MAXTRAX Extremes fail in the snow

C

Chris21700

Observer
I used to have a pair of TRED PRO 1100s. Worked great several times in the dirt, but the first time I used them in the snow, one of the ramps cracked, but still got me out. Easily. The crack most likely could have been prevented had I dug out the snow a little better, and I probably could have gotten another use out of them before they failed completely. I decided to try a pair of MAXTRAX Extremes. During a recent snow storm, I came up a minivan that was stuck. Remembering how easily my TREDs got me out, I thought this should be a piece of cake. Only it wasn't. Several attempts at trying to place the MAXTRAX resulted in nothing except the mats being sucked under the front tires and buried in the snow. The bottom of the mats were not getting any traction on the snow. Not ice by any stretch. Kinda embarrassed, I left the stranded van in the hands of another couple there helping. The next day, my 4Runner gets stuck going up the hill on our 100 yard long driveway. Again, break out the MAXTRAX, again mats just get sucked under the tires.

Has any one had this issue with these mats in the snow? Wondering if I made a mistake thinking a more expensive board would perform better. Granted, they didn't crack, I give them that.
 
BritKLR

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
Interesting. So was the minivan high centered thereby the full weight of the van was not on the MT's? And, since they slid out from under the front wheels, how did you get them out of the snow since they tend to get pushed deep down into the snow and have to be dug out. Not saying it didn't happen, just not my experience with MT's in the snow in the mountains.
 
C

Chris21700

Observer
BritKLR said:
Interesting. So was the minivan high centered thereby the full weight of the van was not on the MT's? And, since they slid out from under the front wheels, how did you get them out of the snow since they tend to get pushed deep down into the snow and have to be dug out. Not saying it didn't happen, just not my experience with MT's in the snow in the mountains.
Click to expand...

That is one possible scenario with the minivan, and yes, the mats had to be dug out. My 4Runner sits pretty high (LT suspension and 35s), so there should have been plenty of weight on the mats to keep them in place.
 
R

rgallant

Adventurer
Not surprised you had issues in the snow, depending on the temp and kind snow I would expect that to happen. They are plastic and that tends to move well on snow that is dry, cold and light. Heavier wet snow will tend "grab" better making it more likely to give you the traction you want.
 
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