I drove an 86 GL around Summit County, Colorado for years with studded
snow tires -
Sometimes I'd break trail after a snow because of the clearance when
4x4's would high side. All that weight over the rear wheels makes them
tanks.
Now my syncro seems like overkill in temperate Virginia.
Bagby Hot Springs, now that is one beautiful place.

c

Chad Lyles wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> We went on a short trip to the mountains (bagby hot springs)  this
> weekend... encountered about 64inches of snow, and about 3000 ft elevation
> change with only wire chains on the rear (i'm not condoning driving under
> such conditions nor gloating about my sever and potentially hazardous lack
> of foresight) BUT, i am so impressed with my "no frills GL"!!! dont get me
> wrong it was quite frightening, (mainly because i didnt even check the
> weather report) and we were kinda stuck in a one way route. but thats not
> the point of the story... the point is that vanagons are BEASTS... i couldnt
> believe it! handles great in hard snow pack, slush, and on ice! the only
> time trouble arose was when we missed a turn and tried to turn around and we
> got high sided... we got stuck... for a long time... but a nice fellow in a
> 4x4 toyota pulled us free... we continued on to the site.. where we ran into
> some vanagon lovers who were beside them selves when they saw my little
> hop-a-long GL roll up through a few feet of snow!
> moral of the story is .. ALWAYS check the weather and road conditions before
> you head out! Hoppy is a CHAMPION!
>
> --
> Chad~
> 84gl "Hop-a-long"
>
>
>