Ten Tips for Preparing Your Vehicle for Winter Travel

With a potential winter storm right around the corner, we thought this would be a good time for us to share our ten tips for preparing your vehicle for winter travel. It doesn’t take much effort to prep your vehicle for the worst mother nature can throw at us, but if you start after there is already a foot of white stuff on the ground, well you’re already screwed.

Now before I start, everyone should be aware that this list is based on the assumption that you have a relatively capable 4WD vehicle and some basic equipment. You don’t need to have a rock buggy on 42’s (although that would be awesome), but if you’re trying to drive through deep snow off road in a Prius, I hope you packed a good book. The Donner Party would be my recommendation.

10. Use Common Sense

We all love a good snow storm, but sometimes you just need to know when to stay at home and invite that special person over for a little “Netflix and Chill”. I love snow wheeling as much as the next guy, but with the closest trail being 2 hours away, I’ll have to deal with all of the other idiots out on the road in order to get there. If your common sense indicator says it’s safe to go out or you live your life by the YOLO principle, keep reading.

9. Invest in a Traction Aid

Kitty litter and play sand are great for cat owners and sand boxes, but leave that crap at home. Why? Because you’re an Overlander. Get a real traction aid, a set of MAXTRAX will pay for themselves the first time you get stuck, and if you’re a more value oriented person, TRED’s have proven to work surprisingly well in the field.

8. Check All of Your Fluids (preferably when it’s warm)

Waking up on a 0 degree morning is not the time to remember you run pure water in your radiator, or that your washer fluid is only rated to 32 degrees. Make sure you use a quality washer fluid, I prefer Prestone Deicer, and if you run pure water in your radiator (the only acceptable reason is #racejeep), all I can say is seriously?

7. Grab a Shovel

Remember when you were a little kid and you used to dig holes with your hands at the beach? Well unless you want to relive that experience on the side of the road when you’re stuck in a snow bank, buy a shovel. An E-Tool works great and is super compact, but if you have the space, get a good full size shovel. They come in handy year round, especially when your buddy get’s stuck in the mud/snow/seriously how did that happen?.

6. Check Your Wipers

Unless your plan is to start singing Jesus Take The Wheel, replace those windshield wipers that have been on your truck for the past 8 years. Cruising down the highway at 80 miles per hour is not the time to practice your best Stevie Wonder impression.

5. Pack a Go Bag

We’re not survivalist by any means here, but having an extra set of warm clothes, food, water, and a sleeping bag in your rig just might save your life. You never know if the highway you’re traveling on will come to a complete stop and leave you trapped for hours. It’s cheap insurance and if you need some advice, Mark has written a great series on the topic.

4. Tire Chains are Your Friend

There are some situations where you just need a good set of chains (see tip 10), especially when conditions get super icy or you’re wheeling in deep snow. If you don’t believe you ever need chains, feel free to check mine out when I’m recovering you from a ditch.

3. Protect Your Frame/Body/Components

Salt is corrosive but the brine mixture they use on most highways might as well be acid. Mark has always coated the underside of his rigs with WD-40’s and Land Rover guys swear by Waxoil. Unless you drive a Tacoma where they give you a new frame after a few years, 50 bucks and an hour of your time will save you a lot of misery in the long run.

2. Tires Make All the Difference

I’m the first one to admit that my KM2’s might as well be ice skates on hard pack. They dominate in deep snow, but put them on a snowy highway and it’s a completely different experience. Our experience has shown that All Terrain tires seem to be the best of both worlds, and our favorite has been the Goodyear Duratrac. Obviously nothing beats a dedicated snow tire, but most of us only have space for the set on our rig.

1. Buy a Jeep/Toyota/Land Rover

This one isn’t meant to be a dig, but I know the Subaru people are still probably screaming like the kid who always get’s picked last for a team. If you want to spend time off road or traveling in heavy snow, you really do need to get yourself a decent rig. Jeep, Toyota, Land Rover, and even Nissan have some great options with amazing 4WD systems. I’ve always been a huge proponent of getting the right tool for the job, but this tip shouldn’t be an issue for all of you, because you probably already have a sweet rig.

As always, common sense still rules the day, but we hope this helps some of you with planning your winter adventures, with one of them hopefully being the DirtRoadTrip Winter Camp Out. Stay safe out there!