Planning a trip for next winter and looking into what I need to do to the car to make it through the drive.

So far I am looking into
keeping the 17"s or get a set of cheap 16" wheels with snow tires(good snow tire suggestion would be great)
battery warmer with maybe a second battery backup
antifreeze additives to all fluids

It's going to be a pretty remote area so I am planning packing spare wheels/tires, fuel, and supplies.

What else do I need? Besides a few weekend trips to Tahoe and a winter in Utah, I haven't had much experience with dealing with cold weather.

 

This seems like a pretty good write up.

http://www.drivewerks.com/Newsletter/vol-9.htm

I have heard great things about Blizzaks as far as snow tires go. Bring extra everything. Meaning that you should over prepare yourself in case of a worst case situation. Food, water and other survival supplies are necessary. Also, bring a GPS in case of an "oh ****" situation. Make sure to bring a map and have back up plans for each stage of the journey.

I'll think of some other things and report back.

 

Also, can I ask where you are driving? I've been wanting to drive from Cali to Alaska. I think it would be a lot of fun.

 

Things a lot of folk don't think about..

1)Shovel, a fold out military one is perfect
2)4' length of flexable metal "exaust" pipe and a roll of exaust tape. This will let you fix holes, and in a pinch if stuck in snow, extend your exaust above the level of snow so you can run the heater without sucking in Carbon Monoxide.
3)Backpack with spair socks (2 pair per person), 2-3 'space blankets', roll duct tape, 4-5 large 55 gal trash bags, GOOD knife, GOOD flashlight w/spair set of batteries, 5-6 emergency food bars (HIGH callorie stuff), 15 boxes/packets of water, 10 snap/chemical lights, flint/tinder kit, and 5 LARGE flares.
4)enough oil to do a oil change, one filter, and 2 bottles of anti-freeze.


That should be enough to keep you safe, and alive if you were to break down out in the middle of nowhere.

 

My plan is to make it to Tuktoyaktuk, Canada. It's a small place that's only accessible during the winter when the rivers freeze over. I read about it a few years ago in 0-60 magazine where a few of their writers did the drive.

 

Aww sounds like an adventure!

I recommend doing some research on cold weather survival just in case **** hits the fan. Listen to Overbear when he says bring a shovel! A shovel can go such a long way in any outdoor environment. Also, bring strong rope. You never know when you will need some rope.

 

The rest of that list I made is all multi use stuff too.

The space blankets can be cut and worn like a pauncho under your clothing to keep you warmer. The plastic bags can be worn over clothing for layers and to keep freezing rain off you, or taped together and to sticks as a makeshift litter. Socks can be used for mittens, streched out for a makeshift hat with some plastic inside it for heat retention...

The list goes on and on. Your enemy in winter/cold is loosing your core temprature. Keep your insides warm, you stave off hypothermia, and you have the best chance to live. Whenever I go out into the snow (4x4ing) I pack as if I am going to break down for 2-3 days without help. That way I KNOW I have a chance to live if it happens.

 

Yeah I piecing together a survival packs full of this stuff. One for personal use and another for emergency car repair. Also thinking of getting a Sat phone for the trip too, I wonder if any place rents them.

 

Might want to look into getting one of these:

 

I have driven to Tuk, I'd suggest bringing 2 full sized spares, (finding the right size in Inuvik is only a maybe and whatever you do find will be expensive) and while "studless" snow tires are all well and good for most anything you'll encounter in the lower 48, I would strongly advise getting a set of at least 6 fully studded tires for that trip.

And you really should have another vehicle going along with you, it can be VERY cold up there and getting stranded on the frozen ocean 60 miles from anywhere is not a situation you want to find yourself in.

Figure on about 2 weeks for the whole trip, the most direct route from SF is still over 3000 miles each way, and in winter conditions- up there especially, averaging 500 miles per day is a pretty aggressive schedule.

You might consider entering something like this;
www.alcan5000.com
yeah you pony up some money for entry, but rooms are booked, schedule is fixed, and you have sweep and support crews along for the whole trip.

I just checked the entry list for next year, you will probably be disappointed if you think you'll win, as there are some very experienced Alcan teams that are sure to score very well, but the adventure alone is well worth it.

 

I have also been wanting do do that drive, The alcan that is. I would advise a strong cb radio as there are no cell phone repeaters up there. Also might want some onboard air either a pump or a small high preasure tank.

When are you thinking of going? Maby we should get an I-club alcan thing going.

 

The duct tape, I would recommend Gorilla tape or any other "heavy duty" duct tape, they're a bit better than the conventional stuff.

Go to your local army surplus store for survival gear and perhaps even more advice. There's TONS of survival gear in an army surplus store.

 

Gorilla tape is pretty much useless when the mercury gets below 0C

 

Hmmm, is there any heavy tape that is?

 

There are a few that might work OK from 0C to 0F but I haven't found any tape adhesives that can be used when it gets colder than 0F, and driving to Tuk, it's gonna get colder than that.

But I'm not much of a fan of Gorilla tape in any situation- in my experience it seems the adhesive sticks to everything you don't want it too and doesn't stay where you want it, terribly overrated stuff if you ask me.