Next week i will be moving to Maine. I live in FL now its were i was born and raised, I'm wondering what are somethings I should do to my truck before winter comes. Like undercoating, fluids, etc..

 

Put some decent winter tires on your truck. You'll need them.

 

Only spent a brief time in Maine, very pretty, but never saw ocean water freeze before.

From experience with Oregon and that short stay in Maine...

Make sure all your fluids are fresh and correct for the climate.

Engine oil probably needs to be 5W30 or 20. Diff fluid should be something like 75W90. I like synthetics which in cold conditions is very good. The tranny if it is manual probably needs a 75W90 fluid or lower if the locals sell it.

Make sure your washer fluid has the higher concentration of fluid other wise it and your hoses may freeze and then break.

Strangely, your doors will freeze shut. So grease the weather stripping with Silicone grease, they sell it special for weather stripping.

Use GRAPHITE based NOT OIL based lock lubricant.

You might consider a block heater if it gets cold enough. Make sure your thermostat works. A cold running engine makes for a very cold ride.

Get a big bottle of Prestone Ice remover and a good scraper. Be careful not to scratch your glass with cheap plastic scrapers. Scrape off as much snow and ice as you can and then use the Prestone to melt the rest so you can see. The spray cans are OK but the bottle has more and is cheaper. You will need it.

If you do have snow and ice on the windshield, be sure your defrost the glas BEFORE you use the wipers. Otherwise you will 1 ) rip the baldes off or 2) Rip off the rubber and then the blades are worthless or 3) The blades will be "Sandpapered" to uselessness by the rough ice. I used to let my engine and defroster run while I walked around the car scraping off ice etc. Sometimes by the time I was done scraping off the ice, the windshield was cleared enough to drive and maybe use the blades.

Some places sell a squeegee with extra long or extendable handles. If your truck is high off the ground these squeegees are worth their weight in gold.

Make sure your battery is fresh and the connections CLEAN.

Carry a jacket or blanket and maybe some snacks in case you get stuck.

If you must run your engine while stuck, make sure your tail pipe is clear, exhaust can kill you.

Get a good set of chains or cables for your tires. Learn how to put them on BEFORE you need to. Nothing like fumbling in the snow with frozen fingers figuring out how to put on chains. And if you do use chains, be sure to inspect them and tighten them every say 50 miles. If you break a link or the chain gets too loose, you will thrash your fenders.

Also carry a shovel and maybe some of those ice grippers with you. Ice grippers look like bear claws and can be put under your tires to get you out of a spot. Kind of a pita to use tho. Also a lot of people carry a couple bags of sand or kitty litter with them in the bed. Gives you weight on the rear tires and you can use the sand for extra traction if you get stuck.

In my opinion, if you need chains you should probably stay home unless it is an emergency. In about 15 years of occasional driving in snow and ice, I have only needed to use chains a few times. I even have towed my 8000# trailer in snow without chains.

Usually Snow/Ice/Studded tires are all you need. I usually got along fine with just street tires. Take it slow and EASY, NO SUDDEN movements. If there is ICE, that is more dangerous than snow. But if it is say 0 degrees, snow and ice aren't so bad. It's near the melting point where things get tricky. Braking and steering are the key to your safety. You don't need no stinking speed. Watch ouit fo bozos who are speeding, you wil see them again off the side of the road. And watch for idiots who stop their car right in the middle of a road and leave them during a snow storms, I can't believe how many people do this instead of pulling off to the side.

Good Luck, get some long johns,

Jim Henderson

 

i live in upstate ny. my old truck was a diesel. only thing is when it gets cold plug it in. put some nice tires on it. now my 250 i just bought came with a plow so im not worried bout much cause it was a mass truck and it was in lots of diff weather so.

 

My advice...DON'T GO! It's too dang cold!! Otherwise, I have no advice.

 

In addition to the list Jim Henderson put together, I also carry a couple bottles of water.

What ever is making you move from Florida to Maine, I hope it is worth it when you saddle up to head out and it's -40F with the wind chill.

 

I appreciate the advise, I just picked my truck up from having the coolant flushed, I have brand new bfg mud terrains so those should be fine i hope. I already have a block heater, I run 5w-40 synthetic should that be ok?? I need to fix my rear dif cover seal this weekend which fluid should I put in?? Well I am 22 born in raised in south florida, way too many people for me. The only family I have had down here is my mom and dad, all my aunts, uncles, cousins and so on live up there and I have a chance to start over while I'm young and I want to experience having family around all the time. I think the hardest part is going to be driving the 1500 miles up the east coast by myself. Farthest I've ever driven from home is only like 400miles

 

also does anybody have some spots you can recommend for me to stop at along the way? I want to take it slow and see all i can on the way up.

 

If you have custom aluminum wheels make sure they have clearcoat on them, if not you are going to go wash your truck in the Spring and notice the road salt has ruined your wheels.

 

Skinny tires are better in snow and ice than fat ones. Are your mudders like the big swamp rat type or just street tires with a bit of blocky tread? I did fine with my Goodyear Wrangler AT tires. Later I had BFG Commercial TAs which had a very tame "City" type tread, but I did fine with them in FWD, most of the time. Never had to use my chains on the truck, but it was not my daily driver. I had an Impala with Blizzak snowtires for daily commuting.

With tires in snow you want blocky tread so it can shed the snow that packs in. Skinny tires help cut thru snow so that helps. Big fat tires float on snow and ice and can be a problem.

You might consider having the dealer Sipe your tires when you get there. Sounds like Sip of water. Siping is like thousands of razor cuts in the tread which they claim helps traction on ice and I think it allows the tread blocks to squirm a bit and break up any snow. Either way, Siping was highly recommended when I live where it snowed. I had snow tires tho. But the sno tires already had siping on them.

I also like studded tires if they are legal. They work well on ice and packed snow. Not so goo on bare or wet pavement. Blizzaks are OK but not as good as I thought they would be.

If you can, wash your undercarriage whenever you can. Want to get rid of road debris and any salt they might use. It will usually be too bloody cold to hand wash so get used to car washes.

A 5W 40 is probably OK, but unless your engine is old, you don't really need xxW40.


Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Wow, by the replies you would think Maine was on the North Pole! Come on up, pm me if you have any questions on Maine. Where are you moving to in Maine? I am from Palatka, FL, have been up here for 7 yrs or so.

Studded tires are nice, but I just carry a set of those high speed z-bar chains.
Check the plug on your block heater and make sure it works BEFORE it is -20 deg F outside!
Undercoating is helpful but a nice job is pricey. Best thing is to just keep the underside sprayed off after the heavy storms.

And buy a snowmobile, they are a blast....

 

No, but it is just south......

 

Something to stop and look at on I-95 is South of the Border. You can't miss the signs; they're every mile or so for 40 miles in SC. It's at the NC/SC border.

Do the section of I-95 that's through the Washington DC/Baltimore area, and the NYC area after dark if at all possible. Daytime traffic is NASTY in both areas.

-blaine

 

Good job Jim Henderson. Definitely get a block heater & the long underwear. Maybe get the long underwear first, then the block heater, then more long underwear.

 

i am going to be living in hollis, yet i have family in augusta, bar mills, buxton, porlant, new brunswick, pretty much southern maine, yet we have a camping trip planned for the end of july on moosehead lake