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Snow Handling

Ajax MD

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Ok, so the story is that HMMWVs are light in the rear and do not handle well in snow, especially thin snow. I only ever drove HMMWVs that had a heavy comms shelter in the back when I was in the Navy.

Is this true or is the issue being exaggerated by the internet? If it is true, how much weight should I put in the rear? I have a few 5-ton tires that weigh about 210lbs. each. I could toss a couple in the rear and strap them down to the D-rings in the bed, but before I go to the effort, is this necessary?
 

MattNC

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Ok, so the story is that HMMWVs are light in the rear and do not handle well in snow, especially thin snow. I only ever drove HMMWVs that had a heavy comms shelter in the back when I was in the Navy.

Is this true or is the issue being exaggerated by the internet? If it is true, how much weight should I put in the rear? I have a few 5-ton tires that weigh about 210lbs. each. I could toss a couple in the rear and strap them down to the D-rings in the bed, but before I go to the effort, is this necessary?
The weight can’t hurt but I’d try out how it is first. Do like my parents did 30 yrs ago teaching me how to drive in the snow. Go to an empty unplowed mall parking lot, get going about 20 and try to put it sideways or stop fast. You’ll get a sense real quick of where the limits are and best ways to react.
 
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Ajax MD

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In my case, it's a bit of a drive to a safe place to go slide testing, that's why I was looking for advance information.

There is a VFW parking lot just 2 minutes from my house but I got the stink eye from them the last time I went sliding about in my commuter Subaru. If the parking lot is empty, maybe I'll do it anyway. ;)
 

MattNC

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The video of a humvee doing donuts in the snow at a VFW parking lot would go viral pretty quick. Just saying if you wanted to launch a YouTube channel! Enjoy it. I miss the snow sometimes now being where 2” of snow is breaking news. I don’t miss the salt and slush.
 

TOBASH

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HMMWV’s demonstrate Newton’s Law that objects in motion stay in motion. Hit the brakes and they lock and slide. You need to feather the brakes.
 

Navy dude

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I have a couple HMMWV's, one is a basic 2 man. I never drive them in rain or snow although a couple months ago I got caught in some rain. I braked only slightly moderately and the rear began to fishtail to the point I was sure the front brakes were out. I tried some heavy braking later on dry road and it seemed to be able to stop quickly enough that the front brakes had to be working. So my uneducated opinion is that on my truck the rear brakes must grab sooner or harder, or a 2 man in snow would be absolutely terrible without a bunch of weight in the rear.
 

Ajax MD

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HMMWV’s demonstrate Newton’s Law that objects in motion stay in motion. Hit the brakes and they lock and slide. You need to feather the brakes.
Right-O. No ABS on these fellows.

I already brake pretty gently in dry conditions. The HMMWV is so heavy and suffers from so much gear drag in the transmission and portal hubs that they naturally shed speed very quickly and don't need a lot of brake action if you bother to look more than 5 seconds down the road.
 

Action

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The problem is when the roads get plowed and leave that thin slick layer. until treated and time to work. Almost everything slides on ice.
 

Coug

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I have a couple HMMWV's, one is a basic 2 man. I never drive them in rain or snow although a couple months ago I got caught in some rain. I braked only slightly moderately and the rear began to fishtail to the point I was sure the front brakes were out. I tried some heavy braking later on dry road and it seemed to be able to stop quickly enough that the front brakes had to be working. So my uneducated opinion is that on my truck the rear brakes must grab sooner or harder, or a 2 man in snow would be absolutely terrible without a bunch of weight in the rear.
The brakes are set up to brake evenly when the truck is loaded up to near it's max weight, and there really isn't anywhere to put more weight in the front. That means a lot of weight in the back will even it out.

But as has been said, they're old school tech and don't have ABS or anything else, so you have to learn to feather the brakes or pump them when you do lock them up.
 

98G

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.The HMMWV is so heavy....
My 2 man soft top variant weighs within a couple hundred pounds of my GF's jeep wrangler JKU, and 4000lbs less than my 1ton pickup truck.

My hmmwv weighs less than a Ford F150, and about 25% more than the current Dodge Challenger.

In the scheme of things, this really doesn't justify describing it as " so heavy". Is yours an uparmored variant?

When braking on slick stuff when empty, these things behave a lot like the pickup trucks of the 1980's - they'll break the back end loose first and spin end for end.

In light to moderate snow, weight in the bed will help braking and also help going. Experience with non ABS vehicles at the limit of traction will help even more.

If I were to operate my hmmwv in snowy icy conditions, I'd put weight in the bed. But my HMMWV is a pampered pet and hides from road salt. It'll venture back onto the roads only after the first good spring rainstorm.
 

Ajax MD

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I let it snow all day, then took it out. Transfer was is hi-lock.

The snow was thin and icy, just the worst. The truck handled like a pig on skates but it was manageable. Conditions were bad no matter what you were driving. I would never drive my 5 ton in this... well, I'd at least let a lot of air out of the tires.

Very educational.
 
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Action

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Years ago, there was about 6" of fresh snow at night. I was on the interstate with only 2 lines cleared from vehicle tires. single file. I got to my exit, but the 2 tracks didn't merge off until right before the exit. There were a few cars behind me. I merged over when the exit lane started, not when the tracks did. As I was making the big curve off the exit, I noticed no one was behind me. I guess the car behind me got stuck in the snow that I drove right over.
 

springer1981

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I'll through in my experiences with driving in snow and brakes in general. The HMMWV has a few things going against it for driving in snow on the roads. First are the stock tires. They work great in 3 feet of snow but on 1 inch they are nearly useless, they just aren't made for traction on the roads in snow.

Second, the brakes are a problem also. In a normal vehicle the rotors are directly attached to the wheel hubs and wheels. Of course you all know the HMMWV's are attached inboard at the differential. When you apply the brakes there is a lot of play before it applies the stopping power to the wheel. You see this merely coming to a stop at a red light and the vehicle kind of bounces back and forth after you stop. This is due to play in all the contact points like the inner CV, the outer CV and the reduction gears. Also the flex in the axle shaft itself (acts like a torsion bar). When applying the brakes in the snow, none of this helps.

Third, full time 4 wheel drive. You would think that would help and it does in 3 feet of snow. On the roads the lockers are not helping especially with cornering. In a regular open differential 1 tire is not applying power to the road and is merely there for the ride. It has better traction because it is not applying force and is less likely to slip in the snow. My HMMWV slips all the tires, especially on corners if you apply any power, when you need to traction the most.

IMO, you can only do so much to help these issues. A Mud and Snow or All Terrain tire verses a Mud knobby tire will help some. I've found it better in the snow with BFG 37x12.5x17's All Terrain tires than the stock off road mud tires. That said, it's like driving a giant rollerskate on ice. The more snow there is, the better it does. 1" of snow and you take your life in your hands on the road.
 

jkcondrey

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A good set of snow/wet tires helps a lot on nearly any vehicle. I didn't see what tires your running, but the MT have a definite lack of siping which helps a lot. I always heard regardless of 4wd, to put some bags of sand in your any truck bed for more weight as well. I am not sure what tires, if any are available with a snow tread for our rims. But aftermarket opens that up much more I am sure.
 
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Karl kostman

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If you mounted a blade on the front of your hummer and its a real steel blade you just added about 600 pounds to your front end, thats GOOD! If you are running stock hummer military tires thats BAD they are to wide and spread your weight over to large an area to get decent traction. I think the hummer has enough HP to push some snow and its a snow blade your not hauling anything. I push snow all the time with a 3/4 ton ford Hiboy with a 390 in it and its got skinny deep lug snow tires it has worked well for many years. Does the hummer have an Allison auto? if it does great if it doesnt and you push a lot of snow you can plan on a trans rebuild in 2 to 4 years , your better off to keep your RPM a bit higher than lug the vehicle. After you try it then add weight as needed and if more traction is needed AFTER you get decent tires then look at chains. its nothing complicated and I think you may be over thinking this a little!
 

TOBASH

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People are talking about “siping” the tires.

Several studies show it does not work.
 

Ajax MD

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Bottom line is, there is no good vehicle for the current driving conditions-

Patches of very thin, hard packed snow, water on the road that is in a constant state of thawing and re-freezing, creating black ice and patch ice. Today's driving conditions were worse, if anything. I took the truck out of Hi-Lock and that actually seemed to help. There were fewer instances of a "floating" sensation or that the rear end was getting loose.

I have 3 different paths that I can take to work, depending on the weather and my workday begins very early so I'm less at risk of colliding with anyone.
 

TOBASH

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Studded tires or chains.

Best thing is to just not drive
 
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