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Snow Handling

missionexpert

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you see this merely coming to a stop at a red light and the vehicle kind of bounces back and forth after you stop.
Maybe your experience is different than mine but the back and forth I experience at a light has nothing to do with the suspension and ball joints. It's from the unbaffled fuel tank that sloshes back and forth at the lights.

I have nothing to add about driving in snow with an HMMWV, I live in Texas now but grew up in Canadian winters. This upcoming storm coming has me wondering how poorly the MT tires would perform with no natural sipes. The truck has a rear float feeling on wet slick pavement already, it'd not bad when the pavement is rougher. I don't plan on leaving the house, not because of me but because of the other crazies on the road.
 

Milcommoguy

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Maybe your experience is different than mine but the back and forth I experience at a light has nothing to do with the suspension and ball joints. It's from the unbaffled fuel tank that sloshes back and forth at the lights.

I have nothing to add about driving in snow with an HMMWV, I live in Texas now but grew up in Canadian winters. This upcoming storm coming has me wondering how poorly the MT tires would perform with no natural sipes. The truck has a rear float feeling on wet slick pavement already, it'd not bad when the pavement is rougher. I don't plan on leaving the house, not because of me but because of the other crazies on the road.
Maybe ??... I believe it has more to do with the backlash (when brakes are locked at a stop) out thru the halfshafts and gear mesh in the hubs. You get use to it after a while. Not always noticeable, but feels like a cheap drunken high. Lock up your brakes and get the boys to give it (truck) push, then a pull. (that didn't sound right) watching the wheels roll a bit. Sloshing fuel sure could add too.

As far as snow handling IMO big Ole fat tires like on the HumV's is like a snow shoe. Your not driving... your floating on snow and ice in a controlled SKID. Have to make contact with earth or your floating in space. It's the action - reaction thing... then over in a ditch or ??? Did you see the Humv's on the trailers in Texas. Don't even have to be on the road.

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Humv's ROCK, ROLL, SLIPPING and a SLIDING... DIZZY at STOPS, CAMO
 
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springer1981

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Maybe your experience is different than mine but the back and forth I experience at a light has nothing to do with the suspension and ball joints. It's from the unbaffled fuel tank that sloshes back and forth at the lights.
I had to go back and reread my post because I didn't recall mentioning anything about suspension or ball joints. You can test what I said if you want, it will take a couple of strong guys. If you hold the brakes on and have some people rock your vehicle back and forth you will see what I was talking about. The brake rotors are inboard next to the differential. When the brakes are applied the rotors wont move but all the stuff outward of them will. This consists of the inner CV joint, the outer CV joint and the reduction gear backlash. I'd bet with the brakes applied the vehicle will rock back and forth 1-2". Then try this in a truck with brake rotors attached directly to the wheel hubs (any Ford, Chevy, Dodge etc in the last 50 years) and you wont be able to budge it.

Yes the fuel sloshing around can be the inertia causing the vehicle to rock but the all the play outboard of the brakes is what allows it to happen. My Chevy 3500 doesn't have baffles, holds twice the fuel and doesn't rock when I come to a stop.
 

Milcommoguy

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Well after all this stopping and going... we're all tuned up on stopping and going.

If you spot me on the road, STAY BACK ! Needs room to maneuver, CAMO
 

Action

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Newer models (serial numbers 300,000 and up) have different gears in the hubs that almost eliminate the rocking.
For the older models, let up on the brake pedal just before you completely stop. You can figure out how to not rock.
There ARE baffles in our fuel tanks.
 

Coug

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So had snow the past couple days.
It did better than I had hoped on the MT tires at 40psi. Plenty of ground clearance to get over the ridges left by the plows.
Traction isn't that great, but I didn't expect it to be. Even with the extra weight on mine the rear end breaks free a little sooner than the front during braking. 4 wheel power slides were easy to do whenever I wanted to. Mostly it's just a matter of planning way ahead for whenever you want to stop or change direction.
I ended up pulling my cousin's car off the road yesterday(she was stuck in the middle of the road since it wasn't plowed yet and there was 16 inches of snow) and today I got asked to pull my uncle's work truck out of the cow field, it was sitting in a muck hole for a couple days and apparently the 4wd isn't working.
Anyway, with the kinetic rope dragging the truck out of the field was relatively easy as long as I kept momentum.

It's a lot of fun in the snow, but due to it's design if you're not extremely careful you'll easily slide off the road into a ditch. Then as long as you didn't break anything you can just drive it out of the ditch back onto the road.
 
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dhaumann69166

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Off-road in snow the Humvee is unstoppable. Unfortunately on pavement with snow or ice it’s also unstoppable. You just skid what ever direction momentum is taking you. Off road they will plow through snow windshield deep. So far I haven’t plowed into a drift I couldn’t back out of and with proper BTM they crawl through deep drifts. Probably should have a snorkel on if you are going through snow over hood deep to keep from sucking it into the air intake.
I have noticed you have a lot better handling on ice in 4H than 4L. 4L tends to push you straight even when you start to turn. They are a ton of fun to play with on ice. You can get them spinning perfect circles. Pretty impressed with the cold start ability on them. It was -17° this morning when I started mine and it popped right off with very little sputter. Supposed to be -29° tomorrow morning and hopefully it fires up easy again.

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TOBASH

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I would NOT start it up at -29 unless you have a block heater or special low viscosity cold weather engine oil.

Normal oil turns to sludge at low temps.

IMHO
 

48cj2a

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When we lost our last M1008 I had our snow plow mounted on the M1009, when we lost authorization for it...Last CUCV on base, We ordered the Fisher HUMV Snow Plow listed in the PS Magazine back then.

It was much lighter in the rear even with a AMTECH full hard top. I laid a pallet of 7 Wire Genset cable in the back (probably 200-300 feet for weight. It helped but was still light. I'm sure the Goodyear Wrangler Radials didnt help either.

Other complaint was the heater and wipers so I mounted a two door rear curtain behind the front seats to hold the heat in the front of the cab.

It just wasnt the same as the CUCV anymore. Hated it but it was all we had to plow the whole base.
 

Mullaney

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I see a lot of complaints about the heat in these trucks. Mine works great, thank goodness.
I had a civilian version that had a thicker than normal radiator (1979 model). Replaced the thermostat shortly after the first cold snap happened. That truck never got warm. The defroster wouldn't and the heater blew more cold than heat. I tried several different thermostats and even a replacement thermostat housing. Even one without the vacuum fittings on it...

The real solution was a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator covering a little more than half. Blocking the airflow solved my problem. In the summer, remove the cardboard. First bit of chill in the air - in went the cardboard...

That truck and I had a nice ten year relationship. Happy in the winter and she stayed cool in the summer (without cardboard) even pulling a trailer.

.
 

Havick206

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Off-road in snow the Humvee is unstoppable. Unfortunately on pavement with snow or ice it’s also unstoppable. You just skid what ever direction momentum is taking you. Off road they will plow through snow windshield deep. So far I haven’t plowed into a drift I couldn’t back out of and with proper BTM they crawl through deep drifts. Probably should have a snorkel on if you are going through snow over hood deep to keep from sucking it into the air intake.
I have noticed you have a lot better handling on ice in 4H than 4L. 4L tends to push you straight even when you start to turn. They are a ton of fun to play with on ice. You can get them spinning perfect circles. Pretty impressed with the cold start ability on them. It was -17° this morning when I started mine and it popped right off with very little sputter. Supposed to be -29° tomorrow morning and hopefully it fires up easy again.

View attachment 825900View attachment 825901View attachment 825902View attachment 825903
Did you mount your AC unit on the roof or on a bracket to free up the truck bed?
 

Ajax MD

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Once again, we've been cheated out of actual snow. We got an inch and now it's freezing rain which will last all day. I fully expect power outages.
I've moved all of my vehicles out from underneath our trees.
 
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