Moving to Achorage

Hello,

My daughter is moving to Anchorage from lower Michigan in Jan. I am giving my 2013 Tacoma SR5 4 door 4wd. Any special modifications besides recemended cold weather maintenace?

 

Fluid Film or Krown spray the frame. You might also consider an engine heater and a fresh battery.

 

supposedly they have plugs for oil pan heaters.

thought out vehicles for those environments come with more than that. Like eberspacher heater.

 

If you are actually driving and not ferrying your truck, spare tire, maybe two. Lots of gravel that direction.

x2 on new battery. Jump box. Satellite phone.

Edit:
Disregard, I’m an idiot. For some reason I read you were driving there when your daughter moves. I now see you are giving her your truck.

 

A nice polar bear rifle. I’m sure it’s a difficult expense for a youngster.

 

I lived in Fairbanks for years which does get a bit colder than anchorage. But the standard treatment there is a block heater plug, heat pad on oil pan, heat pad on transmission pan, trickle charger for battery, synthetic oil, and maybe adjust the coolant to a 60/40 instead of 50/50 mix. Some people use a heated battery blanket to keep it warm but I think a trickle charger is better. Studded or non studded winter tires aren’t a bad idea either

Also a plug-in timer so you can set everything to start warming up an hour before starting so you aren’t running it all night long is a good idea.

I installed the heat pads with RTV and they’re still on there 4 years later

 

Block heater, battery blanket, oil pan heater, coolant flush to ensure -50° freeze rating, and just the usual general maintenance and upkeep.

 

50watt GMRS Radio and a decent external antenna is a minimum. Pay the $35 and get her a license too. No test. Just apply under her name.

$250 Radioddity DB50 Dual Band Mobile Radio Transceiver, UHF VHF 50W High Power Amateur Ham Radio, Multi-Band Receiver with Detachable Front Panel, Programming Cable, CTCSS/DCS, Chirp Programmable

https://www.amazon.com/Radioddity-D...ammable/dp/B0D3TYXXX4?crid=13JBDY4T97FOM&dib=

$40 HYS Amateur UHF NMO 17.7"s Whip Antenna, 3.5dBi 462MHz–467MHz, W/ 13ft RG58 Coax Cable Roof NMO Mount Antenna Surface with UHF MALE/PL259/L Bracket for Yaesu Kenwood Vertex Icom Mobile GMRS Radios

https://www.amazon.com/HYS-Amateur-...z-467MHz/dp/B0CHYJ8DP5?crid=QDWGCXQ8VO3W&dib=
or...

$35 Authentic Genuine Nagoya UT-72G Super Loading Coil 19" Magnetic Mount (Heavy Duty) GMRS (462MHz) Antenna PL-259, includes additional SMA Male & Female Adaptors for GMRS Handheld Radios

https://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Na...ditional/dp/B09TPZ221K?crid=QDWGCXQ8VO3W&dib=

Maybe a subscription to Giaia GPS so she gets better maps up there.

Well stocked tool roll

Some of those flashing pucks

$24 NeaLia Magnetic Wireless Beacon Light, USB-C Rechargeable LED Strobe Lights for Trucks, Mini Portable Flashing Emergency Safety Warning Light for Postal Car Tractor UTV Golf Cart IP67 Waterproof Amber

https://www.amazon.com/NeaLia-Magne...erproof/dp/B0D1Y53N12?crid=1G94IOHYGOA6O&dib=

Maybe a NoCo Battery Jump Start

$100 NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Jump Starter Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/dp/B015TKUPIC?crid=392Y2R6UKIBPN&dib=

^^ All from a guy living in the desert that freaks out if it gets below 36°F

 

@MQQSE

 

I’d definitely do at least an oil pan heater

 

A boyfriend (girlfriend?) to keep her warm

 

I just made the drive from Anchorage to the lower 48, if you have specific questions just ask.

Anchorage doesn't get nowhere as cold as fairbanks so don't listen to the recommendations for the very bitter cold. I would say oil pan heater & a block heater are very helpful. Change out the trans fluid and it'll be good.

Anchorage has had a very warm winter with temps in the 30°sand above, enough to melt snow.So a few sandbags which can be gotten up here for a few dollars each.
Dedicated snow tires are helpful

Also, Anchorage has its own sub on here & it's kinda active

 

Thanks for your reply. I will pass on your advice.

 

Anchorage is way more mild than most people think since it's coastal. Probably pretty comparable to MI's northern LP, and certainly no worse than the UP if that context helps.

I've not spent a winter in Anchorage personally, but comparing winter weather with a friend living a little further down the Kenai, I'd say 40-ish% of the time the weather's milder there than it is in lower MI.

Best of luck with the move. Summers on the Kenai are as good as it gets. You'll have to go visit.

 

Is she driving up, or is the truck being shipped up?

Thanks Eddie.

I verify and agree with this information. Biggest favor you can do her is dedicated snow tires. If she won't be off-roading, my recommendation is dedicated studless like Blizzaks. I do a lot of off-road and like Duratracs for Winter; mind you an all terrain tire, even Winter rated (Mtn/Snowflake) is less forgiving on plowed/icy surfaces than a dedicated Winter studless or studded tire. I no longer run block heaters because I have a garage. If truck will not be garaged, a block heater is advisable.

 

Some emergency cold weather supplies to keep in the truck might be a good call too.

 

That and be aware that moose eyes do not reflect headlights. I really liked the Toyota T100 that a Cordova gillnetter had. He showed up the next spring with a big lifted Chevy and told me he didn't want to have a moose into his windshield as he commuted between ANC and the Mat-Su Valley. When I lived in Cordova 1990-2011, the population of moose in the Anchorage Bowl was the same as the Copper River Delta, about 250 animals. Biggest bull I've ever seen was looking through the fence from the greenbelt as I drove a rental car out of Anchorage International Airport. I drove a 1971 IH Scout II from Missoula to Cordova in 1996, a 1996 Pontiac TransSport from southern Indiana in September 2003, and the 2007 Malibu on round trips until my daughters drove it one way when I re-tired from Alaska in 2011 (driving a 26' U-Haul) through the flooded Peace River country. (I got some beautiful photos of the sculptures at the Chainsaw Carving Capital of the World, Chetwynd BC, as everything had been washed and shined by the week of rain.)
I stressed to my daughters that the most important item on any vehicle is the tires. "All Season tires" for north Idaho are not the same that will work in southern climes... Canada is great, and I've had more difficulty getting back into the US, but not overly much. Canada customs treats their residents the same way when returning from the US <G>.

 

Beat me to it

 

They call him FastEddie for a reason.