Ski car or ski truck?

 Over the years I've driven a lot of different cars. The best for skiing by far were 2 GMC Safari vans I had (same as the Chevy Astro). Close second is my current, a compact truck with a cap over the back. I know a lot of guys swear by their subarua but I'm curious as to why and what else works? I still see a lot of Suburbans...

May be time to clean this up and get organized

I drive sub legacy..boots in a bag..skis in a bag..always neat and organized...more space you have the more shit you bring..

You may be right. I find it removes the pressure to take stuff out when I'm done with it; hence the sleds and snowshoes. it's usually not this bad though.

Rav4. Now in a Highlander.  Never an issue with right tires getting through the Adks last decade.

JasonWx wrote

I drive sub legacy..boots in a bag..skis in a bag..always neat and organized...more space you have the more shit you bring..

I have a Legacy as well. It kills it in the snow, just rallies!

I like pick up trucks for the summer time and bikes but not as much for the snow, they are pretty sweet for parking lot tail gating. I had an Astro mini van for a little while when I was in Jackson Hole Brownski, that thing was awesome too. Mine was gutted and carpeted, I built a bed in the back and it had a vented window on one side.

i just bought a honda crv, went surprisingly well through the snow on Wednesday. going to throw some snows on it next winter. i wanted the outback but after reading the horror stories on line about some of the issues i could not pull the trigger

My first van got the same modification when I went to Alaska, RA. This is more how my truck normally looks during ski season; 3 pairs of skis, some work stuff, boot bags (one is inside at the moment) my sleeping bag and pad...



As an aside, I need to give credit to junior and his little brother for actually breaking their sled in half a week or so back.

My dad has a Chevy Traverse and it is probably the best ski vehicle IMO. They come standard with 18" wheels which is actually bigger than the standard 17" wheels on the Suburban which gives it tons of ground clearance, and additional traction. Basically, it's great in the snow. I drove it last Tuesday during the storm when all the roads were closed, to rescue my friend from work who lived a ways away and couldn't get home. Not a problem. It has two rows in the back, and they both flip down to create a carpeted surface over the entire vehicle. Enough room for two people to lay down. 5 People can easily travel in the thing with all equipment in the back with the back seats down.

I on the other hand have a very small, 2011 Nissan Sentra SR. The Sentra from 2007-2012 is an amazing vehicle. I drive several thousand feet of vertical every day on my commute, and often times that can be in quite a bit of snow. Even in a small front wheel drive vehicle I still manage to storm the passing lanes up the mountain passing several larger vehicles and  trucks in one shot through the snow. Good snow tires helps. I'm sure the legacy/Impreza beats it, but it's still good. The gearing works good on hills too. (actually it's gearless) The newer Sentras are not as good in the snow because they have lower ground clearance.

I can drop the back seats and put a ton of equipment back there. It has a 70/30 split, so day tripping with three people is doable. The best thing we did once is when we went mountain biking at Berkshire East with my brother and another guy. My dad needed the Traverse that day, so we took my car. We fit two enduro bikes and one full on downhill bike plus three people in. Other people in the parking lot were astonished when they saw everything we pulled out. Amazingly, my handling and mileage was exactly the same as when the car is empty.

2012 Outback Ltd. and 2014 RAV  4 XLE ...both great in the snow each has beaucoup storage space for the two of us . And decent mileage

Warp daddy, how you doing? I've been waiting to hear your update.

Regarding this thread, I have to admit there seems to be something to the small car/SUV AWD choice. I was thinking about looking at a used legacy down the road when we're ready for a third car; seems like that's a practical choice. Still, I'm not the only truck guy here am I?

I had 3 criteria when buying about 2 years ago.  They were, in order:  AWD, large fuel tank and good gas mileage.  There's just 2 of us (+ dog) on the 3 hour weekend drive to WF.  I got a Volvo V60 - many Volvo owners I've asked said they really liked the car.  The AWD, for me, is an absolute must.

The only other AWD/4WD I've owned was a Jeep Wrangler.  That kicked ass but the quality of the Jeeps these days is not good.  I did a lifetime comparison of the cost of the Jeep and the V60 - came out to be about the same.

In the drop off zone at WF a surprising number of people say they rent their Suburban (or the like) for the ski trip.  It seems to make sense; you get a new, AWD vehicle that you can hand back without cleaning and have a more economical vehicle as your daily driver.

I think JasonWx is right - more space, more crap.

I use this

or this

Nice Camp.

I think I'm ready for my last flatlander ski car, another CRV.  I'm hoping that after 7 more years, I'll live in the mountains.  

Never thought I was say this but I like the specs on that turbo.

Camp, your back yard has a hell of a lot more snow than your front yard.

Camp, what you need is to put tracks on that UTV. That's what I need for my hill.

Harvey wrote

I think I'm ready for my last flatlander ski car, another CRV.

You can never go wrong with a Honda.

That's the truth!

those pix are only about a week apart

like this??

Bang Zoom to the moon! Is that yours? Looks different.

campgottagopee wrote

Is that an Avalanche in the backround? All along when you said you had a "truck" I thought you had an actual truck. Shame on you.

Ethan Snow wrote

Bang Zoom to the moon! Is that yours? Looks different.

No not mine ---- I don't have the money that guy has

we've used his rig many a time tho --- thing goes anywhere!!

Not my Avalanche either --- I was over visiting a buddy of mine