Let's visit on the Porch II (Billings, Helena: failure, 2015, living)

[rambrush]

Interesting Article, Will have to reread it a couple of times as it covers so much.

Originally Posted by Reziac

An interesting article:

The Oldest Divide by Victor Davis Hanson, City Journal Autumn 2015

[Threerun]

[Montana Griz]

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the other CD posters. Having T.G. at my daughter's on Saturday due to her mother in law falling last night in the nursing home and breaking her hip (age 85). I am putting one of my Ruffed Grouse in the rotisserie oven stuffed with some sage dressing and eat it while I watch the BEARS beaf the PACKERS........ BY

[KingstonBob]

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!

[Reziac]

Wish you were here! You could help eat turkey and dressing.

<peers into oven>

If it ever finishes cooking....

[Reziac]

So I've been looking around for an inexpensive used 4x4 just for a snow vehicle (the dually being good on ice but not good in deep snow) and one that I came across is a middle-aged Bronco... any words of wisdom? I'm thinkin' the short wheelbase would be a lot easier to turn in my barn driveway when it's clogged up, but not sure how well it would do when the snow is a foot deep. Prolly not worth much on ice but not as much of a concern so long as it doesn't whirl off the road every time it hits a patch.

I know they ride like crap but don't care about that either, cuz its only job would be getting around in the snow, not gonna be a highway vehicle.

When we got 3" of snow they plowed my road right away; when we got a foot, well, it's all there yet.

[rambrush]

Early Broncos were pretty decent machines. Off Road like you are I would go with ARB lockers in both differentials. Turn them on and off as needed.
Tires there is many thoughts, Over in Washington we used to run wider tires for more flotation in deeper snow to get on top. The other is tall and skinny tires with studs, limitation being deeper snow and the under carriage starts hanging up.

[Reziac]

That floating thing is actually the dually's problem -- first it will float over the deep stuff, then cuz it's so heavy, it sinks.

Far as snow goes I just need to get up to the barn and back, about 200 feet off the road but it's got some slope, and one spot that tends to drift in. The dually can grind its way back and forth with chains on, but then when it's full of snow there's nowhere to turn around and it's tough backing out (driveway has a narrow kink right where it's a little steep). It's a multipoint turn even when there's no snow in the way, and I need 40 acres to turn that rig around!

Guy says the Bronco has one bad front bearing, so chances are both and maybe the spindles are bad, so his price is gonna have to come down a bit.

[rambrush]

Sounds like a job for the bronco with a good set of tire chains. Locking differential will have a tendency to twist you right off the road. Thats what nice about ARB's they can be turned on or off quickly.
I really like these tire chains but if you have to ask how much you can't afford them.
http://www.pewagchain.com/Products/Traction-Chains.aspx

As for parts I use https://www.rockauto.com/
Chain up the front tires as thats where the weight is and it should get along pretty good.

[Reziac]

Last year I got a pair of $80 chains at O'Reilly and they do the job well enough. (Same chains were $160 at AutoZone!) Main problem is they didn't come with enough swear words for getting 'em on the dually!

Never really needed fancy chains. I have a set I found out in the mud that have lugs, need a little repair but haven't got around to it yet, probably overkill for my use but hey, the price was right.

That's a good point about chaining up the front for going up the hill here.