your Vehicle Stuck in Snow

[slowrider]

The unit that helps supply power to your rear wheels- Crv's are primarily a front wheel drive vehicle that when the computer senses a loss of traction to the front tires applies the traction power to the rear wheels. The first and second gen CRV's and I think later generations use a fluid coupled system, as the front wheels lose traction the rear wheels get more thru more applied hydralic pressure. Think yours is a second gen ?(02-06). And a five speed? These are rare birds- if I remember right they had to be ordered that way. Any how, Josh may be right about the diff. The fluid has to be changed in these every 25,000 miles. I have an 06/ five gear that has seen a lot of deep snow/mud on rig roads in Wyoming. Got stuck once last year, blizzard that left much of eastern Wyoming without power for 2 days. 4wd pickups were stuck all over too. Maintianers had a hard time keeping the roads open for more than an hour or so. Traction wasn't the problem with the CRV- got high centered and hung up. Generally get the fluid changed every 18-20K. Might be worth checking out. Starting out in second can help sometimes too.

Maintianers. Haven't heard that term since working the Pipelines.

 

[graham418]

A Newfie trick I learned a long time ago when you're stuck in some ice rut , trying to get out of a parking spot or someplace, is to throw a towel or a t-shirt under your wheel. Instant traction. I always have something like that in the truck ever since

 

[crgildart]

I've had to do this a couple times..

Really though, never been so stuck I had to call for help. Two people to push and shove stuff under wheels thanks to a lifetime if winter situation experience has kept me mostly on the road so far.

 

[KevinF]

I got stuck badly enough that I needed a tow truck once. It was at the Mountaineer Inn at Stowe. The hill (and it's not that much of a hill) out of the hotel lot was ice, so the car tires were spinning, and it just slid backwards and buried itself into a snowbank. There was no way I was getting it out of that without a tow.

There was a second time going up a dirt road to an AirBnB rental in Waterbury. I took my foot off the gas for a minute to check directions and the car started sliding back and got stuck in a snowbank. Some shoveling, some good Samaritans and some pushing, etc. and we got it out though. Thankfully.

Other than those two incidents.. I've always been able to rock it back and forth to get unstuck, etc.

 

[crgildart]

A Newfie trick I learned a long time ago when you're stuck in some ice rut , trying to get out of a parking spot or someplace, is to throw a towel or a t-shirt under your wheel. Instant traction. I always have something like that in the truck ever since

Floor mats work very well for that.

 

[sparty]

Never needed a tow truck, thankfully, but I have made use of a tow strap plenty of times.

As far as tools to get unstuck, I now have an aluminum Burton shovel (close to being an avy shovel but heavier), an actual recovery strap (dynamic), and a winch (plus associated gear). They locking diff and true 4WD in the truck can also be helpful (although they can also help you get more stuck). If I went back to a smaller vehicle, I'd still be carrying the shovel and the recovery strap, or maybe a smaller version of it.

Going back to when I first got my license, I think I had to dig my mother's Saturn wagon out of at least three or four different snowbanks.

Then my first vehicle was a 2WD Toyota pickup with a five-speed. Surprisingly, I don't think I ever got it truly stuck in the snow, but that might be because it was such a poor choice for deep snow that I couldn't get it far enough to really get it stuck.

Two vehicles later I had a 91 GTI, which I think I got stuck about three or four times while I was living in Burlington and commuting to Bolton Valley. Never stayed stuck for very long, but I do recall getting flat towed over a mile one time when we got a significant fall storm while I still had summer tires--and I do mean relatively high performance tires, not just "all-seasons"--still on.

Then two vehicles later was a Suburban. I got that truly stuck twice; the first was the most embarrassing, as I didn't have proper winter tires on it, a soft parking lot froze up during the day, and I needed a tug from another vehicle to get out of my parking spot.

The second time, I was driving back from a race at Stowe, with athletes, and I pulled over when I saw blue lights on the rear view. Good news was that he was after someone else, the bad was that the smoothed and pushed back snowbank had filled a ditch and the right side of the rig dropped in. Thankfully, someone offered to yank me out pretty quickly.

Then a few vehicles later in Montana, I had been playing around in the spring trying to teach myself how to actually ride a mountain sled and found a guy who thought he could get his new-to-him Wrangler on street tires up a melting but not plowed USFS road. I figured no big deal, unhooked my trailer and pulled up with my Xterra. Hooked up my tow strap...and got the Xterra high-centered. That resolution involved a lot of digging, installing chains while stuck (even less fun than doing it on smooth pavement) and eventually summoning my roommate and his Cherokee to yank out the Wrangler. By that point, we had the Xterra free again but I wasn't feeling like I wanted to get it stuck again at 9 p.m. and several miles from town.

And then there was the incident driving back from Jackson to Red Lodge, via Targhee and then West Yellowstone, on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. Missed a turn on the GPS, misjudged the road edge by about 6-10" turning around to go back to the turn, slid into the ditch. That's the only time so far I've used the winch on my F-150 to rescue myself, and I'm pretty sure it was worth the cost of having it for that one incident. The Good Samaritan who tried to pull me out with a strap had zero effect, but using the second vehicle as an anchor and pulling with the winch got us back on the road pretty quick. I'm fairly sure a tow truck would've added hours to what was already a very long drive.

 

[scott43]

Jeepers..where to start!!

 

[oldschoolskier]

I’ve been stuck with FWD, RWD and 4WD. In most cases it was last minute driver judgement error. In all circumstances it was always at slow (or extremely slow) speed.

How to get out. Clear path for tires in the direction you want to go, clear space for underbody to move, finally anything that adds traction, sticks, stones, sand, floormats, blankets etc. I’ve had enough forethought to ensure I always have at least one set of tire changes (except at the very beginning of my driving experience).

For the record I currently drive a ‘14 2wd Supercrew F150 (by choice less maintenance headaches with the mileage I do) and get in and out of places most drivers with AWD or 4wd fear to go.

How to avoid getting stuck and if stuck how to get out is using your mind.

Finally remember......

Fast in, hard out,

Slow in, easy out.

 

[wyowindrunner]

I've had to do this a couple times..

Really though, never been so stuck I had to call for help. Two people to push and shove stuff under wheels thanks to a lifetime if winter situation experience has kept me mostly on the road so far.

yepper sometimes spinning wheels do the trick

 

[wyowindrunner]

I’ve been stuck with FWD, RWD and 4WD. In most cases it was last minute driver judgement error.

Old friend used to say you can be a little dumber with 4WD.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I've never been 'tow-truck' stuck, but certainly shovel and sand stuck.

Often the push from a person or two is all it takes. I've been the un-stucker more often than the stuckee. A shovel, sand and a tow strap, in that order are the best things to have. Most times when I try top pull someone with my tow strap my wheels spin, even with the locker and excellent (unstudded) snows.

I do remember one time in my first car when I slid my '69 VW Fastback off into the snow bank. It was mostly due to the extreme camber of the road and less than adequate tires although I seem to recall I always had at least snows on the rear; I guess that's why the recommend four. A guy stopped, pulled out his shovel and cleared me out so I could drive out on my own with a little push. He refused compensation and continued on. I never take compensation for that reason.

Since then all my encounters with snowbanks have been silly, low speed mistakes, like thinking I could make the 90* turn into a parking lot.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

a few over the years, and also repay I can

but most memorable was by another twit.
First he pissed everyone off by ripping donuts in the busy day ski parking lot in his obviously brand new Hummer. Full stereo windows down.
Then thought it would be even more impressive to launch himself onto the snow pile by the the ticket window at Big White.
When the snow bank pancaked beneath him he found himself not only stuck, but in so deep snow was coming in the windows and he had to crawl out onto the roof

That got a lot of cheers and laughter.

I don't remember anyone offering to help.

 

[slowrider]

 

[François Pugh]

I broke my arm on a Sunday, got it x-rayed on Monday, and they set me up with an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. We had a big storm on Wednesday. I hate paying exorbitant fees for hospital parking, and less than a mile away is free parking by the sports fields. Only problem is the sports field parking is in a bit of a valley and tends to collect snow. Snow was about two feet deep. Nevertheless my Mazda 3 (front wheel drive) was doing fine, until I made a tight turn into my chosen spot. That's when I realized that I had forgotten to turn off the traction control. It killed the power in mid turn.
I keep a shovel in the car for things like that, but with a freshly broken humerus, I didn't feel much like shovelling. I used my boots to clear a straight path in front of the car, and took advantage of a good Samaritan who decided to help push the idiot trying to park a one wheel spinning at a time drive car through two feet of snow.
Needless to say, once I was moving again I didn't turn into a spot; I kept going and parked in the expensive hospital parking up on the hill. Snow was only one foot deep there.