Tacoma necessities for cold weather? Just moved to ND

I moved to ND, Ive never lived in cold weather. I need help and guidance in what I need to do and buy for extremely cold weather. (wheels, maintenance, coolant and oil change,etc) I have a Tacoma TRD Off road 4x4 2023

 

With the exception of a set of winter wheels shod with winter tires, nothing else will be different.

 

Welcome aboard matey
You have a broad list of questions and there will be a hundred different answers for each. Your best bet is to use the search button at the top of the page, little magnifying glass looking thing, and from there you can put in all your keywords, relative to a third gen Tacoma. Play around with it a bit and familiarize yourself with the site, all of the answers you seek will be found scattered throughout the forum.
Posting questions on TW is best done when you have specific needs, concerns…, and have already done your own research on the forum but still need further guidance. Others may chime in to give you more direct answers, just wanted to give you a push in the right direction is all. Best of luck.

 

If the roads get salted/brined I'd look into some form of rust protection, keep on eye on things. Outside of that maybe be prepared to allow some more time in the mornings to allow the car to warmup.

Cheers,

 

Get winter tires on take off rims.

 

Living in Upper Mid-west, do NOT fill windshield fluid with straight water. Use the Blue or Orange stuff sells at gas station.
I knew someone moved from CA to MN who did that and had a block of ice in the tank in winter.

 

That’s because it’s illegal to sell washer fluid that doesn’t freeze in most of California.

 

Frame protection. With good stuff, like Wool Wax type products. Not rubberized stuff from WalMart.

And do inside the enclosed parts of the frame too.

 

A block heater doesn't hurt (unless it burns your house down) but other than that your truck is pretty good to go. Unless you have a manual....the pedal is slow as hell in the winter until things warm up.

Get some winter tires. Don't listen to anyone who says ATs are just as good or better. They're not. Especially when it's -30 and the road is hard and polished snow. That said... I only have ATs but I also have a 4Runner with winters as an alternative. If I only had one truck it would definitely have winter tires on it.

Most important is keeping a blanket, gloves, hat, and some booster cables and a boost pack in your truck. North Dakota can be pretty rural. If you ever break down, get stuck, etc you'll want a contingency plan. A recovery rope and some shackles could help you or someone else.

I'm north of you in Manitoba. Visit ND often. Feel free to ask me any more questions about surviving the Great Plains in the winter.

 

+1, the clutch is terrible! I felt like it was my first time driving a stick again when I experienced it for the the first time.

 

True. I bring my brother in law a couple of gallons when I drive to California to see him. He fills up before coming the Utah in the winter.

 

Do whatever you are going to do quickly, as there probably will be a snow event in about 3 weeks. Good luck.

 

That and get it rustproofed, 'cause the salt they use on the roads loves to eat your frame...

P.S. I don't use winter tires, but I don't do much Highway driving... All weather tires with 4hi, and I have noooooooooo issues.

 

That's not quite true: it's illegal to sell washer fluid with greater than 25% methanol in zip codes that experience freezing temperatures. It's kind of an irrelevant point and only bad drivers put plain water. "Type A" fluid in California is good to 0F and it's rare anywhere in the state gets lower than that. As an upside, California also bans salt on the roads for environmental reasons which is great for not destroying cars too.

To OP: I live at 8500ft and get 10ft+ storms on the regular. I ran winter tires when I was running 33's but since I upgraded to 35's I don't anymore -- I think the 35" AT is more than sufficient. But if you get a lot of ice out there, like the midwest that deals less with deep snow and more with ice, I'd seriously consider studs. Coolant and everything else is A-OK as it is stock.

I think the big thing for me is making sure you're traveling prepared. I carry my full off-road setup all winter including various straps and rigging, a shovel, my maxxtrax, some thermal emergency blankets, etc.

 

In your truck keep a shovel, jumper cables, tow strap, blanket, couple small packages of high energy snacks, and warm or insulated under garments for yourself. You never know when you might have to spend the night in your truck...

If you've never driven in the snow you should practice driving in it and increase your stopping distances by a lot.

 

Lived in winter cold area for 70+ years. Biggest thing is drive for the conditions. That means SLOW DOWN if it's snowy or icy. A 4x4 doesn't mean you can turn or stop faster than 2 wheel drive. Snow tires help but that doesn't mean you can drive like on dry roads. That being said don't crawl like a snail either.

 

You mean undercarriage rust prevention is not necessary?

 

But when you are driving TO a location that is below freezing, you’re screwed.

 

oh c'mon that place is getting out of hand

 

if you got led headlight's they don't get hot enuff to melt the ice