Major winter road trip-- need advice!!

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I drive from Michigan to Chicago regularly for work, around the bottom of Lake Michigan. It's major highway, but the highway has closed and left more people stranded than the hotels had room for. And many people are stuck in traffic when the highway closes, no way to get off the road. A sleeping bag is nice for just catching a few hours shuteye, food and water comes in handy for longer delays.
 
Be prepared for all of your warning lights to come on and your dashboard to light up light a Christmas tree. That has happened to me a few times on long, cold freeway drives (sub zero for several hours at a time). Don't know why, but my research showed it happened to others on this forum with an 02. I kept driving and the problem would usually go away the next day. It woudl completely resolve itself when I got back to warmer weather. Must be an overly sensitive sensor or other gremlin, but if it happens to you, don't freek out, the truck wont blow up on you.
 
You're driving a Land Cruiser. You wont need a thing. Ok maybe Redbull and Funions and slimjims.
 
farinvail said:
You're driving a Land Cruiser. You wont need a thing. Ok maybe Redbull and Funions and slimjims.
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You forgot to add breath mints to that list...
 
someone mentioned food a while back. when we went on our UT trip this thanksgiving (hit a small blizzard on the way up), i took a case of water, and some MREs in case we got stuck. you can try surviving on peanuts, funyuns, or slimjims and gatorade, but that gets old quick. the MREs are pretty awesome.

i got mine (with heaters) from MREDepot.com. it seems, they have no full MRE packs at the moment, though.

you can try these guys. MRE Ultimate Self-Heating Full Meal - CASE of 12

and if you end up not needing them, they store for several years and will come in handy when the fit hits the shan next year ;-).
 
Don't forget a nice bottle of booze, if you really get stuck your going to need something to keep warm with!

Truthfully, sounds like you are getting pretty loaded down and that can make your car handle differently especially in the snow. Once you get to a snowy place you better practice driving your car in the snow loaded down. I recommend going to a snowy parking lot and learn how your car reacts in the snow. The reality is that you will need none of what you are taking but being prepared for driving in the snow is very important. I live near i-80 in the mountains in Utah and I see lots of out of state license plates in the ditch.

Have fun and wave as you go through Park City.
 
In cold weather you need the basics. Take plenty of blankets, gloves, sleeping bags, flashlights, water, flares, etc..

I always take a portable battery charger in case of a dead battery. Having a cell phone and GPS is also very helpful. Also, having a headlamp is useful if you're going to be changing a tire alone. Take a good solid jack with you and plenty of tools. And last but not least don't forget the duct tape. ;)
 
duhfender said:
Don't forget a nice bottle of booze, if you really get stuck your going to need something to keep warm with!

Truthfully, sounds like you are getting pretty loaded down and that can make your car handle differently especially in the snow. Once you get to a snowy place you better practice driving your car in the snow loaded down. I recommend going to a snowy parking lot and learn how your car reacts in the snow. The reality is that you will need none of what you are taking but being prepared for driving in the snow is very important. I live near i-80 in the mountains in Utah and I see lots of out of state license plates in the ditch.
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That's some of the best advice out there. Every year when it snows I take my vehicles to a parking lot or empty street and just hammer down on the brakes while driving just to get a feel of what's going to happen in an emergency. I tell people all the time it's a requirement for good safe winter driving. If you're cruising down the road in the winter on snow and ice and somebody in front of you locks them up you better know how your car is going to react and what measures you need to take to correct it in a slide. I thinks that's the problem nowadays, nobody knows how to drive in snow because they have no idea what there car is going to do so they just drive like blue hairs all winter.
 
Just remember:

Braking, hard steering and accelerating, will all cause you to loose traction. Never do any of the above mentioned tasks simultaneously in snow or you will find yourself in a ditch, or worse...
 
Watched a kid go in the ditch yesterday morning, probably shouldn't be texting at 50mph on glazed snow and ice.
 
Tons of great advice!!!

As far as Red Bull vs. Mt Dew, I'm old school guys...hot, strong coffee with lots of half & half, no sweetener!! If I'm sick of coffee a Coke Classic'll do just fine.

Thanks to jmarlo for the mention of the dash lights; if this had happened & you hadn't said anything, I'd have panicked for sure...now if it happens I won't sweat it.

Duhfender & Musky, great suggestion to "learn" what the Cruiser will react like in snowy conditions; not only that, but my Revo 2's haven't yet seen snow, so I need to figure out how much bite I have & at what point I lose it. Not sure about the booze though, Dufender!! Bad mix with extreme conditions!! A little something else :smokin:, maybe, but this is a family program so we won't get into that.

As tasty as slim jims & funions may be, I think I'll go with something a tad more sensible...thinking nuts, proteins bars, gatorade, and h2o.

Hey BendFJ, can I borrow about $10g to follow your suggestions? Not all of us who work in healthcare make the big bucks ya know... Your enthusiasm is commendable Sir.

Scottm, I won't text...a few months ago caught myself texting while driving and almost ate someone's rear end at a red light (but didn't, thankfully). Lesson learned.

My list, thus far: 1) fresh 5w30 M1 & filter 2) lube 3) purchases: matching spare, new tow strap, cig lighter batt charger, scraper, flares 6) pack sleeping bags x2 for wife & I, couple of heavy service blankets for dogs 7) coupla gallons of water, several protein bars, can of nuts, few big gatorades 8) my camping backpack, which will contain 1st aid, waterproof matches, camping stove, aforementioned sleeping bag, headlamp, shovel, weather radio, GPS, hand warmers, knife, multitool, fuel lamp, gloves, other stuff

Above list subject to change...I'll keep ya'll posted...and yes I vow to take TONS of pics of the LC in the rugged snowy Montana countryside. My bro-in-law has a 4x4 Tacoma so I'm hoping he can show me a good time while I'm there (not sure how much of a 'wheeler he is, though, he's 4x4 due to necessity)
 
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So how did the revos perform in the snow? I'm kinda curious...
 
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