Pickup trucks in the U.S. are marketed as all-capable, all-terrain, unstoppable forces of adventure. Lifting a pickup is supposed to give even more ground clearance, so that no boulder or mud bog can disrupt your journey. Surely, then, a lifted pickup can handle a bit of snow on a mild incline. Right?
According to a video from Twitter user troylf, not so much. The clip shows a lifted Chevy Silverado, seemingly a 2016-2018 Silverado 1500, struggling to crab-walk up a snowy hill. The truck has no issues clearing the height of the snow, but its low-profile tires can’t seem to get a grip.
Now, in the truck’s defense, this video was filmed during a truly impressive snowstorm. Lexington, KY, where the video was shot, received nearly ten inches of snow in one day. This particular road, however, appears to have been spared the worst of the precipitation — there certainly aren’t ten inches of snow under this truck’s comically heightened bumpers.
The Silverado is clearly only sending power to its rear wheels for the duration of its ill-fated hillclimb attempt. Chevrolet does offer the 1500 in RWD-only spec, and Lexington is far enough south that one could easily believe this particular example is so equipped. A quick scan of Lexington-area Chevy dealers, however, shows that just three percent of new Silverados available within 100 miles of the city are RWD. While it’s certainly possible this truck can’t engage its front wheels, it seems more likely that the driver simply neglected to.
Even without four-wheel-drive, a good set of snow tires may have helped this novelty oversized vehicle make its way home. Winter weather comes with winter temperatures, and that cold air and pavement will severely limit the traction of summer or all-season rubber. The moral of the story? Don’t rely on the size of your truck to carry you through the winter. No amount of ground clearance will make up for a poor choice in tires.