Prepping Tacoma for Cold (really cold)

Lots of people already mentioned changing oil and batteries etc. Chances are you are already running synthetic oil that is fine for -40, and you said you had a strong battery and a block heater. That stuff is all you need.

I'm going to address what you need when you get stuck. I do 99% of my wheeling alone because there just isn't anyone in my area that I've met that is interested in this sort of thing. I've made getting unstuck an obsession of mine, because I've been out there overnight before when I didn't need to be. So here goes:

Start off with good tires. Blizzak DM-V1s are great and come in a 33" size if thats what your running. If you don't like those and prefer a meatier treaded tire get duratracs. Of any of the mud terrain tires that I've tried, Duratracs are the best in snow, and they are studdable. They are definitley not as good in the snow as the Blizzaks but they have the advantage of being good in the summer as well. The most reccommended chains for off roading are these:

http://tirechaindealer.com/grip

Don't forget that airing down your tires really helps off road in the snow, but you should only do this if you are comfortable with putting a tire back on the bead on the trail, cause it could happen. You'd also need an air compressor obviously if you wanted to air down.

You should grab 2 shovels, a smaller metal one that fits under the drivers seat, and a normal size snow shovel for the box. The small metal one is for chipping at hard packed snow/ice under the belly of your truck when it gets high centered. The normal snow shovel is for everything else.

Take an axe. You can use it to chip ice, cut firewood, cut wood to place underneath your tires to get unstuck. Also like somebody mentioned having some kindling wood and/or a torch wouldn't be a bad idea. Bring a chainsaw too if you have one.

Take a can of gas or two. Good for lighting fires quickly and not running out of gas.

Get a Hi-Lift jack, not a no-name farm jack, but a real Hi-Lift. Pick up the Lift-Mate accessory. This allows you to hook on to your wheels and lift each one up one at a time. The hooks are rubberized and don't damage the wheel. They work great in snow if you put a base underneath like a 10"x10" piece of plywood. Won't sink in and you can lift the tire right up out of the hole to throw your trees, rocks, small cars, whatever underneath it. You can jack on the hitch receiver opening, raise the rear end and push the truck over to the side. This can come in handy if your rear end slips off the trail, etc. Another good use is to use the winching kit, or make your own winching kit, and use the jack as a winch. I've used mine to winch myself out of holes by myself where I would never have gotten out, nor do I know anyone with a vehicle capable of getting to where I was to get me out lol. A few weeks ago I hauled my truck 75' up a greasy wet washed out hillside with just the hi lift jack, some tow straps, and 25' of chain. It took a couple of hours, and I was warn out, but I got back to camp before the sun went down! An actual winch would have been nice, but I'm about to sell that truck so it has no winch or plate bumper.

http://www.bb4wa.com/articles/hilift_jack.html

You might pick up some other tips in that article like this:

http://www.pullpal.com/

Bring food, water/something to melt snow for water, snowmobile pants, all your regular winter wear. Take a big box of hand warmers from costco. A bottle of whiskey.

Most important thing I can tell you: If you get a hi lift jack and a pull pal and chains and shackles and tow straps, or whatever you get, take them out and test them somewhere before you get stuck. If you don't, you'll be out there buried and realise "damm, I forgot I needed to buy tow hooks for the end of my chain" or "The jack is useless because I didn't bring a base to keep it on top of the snow" etc. Happens to everyone.

Sounds like you'll see some cool stuff up there, I'd like to take a tour up through some day. Maybe in a warmer season! Good luck.

 

When I worked in northern Ontario I had a coolant line heater (small heater with fan to move the coolant around). Worked wonders keeping the whole engine warm and had the bonus of blowing warm air when you first fired up.

Don't remember where I got it from, was about 20 years ago.

 

I've heard a lot of old time truckers say always carry peanut butter. It's dont go bad it don't take up much space and it gives your body what it needs to burn so you stay warm longer If your stranded with a truck that won't run.

 

Peanut butter, jam, with tortilla shells, cuz nothing is worse than going to make a sandwich and all your bread has been smashed!

 

Another two words that will quickly become favourites up there.
Merino wool. Socks and long underwear for sure, instead of sweating and then having your sweaty base layers freeze to you like cotton does, you'll stay feeling dry and warm.

Oh, wait, this was about prepping your Tacoma for exteme cold, not your underwear.LOL!

 

all this frozen talk reminds me why I live in the hurricane...err, I mean sunshine state.

 

the only thing I can think of is get a case of HEET and use 1 bottle per week at most, or every other week.

big coffee can for use with the long burning candles, helps to radiate heat better inside.

CO2 alarm if you get stuck, cause if that tail pipe get blocked and your sleeping or fall asleep, guess where the fumes are going to collect in the cab.

"no fog" for the inside windshield and windows cause your breathing will fog up the windows.

mittens, not gloves.

if you can find them, military cold weather gear. bunny pants & boots, parka, face mask, etc.

also forgot, non freezing food : candy bars, granola bars, chips (not really since it has higher than normal salt). and yes peanut butter will freeze in -40F if given the chance. nothing that has any liquid content to it.

if you need water, grab some snow melt it and buy the single serve packets of drinks like the lemonade ones or Gatorade.

one last edit : buy a lighted plug adapter, so when you plug the block heater into an outlet, you can tell if the outlet is dead or not.

http://www.hardwarestore.com/single-outlet-lighted-plug-adapter-625609.aspx

they are usually around $5-7 each. try walmart

 

Very good suggestions here. The only advice I would add is to be careful with equipment and tools. When it gets that cold, everything becomes brittle, even metal. I have broken ratchets and bolts at - 50 C which would of held-up at higher temps. It's surprising to see diesel freeze up and such.

I work as a geologist for mineral exploration companies, mainly in northern Canada and other remote places. Took a little while but I learned to take my time in extreme temps, breathing is hard and overexerting yourself only makes things worse. Think things thru, take your time and enjoy the experience.

 

May I recommend an extension or two for your ice auger?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbQwKfnHPZc

 

First off - awesome. I love working in weird/out of the way places.

I only have one tip but it's a good one - never use the parking brake. It will freeze in place.

 

This is news to me! Good thing to point out though, wouldn't have thought of it. Will have to start practicing that now or I will forget.

As for all the recommendations about prepping ME for the cold, i'm looking more for things for the truck. I may be young, but i've done my fair share of mountaineering and alpine skiing for my age, so keeping myself working isn't what i'm concerned about. I've been winter camping in -30 with windchill before, and I should be fairly well prepared myself. I want to make sure my equipment keeps going and doesn't leave me having to rely on my cold weather experience to stay alive. That being said It's nice to get the reminders from you guys with lifetimes of experience up north

I'll be finishing up final exams next week and then heading home to start prepping my truck for the trip. The list is growing ...

 

All really good suggestions , many that could possibly save your life. Only thing not mentioned that would really help is put your spare tire in the truck box instead of under the box using the factory set up. .Ever try to lower your spare in good weather ? Now think -40 F and 2 feet of snow.

 

Keeping your battery fully charged with a smart temperature compensated battery charger connected to you battery when parked will keep it from freezing and make it easier to start your engine in subzero temperatures.

 

Update: The Taco is in Yellowknife.

Drove from Victoria, BC up to Yellowknife, NWT. 2900 km and all is well aside from a bit of the same old fender mounts breaking from bumpy roads, which will probably have to wait until i'm down south again to be fixed.

Mods to the truck prior to trip:
- Synth. 75W Gear Oil (Front/Rear Diff, Transfer Case)
- Treadwright Warden Tires w/ Kedge 265/70R17
- 400W Block Heater
- 80W Battery Blanket
- Fab's Steel Corner Bed Brackets
- 2x 20L Gas Cans (held in by brackets and 2x4 across bed)

Still to do:
- 0W30 Synth. Engine Oil (waited until I was up here as I saw 35C+ on the drive)

My Set-up:


Crossing the 60th Parallel into the NWT:


~350km South of Yellowknife:


I've got a few days to settle in up here and then i'll be sure to get out and do some exploring before the snow sets in. It's already fall up here and while the day temps are around 25C it's still supposed to freeze tonight. Pics to come of playing in the snow

 

Not at all. I'm quite impressed with these tires. Not a single problem on the road, did lots of gravel and 120 km/h pavement for hour after hour without stopping in big heat and no serious wear like you'd see from a dedicated snow tire with that sort of use.

I'll see how they perform in the snow, but I have high hopes. The kedge showed it's colors on some wet rock earlier today and you can really see the mini-siping in the tread block now that they've got a couple miles on 'em.

 

So i've asked people this question all the time when i moved to Colorado from Texas and never got good input... until my truck stopped working and then people actually say "well are you adding HEET mix to your gas"? No, i've never once heard of the stuff. so here's the preventative stuff that no one told me about.

-Check your coolant, if it's 2nd gen truck the coolant should be red.
-The stuff, HEET, is a mixture that you dump in your gas to keep the water from separating and freezing in your fuel pump/tank
-Distilled water. Like in your battery and other stuff. Not sure exactly where all this applies, but yes, distilled water.
-Not so necessary, but cold weather oil can't hurt

These are not the things i actually had experience with, that's why the suggestions are vague, but they are the things that people for get to mention that may save you from being in the crappy situation i'm in.

 

I would be interested to see any new Pictures that you have been able to take up there. I love the snow so much. Sadly I also live in the hurricane state... I mean Sunshine State. Its December and still 80+ degrees outside!!!! Ridiculous!

 

in case you get stuck you might buy a shackle.

 

The lowest it has been (so far) was -20.2F and no problem starting here in Bozeman. All I use is temperature compensated Battery Tender Plus battery charger quick connected to my healthy battery and 0-20W Mobile One synthetic oil. The charger keeps the battery fully charged, which keeps it from freezing and producing more cold cranking amps. The oil allows the engine to turn over faster. I take mostly short trips (< 10 miles) so the battery does not have a chance to fully recharge will driving, especially in this weather. So far, I have not had a problem with the OEM Costco gas icing. I keep my tank at least half full for better traction and condensation from forming.

For more information and tips on car batteries, please see the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on www.batteryfaq.org.

 

There's no real need to add that. Almost all of the gas in Colorado has 10% ethanol added to it. Which helps keeps your fuel from freezing. Just keep the fuel tank above half and you'll be fine.