winter rediness

[jsthnt@gmail.com]

This is going to be my first winter that I have had my deuce. I got it at the end of February, and then it warmed up.
So I was wondering what a person needs to do to be ready for the winter. Some of the things that I was wondering about is as follows:
First and foremost is stopping.
Second is how do you keep the windshield from fogging over.
Third fuel mixture to start in cold weather. (currently I am running almost straight wmo/wvo)
Fourth I have heard of the heater hole in the firewall to allow the heat come in from the engine compartment. Has anyone heard of this? And if so how hard would it be to have it set it up like the wing vents to open and close at will? My trucks heater is in the cab so I do not us this spot in the firewall.
Fifth are chains necessary, and if so where do you get a set for 14.00 x 20's?
I know that I am missing a lot of stuff, so please enlighten me.
If all goes well maybe others will benefit from this thread.

Thanks

 

[area52]

stopping -its a 13,000lbs truck, give yourself alot of extra room/time to stop when its slick outside.

windshield fogging - duct some air from the heater up under the windshield (there are vent holes already there)

I would not use WMO/WVO in the winter unless its a very small amount mixed with diesel or you have a two tank system.

if you have a heater then why do you need additional heat?

chains - depends on your driving skills and where/when you are driving.

 

[John S-B]

Hey, Hey, Hey!!! Shut yer yap with that talk!! I ain't done with summer yet!!!

 

[drgreg]

Deuces kinda suck in the winter. If you have a plan B, i'd go that route.

 

[houdel]

currently I am running almost straight wmo/wvo

Seen in a couple of other threads that mixing wmo and wvo is not a good idea, they might gell up when mixed, probably more so in cold temps. I'd put a posting in the alt fuels forum asking for input on this issue, maybe save yourself some trouble.

 

[Bad_Carp]

Hey, Hey, Hey!!! Shut yer yap with that talk!! I ain't done with summer yet!!!

117 F here again today, winter can't come soon enough.

 

[Akicita]

I see you're in Nebraska. I run straight diesel in Southern Pennsylvania and always get her to start up.

If you drive long enough distances, the cab should heat up from the engine.

I have to keep a window open to avoid window fogging. My blower does not provide enough air flow to keep the windshield clear.

If you run NDTs on your rims and you're not in high snow, you'll slide around a bit. Go slow and leave a lot of extra space between your Deuce and other drivers.

 

[Jimma]

I use much less wvo and wmo in the winter because it starts really, really slow. No fun. I dont have heat and during a snow storm when I was out in my duece pulling people and getting around my windshiled completely iced over. I had to stop and scrape every mile. No fun either.

 

[CobraCDR]

Make sure you keep your tire pressure up! Only air-down the tires if you are going off roading in the deep snow. The TM's recommend keeping the tires at highway pressure for the slippery / wet / snowy / ice surfaces. For the A3 crowd, the CTIS is not designed for below freezing temps and the TM recommends turning it off completely in cold weather.

 

[dittle]

Do yourself a favor and run straight diesel during the cold months. That will help you the most. Does your truck have either assist or a manifold heater?

 

[Flyingvan911]

My defroster works well at low speeds. When it is snowing, I reach a point where the oncoming air cools the windshield and snow starts to build up. If I slow down, the glass warms back up and the snow melts off. Just something to be aware of. I switched to civi wiper arms and blades.

 

[dave wagner]

It is a good idea to have chains, on my m135 I use one set on the very rear axels and one on one front wheel. I've still got stuck in snow with this setup, but there is not enough clearance to put chains on both rear axels. Unless your going to drive a lot in the snow I'd look for a used set. Also I run ndt's. Nice to see someone close by.

 

[General Mcgregor]

It's nice to get or make a cold weather front, makes heating the cab easier as well as keeping the engine warm.
Also, make sure you put something on your exhaust to keep snow + ice from getting in there (Should be a year-round practice). Just a little bit freezing and melting in there will give you big exhaust problems in the spring. Almost all the trucks I looked at before I bought mine had a rotted exhaust pipe at the bend on the bottom.

Anti-gelling additive is a MUST.

NDTs are just OK in the snow, they aren't terrible if you have it in AWD. I pulled a bucket truck up my road in 1+ feet of snow in low range and 1st gear and it was all traction no slip. Some will also tell you it's good to air them down quite a bit.

-GM

 

[kipman]

Use anti-fog on the windshield, it helps out.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Winter? you mean the time of year I break out the flannel shirts and maybe a jacket?

I do definitely reduce the amount of WMO I blend in winter time. Angie and I took the m818 out a couple of years ago when we got 9in of snow here (an insane amount for SC) and the biggest problem was the windshield icing up. The truck doesn't have a heater and had the stock blades. It sucked on the way home with the wet snow.

I've never used chains on anything, never lived somewhere were they might be remotely necessary to have or use.

 

[4x4 Forever]

I am SO glad that I do NOT live in a place requiring 'extras' for cold weather!

That being said, a cold weather front does wonders!

 

[Marlboro]

Will be my first year with an artic front. I'm excited for colder weather beings i got it finally.

 

[hklvette]

I'm putting a defroster in mine for sure. I don't mind the cab being cold, but I can't stand the windshield icing over. Going to use a heater core from the boneyard and two 12V fans wired in series. I'll be surprised if I continue to have issues with windshield icing after that.

As for motive and stopping power. In AWD with XLs it goes great, but as always, plan ahead before stopping if possible.

 

[jsthnt@gmail.com]

It has a manifold heater. I do not know if it work as of yet I have never needed it.

 

[jsthnt@gmail.com]

My civi arms came today. The blades I hope will be here tomorrow.