Guys sorry I already asked this in the past. I converted my 80 to part time 4wd when i was living in Georgia. Now I am in Montana and kind of wish I had the full time 4WD when driving around on snow covered roads. I grew up in the northeast and i am used to driving in the snow there. But honestly it is different type of snow conditions. Living in a city in the northeast i remember you would have deep snow the first day until it was cleared. After that it would be snowy slush or ice in the mornings. But it usually melted out to pavement/slush/ice after a few days. Montana is different, not worse but different. Snow falls, the plows run but leave a few inches on the roads which pack smooth. Since it is so cold for so long this packed layer just packs smooth and solid for months. Even in a big (big is relative in Montana) city a lot of the roads with be a solid layer of smooth packed snow.
Unfortunately, I find that in RWD my 80 will often spin starting off from stop signs or traffic lights on hills and stuff on that packed snow surface. So around town on the packed snow I will often run 4wd (high range, locked hubs and locked center diff) up to about 30 or 40mph. Usually if will see sections of exposed pavement on the road ahead of me I will unlock the CDL. But sometimes if it is a short (100 yards or less) exposed pavement section on a straight section of road I might leave it locked. I figure if going straight for a short distance there should be minimal binding in the center diff. It occurred to me that I drive around on sections of slick rock in Moab with 4wd on all the time at low speeds. That surface is incredibly high traction.
I am usually doing this just driving around town at 30 or 40 MPH max. I don't do this at 60 MPH on the highway or anything. In general, is this fine to do?
Unfortunately, I find that in RWD my 80 will often spin starting off from stop signs or traffic lights on hills and stuff on that packed snow surface. So around town on the packed snow I will often run 4wd (high range, locked hubs and locked center diff) up to about 30 or 40mph. Usually if will see sections of exposed pavement on the road ahead of me I will unlock the CDL. But sometimes if it is a short (100 yards or less) exposed pavement section on a straight section of road I might leave it locked. I figure if going straight for a short distance there should be minimal binding in the center diff. It occurred to me that I drive around on sections of slick rock in Moab with 4wd on all the time at low speeds. That surface is incredibly high traction.
I am usually doing this just driving around town at 30 or 40 MPH max. I don't do this at 60 MPH on the highway or anything. In general, is this fine to do?