How to get unstuck in the snow.

[curtis0432]

Hey guys im new At driving. I just got my car a while ago. I drove to school it was barely even snowing or it was not that windy. i decided that i would drive to school. so after school i walk back through a feet of snow just to get back to my car. and it was not fun but when i got to my car the snow hadnt blow away from it. so it was easy to get out. but right when i got out of the parking lot i made the ultimate mistake i turned sharper then i should have because on the side of the road there was way more snow than on in the middle. I didn't want to take up the whole road thats why i didn't go in the middle. There was still alot of snow in the middle though. after i was stuck i tried to get out. no luck. then i went to the local dvd rental store and asked if i could borrow there shovel. so i borowed it then i tried to dig myself out. it didnt do me any good. I was about to give up but this guy came and helped me get out. he told me to me to back up while he pushes my car. and after a good push and some gas i got off the ice and the snow.

any ways were i could have got out of this mess by myself.

any tips about driving with lots of snow on the ground. I have to go to work in like 2 hrs, some tips could help me out alot.

so theres my story. what should i have done better.

Mabe the solution is just not to live in canada. This is one of the worst storms i have every seen.

thanks for reading

[G-ZUS]

1 thing to not do, DON'T sit there and hitting the gas revving the engine @ 6k rpm to get unstuck. It will not do anything

[LongCity]

Try rocking your car slightly to get some forward momentum.

[Kloubek]

Hi Curtis. Are you sure you are old enough to drive? :)

Anyway, the best way to get out of snow is to use the transmission to your advantage. You can try to "rock" your car out. This means gaining forward, backward, forward, backward momentum. It works best with a standard, but you can do it with an auto as well. (Hard on the auto though, and some may not react quick enough to be helpful)

Otherwise, carry a shovel and some kitty litter.

[drtoohotty1]

That hurt the brain to read.....but best advice I would say to you is keep a emergency kit in the trunk, some kitty litter or carpet pieces, and a collapsible shovel. If it looks like shit outside don’t go out if you don’t have to...

[LongCity]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Hi Curtis. Are you sure you are old enough to drive? :)

Anyway, the best way to get out of snow is to use the transmission to your advantage. You can try to "rock" your car out. This means gaining forward, backward, forward, backward momentum. It works best with a standard, but you can do it with an auto as well. (Hard on the auto though, and some may not react quick enough to be helpful)

Otherwise, carry a shovel and some kitty litter.

haha I drive a manual and I find it easier to do in an auto cause you don't have to use the clutch at the same time.

[rinny]

Nothing substitutes a shovel and salt/gravel/sweat and hard work.

[curtis0432]

Hi Curtis. Are you sure you are old enough to drive? Anyway, the best way to get out of snow is to use the transmission to your advantage. You can try to "rock" your car out. This means gaining forward, backward, forward, backward momentum. It works best with a standard, but you can do it with an auto as well. (Hard on the auto though, and some may not react quick enough to be helpful) Otherwise, carry a shovel and some kitty litter.

You really think I would be driving if I wasn't old enough or didn't have a drivers licence or insurance. I have all of that.

Thanks for all the reply's except for the one that called me a retard. I wasn't so fond about that one!

[n1zm0]

rocking the car in the rut works almost always, plus a little finesse with timing your Reverse and 1st gear changing, reverse in a FWD seems to work wonders idk why, used to goo mad max in my costanza in reverse and usually always get out.

in some cases starting in 2nd gear and creeping slowly can give you an edge off the line.

do you have winters on at least?

edit: if you're stuck-stuck and there's no one around, rip out that floor mat or both and put them under the whichever wheels distribute the power

[TDFTW]

i hardly get stuck because i carry momentum.. if there is any object in my way i dont go forward. i wait until the coast is clear and i start out slow, and keep it going slow. if you can carry momentum you shouldn't get stuck. if you start slowing down and start to get stuck, don't spin the tires to try and get out it just creates friction which melts snow and creates ice and then you're for sure stuck in that spot!!.

the guys here give good advice when they say to rock it back/forth. if you drive auto, make sure you let your rpm's fall before switching gears so you're not banging the gears together and wrecking shit.

[oilerfan4lyfe]

Originally posted by TDFTW
i hardly get stuck because i carry momentum.. if there is any object in my way i dont go forward. i wait until the coast is clear and i start out slow, and keep it going slow. if you can carry momentum you shouldn't get stuck. if you start slowing down and start to get stuck, don't spin the tires to try and get out it just creates friction which melts snow and creates ice and then you're for sure stuck in that spot!!.

the guys here give good advice when they say to rock it back/forth. if you drive auto, make sure you let your rpm's fall before switching gears so you're not banging the gears together and wrecking shit.

This is some good advice...if you're coming to a red light, just slow down before hand and slowly creep forward so you don't have to come to a full stop and it's not likely that you'll get stuck. And on uphills make sure you're going fast enough to get up the hill!

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Another tip is always have your drive wheels to the forward of where you park, so when its time to leave after a snow fall, you have semi-decent pavement to gain momentum out as well. So RWD's should consider reversing in more often.

[Power_Of_Rotary]

try not to do what i did... get stuck in a hole where someone had previously been stuck...

the forward/backward momentum is first attempt, but it doesnt always work depending on the situation (like what i mentioned...)

I sacrificed a pair of my gloves to get my car out. Shoved it right under the wheel and go at once. If attempt fail, then you will have to get go find ur gloves and put it under ur tires again.

of course, if u had rocks or something else it would be a better alternative :)

[scat19]

Originally posted by LongCity


haha I drive a manual and I find it easier to do in an auto cause you don't have to use the clutch at the same time.

:facepalm:

It's so dang hard in an auto, just wont go to gear/n fast enough.

Standard is the way to go and it sounds like you shouldn't be driving one.

[nobb]

The momentum one is good. Ive seen a few situations where drivers saw a big patch of snow uphill and their first instinct is to slow down. As a result of course, they can't go up.

Also dont do what I did once. I parked my car with one drive wheel on dry pavement, but the other wheel on a patch of ice. With the open differential, the wheel on the ice kept spinning and the other wheel that had traction did nothing.

[bituerbo]

I carry two wooden snow brushes ($1.98 walmart) instead of one fancy aluminum one. One under each drive wheel will get me off a patch of ice no problem.

[nonlinear]

curtis,

this was probably a good learning experience for you. driving in snow is a completely different game than driving in dry conditions. you're a new driver, and prolly your first time in snow... give it some time, pay attention to the conditions and your driving, and you should be a pro by the end of winter :thumbsup:

[AndyL]

Go find a nice slippery parking lot - empty... And go practice doing donuts and stopping/starting on ice and through drifts... A lot of it you can only learn by doing it...

Sawing the wheel sometimes helps, in deep snow, it wont - if you're stuck rock straight back and forth - in a FWD car you'll make best headway in reverse...

[sl888]

2nd and reverse works for me

[DJ_NAV]

rocking left to right also helps if you have room to swerve a lil bit.

[narou]

+1 for a collapsible shovel. I bought the last one at work tonight just in case I may have wanted to buy it later and not be able to. Did it ever come in handy tonight.

Tried rocking the car first but there was just to much of a snow bank to go through with no speed.

[CUG]

Good tires and AWD/ Full Time 4x4

[curtis0432]

YA thanks guys for all the great suggestions. I think when this storm clears up I im am going to go and buy me all of this gear, so I wont be as screwed as I was after school today. I like the idea of putting some gravel in a bag and putting it in your car. I also like the idea of buying 2 Snow brushes and driving over them. But so far i like the collapsible shovel idea the best. Were can i get me one of those.

Ya that was definalty one of the worst storms i have ever encountered in my life!

I also made another mistake I should have not gone to work tonight because we got stuck 4 times going there and back. I decided i should be a loyal Tim Horton's employe and come to work even though it is nasty outside. I'm surprised we made it home in one piece. no visibility at all. I was thinking Tim Horton's would have had the store closed because of the extreme weather, but it sure wasn't. We were stuck in about 2feet of snow, I ran home which was about 3k and got some shovels and ran back. after about an hour we got out.

I think I was one of the lucky ones during this storm

Thanks again guys

[narou]

Hmm I only know of the ones we had at work but I think most locations are probably sold out. Try some gas stations I guess.

[bituerbo]

Along with the 2-brush trick, get yourself some BIG/THICK winter floor mats for your car. I've used those to get me over an icy patch before. The kind that are spiky on the bottom (intended to dig into carpet) are the best. A collapsible shovel is also a great idea (I carry one at all times).

I also keep a sleeping bag in the trunk, and have my lighter on me (usually). I should probably start keeping a candle or two inside the glove compartment to be COMPLETELY prepared in the event that I cannot get unstuck and have to wait it out until help arrives. I was working a rally north of Waiparous and was one of the last cars out... well I put the car into the ditch and high-centered on the shoulder.

Took me about 45 minutes using the shovel, the floor mats and the snow brush to give both wheels traction (fuck u open diff), but finally got it out. There was no cell service, and it probably would have been 24hrs+ before seeing someone had I not been able to get myself out. Since then I also carry a 5L jug of fuel (enough to get me onto a main road) if I'm heading into the woods.

[cancer man]

Hankook icebear tires they are awesome.

[LongCity]

Originally posted by scat19


:facepalm:

It's so dang hard in an auto, just wont go to gear/n fast enough.

Standard is the way to go and it sounds like you shouldn't be driving one.

Muthafucka, I'll drive what I want! Standard is the way to go and it sounds like you should make a youtube video and how to drive one out of the snow!

[ibtintn]

One other quick tip that has helped me when I am by myself is to put it in gear wether in 1 or rev and rock the car .That little extra from the wheels got me out of a few jams. Just make sure you get back in after you get unstuck other wise you have a whole new set of problems

[Tezzating]

+1 for winter tyres !

[Chantastic]

I'm going to go check a gas station right now for this collapsable shovel. I got horribly stuck 3 times today, took me and hour to get out of my residential in beddington. When I first got stuck I walked back to my house to get a shovel, unfortunately it won't fit in my car unless I fold the rear seats down.

But yea, if you see a snowy road and think you MIGHT have a chance of making it through without the bottom of your car being to low and you decide to go for it, DON'T stop. That's what will get you stuck, in other words don't stop that foward momentum. Especially true with hills.

[Chantastic]

also, if you're in a rwd like me, sandbags over the rear wheels are a plus.

[project240]

Originally posted by Chantastic
also, if you're in a rwd like me, sandbags over the rear wheels are a plus.


This definitely helps out a bit. When I had my 240sx I drove it through the winter for 6 years. I definitely did get stuck a few times, but as previously mentioned a shovel and some salt should get you out most of the time.

I also carried a tow strap with me (takes up almost no space and you can buy them for pretty cheap at princess auto). If you have a strap with you and do happen to get stuck badly it's extremely easy to stop a nearby truck and hook them up rather than trying to find someone in a truck who has straps...

[mr2mike]

If you're starting to get high centered, stop before you're tires are really spinning and you're not going anywhere. You're just digging a hole at that point and the car will sink deeper and not help you.

Get out, start shoveling out under the car and behind all the wheels. Try to back up if you can and take another run. Or get someone to help push you.

Also, I'm pro going to a parking lot before it's really deep in snow (too late this year) and drive your car and make it lose control at lower speeds. Turn, pull the e-brake, get into a slide and get out of it. A little practice will help you understand how to handle your car. Also if you're into a situation on the road like ice or something, DON'T fucking hit the brakes like every second person on crowchild. Let off the gas and steer it out. Lots of stopping distance lets you steer it out without braking.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by drtoohotty1
That hurt the brain to read.....but best advice I would say to you is keep a emergency kit in the trunk, some kitty litter or carpet pieces, and a collapsible shovel. If it looks like shit outside don’t go out if you don’t have to...

I also keep a tow rope in the kit. Figured the $6 investment wouldn't hurt.