Where oh where do I winterize my vehicle on the drive up from Oregon?

[warptman]

Originally Posted by atticadayz

I'm making plans to drive up to Fairbanks from Oregon and because of timing, I'm going to be driving in the dead of winter, November or December. I'm thinking the earlier in the road trip the better to stop at a mechanic to get my truck decked out.

Where or what town would be a good place to get that done?

I've done a few winter trips on the Alcan. Definitely get a block heater. Most of the hotels in the northern towns have outlets to plug in your vehicle. If they don't, find a different hotel.

Don't drive between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake at night, this is the main mountainous area of the drive and there are a lot of animals on the road.

If you see a semi coming, SLOW DOWN. Canadians put fine pea gravel on the roads for traction, the semis pick the gravel and throws it at a high speed, considering they don't slow down for you. If you don't slow down, you can lose a window.

Get a set of the Silvania Silverstar light bulbs, way better than stock. You might consider putting aftermarket driving lights on, too. Most of the truckers use Lightforce, spendy but worth it.

Enjoy the drive!

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by warptman

I've done a few winter trips on the Alcan. Definitely get a block heater. Most of the hotels in the northern towns have outlets to plug in your vehicle. If they don't, find a different hotel.

Don't drive between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake at night, this is the main mountainous area of the drive and there are a lot of animals on the road.

If you see a semi coming, SLOW DOWN. Canadians put fine pea gravel on the roads for traction, the semis pick the gravel and throws it at a high speed, considering they don't slow down for you. If you don't slow down, you can lose a window.

Get a set of the Silvania Silverstar light bulbs, way better than stock. You might consider putting aftermarket driving lights on, too. Most of the truckers use Lightforce, spendy but worth it.

Enjoy the drive!

Excellent post, Warpt

[Dakster]

Rigid allegedly makes some good aftermarket LED lights too. They are durable and can handle road vibrations as well... They are the ones I want to put on my truck.

LED Lights | Off Road LED Light Bars | Military L E D Lighting | Defense L.E.D. Lights | Agriculture LED Lighting | Marine LED Lights | Mining LEDs | Landscape L.E.D Light | Police LED Lights | Fire Rescue LED | Rigid Industries

It's what the truck accessory place near me recommended. I have no personal experience with them though, so take it with a grain of salt. I did look at them and they look very high quality. The place had another brands taken apart next to a rigid one and you can tell the rigid ones are at least put together well.

[JxwJxw]

Originally Posted by YellowstoneDate

Fairbanks, Alaska good mechanic for Winter use is the Walmart Store. They repair and fix autos under two hour periods. I was a customer in year 2009. You can telephone them in advance to see if they do the job for cold weather fix for autos.

I live in Fairbanks and I absolutely wouldn't go to Walmart for an arctic style winterization. No flipping way! They changed my oil last week and I had them put a cold weather weight oil in. I don't believe a Fairbanks style winteriZation is offered at the local Walmart.

[JxwJxw]

Hi AtticaDayz, thank you for posting your questions about the trip. I can tell you are serious about your safety re making this trip. This will be my fifth winter in Fairbanks and I have learned a few things about winter and its effects on the auto this far north. When cold (-35f or colder), rubber in auto tires gets very very stiff and loose a majority of its grip on snow or ice. For much of your route, the trip will be on roads that are not salted (they are pea graveled) so be careful. Not everyone runs studded tires here, but please put it under good consideration. Be careful in the use of your defroster in -20 or colder. Blowing warm/hot air directly on the glass has a tendency to crack the windshield (that happened to my Crv at -35) Try to get the whole car to warm up evenly without blowing defroster all on one spot on the bottom of the windshield. Defrosting with a cranked defroster in cold = bad. It is best to leave Oregon w at least a freeze plug and oil pan heater, a 1.0-1.5 amp trickle charger on the battery (or battery pad heater), an extension cord, and -60f ethylene glycol in the car. Have an extra package of headlamps with you in the car. The cold sometimes fries bulbs early. May you have the best trip possible! http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publica.../SAL-02021.pdf