Can my car handle the cold? (Anchorage, Fairbanks: camp, places to live, cost of)

[YemeniAlaskan]

Originally Posted by riceme

Take heed of my words below and of the ones above.

YOU CANNOT BE HOMELESS OR "LIVE IN YOUR CAR" IN FAIRBANKS IN THE WINTER. YOU WILL DIE.

We are not joking, we are not exaggerating, we are not just being jerks. We are trying to save your life. You cannot move to Alaska unprepared. You are unprepared AND planning to move here in the middle of winter with no job and very little money. You need to cancel or postpone your move until you have sufficient money for rent, heating fuel, groceries, fuel to get to and from work, electricity, etc., and you need to have a job.

It will be an experience I always wished to do before I die. You are 100% right and I value your concerns, never had a person telling me straightforward an answer that kills all my questions at once! But hey, if indeed I am put to death at least I'll die doing what I love

[riceme]

If you need someone to be more direct and straightforward than I have just been then you need a remedial course in reading comprehension. It is not romantic or a great adventure to freeze to death in a strange place thousands of miles from anyone who loves you.

You have done no research to speak of, you have nowhere to go, you have no resources and no way to keep warm. You have no idea what you're getting into and you are out of your depth.

I have never heard of a more stupid plan unless your plan is for suicide, in which case you are good to go.

[YemeniAlaskan]

Originally Posted by riceme

If you need someone to be more direct and straightforward than I have just been then you need a remedial course in reading comprehension. It is not romantic or a great adventure to freeze to death in a strange place thousands of miles from anyone who loves you.

You have done no research to speak of, you have nowhere to go, you have no resources and no way to keep warm. You have no idea what you're getting into and you are out of your depth.

I have never heard of a more stupid plan unless your plan is for suicide, in which case you are good to go.

There are always ways to survive in emergencies, I'll pull cash out of my 5 credits and that rounds up to 3k cash credit line. No worries in case of life or death I can survive it.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by YemeniAlaskan

There are always ways to survive in emergencies, I'll pull cash out of my 5 credits and that rounds up to 3k cash credit line. No worries in case of life or death I can survive it.

Awesome! You have it all figured out! Right down to surviving death.

[Music_Man]

If you sell the car and get a motorcycle you can save even more money on the trip, or get a bicycle and save even more. all you will need is a small tent. Maybe even just use Rollerblades. Now a horse or donkey would keep your ass warm.

[riceme]

Indeed, and when you begin freezing to death you can go all mountainman on that donkey's a55 and cut open its belly and climb inside to keep warm... for about 10 minutes until the donkey freezes solid encasing you in its carcass.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by YemeniAlaskan

There are always ways to survive in emergencies, I'll pull cash out of my 5 credits and that rounds up to 3k cash credit line. No worries in case of life or death I can survive it.

I've never lived in Alaska, but I did live in Minnesota for three winters. Fairbanks will be worse, and I don't think you fathom how insidious the cold will be. You could literally freeze to death walking from your car to an ATM to get that cash. That is not an exaggeration. Cash will not save you. Knowing what the f*** you are doing might save you, but only if you put what you learn to practice. There are hundreds of stories of people moving to Alaska unprepared and dying from it.

It's far more romantic to go prepared and survive to tell the tales to your friends and family than to go unprepared and die a fool that your family is embarrassed to even mention.

[YemeniAlaskan]

Originally Posted by riceme

Awesome! You have it all figured out! Right down to surviving death.

Originally Posted by Music_Man

If you sell the car and get a motorcycle you can save even more money on the trip, or get a bicycle and save even more. all you will need is a small tent. Maybe even just use Rollerblades. Now a horse or donkey would keep your ass warm.

Originally Posted by riceme

Indeed, and when you begin freezing to death you can go all mountainman on that donkey's a55 and cut open its belly and climb inside to keep warm... for about 10 minutes until the donkey freezes solid encasing you in its carcass.

Originally Posted by emathias

I've never lived in Alaska, but I did live in Minnesota for three winters. Fairbanks will be worse, and I don't think you fathom how insidious the cold will be. You could literally freeze to death walking from your car to an ATM to get that cash. That is not an exaggeration. Cash will not save you. Knowing what the f*** you are doing might save you, but only if you put what you learn to practice. There are hundreds of stories of people moving to Alaska unprepared and dying from it.

It's far more romantic to go prepared and survive to tell the tales to your friends and family than to go unprepared and die a fool that your family is embarrassed to even mention.

Wow guys I know you are giving me an advice, but mind is already set there is no returning back I driven two thousands mile in two days and now I am 3.5k miles away

Worst thing can happen if I can't handle it, I'll head back where I came from even thought I am abandoned but at least I can tent in a park and live there under good weather condition.

Back to the topic please

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by YemeniAlaskan

is it something I pay for,, how much you think, and I can still be inside my car right?
Do I need to get products first to plug or the parking lots already offers you everything needed?

Yes indeed, but isn't bad if the car stays running all night? I only want it running so it doesn't break or get messed up from cold weather, otherwise I am fine inside a shutoff car.

Exactly when do i need to use the block heater? Only if weather goes below 10 say?

The plug ins in parking lots for for short term, for customers. When they catch you using it overnight, they will run you off. That or the plugs are wired so they go off at night when the business is closed.
All a block heater does is keep your coolant from freezing in extreme cold. It'll do nothing to heat up the interior of the car. So since you'll need to keep the car running all night to keep you from freezing, you won't need to plug in.
They recommend anytime the temperature drops below 20 degrees to plug in.
If you find a spot to plug in, there will just be an outlet there. You'll need your own extension cord. Be sure and buy one rated for cold temperatures. I remember when I moved to Fairbanks and just had a standard, orange extension cord. I went to unwind it one morning when it was 30 below and all the plastic on it just shattered.
I did a semester at UAF. One day a buddy drove up from Anchorage to visit a bunch of us. He parked, shut his truck off and when he came out an hour late, it was froze solid. He had to pay to have it towed to a heated garage to thaw out overnight. So we are serious when say to not shut it off if its not plugged in.
I should say that it was 20 to 40 degrees below zero when this happened. I haven't been paying attention to temperatures in Fairbanks, but I know here in Southcentral we are having an unusually warm winter. So maybe you'll get lucky and avoid the extreme cold this year.
I forget why you are headed to Fairbanks... Maybe you should detour to Anchorage or the Kenai Peninsula. It doesn't get as cold in these areas. It might make what you are doing more feasible.

[YemeniAlaskan]

Thank you all for all the info and helpful answers!!!

Originally Posted by AKStafford

I forget why you are headed to Fairbanks... Maybe you should detour to Anchorage or the Kenai Peninsula. It doesn't get as cold in these areas. It might make what you are doing more feasible.

: think:
I know I can drive to anchorage or Fairbanks only, other cities there are no routes I can take to get there.
Is there other than Fairbanks or anchorage I can drive to from lower 48 states???????