re: #404 darthstar

One of my co-workers was going to Reno last year, and asked me(because I ski virtually every weekend in the winter) if he needed chains for his Ford Expedition. I asked if he had 4WD, and he did. I said, “Just keep it around 30mph across the pass, use 2nd and 3rd gear to hold your speed, and don’t touch the brakes!” The following Monday, he came in with a harrowing experience of doing five donuts down the hill by Emigrant Gap before stopping facing the wrong way. I said, “You hit the brake, didn’t you?” He hung his head and said he didn’t realize a 4WD would spin out on the snow. Ugh.

A lot of people think having 4-wheel drive makes you invincible. I know firsthand just how vulnerable 4WD vehicles can be. Care must be taken in 4-wheel mode just as in 2-wheel mode; it just gives an added measure of safety when executing turns.