From Florida to South Dakota

[middleburg62]

Hey there im kinda new to the LC side of Toyota but have owned a few 4x4 Toyota pups, so im leavin for a 2100 mile road trip to South Dakota The end of Oct. anything special i need to before winter or even the long journey there??? any advise is greatly apreachated

 

[mwalls54]

fluid changes and tune up. figure out your route and i am sure there are plenty of mud guys that could help ya if you have problems.

 

[RockDoc]

Make sure you have a good battery and a block heater. Flush your cooling system and fill with at least 50% strength antifreeze. Are you interior heaters in good shape? If it gets real cold, you can place a winter front or piece of cardboard over your rad to help hold in some heat.

Wait a minute.... South Dakota in October? It shouldn't be that cold, focus on any maintenance that has fallen behind.

 

[middleburg62]

Im leavin in Oct. stayin through winter and most likely the following year, but yeah I ordered the complete knuckle kit w/ wheel bearings, thermostat, belts. I have all the new fluids already but were would i find a block heater???? thanks

 

[RockDoc]

Not sure if the usual autoparts places will carry them in metric sizes. Probably not common in Fla anyway.... Try searching here on mud for block heaters, pretty sure I've seen some part numbers posted before.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Not sure if battery blankets are still commonly used, but if your garage/ parking spot is not heated, yet you have 110v access, it's worth looking into. What kind of motor oil you run in FL? Might think about a little thinner viscosity than your usual.
X2 on getting any bugs in the heaters worked out now.

 

[SDFJ60JFK]

Make sure that you get the rubber gasket for the top of the thermostat. You will be fine if your heaters work OK. Is your battery up to snuff. It can get very cold here -20 f or even colder.

What part of SD?

John

 

[middleburg62]

Deadwood-Lead area, but ive got a Optima red top for a battery, ummm yeah just waitin on parts now but let me know if anybody lives near by

 

[SDFJ60JFK]

I am in that area. Look me up when you get here. I have a Dark Gray 85 60.
When will you arrive?

John

 

[Heartworm]

Some tires are a lot better on snow than others. We use BFG ATs on our rigs and they do well. You don't want mud tires. You might even consider a second set of wheels mounted with studded tires if SD allows it.

 

[mwalls54]

alot of auto parts stores will carry a generic block heater that is basically a large magnet and has about a 6 inch 120vac plug on it. I wouldn't get a battery heater because it will make the battery have a short life.

 

[RockDoc]

If you are going to staying in a cold part of the county for a long time, I would go for a freeze plug type block heater, that's all we use up here. As for the battery warmer, I've never used one before, but I have one ready to put in for this winter. If it gets real cold (say below -20F) your battery won't be warm enough to put out OR take a decent charge unless it warms up good from a long drive, basically dies a slow death.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

I wouldn't get a battery heater because it will make the battery have a short life.

I could be about to learn something, but I'm casting doubt on this statement...if you are referring to the general idea that heat kills batteries, (living in AZ, I won't argue that point) then just how warm do those heaters get?

Edit: Google was my friend. The battery blankets I turned up were 60 watt rated. Sorry, but 60 watts warming that many cubic inches of area, used at anytime below freezing temps is not gonna hurt a battery. If you use it at 50 deg F, then you'd have problem eventually.

 

[mwalls54]

I could be about to learn something, but I'm casting doubt on this statement...if you are referring to the general idea that heat kills batteries, (living in AZ, I won't argue that point) then just how warm do those heaters get?

Edit: Google was my friend. The battery blankets I turned up were 60 watt rated. Sorry, but 60 watts warming that many cubic inches of area, used at anytime below freezing temps is not gonna hurt a battery. If you use it at 50 deg F, then you'd have problem eventually.

well when i lived in alaska for 6 months we had 4 work trucks . Our work trucks were diesels and had 2 block warmers and 2 transmission warmers. no battery warmer. we seen temps in the -70s up there and the trucks started up just fine. I talked to quite a few people that lived there and asked about battery warmers and they would just laugh. they said yeah they are good if you like to replace your battery every year. they told me battery places sell them to people that are new to the area and artic temps. I personally never used or had a problem but i took advice from people that have lived up there all their life.

 

[jvazquez53]

Make sure you have a good battery and a block heater. Flush your cooling system and fill with at least 50% strength antifreeze. Are you interior heaters in good shape? If it gets real cold, you can place a winter front or piece of cardboard over your rad to help hold in some heat.

Wait a minute.... South Dakota in October? It shouldn't be that cold, focus on any maintenance that has fallen behind.

I lived in Central Alaska for a few years and my winter started the second week in October until May, if you are moving to SD, you'll probably have to winterize the truck. This is what I did for my FJ40 back then was I bought a radiator cover, a magnet type crank case heater and a battery blanket. Changed the anti freeze to 65/35%, oil to 5W20 synthetic, made sure the thermostat worked, checked all the hoses and never had a problem even in minus 70 degrees. As for tires I used BFG's Mud Terrain 33.9X15, I don't know if BFG make these anymore.

 

[landcruisers4ever]

congrats on the prurchase, what part of Florida do live in?

 

[middleburg62]

alright i got the new thermostat, belts, plugs,wires,cap & rotor, about a 60/40 antifreeze mix, and new batttery cables made of aircraft grade fire proof cable then i soldered and heat shunk the ends ill post some pic when i get a camera in a few days im changing the air & fuel filters and doin the oil change around oct 20 i will be leavin around the 23 or 24 but im pretty excited first real road trip more than 500 miles but im ready. im probly gonna wait to do the knuckle rebuilds till winter along with my desmog.

 

[fliphkd778]

For sure, let me and landcruisers4ever know if you need help or anything in our part of NW florida. I have a pretty good stock of 60s parts should you need something in emergency.