Moving to Montana. Recommendations/Upgrades for LC?

[bobr1]

Hey guys,

Been living in SoCal for the last 5 years and now separating from the service. As nice as San Diego is, the wife and I are from small towns in in the Midwest and East Coast and never really enjoyed being in such a crowded or expensive place. Anyway, wife just got a position in Northwest MT near Kalispell and starts in late summer. I have visited Montana several times in the summer and winter and know that the winters can be pretty harsh. I drove through a pretty bad storm this week near the Crow Reservation and they shut down the highway on the I-90. Usually the rental car place gives me a Subaru or some AWD vehicle but this time they gave me a Kia Forte. I was pretty surprised how bad the roads were even in Billings. Actually iced over the tires as I was driving. It wasn't as bad on the western side of the state luckily.

So I am just seeing if there are people from the area and what they recommend to make it safer and easier to drive there or at least anyone that lives in the north and deal with heavy snow ice. My LC 100 is pretty much stock and has about 7000 miles on the tires. I don't plan on doing any crazy off-roading, literally just get to places for hunting, fishing, recreation and just normal driving. It will be my DD so I don't want to go overboard with it...yet.....

Some ideas: bigger tires, carry chains, maybe winch, block warmer etc...

As always any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Bob

 

[jlm43]

I’ve only been to MT once so I’m not sure what their roads are like, but I’m in the northeast and studded tires are the best way to go around here. Get some good all terrain studable tires mounted to some steel / beater wheels and keep your current wheel / tire combo for summer use.

A good tow rope and maybe a come-along aren’t a bad idea either.

 

[Kabanstva]

I would start with getting dedicated winter tires if you are going to be doing that much snow driving. Blizzaks are a great choice for snow tires, never let me down. The next free mod that most people do is to remove the stock running boards for more clearance if you will see trail time just to be safe. I would be amazed if you really need any more mods to your truck than the two I mentioned. It's a freaking Land Cruiser, pretty sure a stock one will get you by just fine with no mods at all.

 

[hickuptruck]

Blizzaks. And that's it.....LC with Blizzaks or Hakkapaelittas makes winter easy.

 

[hickuptruck]

Oh and lots of new windshields.......lots of them.

 

[Kabanstva]

Oh and lots of new windshields.......lots of them.

Why?

 

[Spike555]

Snow. Your main concern is snow, so dedicated snow tires are where you start. Buy a set of steel wheels off a Tundra from a junk yard, then search for snow tires.
Cooper has a nice set for trucks. Blizzaks can't be beat on ice. You will not need chains for the roads if you have snow tires.
You don't need larger tires either. Unless you want them but you don't need them.

 

[Spike555]

Ok, so because I'm the curious type, I Googled it...all you need is a good set of A/T's on your Land Cruiser.
I get more snow than you do.

You don't need a block warmer either.

Kalispell, Montana Climate

Grand Rapids, Michigan Climate

 

[morganism]

block warmer, washer fluid warmer, 12v boot dryer ( a compact heater), Shovel mount, bag jack

 

[planomateo]

I'm jealous, we will be calling Montana home soon enough, more than likely the Missoula area.

I don't know what the weather is like in the Kalispell, but I've heard that the Missoula area gets better weather than Billings during the winter. I suspect you just need some good tires initially. I'd just make sure you have some good tires, wait until you get up there before you spend money on something you don't need.

Kalispell is a beautiful area! If I lived there I'd be hiking all over Glacier National Park.

You'll get better info posting in the clubhouse for MT, MT- 406 Cruisers

 

[jtxterra]

studded tires help around here but not a must.get yourself a set of tire chains if you plan on doing any exploring during the winter on fs roads. and expect to change you windshield or at least get rock chip repairs often. we don't salt the roads they use sand and gravel on passes. they don't usually pick up the gravel till the summer so expect to get rock chips. recovery gear is smart if you don't use it on yourself you will probably be using it on someone else. seems like i end up pulling at least 2 or 3 people out each winter. the roads here usually aren't to bad mdt does a good job plowing during storms but it can get pretty nasty quick. expect icy snowcovered conditions during the winter. a stock 100 should not have any problems as long as you slow down. most highway deaths around here were because someone was going too fast for the road conditions. I run non siped mud terrains year round and don't have sway bars and do fine driving during the winter but i know my rig and slow way down. block heater is a good idea. temps can get pretty low around here and stay that way for months and good battery is a must as well.

 

[PeteM95]

I just got back from Montana yesterday! Somehow I managed to avoid most of the snow storms, but I caught some on I-90 going to Billings. I was a bit wary because I just got my truck back after hitting a guard rail on some snowy roads back in February, but those Montana drivers don't seem to know fear.

 

[jtxterra]

those Montana drivers don't seem to know fear.

no we don't

 

[bobr1]

studded tires help around here but not a must.get yourself a set of tire chains if you plan on doing any exploring during the winter on fs roads. and expect to change you windshield or at least get rock chip repairs often. we don't salt the roads they use sand and gravel on passes. they don't usually pick up the gravel till the summer so expect to get rock chips. recovery gear is smart if you don't use it on yourself you will probably be using it on someone else. seems like i end up pulling at least 2 or 3 people out each winter. the roads here usually aren't to bad mdt does a good job plowing during storms but it can get pretty nasty quick. expect icy snowcovered conditions during the winter. a stock 100 should not have any problems as long as you slow down. most highway deaths around here were because someone was going too fast for the road conditions. I run non siped mud terrains year round and don't have sway bars and do fine driving during the winter but i know my rig and slow way down. block heater is a good idea. temps can get pretty low around here and stay that way for months and good battery is a must as well.

Yeah I noticed people still doing the speed limit when the highway was covered in snow and ice and then a few minutes later they would be crashed off the road. You know its bad when the semis are stopping in the middle of the interstate to chain up.

 

[bobr1]

So far great stuff. It looks like I'll just start out with some winter tires like several have recommended and carry some recovery gear with me. I noticed they used gravel when I was there which I guess there is no way to really protect the paint or glass from unless you stay really far back from someone but I'll just figure it in to the budget. Also, do you guys run a lighter weight oil?

Bob

 

[bobr1]

I'm jealous, we will be calling Montana home soon enough, more than likely the Missoula area.

I don't know what the weather is like in the Kalispell, but I've heard that the Missoula area gets better weather than Billings during the winter. I suspect you just need some good tires initially. I'd just make sure you have some good tires, wait until you get up there before you spend money on something you don't need.

Kalispell is a beautiful area! If I lived there I'd be hiking all over Glacier National Park.

You'll get better info posting in the clubhouse for MT, MT- 406 Cruisers

Yeah, the wife and I are ecstatic, it was either there or Sheridan, WY which is why we were driving through Billings. But we both really love the Flathead area. I've done Glacier and plan to hike and camp there a lot more once we move there.

 

[45Kevin]

If you don't mind the initial outlay for dedicated snow tire, they are far superior to all season.
You will get the added bonus twice a year when you switch over of checking your brakes and other bits that are very accessible when the wheels are off.

All seasons do alright, especially on an AWD or FWD vehicle, but dedicated snow tire are the best.

Studs can be added if you want, and they do help in icy situations, but in my 30 years of winter driving I have never had them and I do just fine.

Just remember to drive for the conditions. I will often bomb up to the mountains, on road where you can't see the pavement, at highway speeds, but I leave a lot more space between the car in front of me and I don't make any fast moves when changing lanes or going around corners.

Our club may be down in the Flathead area this summer doing a wheeling weekend.

 

[C6H12O6]

You probably don't need the block heater all the time in the winter, but when you need it, you really need it. I lived in Bozeman for a while, which doesn't get too much colder, but those few times when it does it is cold as balls. Cold starts like that are tough on the engine. I had an uncle who lived in Libby and pretty much everybody up there has a block heater installed. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[bobr1]

If you don't mind the initial outlay for dedicated snow tire, they are far superior to all season.
You will get the added bonus twice a year when you switch over of checking your brakes and other bits that are very accessible when the wheels are off.

All seasons do alright, especially on an AWD or FWD vehicle, but dedicated snow tire are the best.

Studs can be added if you want, and they do help in icy situations, but in my 30 years of winter driving I have never had them and I do just fine.

Just remember to drive for the conditions. I will often bomb up to the mountains, on road where you can't see the pavement, at highway speeds, but I leave a lot more space between the car in front of me and I don't make any fast moves when changing lanes or going around corners.

Our club may be down in the Flathead area this summer doing a wheeling weekend.

Awesome. Which club is that?

 

[45Kevin]

Awesome. Which club is that?

Rocky Mountain Land Cruise Assoc. out of Calgary.

Kalispell is about a 4 hour drive.Maybe 4 1/2 in my old 45.