I grew up in Syracuse.
Some winters we would hardly get any snow. Some winters we were snowmobiling around Halloween.......
My Bro lives in North Syracuse, and so far we've got much more snow in Denver this year...
I use 4wd with the Cherokee, and don't see the need for any extra weight in the back.
I used to drive big-*** behemoth RWD cars back when I lived in NY, and I always put a couple sandbags in the trunk..........One car I had studded snow tires on for a couple seasons, and that made a HUGE difference.....

30x9.50 BFG AT's work awesome in the snow on the Cherokee.

 

Driving my Toyota long-bed up my gravel road, (16 years ago), the rear of my truck passed me as I drove up the hill. (embarrassing). Later, I found that two 6 cyl cast iron heads "clipped" neatly between the back of the wheel "humps" and the back of the bed. Didn't have any flat iron plate, the thick stuff is way heavy. 200lbs would be good.

 

Damn homie, your only in PA..... lol better safe than sorry tho.

 

Last year we had the most snowfall to date, this year we have like 5 inches..... its lame. I wanna ride the board and polaris!!!

 

Nice, local ppl! I love the challenge of snow driving. It WAS real icy the other night, maybe thats why it was so shi++y.... or the fact my rear brakes dont work ATM...... either way, just looking for suggestions. I miss my subaru tho

 

I always carry my winch, (on a rec. hitch plate), and 75 lb tool box in the back. Just out of necessity really. But I do notice the ride is much less springy, and gets slightly better traction in the snow. I also run MT tires year round.

 

The first snow bugs MN drivers, but then they relearn fast enough. I used to be a Sgt at a Sheriff's Office and always made it into work in a subcompact, even in heavy snow. When my guys would whine about not being able to get in, they could usually figure out how to drive when I threatened to send a transport truck out to fetch them.

 

I've rarely had any issues. It's always me pulling out some moron that can't drive or some girl that was on the phone, doing her nails, or whatever and went off the road.
The 25 mile drive to and from college puts me on a north-south open road that had a lot of idiots that get blown off the road because of crosswinds, drifts and poor tires, etc... Last winder, with my TJ, I hauled out at least 15 vehicles between January and April.
I'd rather have too much than not enough.

You should see my backpacking/camping load out. lol

 

I was in PA last feburary for groundhogs day when you guys got that "big ice storm" . WTF is up with that whole maditory 35 mph on the highway during weather advisories?!?!?! that was hell. But while i was headed back up north i did see a car that took out the gaurdrail by one of the many cliffs and tire skid marks headed straight off and down.... it was sketchy. Im assuming that person didnt live.

 

I have lived near Lake Michigan for 60+ years and 10 inches of snow overnight is just a minor inconvenience. A bit of extra weight in the back doesn't hurt,but the best thing for handling heavy snow is tall/skinny tires.Wide tires on snow have a hydroplaning effect.-----GeezerD

 

I'm outside of the snowbelt, I'm actually about 45 minutes outside of the area that gets hammered with lake affect snow so I don't get all the winter warnings like Erie does. I know areas like I-90 and I-75 get hammered with ice and snow, so they started slowing people down in bad conditions.
When I head north on Rt62, it gets hairy. The cross winds and increase in snowfall makes for some darn fun driving. This is typically where I end up pulling people out of the ditch.

 

Here here! And yes, I agree with weighting the back a bit. I just equate it to older pick ups that had like 400 pounds over the rear... Adding a few sandbags always provided for better traction and a smoother ride over the frost heaves.. I put 2x 5gal buckets in the rear last winter.. May have been a bit too heavy. I think 1/2-3/4 full would be sufficient..

 

I agree 100%. Tall and skinny with decent siping gets you around in winter pretty darn good. I have yet to get myself into a situation a decent set of tires and some fancy pedal and steering wheel work can't get me out of in snow.

 

I throw tube sand bags in, can be used for traction on ice,
seems less of a chance of them becoming airborne
towards you during a hard stop vs other loose weights.

 

Ok, everybody says use 4x4, but most situations don't really call for it if the roads are only light snow covered. I throw 3 tube sand bags in the rear which helps with the rear wheel traction when the roads are slush covered and not deep enough or extra icy. I do miss my old 88 Lardo series XJ that had the full-time 4x4 which I could leave engaged all winter long. I do like 4x4 to pass the Tuners (Rice Burners) that dirve like Mario Andretti when the roads are dry, but drive like little old ladies when snow hits the ground.