Winter - vehicles and heat sources (Anchorage, Fairbanks: apartments, rental homes, condos)

[Adventurer99]

Two new questions. First, do winter driving conditions trash paint jobs on vehicles? I was perusing the trucks in stock at the Toyota dealership in anchorage, and they pretty much all seem to be gray, with a few white. I am thinking maybe lots of road salt might ruin the paint, so people don't bother buying bright colored rigs? Second, do most rental homes have two heat sources, in the event power goes out, there would be a backup. I'm talking modernish homes, not like dry cabins or anything. I'll be looking for a 3 or preferably 4 bedroom house, but not sure how much selection I'll have. Thanks.

[riceme]

Are you inquiring about Anchorage, Fairbanks, or some other area?

Fairbanks only got a brine truck two years ago and they don't use it that often, I'd imagine because consensus seems to be that it screws up the roads pretty badly. Maybe they just don't have their brine recipe perfected for our weather yet, I don't know. Anyhow, salt on the the roads is really the least of your winter road condition issues around here. There are all variety of other things that might cause various kinds of vehicle damage... potholes, ice that obscures the lines on the roads, moose,... and gravel.

However, if I know that the roads have been brined, I wash my truck to get it off as soon as I can. Rust is not my friend.

No, most rental homes in the Fairbanks area have a single heat source; usually a Monitor or a Toyo that burns heating fuel, or a boiler. A larger home with 3-4 bedrooms might (?) have a woodstove, I suppose, but most landlords don't like to have woodstoves in their rentals.

[riceme]

Uhhh, "yikes" on the dealership!

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[Adventurer99]

I've gone back and forth a lot on new vs used, but at this point I'm leaning towards new. I want all the factory warranties, free maintenance services, and I've read repeatedly on these forums about how beat up and overpriced the used rigs are up there. I am particularly looking for trouble free driving since I don't want to be trying to find a good mechanic, or have to worry about break downs up there, especially with the kids. I never thought I'd go for a new rig, but in this case, I've pretty well convinced myself.

I wouldn't be up in Fairbanks, likely near anchorage or kp. I just assumed they salted the roads all over. I was just trying to figure out if folks in Alaska don't usually buy bright colored rigs, and if so, why not, or maybe the stock on hand at the dealership was just uncharacteristically bland for colors right now.

[riceme]

I would very seriously look into buying a truck in -48. Some of the guys here have done that and either driven or barged them up. One of them can give you the downlow on all that.

They very well might salt the roads on the regular down in ANC or KP. Some kind soul will chime in and let you know. In the meantime I will say a silent prayer to the DOT gods that they continue to leave our fancy new brine truck parked.

Yeah, I figured out who you were after I posted. I keep thinking you're a new poster for some reason... sleep deprivation is definitely a contributing factor.

[Music_Man]

They do put a brine on some of the roads around Anchorage but I have not seen any complaints about veichls rusting out to soon. The electric and natural gas in Anchorage are very stable now days. I doubt if you will find many houses , condos or apartments that have 2 sources of heat. Some might have a fireplace but they are more for decoration than actual use.
Car and truck color runs the gambit here but the lighter colors don't show the dirt as much as the darker colors. It is not advisable to run your car or truck through a car wash in the middle of winter unless you have a warm garage to keep it in.

[AlaskaErik]

My last truck was 14 years old when I sold it. The paint looked perfect. As far as buying, I'm seeing $15k off MSRP right now on commercials. I bought my 2016 Silverado June of last year and got almost $16k off MSRP. That's for a brand new truck with 12 miles on the odo and no trade in. I doubt I could have done any better in the Lower 48.

[Adventurer99]

Music Man, good point on the car wash in winter haha. I hopefully would have figured that one out, but you never know!

AlaskaErik, very good report. I'll look for a bright, cheery color and haggle for a good deal!

I'm pretty well settled on a Tundra Max, but would Diesel engines be so superior up there that I should reconsider that? I know down here they'll last longer, be much more durable, and tow much more weight, but I don't want to spend $60k plus. I also don't plan to tow much, and not anytime soon, so that's not a big factor for me right now. But, it keeps nagging me that diesel is better, diesel is better.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Music_Man

They do put a brine on some of the roads around Anchorage but I have not seen any complaints about veichls rusting out to soon. The electric and natural gas in Anchorage are very stable now days. I doubt if you will find many houses , condos or apartments that have 2 sources of heat. Some might have a fireplace but they are more for decoration than actual use.
Car and truck color runs the gambit here but the lighter colors don't show the dirt as much as the darker colors. It is not advisable to run your car or truck through a car wash in the middle of winter unless you have a warm garage to keep it in.

I should have mentioned that. I have access to a plumbed, heated shop with drains in the floor.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Adventurer99

Music Man, good point on the car wash in winter haha. I hopefully would have figured that one out, but you never know!

AlaskaErik, very good report. I'll look for a bright, cheery color and haggle for a good deal!

I'm pretty well settled on a Tundra Max, but would Diesel engines be so superior up there that I should reconsider that? I know down here they'll last longer, be much more durable, and tow much more weight, but I don't want to spend $60k plus. I also don't plan to tow much, and not anytime soon, so that's not a big factor for me right now. But, it keeps nagging me that diesel is better, diesel is better.

AlaskaErik: maybe we're seeing good pricing in the new vehicle market because our economy is so bad. Yayyyy!! Haaaa... kidding.

Adventure guy: I drive a 5.7L v8 tundra (same as the max) about 50% of the time... do you realize that it only breaks double digit gas mileage on a very good day, when the sun is shining, on a straight away, going down hill, with the wind at your back? Forget winter when you're in 4WD all the time. The damn thing gets about 8mi/ga, sometimes less. My 6.0L v8 chevy got better gas mileage, and for that, Toyota ought to be ashamed.

I am a die hard, dedicated Toyota fan, but this truck really ticks me off. Mostly because of the uber sh*tty a la 1982 Chevy gas mileage. There are other things that I could live with, but am not in love with, which is a change from my normal Toyota experience.