Let your car warm up at least a couple minutes before you drive it anywhere. And drive as slow as you HAVE to.
Ok, pretty much have all those boxes checked except the tires. Including the ice scraper and kitty litter. They're all season tires, but I've driven in snow/ice in them before under horrible conditions, specifically going up and down a valley (this area is flat), and they performed flawlessly. Got them checked and the tread is still good. Heavy as shit truck with 4X4 traction (getting breaks checked and possibly replaced this weekend), going slow and experience driving on ice. I'm not terribly concerned about the traction part. Figure if it gets too bad I'll just pull off the road and wait until conditions change, because.... I have an emergency bag with everything I need for myself and my family to survive a few days. Multiple different types of fire starters, two space blankets per person, two small shovels, multiple compasses, knives, ropes, rolls of duct and electrical tape, a bunch of road flares and glow lights, food, hand saws, two first aid kits I keep up to date for the stuff that expires, binos, signaling devices, etc. Might seem like too much, but then again when my wife was young my FIL and MIL got stuck on a mountain and dug a snow cave for them to survive. Were on the news and everything until the helicopters found them a few days later. It's only unnecessary until you need it.
Added a collapsible snow shovel (11” wide, for just in case). It’s about a 30 minute drive from where we’re staying to the mountain, and the last thing I want is for us to get back to the truck after skiing and it’s deep in snow.
Don't get a cheap fucking plastic one... get yourself an old military, metal, collapsing shovel (a Soviet Tactical Shovel), that won't break on or bounce on ice or frozen ground.
Shoveling snow with an e-tool takes forever and sucks, so I keep a collapsible snow shovel in my truck. and an e-tool. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NR5R6AM/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_PZFfEb85XHNXB
Yeah, in case anyone wasn't clear, I was kind of being "mall ninja sarcastic" about that tactical shovel I posted... you DO want a solid, metal, non-plastic, won't snap shovel, but that youtube video was just too funny not to post @AFHokie That shovel looks perfect... I might have to pick one up for myself...
Any particular ice scraper y’all would suggest? I have a generic autozone one which has worked in the past, but I’m still a week off from leaving so I’m in that amazon window
Get one that also has an extendable brush on it somewhere. Or just get a cheap one at a gas station if you’re only scraping off frost. You don’t need a heavy duty one with a brass blade if you’re not planning to fight through an ice storm or freezing rain, which isn’t going to happen anyway with sub-zero wind chills.
I saw that one but decided to go with this option based upon the ability for it to pack up into a small size. I get that it's plastic, which sucks, but it has an aluminum edge and looks a bit more packable Plus realistically I'm only using it for one trip, and I have other items in my truck's tool box I can use in a pinch to move snow out of the way. I also highly suggest the new leatherman FREE series (one handed opening) if anyone is in the market for a good multitool. A little more expensive, but I carry my P4 everywhere with me, and use it multiple times a day.
I have had the same POS 5 cent one in my car for probably 10 years or more now. We don't get alot of snow but it can see daily use for a month or 2 for scrapping ice.
I used an old credit card for a few months without issue. When I bought my truck I got something more skookum that extended nice and long, and allowed me to really leverage the scraper on the middle of the windshield without it breaking... had it for the last 8 years or so... pretty reasonable $25 investment I'd say.
First year in undergrad, Austin Texas, it snowed hard. Cue a bunch of unprepared rednecks who have never seen ice, never mind snow, wanting to get the frozen stuff off their windshields of their lifted dodge rams so they could do donuts on the football field. Word spread around that the best way to get the ice off was to pour boiling water on it. There was a line in the communal kitchen of people boiling water in whatever pots they had. My roommate and I were cracking up. Windshield repair guys made a killing that year.
A few people actually took hammers to try to break up the ice. Nice little expensive physics experiment. I turned on my truck's remote start and it magically started melting. Everyone looked at me like I was a wizard. Trash can lids + rope tied to the trailer hitch make for some fun times in a snow-covered empty parking lot. Can't believe the RA's and teaches and everyone joined in. A few months later Virginia Tech happened and we stopped having fun.
Yeah... how's that working you for you so far? Cuz I'm not seeing it... and my cats, who refuse to go outside, are sure pissed at the cold weather we're getting...