Best thing I ever did after passing my test at 17 was get an LR 110, on 235/85 all terrain boots.
Taught me how to be smooth with all the controls, and once you’d mastered that you could rattle the old bus along at reasonable speed and keep it going, and it’s because of that I reckon I manage with the vans quite well. I’ve watched mates drive and the way they throw them into bends would have put the LR on it’s side.
It’s all about not upsetting it too much.
cav551:
I used to scrawl this on the back of the trailer:R U A 4X4 X PRAT?
You want to be careful putting stuff like that on a trailer, could get you into a lot of trouble. 
Ive seen some lorry drivers that well fit the bill, including the idiot from MVF that took out my garden wall a few weeks ago, pratts come from all walks of life.
funny Ive one of them there chelsea tractors and thats seen more mud than most Jeep Cherokees around my part of the world and I ve got a set of rather knobbly mud terrain tyres on it , never had any issues in the snow coming home from work yesterday, stuck it 4x4 and opened up the outside lane on the M42 from junc 10 down to 9 ,while all the sheep stuck to doing 20mph on the inside.
had few thumbs up from wagon drivers who pulled out behind me to overtake the slower dawdling car drivers
most of them come out in the snow just to be smug ■■■■■ 
I managed to overtake 4 today which were doing 40 tops, I was in my front wheel drive car with summer tyres, did have to use the second lane of a DC which was covered in snow and ice but still managed it 
p.s. i didnt crash and burn either 
I was stuck in a single file queue doing 20 mph max and some nobber in a 4x4 kept pulling out behind me and racing close and then dropping back then racing close again as if I was the cause of the hold up.
Sure, they are great for traction, but if all four wheels hit ice or slippy snow, you are just as screwed as everyone else.
But F me all the 4x4 drivers were smug yesterday.
emmerson2:
I don’t know which camp to put myself in here, as I’m a retired TM, ex lorry driver who owns a Range Rover and a CARAVAN!!!Seriously though, there is nothing wrong with 4x4s, except the big nut behind the steering wheel.
Ref the empty snow - covered lane on D/Cs,(which I use whenever possible), what do I do about the prat who pulls out to stop me using it, please?
I wouldn’t take the Chelsea Tractor thing personally, as far as I’m concerned it refers to a certain type of driver driving a certain type of 4x4.
living out in the sticks a lot of people I know drive 4x4’s, I wouldn’t put them into the class of Chelsea Tractors drivers. In most respects owning a 4x4 suits their lifestyle either because of their work or leisure activities.
Although I can get my car most places I need to go, there are times when I can’t get places that a 4x4 might go, such a deeply flooded road road or through heavy snow drifts, but most Chelsea Tractors aren’t going to get through those conditions either.
I own a 4x4 for practical reasons, because they are so high of the ground its easier for me to get in and out of at my age,
with my bad back,and arthritis, caused by jumping off flatbacks and sheeting up for over 40 years,
its strange how I can still climb into a truck, but struggle to get in and out of a saloon car. 
I had a run in with some 20 year old girl who was driving a vw polo in Scats car park a while ago, i was going to get some milk powder for a calf who’s mother had prolapsed and i had spent an hour with the vet pushing it all back in, having had to shower to rid myself of a gallon of blood stuck to me i was trying to park my navara and needed about 3 shunts in the car park, when i got out the girl said ''you would find it much easier with one of these (polo) i replied 'it wouldnt pull 3 cows in a trailer too well tho would it and go ■■■■ yourself im not in the mood
I have to admit to using the x5 in the current conditions, it has a lot more traction when pulling away than my 325i sport (255s on the back & auto) but is just the same braking and going round corners as anything else. The 325i couldn’t even get away from the edge of my road due to the camber!.
Regards
Daz
Whenever we have a bit of a flood or some snow the idiots in their 4x4’s all appear (MOT fail if it does’nt have a sticker saying One Life, Live It). They bring them out to show off. Without fail I’ll see loads of battered thirty year old land rovers cruising around and there’s always some t1t in one with jacked up susp and a snorkel…
Brilliant, you’ve got a 4x4…
Small man syndrome
puntabrava:
‘…calf … mother … prolapsed … pushing it all back in … a gallon of blood …’
Like when I see a vehicle leave a roundabout with a right-hand indicator going berzerk, where’s the ‘puke’ emoticon when I need it 
What a load of stupid comments,I own a Range Rover,it gleams do you think I would even dream of taking it out in this weather it would get dirty,
her Ford is good enough,salt,grit bring it on.
The recent tradgedy in Buxton lends weight to my original posting,
Been driving anything and everything for longer than I care to remember now and never been stuck and never had 4WD or winter tyres either! I suspect the recent trend towards winter tyres will only lull more half wits into giving even less thought to their driving than they do now.
DrivingMissDaisy:
‘…the recent trend towards winter tyres will only lull more half wits into giving even less thought to their driving than they do now…’
My thought was exactly that when the BBC Radio Two stand-in for Steve Wright, that Jo Wiley bird, broadcast her half-wit ineptitude of putting a car in a ditch ‘…because it didn’t have winter tyres on…’
She makes my ■■■■ pout at the best of times but on this occasion I couldn’t change channels quickly enough to get the dozy bint’s propagation of nonsense out of my ears
Steve and the BBC luvvies in general would’ve been so proud of her 
Now this guy knows how to drive a tractor
youtube.com/watch?v=hTOkmCpLZ1k
Having lived in Canada for 13 years, I have found for some cars winter tyres are a good idea.
3 series BMW’s are notorious in Toronto for getting stuck on ‘summer/all season tyres’ the tread just fills up with snow, and that can become a huge issue.
I also had a T5 Volvo V70, and that was not great on wider low profiles. However switch to narrower steel wheels and snow tyres and it was fantastic !!
The overall cost, if you keep your car for a while, is not that great as generally, snow tyres are cheaper than low profiles, so the cost v wear, will even out over time. Not to mention the saved insurance deductible/excess, and loss of no claims bonus to factor in, if you have a bang.
It is in the same category as say Seat belts-ABS etc. in an ideal world, no, they may not be necessary. But for some scenarios, they are essential.
However the fact is that they do work in snow and cold weather, and can be useful.
One downside we have here in the Uk is though, smaller garages, and storing another set of wheels, for some people, is really just not an option if they do not have the space.
Generally though I do totally agree, that a lot of, but not all, 4x4 owners do have a somewhat false sense of security.
The biggest issue really is speed-braking distance. Heavy 4x4’s have quite a long stopping distance on ice. They think ABS will stop them instantly, alas physics dictates otherwise.
Mind you, Darwins Law might eliminate all the idiots soon… watch this space… (or ditch)