If all goes as planned, I will be uprooting my family and moving us to Montana. I will be working in North Western North Dakota oil fields ( I can make close to a 100k a year there compared to the barely 34k here.) and will likely live in the Rockys of Western Montana. I will be working 30 days then taking 2 weeks off. I'm prepared to do this for my family to give them a better life. Anyway, I have never had to deal with a truly harsh winter and thus don't know how to prepare our vehicles. I plan on taking my wifes 2010 Corolla, my 91 Cherokee and the lil 92 Miata. Any tips and tricks from my cold weather friends here? What can I do to help prevent many of the issues I read about on here. I will be retiring the Cherokee to trails and run rides and buying a 3/4 ton diesel truck after a few checks. I'll be back to discuss that later

Anyway, how do you freaks in the frozen north keep the vehicles moving? I think if all goes well I will become one of you.

I can't offer any car advice, but I can't help but think you're going to be one happy man up in the wilderness. Best of luck to you in your travels!

EDIT: I guess the only advice I can offer is to ditch the Miata. It isn't suited for the winters or terrain up there. You'd be better off, IMHO, to sell it and use the money earned to invest into the Cherokee (or the forthcoming 3/4T truck).

first off... get used to running 'drygas' during the winter. second, buy a good quality battery and buy it for twice what the car/truck calls for. Case in point, I had a battery rated to start a Ford 460 V8 in my Pinto when I went to school. -35F and the thing would spin over like a sunny day. Also, in the cold, some folks like to run 5W-30 or 10W-30 to help the car start. My friend Rich used to drive an old 84 Citation with the 2.5L in it... to make sure it would start (he lived on the lake), he'd put an old hotplate under the engine just to take the edge off. My mom's ex-boyfriend used to take two lightbulbs and leave them setting on the engine all night to make sure his Duster started.
You can also buy 'block heaters' that replace one of the frost plugs in the engine so you plug it in at night and it keeps the block warm.

Warbird is right... ditch the Miata. It's not a car for up that way. It's one of those kinds of cars that sits in the garage for 8 months of the year. Diesels suck in the cold. When I worked as a driver, if I forgot to plug my van in when i got done at night, it was a major fuckeroo to get it started the next day.

dave, being from south carolina... you're in for suuuuuuuuuccccccchhhhhh a surprise.

Montana has some awesome roads. Keep the Miata for the summer.

In my ranger i have a block heater and a battery cozy, some cars oddly can get the shit kicked out of them in the cold and not bat an eyelash, my 2.4l sunfire was beaten like it owed me money and the only time it didnt start was when ice formed in the fuel pump(and killed the pump)

that brings me to my main point, gas line antifreeze is your friend. gets the water out of your tank. if you have any cars with mechanical fans you may want a thing to cut the air flow on the rad as well.

I don't think the snow will be such a problem as the cold. Block heaters are a good idea, and the mega-batteries as well. Also, having a survival kit in your car is a good idea too, especially if you're going to be trekking across MT in the winter. Include a cold-weather sleeping bag, liquid fuel stove, flares, heavy-duty garbage bags, etc. There was a couple with a baby that went down an unplowed road in Idaho in the winter a few years ago. They got stuck and were out there for several days. The dad died, the mom and baby barely survived.

I know you used to be able to buy heated dipsticks that supposedly heat the oil, and thus the engine, but the Car Talk guys questioned how well they work. They also said heated garages, as nice as they are, accelerate corrosion unless you keep your vehicle scrupulously clean.

I might keep the Miata. IIRC, on rural interstates in MT, there is no speed limit.

May I ask why you'll be working in western ND but living in western MT? Seems like a long commute.

Get a good set of winter tires as well. They make a big difference.

Congratulations, man. Montana looks beautiful, and the money.. well, that's pretty fantastic.

second on get a good set of winter tires, general altimax arctic is a good cost vs performance tire and its studdable too.

Posted by splumer I might keep the Miata. IIRC, on rural interstates in MT, there is no speed limit.

The speed limit is "Prudent". It's up to the cop that pulls you over to determine whether or not the speed you were traveling was prudent.

Thanks for all the advice guys! And splume, most work is 28 days on 14 off. And there is a housing shortage in ND which puts the rent on single wides at 3k a month. I can put my family in a virtual mansion in MT for half that a month without the severe nd winds.

Oh good, someone closer to me!

Posted by jeepdave Thanks for all the advice guys! And splume, most work is 28 days on 14 off. And there is a housing shortage in ND which puts the rent on single wides at 3k a month. I can put my family in a virtual mansion in MT for half that a month without the severe nd winds.

you're gonna freeze yer balls off and your family's going to hate you. neener neener neener!

Posted by Samurai you're gonna freeze yer balls off and your family's going to hate you. neener neener neener!

He's a truck driver, his balls HAVE frozen off and had to be rethawed, which is worse