SUV for ice travel?

[tsande00]

I use a '97 3/4 ton Suburban. Gets around the lake pretty well but is a bear when/if you do get stuck. I've had her stuck twice, both times the snow was nearly half way up the passenger doors. There is so much room in there that it works great as a hauler. I keep my portable in there all winter long. WHen I get home I back it up to the garage and take out my flasher and auger. Everything else stays inside the truck so it's ready to go for next time. Last year my truck was out of service and I ended up using my '09 Chevy Cobalt 5 speed. Worked great until we got dumped on in February, at which point it was virtually useless thanks to the clearance.

[fish_eat_sleep]

I don't have experience driving a Pilot on the ice, but I have driven them. The concerns to me would be:

1. Less ground clearance than a full size truck (example: Pilot - 7.9"; My F150 - 9.1")

2. The AWD vs. 4WD (you decide when all 4 wheels get engaged)

3. It's built on a car chassis/platform (thus the lower clearance, etc)

That being said, it would beat the heck out of a car and does have a decent amount of room in back for gear. I switched from SUV (Expedition) to a pickup (F150 Supercrew) in 2011 and REALLY like having a pickup bed I can throw anything in and not care about it getting dirty.

Also, contrary to SloughShark's statement, it does well off-road. I fish off-road 100% of the time. I also pulled my ice castle off road last year. Tires + clearance + knowing how to drive (keeping momentum/not spinning tires/etc) are key (and 4WD).

I don't understand how car based means getting stuck. Grand cherokees and Pilots have decent abilities, heck even a forester has 9" clearance, they just aren't as modifiable but offer great winter traction.. part time 4 isn't always superior to AWD especially ones with 4x4 lock. 8" ground clearance is plenty unless you trail blaze in the deep. I agree trucks are nicer for outdoorsy people in general with wet smelly gear and fish but I do enjoy not having all my stuff frozen or stolen. my pathfinder weighs 4200# empty, heres the biggy... I can comfortably go places a super crew would wait for days to follow!!! (1000-1500# extra). Interestingly though you probably get better mpg and can find cheaper replacement parts when needed.

[Sonicrunch]

tall skinnys are where it is at.

get some semi tires and chain em up.

[fsnrod]

I just use my awd astro van works good for me.

[magicstix]

I forgot about the Astro AWD

Mcgurk I'm considering a rack for if we go as a family.

You have to watch the wording that the manufacturs use 4WD or AWD, it can be misleading on how the system actually works and what mph it works at. I found there is many folks that don't undrstand how there system works.

"Knowing your Limitations" that made me laugh because it reminded me of my younger days when I did a lot of offroading and was in a offroad club. Very true statement.

Tall and skinny seem harder to find now days with the different tire sizes.

One thing the Pilot doesn't have is a full frame which I think would add to the durablity.

[dougger222]

A couple Winters ago my buddy decided to take his wife's brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi out on the ice. We were pulling an atv trailer with atv on it on a lake with a packed down trail. We were good to go for the first few hundred feet but then we started to lose traction. We got to the point we lost traction and came to a complete stop. My buddy tried going back and forth but we were not moving. I told him to put it in snow mode but that didn't do anything! After spinning the tires for several minutes a fellow angler got us going again with a $500 Ford F150, my friend felt very embarrassed as his wife spent over $40,000 on the 4x4 suv with snow mode. Less than half way back to the landing (we decided to park the suv on shore and take the atv out) we got stuck again. What we did next will haunt my buddy for many years. We took the wheeler off the trailer and used it to pull the $40,000 suv (Jeep Grand Cherokee) back to shore. The $500 beater pick up pulled the suv better than the old wheeler but we got the suv back to shore. He vowed never to take his wife's suv on the ice again. Last year he bought a new F150, it does great on the ice...

My wife daily drives an older diesel 4x4 excursion. At 8,000lbs plus gear it moves through the snow pretty darn well It only gets 17-19mpg and only has a range of about 750 miles. All my 4x4's wear Michelin's and they all move through the snow great. Ran a set of those Dueller load range E's on the X and they were horrible on snow and ice. A few years ago the 4x4 dually moved through the 17 inches of snow with the Michelin's without 4x4.

The only time the Excursion was stuck on the ice was trying to get to the sleeper house on LOW. The resort didn't get to the shack before we got up so we had to blast a new trail. My buddy and I shoveled out a few times and it took a little longer to get to the house but we made it. Once the trail was broke we got in and out just fine. Didn't measure the snow but it was beyond the running boards. If we would have taken my buddy's wife new Jeep Grand Cherokee we wouldn't have gotten more than a couple feet off the plowed road.

My buddy has a 76 F150 plow truck with mudder tires and it pushes snow better than any new plow truck. A couple years ago made some pretty big piles with my diesel plow truck and he moved them with his old plow truck like they were nothing! After seeing this parked my truck and jumped in his and was blown away.

[Chad Holst]

Im with the jeep folks on this one. Ground clearence is the key. You high center anything on a snow bank and all the ponies under the hood wont matter. im driving a 93 cheep jeep (cherokee country). $800. a set of good tires over sized a bit to gain a bit of lift.

The gas milage isnt great, but if your not running All time 4 wheel drive, then its not too bad. keep in mind your baqsically driving a brick down the road. I had a late 90's jeep grand cherokee that handles the lakes great, but i think the cheap jeep, will be better. weight is a concern.

if i had to pick, id go with a hummer or range rover. My buddy picked up a range rover a few months ago for $1400 that is a TANK. i cant wait to fix the electric issue (why it was so cheap, heater control and windows are shorting out) to use it to pull the new house around. cant think of a better way to go unless it has tracks on it.

[Savage Brewer]

dougger222, yeah I heard that about some of the too fancy jeeps with all the mud/sand/snow modes kinda get in the way.

Both of my GrandCherokees did pretty well, other than there were a couple times where the computer controls would get confused and I was pretty much stuck. Maybe 2 or 3 times over the time I owned it.

If I were to have any vehicle for Ice Fishing duty it would be a 1998 or newer Toyota Tacoma 4x4, put a 3" lift and diff kit in it, ARB air lockers, add front winch and go from there. But then again at that point why not look at a snowmobile, quad or similar.

I cant say much about Hondas because I do not have any experience with them.

[ski_otter]

it depends what you want, my FJ Cruiser is great as long as I keep good tires on it, lots of clearance, and some weight to boot.

The downside is cargo space, I can't fit any of the bigger 2 person shacks in it.

I have 60" from the seats to the tailgate and the seat doesn't fold flat - also cargo area is all plactic or rubber so very easy to clean.

For those of you who use a hitch rack, does your shack get full of road grime, and salt back there?

I've thought about this as an option for a bigger shack

[hamms-scooter]

That Subaru is awesome! I use an 04 Saturn vue awd. It has the same motor and tranny as the Honda pilot,ridgeline. I don't drive through drifts and super deep snow. That pilot will be just fine for you just be smart on the ice. There are almost always plowed roads of some kind to get you out. BTW I will be replacing my suv with an Outback when it dies. Best awd system there is.

[dougger222]

My buddy had a few of the old straight 6 4x4 Jeeps and they did great in the snow/ice.

Didn't Top Gear UK did a special on 4x4 suv's in the snow? Could have sworn the Range Rover was the best... The Range Rovers are not very reliable though for the money they cost when new. A friend of mine bought a new one and put rims and stereo in it and it was over $90K. He drove it until he got married and his wife made him sell it!

[younggun]

To add to what someone mentioned about awd vs 4x4 vs auto 4x4 etc., often what they call the "system" is simply a marketing ploy and you really have to read the specs. Sometimes even the specs in sales materials can be convoluted.

I know of the same manufacturer calling it a AWD in a mini van and the exact same "system" called 4x4 in a SUV.

With that said I have a 2011 crew cab short box f150 that does well on the lakes. In college I had a 2000 jeep Cherokee sport that was awesome on the lakes.

[fish_eat_sleep]

Picky talking about platforms. Isn't a taurus, explorer, s80, flex and all those on the d4 with similar awd software? pilot, ridge lime, odyssey too. Its crazy what they do with common architecture to find very different buyers.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

Geez!!! I've seen almost everything on the ice from Neon's to 4WD 1 ton pickups. I don't think it's about what vehicles (and tires that you use)when you drive on the ice/snow, it's about how smart (or stupid) you are when venturing out. I have owned 4 wheel drive Tahoe's and pickups but, frankly I've never been stuck except when I forgot (stupid) to engage the 4 wheel drive.

I am also wondering how those track conversions work on the highway at 70 MPH. LOL!!!!

Life is all about taking chances. No guts-No glory!!!!

[magicstix]

Jeeps w/ straight 6cyl. are fantastic.

Subbys do have a great AWD system but not too much ground clearance. Little feedback from subby owners I've heard is best AWD but expensive maintenance but they said they'd buy another one.

I used to be a pickup guy till I got my 1st 4runner and found the enclosed area in back is pretty useful.

Lockers are great in most places, one exception is turning corners on ice, not good if the locker doesn't unlock or re-engages because you put a little power to it.

Once you get off plowed roads clearance is important if the snow is deep. Tracks would be fun but not too good on the road.

Great info folks, hope to hear some more. Thanks

[dougger222]

A couple Winters ago got some funny looks in the Beemer 3 series (rwd). Of course with a good pair of snow tires on it had no problem on the ice. The funniest part was driving my old high school buddy off the ice in it. 6ft plus 300# plus. He had to put his head out the moon roof! Now take an X-drive X5 with good snow tires...

My wife's Excursion has locking hubs just like the Super Duty counterparts which is nice because when the hubs are not locked in nothing on the front end spins. The only downside is the cold LOW -20 starts without being plugged in (on the ice).

BTW, the straight 6 Jeeps are very reliable, the same is true of the old 300 straight 6 Ford motor. My buddy used to haul a bobcat with his 6 cyl. Jeep with over 250K miles on it! Got to see that rig go airborne after missing the turn at Rogers on Red. Hit the sign and was still able to drive out of the ditch with pretty deep snow.

[Eric_Kruger]

Ive had my S10 bravada for over 10 years now and have NEVER been stuck, ice fishing, running muddy plowed fields for geese, minimum maintenance roads while deer hunting, and being dumb in highschool the smart trak in it has never failed me. Good tires, decent ground clearance, and a short wheelbase is what I would look at.