Moving to Alaska... What should I do to my Cruiser

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hummm, doesn't a block heater do the same when it is circulating the heat?
i might be missing something here since i have not bothered to study the flow system but the hot water from the block will open the thermostate and the hot water heads into the rad and down to the bottom and back into the block ... no?

i am not dishing on the block heaters, they have been in use for decades and funtion well. i have moved to the lower rad hose heater and have been quite happy with them. this is more for expanded understanding on my part.
 
@ OP

I'll have an almost new set of 31x10.5x15 studded mud and snow tires ready for you when you get here for a great price. As for your current tires, wide doesn't do so well in the snow and on the ice.

To reiterate what everyone else has said, just make sure you have good synthetic fluids for our climate and all the appropriate heaters.

As for jobs.. Fairbanks has many jobs that sound like they would fit your qualifications. Many companies up on the slope, local repair shops (gas, diesel, heavy equipment). Many volunteer fire/emt positions available that get your foot in the door for a staff position.

Best of luck to you! :beer:
 
Another thing that those inline tank heaters have a bad tendency to do is burn vehicles to the ground. I have personally seen 4 vehicles sitting in front of their house, plugged in, blazing due to those tank heaters shorting out. I'll never run one. Ever.

TK
 
I dont think you'll need much, but it really depends on where you're going to be and what you plan to drive your cruiser through. The roads aren't that bad most of the time in the winter and very few people drive them when the conditions are black. I was in ft. Greely and ft. Wainwright with a stock blazer making the 100mi trip every weekend without too much problem. A block heater of some kind is a must. Look into colder weather synthetic oils and hoses. Might want to upgrade your shocks for summertime driving on the cracked and bumpy hard roads and gravel roads. A secondary fuel tank might come in handy too.
 
And Just to be clear about this entire block heater thing. They are absolutely NOT mandatory at all unless you are spending winters up North (Fairbanks etc...). The world will still rotate, the sun will still rise, and the truck will still start but it is much harder on that oil pump and bearing at such temps to get things lubricated. More gas wasted on warmup etc....

Use a good timer to have it kick on a few hours before you wake up to go to work to save on electric.

Although a fedeal program did help subsidize the cost of block heaters for Anchorage bowl residents which expired after 13,000 installs.

Mark: The big dummy who I got my 60 from did that exact thing! He pulled out of his driveway plugged in...ripping the block heater cord from its zip ties, out of the freeze pug and THROUGH the grill!

Hmmm I wonder why it has a new radiator?? ;)
 
So going on my list is the block heater, battery blankets, and oil pan heater. I have the second battery and just need to wire it in and get the hold down (i alredy have the tray). Exchange all oils for synthic. Depending on where I find work I will look at different weights. I alredy run Toyota red coolant. I have a set of KC's on the front but sealed beam aircraft lights sound good. As for tires, all my experance in our snow here in the sierra's has been wider is better, but we are trying to float on top. Should I consider looking for some BFG AT's 33x10.5.

I have been talking to some friends that spent 20 years up there (moved back due to health reasons) and they advised looking for work further away from the coast because the weather is a little nicer. I dont want to be anywhere that I have to worry about rust if I can help it.

Thanks
 
cruiserfj45 said:
So going on my list is the block heater, battery blankets, and oil pan heater. I have the second battery and just need to wire it in and get the hold down (i alredy have the tray). Exchange all oils for synthic. Depending on where I find work I will look at different weights. I alredy run Toyota red coolant. I have a set of KC's on the front but sealed beam aircraft lights sound good. As for tires, all my experance in our snow here in the sierra's has been wider is better, but we are trying to float on top. Should I consider looking for some BFG AT's 33x10.5.

I have been talking to some friends that spent 20 years up there (moved back due to health reasons) and they advised looking for work further away from the coast because the weather is a little nicer. I dont want to be anywhere that I have to worry about rust if I can help it.

Thanks
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Sounds like we'll see you in Fairbanks then.;) Skinnier tires are definitely better up here on the road. Fat tires are horrible on ice. I went with a HID retrofit kit for my cheapo Hella 500's. Wayyyyy more light output then the H3 bulbs. Those aircraft landing lights suck up a TON of juice compared to HID's. Do some research and you'll figure out what you want,but a $30 retrofit kit into your KC's would be what I'd do. I'm just seeing more and more of us running HIDs these days.
 
crushers said:
hummm, doesn't a block heater do the same when it is circulating the heat?
i might be missing something here since i have not bothered to study the flow system but the hot water from the block will open the thermostate and the hot water heads into the rad and down to the bottom and back into the block ... no?

i am not dishing on the block heaters, they have been in use for decades and funtion well. i have moved to the lower rad hose heater and have been quite happy with them. this is more for expanded understanding on my part.
Click to expand...

The convection flow with a freeze plug heater is contained inside the block and head. Small circular flow with the coolant rising and falling inside the engine with no need at all to pass through the thermostat and radiator.

Some heat will work it's way put there, but that is incidental. With a rad hose heater all the coolant has to flow through the rad to get back to the heat source. With a freeze plug heater the heat stays in the block.


Mark...
 
FWIW you can find the 7" sealed beams at Napa and the like to put into your current KC housings. I run a trickle charger instead of a battery blanket on my truck, never really heard good things about battery blankets. Our cars have pads underneath the batteries and I haven't personally experienced any problems with those if you really want to heat the battery.
 
cruiserfj45 said:
.. As for tires, all my experance in our snow here in the sierra's has been wider is better, but we are trying to float on top. Should I consider looking for some BFG AT's 33x10.5.

I have been talking to some friends that spent 20 years up there (moved back due to health reasons) and they advised looking for work further away from the coast because the weather is a little nicer. I dont want to be anywhere that I have to worry about rust if I can help it.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Wider is definitely not better on roads and highways subject to snow and ice. You want the tire to bite into pavement for control. Coastal weather is certainly quite wet, but it's also much warmer than interior weather. Think Astoria or Cannon Beach, Oregon minus 10-15 degrees or so. As a Californian, chances are you'd prefer the sunnier and much drier interior.
 
First question.... what do you want the tire to do for you? Anyone who tries to answer your question without knowing this... might as well ignore them. ;)


Mark...
 
Trade ya my 33x12.50 for those 33x10.50's you found!

Bold move moving north, kind of wish I did something like that when I was younger.

My brother works as an 1st Engineer on a Commercial Fishing boat up in the Bearing Sea (but he still lives here in CA). I can see if they want/need help if you want.

Good luck on everything, you and your wife are Good People, I wish you both the best.
 
As far as tires go, I don't want to have to worry about getting around during the winter. Whatever you guys throw at me I want to go through. Can I get the best of both worlds, fresh snow storm and frozen highways?

fishontro, I'm not sure I want to work out on a boat. Not a big water guy. Thanks anyways.
 
cruiserfj45 said:
So since I have you Alaskans attention what is a common good tire size up there? I have found 33x10.5R15. Any other good sizes?
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I've found that for lots of highway and a little hunting/ gravel road action BFG AT's in 33x10.5 suit me well. I don't do any real off roading in the 60 (I save that for the 40). You have about the same lift as me, and 33's just look "right" under there. Plus, anything bigger with the stock motor, you better start thinking about re-gearing. 31's are wayyyy more common up here, thus are cheaper to replace, so I'd keep that in consideration as well. Really, if you want 33's, I'd buy and install them down in Cali. You will find much more selection and better prices anywhere in the lower 48.

Also, I've had my tires siped for years, which helps with wear and gives the tires a little more "bite" on the ice. Honestly,BFG's might have a little too hard of rubber compound for lots of icy-road driving, but offer such long life, it's worth it too me for the compromise.

TK
 
cruiserfj45 said:
As far as tires go, I don't want to have to worry about getting around during the winter. Whatever you guys throw at me I want to go through. Can I get the best of both worlds, fresh snow storm and frozen highways?

fishontro, I'm not sure I want to work out on a boat. Not a big water guy. Thanks anyways.
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Ahem... You may think twice if you see what those commercial fishing guys make on a single run! Just sayin!

However i should realize big nasty water is certainly not for everyone.
 
If you are worried about winter road use as your primary consideration a set of quality winter tires (I prefer studded) in 235/75R15 will be perfect.

Off road, you want the biggest tires you can fit/power/articulate.

This carries through for summer time too.

For daily drivers most people up here have winter tires and summer tires.

For a dual purpose rig... in the winter an AT pattern will do well. In the summer, you want the most aggressive pattern that you can put up with on the street.


Mark...
 
Mark W said:
If you are worried about winter road use as your primary consideration a set of quality winter tires (I prefer studded) in 235/75R15 will be perfect.

Off road, you want the biggest tires you can fit/power/articulate.

This carries through for summer time too.

For daily drivers most people up here have winter tires and summer tires.

For a dual purpose rig... in the winter an AT pattern will do well. In the summer, you want the most aggressive pattern that you can put up with on the street.


Mark...
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If only that were the only considerations. These days any distance driving on the road with aggressive tires consumes more gas, and we all know aggressive tires wear horribly. Also, small 235/75R15's are a great size for purely town driving, but for highway driving a 31-33" gives you a poor man's overdrive, thus cutting fuel consumption @ 65mph by 15.3% (in my case w/33").

If you do decide to go off road in Alaska with AT's, you will be stuck in short order, thus I always carry chains with me. They are near unbeatable off road as they clear themselves of mud better than most dedicated mud tires. As a side bonus, chains are unbeatable on icy roads in an emergency situation. This Winter it rained in February, then promply froze, leaving 1" of glare ice. The only way I was able to make it to work, was to chain up. Granted the ride was akin to driving a hardtail Harley on emergency strips, but I had full control of the Cruiser whereas everyone else was at home or in the ditch.

All that said, people daily drive Honda Civics and (in my case) Toyota Corollas on street tires year round up here and make it to where they need to go 99% of the time, so don't freak out. You'll be fine no matter what you get, we're just trying to point ya in the right direction.

my $0.02
 
As i said... the most aggressive tire you can put up with. Part of that is what sort of tire life and fuel economy you can accept... chains just can not match a 18 inch wide bogger. You can say they "clean" better... but they also grab less and tire size is an extremely important factor too. And when you are running hundreds of trail miles every outing... chains wear fast too.

As I am sure you have found out... in Alaska... and "All Terrain" is a "Street Terrain".

If the rig is used mainly on the road (be honest with yourself) then put road tires on it.


Mark...
 
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