Cold weather prep?

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It is a subdivision... other than the oil recommendation and standard stuff (clothes/blankets) you will be fine

If the road isn't plowed well enough to get out, you are probably not going to get out of the driveway anyways. If you get a massive storm, the berm at the end of the driveway will keep you busy...

Enjoy the R&R and don't worry about it...

My 94 starts better than my 2008 Civic in -20 temps... and who says you have to get up at the crack of dawn to see those temps.. Wait till the sun shines a little bit and it will zero before you know it.
 
Thank you tucker. That is good to know. Like I said I have been there. There was lots of snow. But no fresh snow. It also didn't get below about 35 degrees I imagine. Does it really get below zero every night at your elevation in January? My chipped Powerstroke on 35's and 6" of lift struggled to make it up the hill to the cabin and once in the drive way I had to block the wheels to keep from sliding out of it. The owners said they have the driveway plowed, but I know when I was there it was far from being plowed, and didn't look like it had been plowed in a long while as the un packed snow on the drive was over a foot deep. The county road leading to the driveway was covered in ice/mud/snow mix slush. And I actually got stuck and had to rock my self out of the snow covered ice/mud mix. My truck did have open diffs front and rear though. Anyways hopefully all goes well. Maybe it'll snow alot while I am there. I am really looking forward to it.

D
 
The pickup is going to be worse in the snow..

lots of power/low ground pressure from big tires/weight imbalance (heavy up front)..

The 80 is going to be much better.
 
You can look at the FAQ section too. I was breezing through the other day and found I need to buy a couple of different fuses and relays to keep just in case...
 
All the above are fine ideas, but don't freak out too much. They do have snowplows and road crews in CO, and frankly they are very good at their jobs. It will snow, there may be some ice under the snow, unless you drive a bunch of fire roads within a couple hours those roads will be plowed. It shouldn't be anywhere near as cold in CO as we get in MN, but it doesn't hurt to have some extra clothes in the truck should you get stuck for a couple hours. I'd guess you'll be looking at temps in the teens to mid 20's, could change if the wind kicks up. Drive controlled, and if if gets real cold run your truck every so often to warm her up and you should be good.
 
mnflyfish said:
All the above are fine ideas, but don't freak out too much. They do have snowplows and road crews in CO, and frankly they are very good at their jobs. It will snow, there may be some ice under the snow, unless you drive a bunch of fire roads within a couple hours those roads will be plowed. It shouldn't be anywhere near as cold in CO as we get in MN, but it doesn't hurt to have some extra clothes in the truck should you get stuck for a couple hours. I'd guess you'll be looking at temps in the teens to mid 20's, could change if the wind kicks up. Drive controlled, and if if gets real cold run your truck every so often to warm her up and you should be good.
Click to expand...

It could get down to -40 at night in Valley of the Sun for a few nights in the winter..it will be around zero to -10 for sure. The "fire roads" are buried under 8' of snow.. you won't be driving on them

It was snowing in Alma/Fairplay today:cheers:
 
chtucker said:
It could get down to -40 at night in Valley of the Sun for a few nights in the winter..it will be around zero to -10 for sure. The "fire roads" are buried under 8' of snow.. you won't be driving on them

It was snowing in Alma/Fairplay today:cheers:
Click to expand...

I hate you. LOL. I have been watching the weather for the Alma area for the last year since I was last there...I'm a loser, I know. :crybaby: Anyways it looks like the high for ya'll this week is mid 50s. Hell it was 86 here today, and a few days ago was in the mid 40s. Stupid Texas weather. If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait 5 minutes. It will probably change. :cheers:

D

BTW what is "Valley of the Sun"? Is that Placer Valley? Where CR 4 is?
 
Ihasfip said:
BTW what is "Valley of the Sun"? Is that Placer Valley? Where CR 4 is?
Click to expand...

From memory Valley of the Sun is down valley from Placer Valley. But either way they can both be very cold in January or pleasant. Just depends. We looked at a few homes in Placer Valley but did not want to commute the pass every day to Summit County. Ended up buying the lot to build on in Breckenridge but life changed and we relocated from Frisco to Durango.

Anyway have a great trip and don't over think the weather. Just be prepared for the possibility of extreme cold or lots of snow.
 
offroadkid said:
Make sure your coolant is properly protected against freezing.

NOTICE
Do not use plain water alone.
Click to expand...


This is one of the big things truck related that I saw posted but not a specific "got that done" from you on. Being from TX I'm guessing your coolant is probably not good down to -35F. I know it is pretty common in the warmer climates to not even run with much, if any "coolant" or antifreeze as I use to call it.

You don't have to do a full flush to get to where you need to be. Buy one of those cheapy Prestone testers, dump what is in your overflow, fill with 100% antifreeze (proper color that you are using), run the truck for a few days and recheck. If you need to bring the level down more just repeat the above until you get to whatever level/rating you are looking to get to.

As for the rest...If you are coming for an extended stay then you'll have plenty of clothes for the trip in should something happen. Keep some spare warm clothes for everyone in the truck for day trips. Don't sweat the weather too much but if the weather is super bad you might plan on hanging out in town or at a hotel until roads improve on the way in. Once there, you may get snowbound if it really dumps :hillbilly: - If the cabin is really off the beaten path and the road isn't "maintained" or plowed then you might consider getting a set of chains for just in case or just wait until conditions improve.

Being on vacation if the snow dumps and you are stuck oh well - you don't have to dig out to get to work :steer:
 
corsair23 said:
This is one of the big things truck related that I saw posted but not a specific "got that done" from you on. Being from TX I'm guessing your coolant is probably not good down to -35F. I know it is pretty common in the warmer climates to not even run with much, if any "coolant" or antifreeze as I use to call it.

You don't have to do a full flush to get to where you need to be. Buy one of those cheapy Prestone testers, dump what is in your overflow, fill with 100% antifreeze (proper color that you are using), run the truck for a few days and recheck. If you need to bring the level down more just repeat the above until you get to whatever level/rating you are looking to get to.

As for the rest...If you are coming for an extended stay then you'll have plenty of clothes for the trip in should something happen. Keep some spare warm clothes for everyone in the truck for day trips. Don't sweat the weather too much but if the weather is super bad you might plan on hanging out in town or at a hotel until roads improve on the way in. Once there, you may get snowbound if it really dumps :hillbilly: - If the cabin is really off the beaten path and the road isn't "maintained" or plowed then you might consider getting a set of chains for just in case or just wait until conditions improve.

Being on vacation if the snow dumps and you are stuck oh well - you don't have to dig out to get to work :steer:
Click to expand...

As of right now the antifreeze is good to about 0 degrees. I will change it before I go, and make sure it is good for -35 or so. And We will only be there for 5 nights. I am not sweating getting snowed in, but I don't think I would mind it much. Chains are expensive, and I am a tight wad.

D
 
CreeperSleeper said:
Just remember that skinny tires are best for ice and wide tires are best for snow...
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Well I am hoping I don't run into alot of ice, its not my favorite driving condition. On a side note, once I get up into the snowy/icy areas, should I have the CDL on? I don't have a switch but the good ol' pull the fuse trick seems to work.

D
 
Aight, cool.

D
 
I would go for a new battery the bigger the better (CCA wise). In the UK our 80's are equipped with 24v starters, two 12v batteries fitted which switch to 24v during cranking. The '80' has a known cold start problem which may be relevent to your situation.

I would add, remember tyre pressure can have a serious effct on grip so a compressor to air back up might be an idea?

Safe journey.

regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
Corbet said:
From memory Valley of the Sun is down valley from Placer Valley. But either way they can both be very cold in January or pleasant. Just depends. We looked at a few homes in Placer Valley but did not want to commute the pass every day to Summit County. Ended up buying the lot to build on in Breckenridge but life changed and we relocated from Frisco to Durango.

Anyway have a great trip and don't over think the weather. Just be prepared for the possibility of extreme cold or lots of snow.
Click to expand...

I loved Breckenridge when there a couple years ago. Got H.E.A.P. or HAPE, there.
You guys never mentioned this little issue. Hmmm. Nothing to do with the car breathing properly though.
 
Dave 2000 said:
I would go for a new battery the bigger the better (CCA wise). In the UK our 80's are equipped with 24v starters, two 12v batteries fitted which switch to 24v during cranking. The '80' has a known cold start problem which may be relevent to your situation.

I would add, remember tyre pressure can have a serious effct on grip so a compressor to air back up might be an idea?

Safe journey.

regards

Dave
Click to expand...

I have a brand new 950 CCA blue top Optima. And I always have a small compressor with me.

D
 
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