Winter Travel Preparedness

[Nick1911]

It's winter!

What things do you keep in your car/on your person to be prepared for wintertime emergencies?

I keep:
Standard bugout bag (Med kit, water & food provisions, fire making tools, knife, map, etc)
Small bucket of sand
E-Tool
Wool Blanket
Extra hat, extra gloves

[RevDisk]

It's winter!

What things do you keep in your car/on your person to be prepared for wintertime emergencies?

I keep:
Standard bugout bag (Med kit, water & food provisions, fire making tools, knife, map, etc)
Small bucket of sand
E-Tool
Wool Blanket
Extra hat, extra gloves

All of that.  Plus:

- My goretex boots
- spare set of socks (usually stored in the boots)
- space blanket
- ice scraper thingie
- some trash bags

Plus my usual car stuff.  Fire extinguisher, jack, spare fuses, spare caps for the tires, duct tape, air gauge, hammer, etc.

[BridgeRunner]

More or less what others have said, plus spare socks.  Bunch of cheap surplus wool ones, which work fine kids' hands and arms as well and legs and feet, and a pair of regular smartwool for me.

[Perd Hapley]

Plane tickets to Maui.

[charby]

I usually don't get too far off the beaten path in the winter time or do I try to travel when a storm picks up. So I usually keep a shovel, tow rope, jumper cables, gloves, hat and pair of boots in my truck.

[Azrael256]

Extra magazine
Coca-cola
Charge of refrigerant for the A/C
Nautica jogging suit top that I never wore because it makes me look like Tony Soprano (In case of extreme winter weather)



It was 78F today.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Tomahawk, trash bags, shovel.

[Doggy Daddy]

Tomahawk, trash bags, shovel.

for some reason, that just struck me as outrageously hilarious!   

DD

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

for some reason, that just struck me as outrageously hilarious!   

DD

You know what they say - friends help you move, while true friends... 

[MicroBalrog]

What is the tomahawk for?

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

What is the tomahawk for?

Cutting things up so they fit in the trash bags. 

I actually had a useful reason not so long ago, but I've since forgotten what it was.

[stevelyn]

I'd swap out that blanket for a sleeping bag. It won't take up that much more room and will keep you warm down at lower temperatures.

[Jamisjockey]

Hooded sweatshirt.  

Today
Dec 16


Partly Cloudy

High 73° Low  47°


 

Fri
Dec 17


Cloudy

High 60° Low 38°


Sat
Dec 18


AM Clouds / PM Sun

HIgh 57°  Low  37°
 
 
Sun
Dec 19


Mostly Sunny

High 63°  Low 52°


Mon
Dec 20


Partly Cloudy

H 73°
L 55°


Tue
Dec 21


Mostly Sunny

H  71°
L  45°

10%

 
 
71°F

Wed
Dec 22


Partly Cloudy

70°
43°

20%



I mean, wow, some of those lows are brutal!   

 

 
 
68°F

[zxcvbob]

Wool blanket, flashlight, ice scraper, shovel, jumper cables, tow chain, gloves, whisk broom.

[HankB]

If you live up north, in addition to what's already been listed, include some matches, candles, T.P.,  and a coffee can in your car kit, as well as some energy bars . . . think about what you'd need to survive a couple of days stranded in a blizzard.

[Jamisjockey]

Down here I don't carry much extra.  When I lived in Utah and Virginia I had a backpack that went with me when I was leaving the city.
Water-resistant shell jacket
compact sleeping bag. 
wool socks
ski gloves
ski goggles
wool beanie
box of granola bars
2 liter bottles of water
lighter and waterproof matches
candle
bayonet
multitool

I think that was everything.  In Utah, when I was commuting to work, that bag stayed in my car all the time.  I usually have jumper cables, tow strap, flashlight(s), map, money, and a first aid kit in my truck. 

[230RN]

Tomahawk?  Huh. I used to keep a small hatchet in the trunk just because it was the most effective tool for removing and replacing the hubcaps on my Chevy wagon.  It went with the vehicle when I gave it away to a needy family.

Coffee can full of kitty litter (instead of sand.)
Cables
A couple of cans of flat fix-it (not specifically for winter)  I found that Discount Tires does not mind fixing flats that have been gooked up by this stuff.  However, when the fix-it stuff cans are cold, they seem to lose  pressure.
Paper towels
Small shovel
Broom
Scraper
12V tire compressor (not specifically for winter)
Starting fluid
Windshield de-icer
Extra jug of windshield cleaner
Extra coat
Extra hat
Trash bags, big and small
An assortment of small hand tools (pliers, screwdrivers, wire cutters)
A couple of coathangers
Extra jacket, socks
Five $20 bills squirreled away
Spare house keys squirreled away
Extra box of cigarettes

I only recently got this car, and discovered there's no way to hide a long gun in it --it's a small station wagon --although I wish I could.  No point in hiding a handgun it it because I'm always carrying one. One thing that bothers me is all that loose heavy stuff in the back of the wagon flying around in case of a really sudden stop or a flipover or something.  But I haven't developed a solution to that problem yet.

I'm retired now and rarely venture into the wilds of Denver and I now stick pretty close to home if the weather's the least bit threatening.

Different story now than I was younger and vigorer and would bare my teeth and my chest to the storm just to show it who was boss.

Terry, 230RN

[brimic]

Rucksack w/
-space blankets
-garbage bags
-machete
-matches+magnesium fire starter
-quart of water (currently frozen  )
-energy bars
-socks
-hiking boots
-extra gloves.
Also in trunk are:
Appropriate clothing for season (parka/hat for winter, windbreaker/hoodie for other seasons)
-Knife
-folding shovel
-SKS w/ 100 rds on strippers in chicom ammo vest. .45 auto with 2 extra mags.

My main concern is an 'escape from Milwaukee' scenario once the zombie apocalypse starts, and getting back home and collecting my children 30 miles away. I have a friend that i work with that would have to walk roughly the same direction and keeps a similar kit. (AK instead of SKS, H&K .45 instead of 1911)

[Tallpine]

Stay home 

Trouble is, after you load all the things that you should have, there is no room left for more than one person and a little luggage, unless you are driving something Suburban sized or larger.  In that case, you can't afford to drive more than fifty miles from home anyway 

We are supposed to take a trip across the northern great plains in less than two weeks from now.  Best scenario that I can see is for there to be a major blizzard forecast and we cancel the trip 

[grislyatoms]

To add:
Extra serpentine belt.
You're bleeped without one, and having one behind the seat or in the trunk can turn a major problem into no problem whatsoever in a heartbeat. $35 for my old pickup but worth it's weight in "made it to the next town" should it arise.

Before winter driving

PM hoses/belt(s)
Re-pack wheel bearings
Good tires

[MicroBalrog]

Cutting things up so they fit in the trash bags. 

So... why are we not using the shovel for this? :D

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

So... why are we not using the shovel for this? :D

A dedicated chopping tool works faster. And I have no skill with files. 

[Jamisjockey]

Back in my jeepin days, we fashioned an emergency fan belt from duct tape...it only broke twice...but it worked!

[grislyatoms]

Back in my jeepin days, we fashioned an emergency fan belt from duct tape...it only broke twice...but it worked!

I have heard of folks apparently using pantyhose.

Use of such might eventuate other...scenarios.


 

[brimic]

Back in my jeepin days, we fashioned an emergency fan belt from duct tape...it only broke twice...but it worked!

I actually used part of my kit last summer. Hottest day of the year, lost accessory power in the middle of the stat's largest interstate. Had to quaff a few bottles of water and put on my walking shoes. Extra serpentine wouldn't have helped me, as the tensioner pulley grenaded.