Tacoma necessities for cold weather? Just moved to ND

Always remember to turn your wipers off before you turn off the truck. If you don't and you get freezing rain or heavy snow and you start the truck and the wipers are frozen to the windshield and they try to move it can tear the blades or eff up the drive mechanism.

 

Yeah, but they can sell all the drugs they want to make one high.

 

Most did come from the NE, Mich and Ohio.

Or they lived right on the beaches (our barrier islands), or the E coast of Fl where they drive on beaches.

 

Lots of good recommendations here. Heed them all and just remember on ice and snow "stopping is the tough part"...

 

if only some of you knee jerk responders had any idea why they made that decision… you probably still want leaded gasoline, too.

 

uh oh... The only sad part about the US regulations to " save the environment " is that it costs us (you and me) big time while the rest of the world doesn't care one bit. For example, China mines 300 million tons of coal a day and buys all we will sell them and they burn it all... The rain forest is constantly burning to clear land to be sold...
What we are doing ( the US) is only a drop in the bucket in the big scheme of "global warming". Meanwhile EV's are the biggest lie ever as the batteries are hazardous waste when no longer useable and where does all this electric power to charge them come from, you guessed it, coal fired power plants...

Sorry I got a bit off topic...

 

Again, a misguided and uneducated rant. Batteries can and are continued to be used from EVs in lower current demand applications once “unusable” in the EV. Look up second life storage. Past that, we are ramping up US based, ON-SHORE (for those patriots) jobs to recycle the contents of the batteries into new ones. Anyway, feel free to yell at your Fox News blasting TV rather than this thread asking about tips for driving/surviving winter.

 

Sweet rant. Now go learn some actual facts so you don’t look like an idiot. Quick one for you - coal only accounts for 19.5% of total US power generation, so you’re 20% right about where electricity to charge EVs comes from.


Back in topic - a cheap set of traction boards like posted above wouldn’t be a bad idea. I used to carry a set and it saved my ass in Alaska one time. Yeah, they broke as a combination of the extreme cold and the angle they were used at but I wasn’t stuck anymore. If you plan to offroad for fun then a set of good quality Maxtrax will last longer and work better in the cold.

 

Let's bury this conversation in the snow. It has nothing to do with anything OP originally asked.

 

yes i do

 

Sure is, Era Vulgaris

 

Never used a block heater, even when it was kept outside. As long as your battery has some good CCA's for the subzero days it'll be fine.
The emergency stuff mentioned is important.
Despite what some may tell you.
NO TIRE is good on ice.

 

In Canada there are days your ride will not start without a block heater plugged in no matter how good your battery is if it's outside. There are definitely some tires, mainly true winter tires, that work quite well on ice especially if they are studded.

 

I've never had a non-start in any of the prairie provinces, NWT, or North Dakota with a good battery and the right oil even if not plugged in.

It can definitely be a struggle but unless we're talking true temps below -45 you should be able to get your truck going.

 

-40 (same in F and C) with a 30 mph wind = -50 with wind chill. Happens often here in Alberta. No starting unless plugged in period.

 

Maybe that's been your experience. My truck started on a -46 day (true temp....windchill doesn't matter) in Edmonton when I only had street parking and no plug in. It struggled but I got it going. The diesel trucks at work were a different story.

That's the coldest day I've had in the west over the last two decades.

Many other days in the low 30s to 40s with no real issues.

I still contend a good battery and the highest CCA you can get shouldn't leave you stranded. If you can't get it started you may need to look at other things like starters, alternators, belts, plugs and oil.

 

Mine always started doing in those temps when out on overnight sled trips and not plugged in. Sounded terrible but would start. As mentioned above though, no difference at all in how the truck reacts to -40°F with no wind or with 50mph wind. The wind will cool the truck off faster when you shut down but that’s it, nothing else changes.

 

It helps tremendously making sure all exterior/interior lights, radio, fans and anything else drawing power is off before trying to start it in the cold.

 

Not wanting a pi..... match. Born and lived in Alberta 70+ years. My point is mainly that block heaters are inexpensive and make living through 6+ months of winter, every year and every day, not just once in awhile, a lot better.

 

Absolutely, they make a huge difference in how well the engine starts up and how quickly you get heat in the cab but a healthy battery will still fire up the engine even in extreme cold temps.