys indicate that they are loving the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 in winter conditions. Clearly BFGoodrich's approach to designing a more aggressive all-terrain tire has made the All-Terrain T/A KO2 a top choice.

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Thanks to all for the advice!

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Drive northish out of Moab, hook a left and then come back on the edge overlooking the road.

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Gemini Bridges Road. I know that one well. I've ridden it on my Mtb bike.

I live in Montana and I’m just wondering why someone would take a car camping trip out west in the middle of winter? I spend part of the winter in Arizona and New Mexico, and even in those states winter in the mountains is no picnic. I can tell you from experience that traveling in the winter, especially in the mountains, isn’t for the faint of heart.

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We drove that 2 summers ago. The few times I’ve been in Moab, I’ve never seen rain though.

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Outside of summertime monsoon thunderstorms, most of our wet weather comes from October - March

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I live in Montana and I’m just wondering why someone would take a car camping trip out west in the middle of winter? I spend part of the winter in Arizona and New Mexico, and even in those states winter in the mountains is no picnic. I can tell you from experience that traveling in the winter, especially in the mountains, isn’t for the faint of heart.

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We're staying in Southern most parts of Utah and Colorado (Zion and maybe Canyonlands and then to Durango). We have no real reservations and our itinerary is very loose. If conditions prevent us from making it to where we're trying to go, we will reroute to secondary locations further south.

We have a plan to hit Silverton and Moab again in August and hopefully make it all the way to Yellowstone. That will be a wheelin' trip though as we'll be in the f250 with the trail jeep on the trailer. I didn't get to ride Black Bear last trip because I blew the radiator in my Truck and it took a couple of days to get one to Moab to change it.

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Nissan's active descent control is absolutely amazing for climbing and going down slippery items.

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Good point that nobody has mentioned yet. If your vehicle has traction control, make sure it's on....








....Unless you like doing donuts in the cul-de-sac with the kid before church on Sunday...

ps: It's not easy to get a subbie to do donuts....