Moving to Minneapolis MN!

So I'm moving from Tennessee and up to Minnesota next month. What should I do for my truck during the cold months. I drive a 2000 Tacoma 5spd with 4 wheel drive. I'm getting cooper at3 xlt's next week as well. Are those tires sufficient enough for snow? Do I need engine block heaters? Rust prevention under bed and on body? Any suggestions would be great!

 

Buy a beater Subaru or something, they salt the shit out of the roads in MN in the winter. It will turn your frame into swiss cheese in a few years!

 

Drive the truck in the nicer months is my vote if you want it to last.

 

Block heater for sure! Also make sure you have the correct antifreeze mix. I'm sure you'll get around fine with those tires.

Most importantly, get some ice fishing gear!

 

My 5 speed gets cranky and becomes hard to shift when temps are below freezing. I've had good luck running Redline MT90 cleaning things up.

You shouldn't need a block heater. I'd make sure you have your battery load tested so you know it's healthy enough to crank the truck over in the cold.

 

@Tigerian ... any helpful tips for poundtown [OP] in surviving the winters in the land of 10k lakes or L'Étoile du Nord

 

Tires should be fine. I had the dealership tires on my truck still last winter and had 0 issues.

Do you need a block heater? No, but it is nice. I've been meaning to get one for my truck but haven't gotten around to it yet. It doesn't get anywhere near as cold down there as it does up where I am and I didn't have any issues starting this past winter in -30 and below. The bigger thing is making sure your battery is in good condition.

For rust prevention many people preach using fluid film. The biggest thing is making sure you get the shit washed off your truck and it doesn't just sit on there all the time.

 

When I moved from Kansas City to the Minneapolis suburbs years ago I learned a few things. In Kansas City, it took a few days to plow the roads correctly, so 4wd was needed in winter multiple days. But in Minneapolis, they are super fast at plowing the roads well - so much so that I have only used my Tacoma in 4wd three Times in the last 2 winters. All other times, I drive my daily driver 2012 Civic, which is MUCH better to drive on plowed, but slippery roads. When I do drive my truck, I am sure to wash as much of the underside as I can to remove the salt.

If you can do it, buy a beater car, preferably a low center of gravity car like a Subaru. The salt they use on the roads here is ridiculous. As for a block heater, just make sure your antifreeze and battery are on point.

 

frame coat, snow tires and a beater

 

it’s not cold enough for a block heater in the twin cities so you’ll be fine without it

Rust is the killer up here, so an oily undercoating like Fluid Film would be your best bet if you’re planning on keeping the truck long term

For tires, you want a snow capable tire (something with that three-peak mountain snowflake “3PMSF” symbol) and if you don’t want to run a second set of dedicated winter tires, the it’s worth looking at the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S....they’re an all-terrain with great winter capability
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cooper-discoverer-at3-4s-review.557727/

And join us on the MN thread
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacomas-in-minnesota.16179/

 

i have been reading up on FF ... and it is not oily? or is it? .. there is no solvent in it and you can use it on your winter boots!

 

I don't think anybody has mentioned it, but I would also change the power steering fluid if it's never been done. If you don't, the first really cold morning, you'll probably hear a nasty howl/growl/whine from your pump. You may even get a violent shake in the steering wheel when you try to turn it.

Just so you know you aren't wasting money, try sucking some out with a turkey baster into a glass container. Compare the color to some new fluid. If it is very much darker, replace it.

Several methods to replace, but easiest is to put you front end on jack stands, suck out/replace the fluid, turn the wheel back and forth 10 times. Repeat until the fluid you suck out looks new.

 

I guess I meant oily vs those hard rhino-liner type undercoatings....

Fluid Film and Krown are both oil-based coatings that dry after you apply them.

The major difference is that the hard coatings chip and crack and can form puddles of water in your frame, essentially creating spots of concentrated rust that you might not ever see. Fluid Film / Krown don’t do that by nature but need to be reapplies every year. Pick your poison. Either is better than a rotted frame.

 

Fluid Film, Fluid Film, Fluid Film the frame. Then Fluid Film it again.

 

so does one just slop that on all over or it needs a fine and meticulous application?
this one local truck shop wanted to spray a bunch of rubbery stuff (like ziebart) all over and TW has taught me better

 

Fluid Film is a spray on....either in spray cans or like the same idea as weed killer

 

So what I gathered is a healthy battery, mine is almost 5 years old so I'll get one end of this year. Fluid film underneath, not rhino liner. Fluid exchange like power steering, coolant and such. Engine block can wait, unless I'm having trouble. Wash the salt off asap, and if all else fails, then get a beater. Thanks guys! Another question do you run thinner oil? I use 5w 30 full synthetic

 

Start stocking up for once a season:

$28 Fluid Film (3 Aerosol Cans) Rust & Corrosion Protection; Metal Surface Penetrant & Lubricant, Marine, Automotive, Industrial, Home, 11.75 Oz

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B93ZXGS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8

 

Okay fellows, I'm going to march out of step with regard to the Fluid Film. I've used it for the last couple of years, and have not been all that impressed. It seems to wash off rather easily, and by spring, you are seeing some surface rust. This spring, I reverted to what I have done for a couple of decades, with a little bit of a twist. I bought the Fluid Film application gun and various wands. Then rather than fluid film, I sprayed everything underneath with nothing more than a quart or so of differential fluid. It sprays just like the fluid film, a fine mist. I sprayed all of the inside of my frame, all of the easily visible surfaces, (excluding exhaust pipes, muffler, brakes and rotors, etc). I used the long 360 degree wand to reach all the way up inside the cavity above the rear wheels, up inside the front fenders, and so forth. In all of the weep holes along the rocker panel and bottom of the doors, I sprayed with WD40, using the straw nozzle. Gives it a very manly scent for a few days, but that goes away, and then as you drive it, the grease will absorb dust and dirt, and become almost like a soft undercoat. But it will keep shit from rusting!! Downside, it makes it f'n messy to work on. But no rust!!!!!

 

do you have any pics of what that stuff makes it all look like up under there, sounds hardcore!