Jeep wranglers 4x4 (Colorado Springs: taxes, live in, costs)

[shootingal]

I'm thinking of moving to the springs area I have a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 with a soft top and a 2inch body lift. Can anyone advise me on the safety and or approprate use of such vehichle? Would I be better off getting another type of 4 wheel drive vehicle for the snow and ice conditions? I also have a Ford 1 ton dually pickup and I am wondering about the same. Any advise would be greatly appreceated. Thank you.

[vfrpilot]

A lifted Jeep would be handy to get over snow drifts that would stop vehicles with less ground clearance. But this doesn't happen very often. Most of the time the winter conditions are snow or ice cover roads. A short wheelbase and high center of gravity are not condusive to these type of road conditions. A front or all-wheel drive vehicle with snow/ice tires would be much more practical. The Jeep would be fun in the mountains during the summer months.

[TheBeach]

We have a 2001 Toyota 4Runner and live in Peyton, Colorado. Because of where we live, we can get snow drifts 4-5 feet deep on our road sometimes (last year for example). Every year, I try to blast thru these drifts with our 4Runner. We can stuck every time All I can say is that when the snow is really deep, chains might be the best way to go. I usually just fire up the L4630 Kubota Tractor and use the Frond End Loader to clear a path so I don't have to use the chains on the 4Runner. And yes, I do get the Kubota stuck in the snow as well

If you are young, you will love this stuff. If you are a old fart, it's a different matter (non-trivial as they say in the world of UNIX where I lived for many years ).

[PokerMunkee]

I had a Jeep Wrangler (2002 Apex) when I lived in Grand Rapids, MI..........Which gets almost 2x as much snow as CO Springs. It did great getting through huge piles of snow. But 4x4 does nothing on ice or slippery roads. A good set of snow tires is the key.

We are moving to CO Springs in the summer and I'm still trying to decide what to do with our vehicles. I have a 06 Pontiac GTO (rwd, 400hp), and she has a 06 TrailBlazer SS (rwd, 400hp). I'm thinking snow tires will get us through 90% of the stuff, but I think we might find a nice used Subaru for $10K and share it during the winter. My cars are going to be slow at 6000+ FT

[vfrpilot]

We are moving to CO Springs in the summer and I'm still trying to decide what to do with our vehicles. I have a 06 Pontiac GTO (rwd, 400hp), and she has a 06 TrailBlazer SS (rwd, 400hp).

Allright, I'm jealous. Either would be a dream for me, although a 'summer' dream. Even with snow tires, these 2 would be a nightmare in winter conditions. Too much power and the tire profiles would have you doing donuts all over. Should've got the 4-wheel option on the SS. Maybe you can get a winter 'beater' and keep these for fair weather days. This is a common practice with nice RWD cars. You don't really want to subject them to the thrashing they'll take when there is sand/salt mixture on the highway anyways.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by shootingal

I'm thinking of moving to the springs area I have a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 with a soft top and a 2inch body lift. Can anyone advise me on the safety and or approprate use of such vehichle? Would I be better off getting another type of 4 wheel drive vehicle for the snow and ice conditions? I also have a Ford 1 ton dually pickup and I am wondering about the same. Any advise would be greatly appreceated. Thank you.

Wranglers are good off-road vehicles (used appropriately, following "Tread Lightly" guidelines). It wouldn't be my first choice for snow and ice driving, primarily because of the short wheelbase. You will see a lot of 'em spun out and in the ditch on icy roads (some, no doubt, because of being driven too fast for condtions). I'm also not a big fan of soft tops. Colorado Springs (and a lot of Colorado locales) are not crime-free places and a soft top is pretty inviting for a vehicle break-in.

I don't know whether your dually pickup is 4WD. A 2WD dually is pretty much worthless on ice and snow, unless it has a heck of a load in it. I know this personally--many years ago I drove 'em as part of my work.

Finally, I don't know where you are moving from, but know that driving distances in Colorado can be long. In relatively fuel-inefficient vehicles like you describe, fuel costs can be a real killer. Colorado fuel costs are higher than the national average, and Colorado has one of the highest fuel taxes in the nation. Unlike some places, diesel fuel in Colorado is even higher priced--right now often 30 cents a gallon more than unleaded regular gasoline.