Thoughts on Off-roading in deeper snow?

[heavylunch]

Hello,

I am in Minnesota/Wisconsin areas and drove my previous 3rd gen Tacoma in the snow like this guy all the time without a 2nd thought. Terrain not as steep around here but often I would go down trails not knowing if I am going to get stuck or not and giving her all she's got to get out. No issues on my 3rd gen other than getting stuck and having to dig out and try again.

How are you all doing with 4th gens that go off-road like this video? After The Fast Lane truck video and now this one I am getting a bit nervous on how fragile my 4th gen 2025 Trailhunter might be. I would feel better knowing some of you all actually drive like this guy off-road and don't get a dashboard lit up like a Christmas Tree.



Thanks for the feedback in advance!

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[Sagebrush]

After The Fast Lane truck video and now this one I am getting a bit nervous

Have you noticed that the problem Fast Lane had hasn't shown up on any forum or Facebook page?

Obviously, Toyota fixed that issue. We should find out what happened with this truck.

 

[lauren01]

The stock tires suck for snow because they’re low on tread depth and not rated for snow as others smarter than me about tires have mentioned on this forum.
I was watching the video last night and if he said he aired down, I missed that. He usually tries them stock and then airs down for snow tests.

But I did not like how the dash lit up on him either. He was a lot calmer than I would have been, saying he would keep ignoring those alerts, since mine went into limp mode when that happened on the freeway in too fast of traffic during a rainstorm. (We Californians must be the world’s worst drivers in the rain.)

 

[Mooney46ec]

I can't believe he is calling 2-3 of snow, snowy conditions. Anything under 5 inches where I am is nuisance snow.

 

[lauren01]

I can't believe he is calling 2-3 of snow, snowy conditions. Anything under 5 inches where I am is nuisance snow.

LOL! He did indicate it was mostly mud, he had hoped for more snow, but he would have to go with it.

 

[Yotota]

I'm not going to watch some clickbait video.

If the snow is over a legit road and less than maybe 5" deep, or is a fully compacted snow surface where the tires don't sink in at all, that's not deep snow. That's just a snowy road. A Subaru with good tires can cruise over this.

Real "deep snow" means that the snow compresses a lot and the truck wants to sink to the axles/frame/skids. Flotation becomes priority. Driving style changes completely.

But deep snow is no big deal with the right tires. A good LT all terrain, especially one that's 3PMS rated, is plenty. Air down to 20psi on stock wheels, or 15-16psi on wheels with better bead retention (like Method "Bead Grip" wheels).

And for our trucks, 4 low in deep snow or even automatic MTS modes. Rear locker if you have it, unless you're in a bad off camber situation.

Driving style can be either creeping along and avoiding all wheelspin, or hammering down a bit to maintain momentum. If you have other trucks to pull you out of a hole or drift, the latter is way more fun.

 

[Backcountry1]

So some things to consider regarding this video.
1. Ryan states that this particular trailhunter is a pre production press model. Toyota has done many refinements since that truck was made. Think of the TFL comment from above. TFL got one of the first Tacoma’s in the states and found a weakness. Toyota subsequently fixed the problem.
2. Ryan, the guy in the video actually owns a 4th gen tacoma that he actually wheels. Check out his other videos. He doesn’t have any of the problems this trailhunter has.
3. the stock tires are acceptable at the very best. I wouldn’t go wheeling like he did with them. I would make sure I had good tires that are at least snow rated. Plus, that truck had over 8000 miles on it so those stock tires are really probably at half life.
4. it’s a Toyota and don’t get me wrong the new tundra is having lots of issues but Toyota will stand behind its product. If that happened to my trailhunter I would be confident Toyota would fix everything wrong. Think back to the frame replacement of the first gen tacomas.
This again is just my 4 cents.

 

[Wife bought my 24 TRD]

Tires, tires, tires make all the different in any kind of snow. Deep snow requires flotation tires.
Check out an old topgear video where they're railing a custom Toyota in extremely deep snow.

 

[Taco Ji]

I watched that video the other day. Keep in mind the TH truck in this video is a press preproduction sample truck meaning it’s been through lots of abuse as he made a mention of this 18:40 mark

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