Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

[SidBurns]

Honestly, 2ft of snow - I wouldn't be unhappy if my Rav didn't get through that! I think the clearance under the rav and low lying exhaust will let the car down in very deep stuff. Out of interest are you using a winter tyre?

I travelled up a fairly steep drive today approx 50m in about 18" snow and my Rav was excellent, managed a nice 3 point turn at the top, on a slope aswell very impressive! I think if the snows compacted or the frost has got in I may find it more difficult? I have noticed myloose underguard getting caught on deep snow but So far so good.... No need to crack open my new toughman metal spade from the boot ha ha

Blue

Yes I think it's a winter tyre. If it isn't it's great for a summer tyre. I have a 300m or so incline to take every morning which hasn't be a problem at all. It was just this turn and the noise/smell but as I said, after 5 minutes or so the smell was gone. Just a bit worried I had mibbe damaged the car when I couldn't get into the drive although between the 3 point turn and my house I did drive around 5/6 miles with no problems...

[rambler]

Hi folks

Superb video Blue....fantastic

Well down here in essex (colchester),we had 'some' snow and as per usual the area ground to a halt in rush hour :censor:

But the very worst of all the drivers were.....the green oval brand :censor: ,cutting me up,forcing their way into gaps in traffic,and some just sitting here spinning wheels,going nowhere

I had an encounter with a M reg range rover.. :censor: (ended up with me illuminating him with my lights on a quiet back road)he really annoyed me...but..revenge is sweet

But the RAV behaved superbly well,gripped took me around all the stuck cars that were spinning their front wheels

Just waiting for the morning now,a 7am start with snow and -4 temp...

Not as bad as you folks op north though....we just aint used to it here

[anchorman]

I think 18" - 24" is getting to the limit as it starts to lift the weight off the wheels. They are good but not invicible!

[webleymk3]

Dropped my boss off a couple of hours back in around 18" to 2 feet of snow. Anyway, was fine dropping him off as road had been cleared a but needed to do a 3 point turn to get back out in the snow as deep as mentioned above. The car done it fine but there was a whining noise from the steering/front wheels (!?!) when turning and a funny smell. The whining noise went away as soon as I was back on the road, the smell around five minutes later. Anything to worry about?

This is my question exactly. Every time I get remotely stuck, the engine revs drop down to the point of stalling and I get the clutch burning smell. The only way i have found to stop the stall is to reset the clutch and give it some welly. Problem with that is I am then applying uber power to the wheels which doesn't discourage them from spinning!

I was pulling a van out this morning and as the wheels were spinning (ie car going nowhere) the revs plummeted and I got the burning smell.

So, does the VSC slip the clutch as well to try and control the wheels??? I would have thought that once the clutch was up, if there was no traction the wheels would just spin and the engine rev right up???

Thoughts?

[rambler]

Uh..oH...its getting windy here,thats means snow drifting across the lanes..

Now...can my 4.2 3 door with A/T tyres plough through those drifts like blue's 4.3's can i wonder?..as its a smaller vehicle

Do i dare try.........

[bluevortex]

Uh..oH...its getting windy here,thats means snow drifting across the lanes..

Now...can my 4.2 3 door with A/T tyres plough through those drifts like blue's 4.3's can i wonder?..as its a smaller vehicle

Do i dare try.........

Okay rambler...here's a little video to wet your apetite... Part 2 keeping with a 80's theme!!

Blue

[bothwell_buyer]

Took RAV nummer one out today - 2' of snow on the back garden and driveway. Managed with no wheelspin at all, despite the exhaust running along the top of the snow. This RAV is quite light and when I investigated the tyre track, found that the car had compacted snow down to about 4" and was just riding on the top. I'll likely be out tomorrow so we'll see how it does.

Supposedly -10C here tonight so we'll see what happens.

[MarsKy]

Uh..oH...its getting windy here,thats means snow drifting across the lanes..

Now...can my 4.2 3 door with A/T tyres plough through those drifts like blue's 4.3's can i wonder?..as its a smaller vehicle

Do i dare try.........

Okay rambler...here's a little video to wet your apetite... Part 2 keeping with a 80's theme!!

Blue

Were you on full beam? Seemed a wee bit short?

[anchorman]

Dropped my boss off a couple of hours back in around 18" to 2 feet of snow. Anyway, was fine dropping him off as road had been cleared a but needed to do a 3 point turn to get back out in the snow as deep as mentioned above. The car done it fine but there was a whining noise from the steering/front wheels (!?!) when turning and a funny smell. The whining noise went away as soon as I was back on the road, the smell around five minutes later. Anything to worry about?

This is my question exactly. Every time I get remotely stuck, the engine revs drop down to the point of stalling and I get the clutch burning smell. The only way i have found to stop the stall is to reset the clutch and give it some welly. Problem with that is I am then applying uber power to the wheels which doesn't discourage them from spinning!

I was pulling a van out this morning and as the wheels were spinning (ie car going nowhere) the revs plummeted and I got the burning smell.

So, does the VSC slip the clutch as well to try and control the wheels??? I would have thought that once the clutch was up, if there was no traction the wheels would just spin and the engine rev right up???

Thoughts?

The clutch smell - as fowl as it is, actually seems worse than it is. I wouldn't encourage you to leave it but it takes very little slip to initiate it. It is a combination of the speed and the load.

The VSC doesn't cause the clutch to slip - the smell just lingers. You can disable the TRC but there is a knack. If you practice a few times you can do it in about 10 seconds;

Begin with the parking brake off and the engine off.

Start engine.

Apply parking brake and press the foot brake twice then let the parking brake off again.

Press the foot brake and pull the parking brake on and off twice then let the foot brake off again.

Finally pull the parking brake on and press the brake twice.

The VSC light will now come on and stay on until you switch the ignition off again after which the VSC defaults to on again.

You must have been on a really low friction surface and don't forget if you disable the TRC you unleash the beast and it will go wherever the laws of physics takes it. Be careful but have fun!!!

[webleymk3]

Thanks anchs. Very useful to know. I'll try it out for curiosity and see how she fairs.

I was on hardpacked snow with a loaded White van attached to a rope. The vsc was going bonkers as I was sitting in one spot wheels spinning (he was well stuck in).

What would cause the stalling?

[anchorman]

It shouldn't normally stall but get down to idle. However, if you have white van man on the back it can get a bit overwhelmed momentarily and just stall under the load. I pulled a bullion van out of the station car park last year and even with very little slip (I let go of the clutch once I'd got the wheels spinning) the smell was rank - like cat pee and amonia. It had that van out of the car park in no time and it was armoured!!! I did give it back afterwards

[webleymk3]

It shouldn't normally stall but get down to idle. However, if you have white van man on the back it can get a bit overwhelmed momentarily and just stall under the load. I pulled a bullion van out of the station car park last year and even with very little slip (I let go of the clutch once I'd got the wheels spinning) the smell was rank - like cat pee and amonia. It had that van out of the car park in no time and it was armoured!!! I did give it back afterwards

That's the smell I had definitely. The stall thing is funny. It's done it when not loaded but stuck in the snow or mud. I've had my foot off the clutch and listened to the revs drop as the wheels are spinning. It may be I need to adjust my driving style and just get used to a 4x4 that has more traction and a crazy computer system for keeping it on the road!!

Still pondering tyres. I'd like some winter tyres at least for the back but mrs Webblers says No. Can't afford to have to buy another set in the spring!! (current rears need replaced!) hopefully next year.

[Worlds End Stu]

Well it's (luckily?) been pretty pathetic here in the Midlands with just a very light dusting of snow.

I've been using the RAV as unlike my Merc C class it actually fits in my garage so I don't have the hassle of de-icing in the morning. Anyway, had a reason to use the Merc a couple of days ago and it showed me again just what a difference 4WD and winter tyres make as there's a slight incline getting out of my driveway and it took a good few attempts to get out whereas in the RAV I didn't even realise there was an issue!

I love this RAV, best £1200 I ever spent :D

[DjRav]

We've had a sudden 5-6" of snow last night (had nothing to speak of till then, being as "down south" as you can get without getting your feet wet)

We have a 9 mile journey morning and night into the New Forest where we keep our horses. The Missus says this morning (as I send her off into the snow on her own) "Shall I take the Rav or the Landrover" (appologies for having it but I tow over 2.5 tonnes and I can't afford a Landcruiser!)

I say take the Rav see if it's as good as you're all saying! Just called her to see if she made it alright and she says "Snow, what Snow?". It didn't put a foot wrong and not a single slip and theres a hilly pot holed track for the last mile.

Only got it in Sept and couldn't be happier with it. Just jealous now I haven't had a go yet!

[webleymk3]

Bumped into Mr White Van Man again today, who was once again stuck.... This time perpendicular to the direction of the road. Hooked her up and proceeded to dig myself in trying to pull the boy back. Needed a shove to get her back out! DOH!

Tried again and the van just spun round and we were out! <DREAMING> How i'd like snow tyres!

More snow please!

[bothwell_buyer]

2' of snow now in our driveway and road. Cleared a track yesterday (well, the wife did!!) and its all but filled back up!! And still snowing!

[baz1631]

snow? snow? oban's been basking in sunshine all week! (well slightly over-ast anyway). Wont make any difference tae me anyway, ma cars still without a turbo! ha ha

[bluevortex]

Uh..oH...its getting windy here,thats means snow drifting across the lanes..

Now...can my 4.2 3 door with A/T tyres plough through those drifts like blue's 4.3's can i wonder?..as its a smaller vehicle

Do i dare try.........

Okay rambler...here's a little video to wet your apetite... Part 2 keeping with a 80's theme!!

Blue

Were you on full beam? Seemed a wee bit short?

It's not really very obvious in the clip but it is actually quite hilly on that road and the lights look very different projecting against that much snow! I have RING bulbs installed 100% more light blah blah blah

[bluevortex]

Okay 10 days on I'm a bit fedup with the big freeze. I have the mother of all sore throats and my wee boy is now ill.

[MarsKy]

Okay 10 days on I'm a bit fedup with the big freeze. I have the mother of all sore throats and my wee boy is now ill.

I'm fed up shovelling my driveway. Again. Running out of places to put the snow I've been moving.

And I dug out a run for my RAV to get up said driveway, and a big :censor: JCB came along and dumped the street's snow on my run.

And 2 of my snow tyres are in Oldbury, and 2 are stuck in Cambuslang (why can't they send them in one package?). Don't matter though - my alloys for them are still in Italy :o

Roads are still blocked out my way - lots of expensive 4x4s go up the road and then bottle it.

[Smiler AS]

Never, makes Rav ownership all that better.

Simply cleaned the windscreen and out she drove.

[DjRav]

Snows turned more icey down south. Rav's still not put a foot wrong, but out in the Landrover (Discovery) yesterday I lost the back end round the same bend the Rav goes through every day!

[webleymk3]

Never, makes Rav ownership all that better.

Simply cleaned the windscreen and out she drove.

Sweet! But obviously you cleared it fully before heading out onto the main road!!

[Smiler AS]

Sweet! But obviously you cleared it fully before heading out onto the main road!!

Sure did, that was me just on to the access road that we uses between farm and main road.

Ive seen a few cars braking at junctions / roundabouts and it all coming crashing down over their windscreens and go into a blind panic!

[bluevortex]

Your Rav looks really smart covered in snow!