I am about to move to a new town, new job. I’ll commute one hour each way to work, driving over a mountain and down a narrow valley. I understand it’ll be dicey in the winter. How to prepare?
What vehicle should I buy?
What kit (comms, clothes, books, food, anything) should I have in the car with me?
Google “winter car emergency kit” and you’ll get a whole lot of sites with a list.
My FIL always suggests keeping some burlap potato bags in the trunk. That way if you get stuck you can jam them under the driving wheels to get some traction and since they’re free you can just drive away and not have to worry about stopping to get them.
ETA, where do you live now? If you’ve never driven in snow, the first thing you need to do is learn. IME (having never driven in snowy mountains), learning how to rock your car back and forth to get unstuck is time well spent.
Oh, and learning how to drive in the snow to avoid getting stuck.
I would highly recommend a AWD vehicle, and depending on how hard the drive may be possibly a hard core 4WD one. I know there is no real definition of the differences between AWD and 4WD, but I mean more Subaru-ish then Chevy 1/2 ton-ish.
As for gear:
Sleeping bag
shovel (pointed and made to dig dirt, not snow)
vehicular extraction rope/jerk strap
candle and lighter/matches
flashlight
1st aid kit
if you have room a battery jump start booster, w/ air pump
for that matter replace the battery every 3-4 years regardless
The line seems to be getting blurred, but I think that has more to do with more and more people getting AWD and not understanding it then anything else. That said, it’s my understanding that AWD is power to all 4 wheels all the time where as 4WD is power to one set of wheels (rear usually I think) and then the ability to move a lever/hit a button/lock the hubs/etc and have power go to all 4.
And while were here, I assume it’s obvious, but since I’ve seen people almost buy a car based in this, I’ll mention that FWD does not stand for Four Wheel Drive
A backup battery for your cellphone plus a reliable car-to-cellphone charger should ensure communication for a long time.
I’ve heard it said that for a quick & handy emergency food source, a jar of peanut butter works well (I prefer the crunchy, non-salmonella varieties). It stores well (when unopened), has high caloric value, and is not appetizing enough that you’ll snarf it down too quickly.
A word of caution about driving 4WD vehicles in winter; around here, after heavy snowfalls, the most common vehicle you see getting towed are 4WDs. When cars get stuck they can usually be pulled out fairly easily, when 4WD or AWDs get stuck they Really get stuck and often need a lot of help to get out. Not saying you shouldn’t get one, just be aware of the potential to make a situation worse by becoming overconfident with them, they won’t go through everything.
hm, for a shovel I like the soviet sapirka, an entrenching tool but it is short, very sturdy. On mine, the edge is somewhat sharp and I could actually chop wood with it, or ice. Much sturdier than the american issue e-tools. I also have a ‘pumpkkin suit’ - a military cold weather survival suit in screamingly bright orange. I could put that on, and with my russian fuzzzy hat and tankers gauntlet mittens could proabably sleep in comfort on an ice floe in the arctic.
The little fuel cubes are good, you can get a fire started with them to cook and keep warm if you opt to transfer into the snowline to make a shelter in a stand of trees - just remember to clear a safety perimeter of anything flammable and containing your fire. [You may not want to actually stay in the car itself - if you got stalled out in the road it could be hazardous to remain and get slammed into by otehr traffic or a plow.] If you also carry several of the silvery mylar space blankets, and a roll of duct tape you can create a nice impromptu shelter inside the stand of pines [being inside the stand of pines you wont get snowed upon, all you need is something to break the breeze and keep heat reflected back in] alternately you can look up igloomaking, as once you are in an igloo, you can actually heat it up to tshirt temperature with a goodsized candle … and as food, MREs may be the triple lie, but they pack a lot of calories in and are shelf stable for years. Get one of the small folding stoves and a metal mess kit and you can melt snow to make the instant beverages.
An AWD system generally sends power only to the front wheels but will direct power to the rear wheels if it detects that the front wheels are slipping. Think of it as 4WD on demand.
Be careful though. Trees can collect a lot of snow, and let them drop on you all at once. And some pine trees have very large cones that fall off occasionally.
I don’t carry a stove in the car, as I’m unlikely to get stuck in a wilderness area. But if I were to carry one, I like the Svea 123. A folding stove such as aruvqan mentioned is lighter and uses solid fuel. But I just love the Sveas.
The best advice is not to get stuck. Learn how to drive in snow. Don’t become overconfident. Learn the route.
In general, 4WD has the option of selecting between two different sets of gear ratios (usually done in the transfer case called Lo and Hi.) AWD does not have this.
An ounce of prevention. Keep your vehicle well-maintained, and if bad weather is likely, make sure you have at least half a tank of gas at all times. Switch to snow tires in the winter, and make sure both summer and winter tires have more than the legal minimum of tread left. (4WD or AWD is worth nothing if your tires can’t grip anything.) Learn about safe winter driving. Use common sense.
If you do think you need a winter survival kit, don’t forget water.
It will increase your comfort level, but food is probably the first thing to leave out of a survival kit if you need to conserve on weight, volume, or maintainance requirements.
Boy Scout’s rule of twos:
You can survive for about:
two minutes without air,
two hours without shelter, fire or other means of keeping warm,(depends on weather of course)
two days without water,
two weeks without food.
Following the semi-hijack of AWD vs 4WD
There are many different AWD systems, no general description would fit them all…
I’ve got a Dodge Dakota, with AWD, it has a selector switch on the dash for AWD, 4WD Hi and 4WD low
In all wheel drive, the power is divided between the front and rear axles, all the time. BUT if I really pushed it, on ice or sloppy stuff, the rear wheels will lose traction and start spinning, while the front wheels sit dead still. This is caused by a differential between the two axles…and is normal.
If I put it into 4WD (either hi or lo), the differential between the front and rear is locked, and I will get power to both the front and rear axles, theoretically making ALL the wheels spin (I won’t get into the specifics of the differentials in the axles)
The AWD system makes me feel really secure on bad condition roads.
BUT, I have to remember, AWD or 4WD only means you can get yourself into more trouble. Had to get yanked out a ditch once (I pulled over too far).
The main rule is this:
Just because 4WD gets you moving, it doesn’t mean you can stop, or even steer!
I still wouldn’t do without AWD!
I live in sunny Santa Barbara (70°F today), so my advice is next to worthless. That said, my buddy in Minnesota recommends having a large coffee can to pee/shit in if conditions get really bad (major wind chill factor) and you are stuck in your car.
Also remember, if you do get stuck, to keep the vehicle exhaust clear of snow if you’re running it to keep warm.
You don’t say where you live, but I’ll assume you’ll be driving on dark roads during the winter. This means that deer or elk or moose can be a real problem for you. Whatever vehicle you buy (I’d go with an AWD like a Subaru or other SUV, as pickups are too light in the rear), get it set up with some skookum driving lights that will let you see a ways ahead. Perhaps even get some HID headlights installed.
As for winter kits, many sites will give you a good list. I’d make sure you have hand warmers/toe warmers on board and one of those escape tools that has a glass breaker and a seatbelt cutter on it. You don’t always land on your wheels when you go off the road, and if it’s deep snow, you won’t be able to open your doors.
Your number one life or death tool is going to be a shovel if the issue is getting stuck in a snowbank or being snowed in. If you can fit a full size (or even half size) standard dirt (not snow) heavy duty shovel with a fiberglass handle in your trunk I would recommend that over the metal fold aways. They are larger, much stronger and far, far easier to use than the fold aways (better leverage less & stooping) in chopping ice and removing snow from around the wheel area if you get jammed up. Energy conservation is key in snow survival scenarios and a full size shovel lets you get more work done with much less effort.
4wd is just not user friendly enough for regular daily use between slick and non-slick surfaces. It has it’s place as it’s excels at extremes.
A commuter who has described himself as the OP has will find cars that have the following drive systems to be his best friend(s). These are the key words that describe systems that can make use of all 4 wheels dynamically and actively, and they are ready for action in milliseconds or always in action:
AWD
Quattro
Full-Time 4WD
Real-Time 4WD
4Motion
Coupled with quality all-season tires, or MUD AND SNOW rated tires, and anti-lock brakes, these cars are built for the commuter who is on pavement, ice, snow, gravel, and a variety of different surfaces daily.
The basic 4wd system is built to pull a trailer and boat on a muddy lake edge, but they are dangerous to drive on surfaces as speed builds… and when the surface changes a lot from good traction to almost no traction, you actually have to set it in 2wd.
Yes. The biggest problem is that idiot drivers think because they’ve got 4WD or AWD, they can go “anywhere.” They can’t. Learn the limitations of your vehicle (many times there’s a training course for folks offered by car clubs dedicated to a particular vehicle that are pretty cheap).
Things you will need to keep in your vehicle (keep them in a box, so you can pull them out easily in summer months when you won’t need them):
1.) Sleeping bag.
2.) Mylar survival blanket (handy in case you have to rescue someone when you’re screwed or if your sleeping bag gets wet and doesn’t keep you as warm as you’d like).
3.) Cat litter
4.) Salt/snow melt (you want both, trust me)
5.) Fix-A-Flat (in case you get two flats or your spare is flat, won’t work in extreme cold, but a good back up)
6.) Road flares
7.) Premixed antifreeze
8.) Cardboard/newspaper (put this over the radiator in really cold weather to keep the engine warm)
9.) Tool kit (Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but small problems can often be fixed on the side of the road.)
10.) Extra clothes (in case yours get wet)
11.) MREs/long shelf storage food
12.) A gallon of washer fluid
13.) Cellphone charger
14.) Maps of the area you’ll be travelling in (You might know the road by heart, but if you’ve got to walk home [and cell service doesn’t work], it’ll be handy to know if there’s a shorter way overland than by road.)
15.) Shovel
Check and see if tire chains are legal (or even mandated) in your area, because those are excellent at keeping you moving.