Winterizing
 

With winter almost here what do you do to get your ranger ready for the winter? What things do you keep in your truck for the winter?

im runnin 20-50 oil :006:
we'll see how many times i can start my truck at 0º and below then chance it :sly:

i have a shovel in the bed, kitty litter for traction, a wool blanket ice scraper yada yada, they gave us a nice big list that we 'should' have with us

snow scrapper, gloves, sand when the time comes... thats about it really... dont need much else

winterize..whats that..

im not doing a damn thing but replacing my battery in my key less entry remote so i can crank my truck up..and make sure its not faulty (

what is this "winter" you speak of? I thought that myth was busted haha

hahahahahah
i have 4, 70lb bags from walmart, i was trying to see if i could break the cart.. should have gone with 6-7 bags for 420-490lbs not 280 lol

i forgot about gloves and crap.. your supposed to carry extra clothes incase yours get wet, and im probably going to need a new battery too

Absolutely nothing. :D

Well, if our roads get salted, I might spray some more CRC anti-corrosion film on the rusty spots of the Explorer, but other than that, I won't be doing anything.

never been in the snow..

so i'llllll be LOTSSSSS of doughnuts in snowy parking lots "learning how to drive"

Last year in western KS, I was gearing up for my first "real" winter. I saw those tube sand bags they sold at Wal-Mart on my way in the store. As I was checking out, I asked the girl checking out how much each bag weighed. She had no clue. She was literally like, "Uhhh?"

I told her, "Well, just give me eight! There's already like 1.5" of snow on the ground! I've got to do something 'cuz the city ain't plowing"

I ended up leaving 4-5 in my garage all winter except when I big storm was coming.

70lbs haha yea
i was TRYING to break the cart.. i should have gone and bought more at $3 a piece, then returned them...
by the sounds of it, the town plows 3 roads... the 3 I take to class but still


they're for traction tho, so one came open on the way home, now all of em are duct taped up

ZABeard had a thread going about this.

Remember to watch your tire pressure as the season goes by.

At home, make sure you have provisions : Canned goods, Water, Candles, Batteries for a flashlight.. Nessecities for 3 days..

I bought sand bags one year, but i dont ever use them... I throw in my spare tire... a tow strap... a chain... and some tools if i break down...

Before winter i also like to do a coolant flush, to make sure if there is any water in there it doesnt freeze...

I think i might buy an optima this year too.... Make sure she starts good... And my remote start works... it pays for itself every winter... specially if there is ice on the windows...

Rocky

All i usually do is pull my ice scaper out of the closet and a pair of gloves and keep them in the truck. Sometimes when its actually snowing i'll keep a snow shovel in the box but thats about it.

Good idea to make sure your windshield washer fluid is topped up.

I used to have a '91 2wd/open diff. ranger, and aside from maintenance (radiator fluid, windshield wipers, tire pressure) what I did for my first winter, was:

-add all-terrain tires
-made a frame out of wood and put in 240lbs of sand bags
-attached hooks to the frame and mounted a shovel

build thread with pictures here:

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=32827

after all that work, I wouldn't bother with the sandbags again because:
-while moving, smart snow driving will help you more than sand bags
-when starting from a dead stop, if you're stuck, 240lbs of sand will make a marginal difference at best - carry a shovel for when you're completely stuck in snow
-sand bags turn into cinder blocks when it's cold enough to snow, so in the case of an accident (which is increased by increment weather), you've got a 60lb bullet flying at the back of your head

so my final recommendations?
-get a shovel & ice scraper
-get good tires
-learn to drive in the snow!
-get 4wd (debatable)

hahaha, I should snap a picture of the tires in my 88 ranger and show you jsut how lucky I was last winter.. imagien driving near sideways up the last hill to work, and wavin at the snowplow guy as he is coming down hoping to lord almighty I dont slip anymore then I already am goign about 5 mph up the hill. Yeah, 2wd is so much fun in winter ;) But, heck, now ive got some Toyo traction/snow tires, 4wd, and a bigger truck.. an ice scraper and some gloves is all I need to worry about, already did my fluid flush this last weekend. Was tempted to get some sand bags.. but to be honest, I did just fine in a 2wd with 20% tread rain traction tires in a rear wheel drive in heavy snow.. I think I will do just fine as is now =)

Blanket, gloves, hand warmers, fire starters, food, winter hat, fix a flat, flashlights, extra battteries, ice scrapers, tools, tow strap, snow shovel. I just fill the bed with snow as high as the bottom of the window. By the time its done melting I don't need the weight. Most of that stuff is with me all the time anyway. Some good people once said "Be prepared"...

Don't bother trying to use that Fix-A-Flat when it gets below 0 .It freezes as soon as it gets in the valve stem.

If You regularly use Rain-X on your windshields, stay away from the cheap blue windsield washer solvents.After 2 to 3 washes to get the glass clean it also takes the Rain-x off.Spend the extra for the orange Rain-x cleaner-deicer.

A very light coating of silicone dielectric grease on the rubber door seals helps to keep the doors from freezing shut after the truck has been sitting all night.

that Orange Rain-x left stains all over my paint after the winter i noticed it all over the place running down my sides and on my roof. had to buff my truck 3 times to get that junk off i just stay with the blue stuff and my bosh ICON wipers and its all good

i've been using it for just over a month since i have been up in Wyoming, no problems so far, i love the stuff the rain, snow and sleet just run off.. you only need the wipers if its really coming down

I should have my bigger tires on by the time the snow comes, but I hardly drive the truck in snow anyway. Tried it last year and slid about 400 feet completely sideways down the curved hill on my street. Still not sure how I missed the dozen or so cars parked on the sides of the road, but it wasn't something I want to try again this winter. :p
Although with the better tires I may be tempted to give it a shot.

For weight I just shovel all of the snow out of the driveway into the bed and jab a pick and shovel in there in case I have to dig out of something.

I use the Orange Rainx stuff as well, i love it. Rain just beads off the windshield. I cant wait for the snow, first winter i'll actually get some to drive in.

yea me too, never driven in snow before