My arctic adventure AKA "OMG I'm gonna die"

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Rouphis

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Jan 31, 2009
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Tampa, Fl
I am a native Floridian. I have never saw snow, on the ground. I did see it in the air once, but that is a different story.

This February my and my fiancee' will be taking a road trip. To Iowa, and we will be staying for about one week. Aparently, February is not Iowa's tourist season.

We will be going in my 1990 Ford Ranger, With rear wheel abs, and an open rear. I have brand new Michelin Hydroedges (for Florida's horrid weather). I am very experienced in low traction situations. But again, I have never seen ice nor sleet nor snow.

Come to think of it, I'm not even sure exactly what sleet is.

What should I do to prepare for such adventure? I know that tire chains are a must. But what else.

-Rouphis
 
A bag of sand in the bed of the truck. Warm clothes and a blanket.

If it snows, slow down.

You'll be fine on the main roads. If you hit a storm, stop at a hotel until daytime.

You'd be better off in something front wheel drive, for someone not used to driving in snow.
 
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I dont know that chains are a must... Iowa is fairly flat, right?

A pickup is not the vehicle for this though. Id want a few bags of sand in the back, but that is going to hurt MPGs.

Slow and just stay off the road is the best thing, even if you are experienced...
 
Rent something. 21 year old plastic and rubber parts get extra brittle in the cold (not to mention shrinkage).
 
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lol...and a couple coffee cans to pee in.

My mom would want you to have a thermal blanket and a couple candles as well.

But for real man, relax, add the weight of the sand bags over your rear axle and SLOW down as conditions warrant. There is no secret weapon other than your own common sense on the road, and winter tires...but that expense would seem pretty steep for such short use.
 
A few bags of sand and, rather, a few hundred pounds of weight in the bed. I used to keep around 200lbs of sandbags in the bed of my *four-wheel drive* S-10 during the winter. A rear-wheel drive truck with no weight in the bed and no chains is worse than useless in the snow.t

And just looking at the tread pattern on those Hydroedges they don't having much tread siping so they'll probably be much less than stellar in the snow.

That being said, people have been getting around in the snow in rear-wheel drive vehicles for a looooooong time.

Too long, didn't read version:
-Put some weight in the bed, preferably sandbags
-Chains are a maybe
-Shovel
-Cell phone to call a tow truck
-Warm clothing
 
If it were me, I would put at least 300 lbs of bagged sand or gravel in the bed, over the rear axle is best. If not, towards the cab. You don't want weight behind the rear axle, because it will increase the momentem if you start to spin. Also the sand can be used as a traction aid if you get stuck. Everyone should have a good knit hat, jacket and gloves. Throw in a blanket just in case. Take a shovel that will actually move snow, not a garden hand shovel. The chains might be a good idea, even if you are on flat terrain. Find a long handled ice scraper with a snow brush on it. Jumper cables. Test your antifreeze to make sure it's good down to the temps you'll be in. You might want to find a winter windshield wiper for the drivers side. Normal ones can get ice build up and leave you with a very small contact patch.

That's all I can think of as my standard winter rituals.
 
Quote:

What should I do to prepare for such adventure?


An updated will.

Seriously, you are not taking the correct vehicle for such a noobie. I don't even think of using my B2300 when the flakes fall.
 
I've driven in the snow in a RWD Lexus a few times, I nearly did a 360 spinout and hit traffic one time - but it was my fault for driving too fast and on 70% worn Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires. The next time after that with a fresh set of Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS during a light snow shower I was fine.
 
I live in the Orlando area now but used to live in North Dakota here's my advise.

Driving in snow/ice is NOTHING like driving in the rain in Florida, keep the speed SLOW. Driving on snow/ice covered roads will put you in the ditch or worse in a split second.

Keep an emergency kit with you including food and blankets, gloves and warm clothing. If your car breaks down you will have no heat and -20f temperatures need to be taken seriously.

Don't drive a two wheel drive pickup, you're much better off with a front wheel drive car or a four wheel drive car/pickup. If you have no choice but to take the 2wd pickup load the bed up with sand bags to give the back weight to help with traction.

ABS/traction control will do almost nothing at highway speeds if you loose traction.

Be very, very careful. The driving experience is completely different than Florida, good luck.
 
Funny. I was working in Des Moines earlier this year.. Feb through April. You're taking a big risk driving a 2WD open diff truck, particularly if you drive anywhere not regularly cleaned up by their many plows.

Main roads were fine.. usually slushy and nasty. Parking lots and side roads/residential neighborhoods were a 2WD truck nightmare.
 
Yah I'm a Florida Native living in Nebraska which borders Iowa.

I drove a 2wd open axle Ford Ranger when I first moved here in 2000. I would not recommend this to anyone not experienced with snow or ice. There were days when the Ranger would not even move out of it's parking space when the snow was thick. I would spend hours digging it out and scooping the bed full of snow to get weight over those rear tires. I didn't have sandbags and they are kinda hard to get at when you need them if you don't already have them in the garage.

For the safety of your loved one and yourself. Get online and shop the Rental agencies. RENT A Front Wheel Drive Vehicle if you must drive. An all wheel drive vehicle or 4x4 would be even better but most modern day front drivers feel like bulldozers compared to a rear wheel drive vehicle.

It could turn out that you don't even see snow but the issue of ice is a whole new ball game. With the Ranger I couldn't even get out of the grocery store parking lot when there was ice on the concrete ramp leading out of the store. Spin. Slide. Spin.

To me sleet is slush. No big deal until it freezes on the road and causes ice to form that will be all but invisible.

Yah rent yourself a car if you can.
 
1) A winter sleeping bag of proper size for each person.

2) A CB emergency radio that plugs into the cigarette lighter, or one that is already installed. Cell phones only work if you are within range of a tower. CB will work for over 100 miles at night. Channel 19 is the common truckers channel, and 9 is reserved for emergencies.

3) Winter boots, gloves, hat, scarf, sweater, sweatshirt, coat, and a second pair of pants that fit over existing pants. Both pair of pants should be heavy material like jeans, (not light material like formal pants).

4) Flashlights.

5) Food and drink (and I do not mean alcohol).

6)TP and 13 gallon plastic bags.

As for the vehicle, If you had grown up driving rear wheel drive without posi in the north then if the vehicle had 4 new agressive winter tires and chains, you would have a good chance of being ok.

As for someone without that background forget about a rear wheel drive vehicle with all season tires.

You want 4WD, new aggressive snow tires, chains, two gallons of winter windshield fluid, and items 1 through 6 above.

If you have never driven on ice you have no idea how bad it can be. Ice especially glair ice with powder snow on it can have so little traction that it has to be seen to be believed.

I had a 1976 Volare rear wheel drive open rear end. I used to to go to school in Harrisburg Pennsylvania in 1976, 1977, 1978. I had winter snow tires on all 4 wheels. One weekend I went out to enjoy the new snow by doing some donuts in a mall parking lot at night. Everything was going well and I decided to stop the car and get out for a look around. The car was on flat level ground. When I tried to go the drivers back tire broke loose. I tried reverse and the tire still broke loose. The car was a standard so I tried again and used less gas and let the clutch out slower. The tire still broke loose. So I used less gas and let the clutch out very slow, the tire still broke loose. So I gave it no gas and very slowly let the clutch out with the engine at idle (fully warmed up low rpm idle). The tire still broke loose. I thought to myself I gota see this. I opened the door and got out and stood beside the car with the back drivers side wheel slowly turning while he car was not moving. I left the door open so I could run up and jump in, and went behind the car and pushed the back bumper and my feet slid backwards. A pickup truck with teenagers who were having fun in the snow in another parking lot came by and gave me some salt. That got it going. Another time on a very shallow hill the road was ice with fine snow on it and I had the whole hill ( about a quarter of a mile) to stop before the intersection at the bottom where several cars were stopped. Every time I hit the brakes the car would go sideways but continued down the hill at about 4 MPH. After three attempts to stop I decided to swing the car so it was going backwards down the hill. When I got to the bottom if I had to hit the cars I wanted it to be with the back bumper. When I swang the car backwards it ended up with half the car off of the road. The snow was to the middle of the back bumper and it built up as the bumper pushed it. This became a pile up to the trunk of the car and stopped the car. I was able to power out of it and continued down the hill knowing I could use the snow on the side of the road if required.

Now days I keep Blizzaks on all wheels on both our vehicles every winter. These tires have traction on ice. You can not run them in warm weather, they would not last.

BTW there is something up here in the north called a White-Out. This is when the snow comes down so fast and lays so fast you have a very hard time telling where the road is because everything becomes a blanket of snow. Also in a White-Out the visibility can drop to such a short distance that you can not see the vehicle in front of you. This lack of visibility happens much easier at night, but can happen in the day. This is very scary because if a truck come up behind you it can not see you, and you are afraid to go because you can not see what is ahead of you, but you are afraid to stop because a truck might hit you. Also pulling off the road might strand you where no one will find you. And an exit is dangerous because you could get stick in the snow and a truck could hit you. If you are lucky enough to take an exit and not get stuck, all the hotels and motels will be filled.



A White-Out is so bad that it is something that telling someone who has never experienced it to not drive if a winter snow storm is predicted is like talking to a wall. Most will go out and drive anyway, and once one experiences a White-Out they will never let them self get caught in one again.
 
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Well, I once was a 2WD, open diff Ford F150 driver further north in Minnesota. Note I said once was...

For a driver with plenty of winter driving experience, a rear wheel drive truck with agressive tires (Snow or All-terrain preferred), adequate weight in the bed (I ran with 280 lbs of sand tubes, and a good idea of where I am going to stay out of trouble, I managed through several winters. Ice in the wrong spot will send your rear end out before you even realize whats happening, especially on ice. As I learned from my sister who went to school in Iowa, they get more ice and ice storms there then when do here. Ice is the worst!

Was it the most fun driving a 2wd? No - I was always thinking about my moves well before I got into a spot I couldn't get out of! I will note that studded tires are illegal here, and we don't use chains either. I now drive a 4x4 pickup, and I still put some weight in back to help with traction.

I'd heed the advice noted above - rent a front wheel drive rental car. Much, much more forgiving and driveable on snow or ice for a inexperienced snow driver. No need for AWD or a 4x4 (though nice). If you do run into snow, find an empty parking lot and practice to find out how a car reacts...

Otherwise, sound advice is:

-A sleeping bag or heavy blankets for each person
-Full winter gear (Boots, Stocking Cap, Gloves, Jackets, snow pants, scarf, etc...) for each person
-Energy food (granola bars, candy bars, etc...)
-Communication device (Cell phone, CB, etc...)
-Tow strap and knowledge of how to use it
-Shovel (one that can move volume, not a garden shovel)
-Chains may be required somewhere on your drive, not sure how common out east - I traveled more in the rockies...)
-Jumper cables
-If the temp is much below 20 degrees, keep your fuel tank above a 1/2 tank - keeps condensation down in tank (fuel line freezing is bad) and provides fuel to run the engine for heat if you get stuck somewhere)

The biggest thing is use your common sense! If the weather stinks or has the potential to be bad, ask yourself how badly you really need to be out there. If you can wait, do so.
 
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