Bad week for 77 series trucks.

[Jim_Hbar]

me, i lock the hubs first of nov and leave them locked till the end of feb or even march. you lose about 2 mpg in the real cold for the resistance of turning the front diff but the peace of mind is worth it to me.

vehicles with an auto locker in the rear should have front hubs locked in winter months, PERIOD. that ass end can come around even in conditions that you think it shouldn't.

X2 what Wayne said - actually, I normally leave my hubs locked all year unless I head out onto the highway in the summer..
But then I live in a rural area.
And I push that 4x4 button, or pull the lever at any speed. Just be absolutely certain no tires are slipping when if you do it.

 

[BiffS]

like suggested, get a LJ78 or KZJ78 and stick the heart into it.
usually you can pick one up with a dead engine for cheap adn you have all the donor parts.

me, i lock the hubs first of nov and leave them locked till the end of feb or even march. you lose about 2 mpg in the real cold for the resistance of turning the front diff but the peace of mind is worth it to me.

vehicles with an auto locker in the rear should have front hubs locked in winter months, PERIOD. that ass end can come around even in conditions that you think it shouldn't.

i wasn't pointing fingers with my post, i was speaking words to the wise hoping that someone reading this thread would take the suggestions to heart and try it out.

no offence taken Wayne,

I shoulda not been so lazy as to push that"hub lock" button, right beside that "H4" button. . .

live and learn.

good feedback about the tires by all BTW.

 

[bsmith123]

pics

wow, the pics were pretty dramatic, gladly no serious injury!

Some good tips for me to keep in mind when driving snow in my 40---bfg m/t's , shoot I thought they would work like a snow tire

Sometimes especially with ICE there's not much you can do once it starts going away on ya

although you just lost a nice rig--has there been another in the back of your mind?

if my 40 went I think I would be really really bummed--- but soon driving an HJ61 or a 70 series if I could find one

 

[crushers]

i used to do frozen river running in Alberta, crazy speeds and tight bends, slush, VERY slippery ice, ice flows etc etc.
blurping the throttle quickly while turning does wonder vs steady application of power or steady braking.

my suggestions to everyone that lives in the "winter belt", and i do this EVERY winter, go find a parking lot, church ones work the best since there is no one around. power turns, panic stops, drifting, figure eights, reverse donuts all in a controlled enviroment so no one gets hurt.

then when that bone head comes sliding through the stop sign or does a panic stop (slide) in front of you etc, you have a good idea how to react ...

just a suggestion.

 

[fzj75macka]

i used to do frozen river running in Alberta, crazy speeds and tight bends, slush, VERY slippery ice, ice flows etc etc.
blurping the throttle quickly while turning does wonder vs steady application of power or steady braking.

my suggestions to everyone that lives in the "winter belt", and i do this EVERY winter, go find a parking lot, church ones work the best since there is no one around. power turns, panic stops, drifting, figure eights, reverse donuts all in a controlled enviroment so no one gets hurt.

then when that bone head comes sliding through the stop sign or does a panic stop (slide) in front of you etc, you have a good idea how to react ...

just a suggestion.

Yea but thanks to the peoples republik of Ontario we Ontarians my be charged with stunting depending on the whim of some cop. So if you want to do this in Ontario do it out of site of the popo. God forbid we learn how to have good care and control of our vehicles.

 

[crushers]

i am in Ontario but back woods ontario ... thanks for the heads up though.

 

[fzj75macka]

i am in Ontario but back woods ontario ... thanks for the heads up though.

I live on the north shore of lake superior if you want to compare backwood notes. The cops here have nailed about 10 kids with stunting, and a few adults for spinning their tires on gravel for stunting.

 

[crushers]

wow, you got some nasty cops
or
some kids/adults that have little respect ...

 

[fzj75macka]

I live in a training area for Ontario's finest and rookie cops are basically told to throw the book and then let the judge decide.

 

[crushers]

ouch ...

 

[Eric Winkworth]

i used to do frozen river running in Alberta, crazy speeds and tight bends, slush, VERY slippery ice, ice flows etc etc.
blurping the throttle quickly while turning does wonder vs steady application of power or steady braking.

my suggestions to everyone that lives in the "winter belt", and i do this EVERY winter, go find a parking lot, church ones work the best since there is no one around. power turns, panic stops, drifting, figure eights, reverse donuts all in a controlled enviroment so no one gets hurt.

then when that bone head comes sliding through the stop sign or does a panic stop (slide) in front of you etc, you have a good idea how to react ...

just a suggestion.

Definitely agree, I got a taste of how quickly the rear end of the SWB 70's can swing around the drive home from buying it. Scary especially with the on coming, sheer luck there was no collision. Now if I know the road is slippery I take my sweet as time. If I find I'm really holding up traffic I'll pull over and let a big group by, and 9 times out of 10 I see at least one car from the group in the ditch down the road!

 

[1tontoy]

Absolutely GREAT ADVICE!

You have to 'push it' to see where you 'are' on the roads. I used to do this almost daily living in the Rockies and high country when I thought the road could be suspect. Always, check your road when you can. Slam on the brakes, or do some check to see how slick the road is. As a rule of thumb, go slow as hell. I've gotten sideways and spun out on my street even when I thought I 'knew' the road. Patience is truly a virtue. That why we drive cruisers!

Oh, and keep the hubs locked all winter so you can grab the shifter and put her in 4wd at any given moment. And know how to steer into a spin out instead of out of a spin out.

i used to do frozen river running in Alberta, crazy speeds and tight bends, slush, VERY slippery ice, ice flows etc etc.
blurping the throttle quickly while turning does wonder vs steady application of power or steady braking.

my suggestions to everyone that lives in the "winter belt", and i do this EVERY winter, go find a parking lot, church ones work the best since there is no one around. power turns, panic stops, drifting, figure eights, reverse donuts all in a controlled enviroment so no one gets hurt.

then when that bone head comes sliding through the stop sign or does a panic stop (slide) in front of you etc, you have a good idea how to react ...

just a suggestion.

 

[Clint79]

Wow that sort of car park actions will get your vehicle impounded for a month over here and loss of licence for at least 6 months.
Hence why I don't have ls1 etc powered vehicles any more, just slow looking cruisers and take the car park play out bush, away from people that get upset by it

 

[crushers]

hummm, maybe practicing is wrong. sorry guys. of course i will still do it since i want to know how to react quickly and safely but i won't be recommending it again.
my bad.

 

[fzj75macka]

hummm, maybe practicing is wrong. sorry guys. of course i will still do it since i want to know how to react quickly and safely but i won't be recommending it again.
my bad.

I still do it but away from prying eyes. I just go to the town snow dump area and play when my friend is working. He has to unlock the gate

 

[gofast]

In addition to know your vehicle and practice which I agree on - I'm back to the tire choice. Tires are designed for specific purposes and snow tires are unique in that they are designed to fill up with snow. Snow sticks to snow and that's where the traction comes from. Sipes grip ice and wet pavement better. The narrower the tire and the better the benefits.

I went out once in the spring with a guy who just bought his pathfinder and was still running the stock all seasons. When we got to the snow, I waved good bye as he kept going and I floated on top and lost traction. I had 31X10.50 all terrains on (uni - royals). I had to make continuos runs until I made a road.

After running BFG ATs one winter and then switching to a snow tire half way through - the difference was night and day.

Cheers,

John

 

[crushers]

add one more 77 near Calgary to the badly damaged list. repairable.

 

[SimonInAustralia]

Wow that sort of car park actions will get your vehicle impounded for a month over here and loss of licence for at least 6 months.
Hence why I don't have ls1 etc powered vehicles any more, just slow looking cruisers and take the car park play out bush, away from people that get upset by it

Different situation over there with driving on snow and ice covered roads, don't think you would get much of those sorts of conditions where you are.

And practicing with the limits of traction on snow/ice isn't going to make the same sort of commotion as doing so on concrete/asphalt, plus could more easily be explained to police as a safety/learning exercise if they hassle you.

 

[ForealBoreal]

add one more 77 near Calgary to the badly damaged list. repairable.

for peat sakes! really where did you hear this?

 

[Radd Cruisers]

We've had snow and ice here for about a week now, had my 74 and my 77 out today - 74 has Toyo M55s and the 77 has Toyo MTs. The M55s were far superior in traction - they are like a traditional snow tire in many respects - aired down 10 PSI for the winter.

One block from my shop, a guy put his work van on its roof in a creek/ditch while going around a corner a little too fast (with what looked like very bald tires). Probably a total loss.

Clinton: I have a good LJ78 body here if you need one - it's mostly stripped of interior stuff and some of the glass is gone. But you could likely put most of your PZJ stuff into it and fine a couple of rear corner windows to make it a go.


~John