How does this drive in the snow?

I drive 45 min one way to work everyday. I used to have a 2016 Silverado with the auto option and always left that on during the wintertime and no issues. Now have a 2018 Tundra Limited Crewmax. Live in the Buffalo NY area. I can just pop into 4 HI any time and I'm good to go? Will it drive like a dream?

 

Well, 4 hi is a lot different than 4 auto. 4 Hi you need to think about what you are doing. If its dry pavement, turn it off, otherwise you will bind up on corners. If its slushy, you can usually use 4 hi but I still turn it off when I enter a parking lot and know I will be doing a tight turn into a space. You have to be very aware of pavement conditions when deciding to use 4wd.

My rule of thumb is any time there is white stuff on the road I am in 4wd. When I know I am going to park, I turn it off before hand. The 4wd system also tends to have trouble if you are parked still and then try to turn off 4wd, so sometimes you might have to stay in gear and drive or reverse to get it to turn off while its blinking.

I recommend fully reading the manual that goes over this and the operation of 4wd.

 

No. It won't make tight corners without grinding. I use mine on straight always and no sharp turns.

2wd most of the time for me in the snow capital of Canada where we have winter 6months of the year.

Good snow tires or snowflake rated tires are a good idea.

Or what @Pine Tree State posted above.

 

The tundra should drive quite well in the snow

30 plus years in Alaska - drove in 4 wd maybe 20% of the time. If it was good and cold and the roads were plowed I used 2wd -- if fresh snow, roadways not plowed yet or freezing rain I used 4wd as needed. Good tires and good old commonsense go miles.

oh, by the way: never once did driving in 4wd ever helped me slow down or stop!

 

Hey neighbor, good tires along with 2-300lbs in the bed and you will be fine. People laugh but that little bit of extra weight really helps!

 

Stomp and steer!

 

Correct tires will make it drive like a dream.

I'll drift sideways in 4wd with my stock Bridgestone's because they're half tread and not designed for snow.

 

Yeah I have some Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac on her with about 25K on them. Just had it at the dealer and they said they looked great still.

 

Howdy neighbor! I'm near Rochester NY and have been through 3 winters in a Tundra. I drive about 30 mins one way to work and never once had an issue, not even a close call. If the snow is coming down or if its really wet/slushy I'll put it in 4Hi (sometimes). Other than that I just pimp along in 2wd. I've never had a vehicle that does better in the snow than the Tundra. Just keep good tires on it and drive smart and you'll be just fine.

 

I just bought my '21 Tundy in April. Mine's an SR5 XS so it has pretty much street tires on it. We'll see how it does. My previous truck, an '01 Tacoma, had some nice off-road / snow tires on it and they performed great.

 

I lived in upstate NY for five years driving a 2011 Taco 4x4. Sometimes I would keep it in 4hi for days. Drove fine with some good tires and never had a problem.

 

The stock ones are horrible in the snow. I had a '14 Tacoma with Toyo Open County AT's on it. Not the greatest tire but decent. Performed way better than these stock tundra tires.

 

I’ve had my 18 Tundra for one major snow and ice event which was several days long. Very lucky for me, I had just had snow rated 33” Coopers mounted.

I came from a Camry, which had me slithering home and peeing my pants for 11 years of Oregon winters when there was snow or ice.

The Tundra did well. I had a blast, and never slipped. I chewed over the 3 foot snow walls built up by the plows, easily managed deep icy ruts, and used 4WD for climbing and descending steep hills. I manage a healthcare center, and wound up being a main source of transportation for frontline workers who live all over the Portland and surrounding area for 3 days.

I often feel like the guys who live in the NE US and Canada have developed an additional lobe on their brain to compensate for long periods of driving in snow and ice.

No comparison for the PNW, where we see sporadic major weather events and don’t really have enough time to acclimate and evolve.

But the Tundra made it seem easy, almost like a video game. I think you’ll love it if you have good tires.

 

Forgot to mention: I also have a Diamondback cover and always throw two 75-pound sleeves of sand in the bed when freezing weather starts.

 

Put it in 4HI and send it. Dry pavement isn’t really an issue unless you’re trying to make a tight turn into a parking lot or something.