1998 GMC Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 218

Driving in Mud, Sand, Snow or Ice When you drive i n mud, snow or sand, your wheels won't get good traction. You can't accelerate as quickly, turning is more difficult, and you'll need longer braking distances. It's best. to use a low gear when you're i n mud -- the deeper the mud, the lower the gear. In really deep mud, the idea is to keep your vehicle moving so you don't get stuck. Driving on frozen lakes, pondsor rivers can be dangerous. Underwater springs, currents under the ice, or suddenthaws can weaken the ice.Your vehicle could fall through the ice you and and your passengers could drown. Drive your vehicle on safe surfaces only. When you drive on sand, you'll sense a change in wheel traction. But it will depend upon how loosely packed the sand is. On loosely packed sand (as on beaches or sand dunes) your tires will tend to sink into the sand. This has an effect on steering, accelerating and braking. You may want to reduce the air pressure in your tires slightly when driving on sand. This will improve traction. Hard packed snow and ice offer the worst tire traction. On these surfaces, it's very easy to lose control. On wet ice, for example, the traction is so poor that you will have difficulty accelerating. And if you do get moving, poor steering and difficult braking can cause you to slide out of control. Driving in Water Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems. But heavy rain can mean flash tlooding:, and flood waters demand extreme caution. Find out how deep the water is be.fore you drive through it. If it's deep enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles or exhaust pipe, don't try it -- you probably won't get through. Also, water that deep can darnage your axle and other vehicle parts. 4-26