Snow, ice, and a slightly Modded B2

[SmokeEater829]

Finishing up the end of my deer season with some rough weather for my area. I know snow and ice is common for some of y'all, but to an New Orleans local hunting in South Mississippi it's not a commonplace for me. Nothing special, just thought it looked cool.

 

[BabyBronco89]

I was driving mine up parking lot snow mountains here in mid mi. 4lo and your good 2 go I've been able to get thru 3 ft deep so far no problem, love the 4.0 n m5od


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[wildbill23c]

Your B2 looks good, but those are mud tires not snow tires LOL.

 

[4.0B2]

Us MS folks ain't suppose to get snow!

 

[wildbill23c]

^^Well it is winter, and anything is possible. Here in Idaho we don't get ice storms very often at all, but we had one last night and though it wasn't much, by the way people were driving you would have thought we had several feet of snow. Wasn't that it was very slick, just people who have no business driving on dry roads seem to think they should drive every time we get a snow storm or the like in a POS car with tires on it that should have been replaced a decade ago that still haven't grasped the concept of not tailgating people, and to slow down and pay attention. So of course there were numerous slide-offs, accidents, etc. here today, as is every other snow storm we have. Seems like they never learn from one storm to the next how not to drive.

Many of these people are also the ones who have their $60k luxury SUV's and think that the AWD makes them invincible as well. Heck most of the time the Hubs are never locked in on my Bronco 2 and I think maybe once a year if that the 4WD ever gets used in either of my trucks. My 4WD has been used more often to pull out tree stumps and bushes at home than it has been used on the road.

People also ask me if I have tire chains, nope I don't, if I have to put chains on its time to stay home, work and going into town in those conditions that warrant tire chains means I shouldn't be driving. I've got a set somewhere for the B2 but the only time I've ever chained up was with my 84 Ranger 4x2 when we had 18" of snow at my cousins and lacked about 3' of making it up their driveway with my travel trailer one year.

 

[ab_slack]

Your B2 looks good, but those are mud tires not snow tires LOL.

Isn't snow just white mud?

I love driving in the snow and I think BII excellent machine for it.

I been down in TX when they had black ice on the roads and the drivers were acting like it was just some rain despite seeing people spin out.

 

[wildbill23c]

Isn't snow just white mud?

I love driving in the snow and I think BII excellent machine for it.

I been down in TX when they had black ice on the roads and the drivers were acting like it was just some rain despite seeing people spin out.

LOL, not really, because driving in mud and snow it different when it comes to tire composites. A mud tire is a harder compound for offroad use to avoid damage to the tires. Using that same tire on snow/ice gives you very little traction as it takes several miles of high speed driving to get the tires heated up enough to provide better traction so you aren't sliding around as much.

I have to agree though, I like my B2 in snow/ice. It does just fine and doesn't have all the electronic stability and traction control crap to hold you back.

 

[Broncojumper87]

I like the b2 and im glad to hear everyone likes them in the ice and snow. I have an off topic question however how are you running the wired for the lights on the roof? I have mine on the roof aswell and Im nervous about drilling a hoke in the top of my b2. Im sure thats the only way to get the wires inside and hidden but I thought I would ask?

 

[wildbill23c]

You could run the wires up through the rear hatch between the hatch and the body, then just zip-tie or otherwise attach them to the rack. Otherwise you will have to drill a hole through the roof, then seal it well afterwards.

 

[ab_slack]

I like the b2 and im glad to hear everyone likes them in the ice and snow. I have an off topic question however how are you running the wired for the lights on the roof? I have mine on the roof aswell and Im nervous about drilling a hoke in the top of my b2. Im sure thats the only way to get the wires inside and hidden but I thought I would ask?

I too would be kind of nervous about drilling a hole. When I had stuff with wires on my roof (none currently), I ran the wires back to the passenger side top of the liftgate. Having the wires as part of a jacketed cable or putting them in tubing makes them neater.

I then slipped them under the liftgate in the top corner to the side where the gap didn't get so tight opening and closing the liftgate, but I did not bring the wires inside the vehicles there. I ran them down along the outside of the weather stripping to the bottom and then made a very small loop and then came inside at the bottom edge near the corner. This created a nice drip loop to keep water from coming in. From there I went to underneath interior carpet/trim to get up front.

To keep the cables along the weather stripping and not get hung up I used a used self adhesive cable tie anchors (ones with the sticky foam back). One near the top just inside where the cable comes under the lip of the liftgate but not close enough to interfere with movement. Then another at the very bottom to define the drip loop. Then two or three more along the edge to insure the cables stayed in place and didn't get caught or pinched in things like the cylinders that hold the gate open.

Instead of cable ties I used plastic covered twist ties (not the paper ones) so I could remove one as needed (I had several things on the roof with cables) without having to clip cable ties and find replacements.

It held up great in the weather and lasted 10 years. From the outside you could see the cables go under the liftgate in the upper corner and then a little loop at the bottom edge when the liftgate was closed.

 

[wildbill23c]

I too would be kind of nervous about drilling a hole. When I had stuff with wires on my roof (none currently), I ran the wires back to the passenger side top of the liftgate. Having the wires as part of a jacketed cable or putting them in tubing makes them neater.

I then slipped them under the liftgate in the top corner to the side where the gap didn't get so tight opening and closing the liftgate, but I did not bring the wires inside the vehicles there. I ran them down along the outside of the weather stripping to the bottom and then made a very small loop and then came inside at the bottom edge near the corner. This created a nice drip loop to keep water from coming in. From there I went to underneath interior carpet/trim to get up front.

To keep the cables along the weather stripping and not get hung up I used a used self adhesive cable tie anchors (ones with the sticky foam back). One near the top just inside where the cable comes under the lip of the liftgate but not close enough to interfere with movement. Then another at the very bottom to define the drip loop. Then two or three more along the edge to insure the cables stayed in place and didn't get caught or pinched in things like the cylinders that hold the gate open.

Instead of cable ties I used plastic covered twist ties (not the paper ones) so I could remove one as needed (I had several things on the roof with cables) without having to clip cable times and find replacements.

It held up great in the weather and lasted 10 years. From the outside you could see the cables go under the liftgate in the upper corner and then a little loop at the bottom edge when the liftgate was closed.

That's a good idea. Hadn't thought of that yet LOL. Then again I have more important issues like rust to worry about before adding any cool accessories LOL.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

LOL, not really, because driving in mud and snow it different when it comes to tire composites. A mud tire is a harder compound for offroad use to avoid damage to the tires. Using that same tire on snow/ice gives you very little traction as it takes several miles of high speed driving to get the tires heated up enough to provide better traction so you aren't sliding around as much.

Mud tires are usually softer than regular street tires, they have far fewer biting edges for biting into what little nooks and crannys packed snow and ice provide.

Regular snow tires are really soft with a bunch of little biting edges. They are also cheaper than normal tires... the soft nature of snow tires combined with their low cost also makes them good for burnout contestes for those with power that want to put on a good smokeshow.

Tons of smoke and cheap. :icon_idea:

We haven't had much more than 2" of snow so far this year which is unusual, we really need the moisture bad.

 

[Harley]

Finishing up the end of my deer season with some rough weather for my area. I know snow and ice is common for some of y'all, but to an New Orleans local hunting in South Mississippi it's not a commonplace for me. Nothing special, just thought it looked cool.

thats a cool pic....tough looking b2 also. where did you get the top rack? thats what im looking for...

 

[SmokeEater829]

To answer as many questions as I can in one post, here goes.

First of all, thanks! This little monster has been tons of fun and 3 tons of work so far.

The roof rack, I built out of two ATV hitch carriers and some 1x1 steel square tubing. I found the idea on another forum. Pirate4x4 I think. Then I modded it to fit my needs.

As for the wiring, it is ran down the roof, along the windshield trim and then into the cowl under the windshield wipers right along the fender. It's all wrapped in wire loom and attached to the truck with the sticky Ty-wrap holders. I use a small dab of 5200 Marine Sealant to help the holders stick forever!


I used to install lighting and electronics for my local police department vehicles and that is how we ran their roof lighting.