Hopping? Turn off traction control and keep it in 2h. You're getting too much grip. Only use 4lo when you're actually stuck...I don't have lockers on my 2-door and I have no problems in the snow.

 

I did not say he's using "improper tire pressure". I wondered how tires, which are not very different from each other, sit flat with such a pressure difference.
I have no clue about the answer to this.

 

Having the axle sit on the snow, in a way that the wheels are in 'grab-no grab-grab' cycle, is enough to explain hopping.

 

Yeah I certainly wasnt insinuating that. My bad if it sounded that way. I, too, am not completely sure on the proper tire pressure for these stockers yet. The majority of people I read about on here run them in the 30 pound range, but that just seams too damn low to me.

I believe there is a decent range of fair tire pressure (say, within 5 pounds either way) that will allow a tire to wear rather well. Going past that "buffer" too much will wear centers down sooner, and not reaching it will wear the outer edges down sooner. Its a happy medium that I have always found by just simply looking at the tire, and all my tires in the past have lasted a long time and never got choppy or wore funny. I would like to try out the old chalk test one of these days, though, just for shits and giggles. My guess is that anywere from 31-37 PSI would have a rather flat footprint and most likley allow the tire to wear properly.

 

Internal sidewall damage also has to be considered when running with a lower tire pressure.

The constant extra flexing takes a toll.

 

I have had a similar issue when 4wheeling in sand, was hoping to try it out this winter in snow, but we really haven't had any major accumulation as of yet, when I was in the sand the only way i could get her to stop hopping was 4L ( I know not the ideal use of 4L ) but it was worth it because the hop was getting so bad. Just letting you know you are not alone...although I would NEVER trade it for a ford.

 

I just drove in the NE blizzard in 12" of snow, and used 4HI for a minute to get up a steep hill. I didn't even need 4WD (33" Duratracs on my rig though.) Thanks to the snow being soft, it felt like I was in a Lexus. Your issue sounds very strange.

 

Hmmm

Sounds strange to me. I have wheeled in snow up to 14" and never had a problem. I use 4 low 2-3rd gear. I have a 2012 as well and like mentioned before, it really does awesome in snow!

The stock MTs that come on the rubicon aren't going to be too good in snow. Only in deep snow. But as soon as it freezes or you find yourself on hard packed snow your traction is going to worsen with MTs.

I ended up getting 35" duratracs

Heres a pic of my jeep in about 6-8" of snow. It varied along the trail. I also have the stock rubicon M/Ts in this pic. It really did awesome on this trail.

 

I've had the wheel hop in deep snow with both of my TJs and all three of the JKs. It has nothing to do with the traction aids or the axle shaft joints. It happens with the wheels perfectly straight or turned. Wheel speed is your friend though, faster the better. The best way to describe it is at low wheel speeds in snow of 5-10mph it is the same frequency as Death Wobble and just as violent. You think the entire front end is going to tear off the vehicle. Higher quality shocks help a good bit as do heavier and taller tires with less air pressure. This is a drawback of having a heavy solid front axle, you get that much weight hopping and it doesn't like to stop until you get out of the power. I've had it occur mostly as the tires are spinning about 10mph and the Jeep is just about to stop forward momentum stuck in the snow. It happens all the time in snow above 6 inches.