Stranded in Vehicle

the lone gunman

the lone gunman

Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
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OK, so I am out hunting in a remote area here in central Pa. Suddenly , A big storm comes in, High winds, freezing temps, heavy snowfall. I make it back safely to my truck. I have all I need to survive there, food, water , cell phone. No problem, I will just turn in my hubs, pop it into 4 wheel drive and be home in no time. I turn the key, Nothing, forgot to turn off my headlights, battery is dead. Its getting very cold in here.

So now I ask my question. Is there a safe method to use for heat inside a vehicle, remember, my battery is dead. Thanks ... Dale
 
A candle inside a large coffee can. A few of the Northern states have it on their web sites.
 
obviously a sleeping bag or blankets would be nice back up.

those little heating packs meant for your fingers and toes that last a few hours are a good temporary back up also.

i throw them in my pants cargo pockets,shirt pockets,jacket and sleeping bag to keep close to my body.sometimes they get a little warm and i have to move them if sleeping right on one but i've never had any problems and i dont put them to my skin.

they are cheap,handy and can be stuffed anywhere out of the way in your vehicle.

if you are really cold you can throw one in your hat or on your hat to warm up your head.

its all about the chest and head when keeping warm.
 
Thanks for the very good question as it has got me thinking about my own kit setup.

When I'm out hiking, I always carry redundant clothing and survival bivi which can be used to keep warm. If I am in my own vehicle, the BOB in the boot also contains extra clothing etc., but many times I am in friend's cars which are not as well equipped.
 
they have some long burning candles now but even a few small ones would really help. and stay in your car and wait! best protection from the elements and other things, especially at night.

related to your story (sorta) years ago on a science channel I seen a simple/inexpensive device you attach to your vehicle battery cable/clamp that prevents you from draining your battery.

it had a breaker type switch and when your battery went below a certain power level it would "switch" off the power/connection/drainage and you'd have to manually switch it back on.

this way you could never accidentally drain your battery, but except for a few die hard batteries a few years later I've never seen it on the market. did they kill it (this was around 10 years ago)!
 
One might also consider building a "debris hut" of sorts inside the vehicle to provide extra insulation and reduce the volume of space that needs to be heated.
 
I like this thread. Let's expand it, if Lone Gunman doesn't mind, into overall car survival shall we? When you are stranded, just like any other situation, what about signalling for help? shelter, fire, water etc.? Carbon monoxide buildup issues, not only inside, but around the car if you have deep snow, etc.

Marty Simon told me a great story abouta woman who came to a "car survival kit" seminar he did once. She came along with someone else, but was not really interested. She later called him and said the course saved her life. Her car got stranded in deep snow, covered by drifts to the point where it was invisible. One simple part of the car kit Marty suggested saved her: he advised having an blaze orange flag with a mounting pole in your kit to signal for help and make your vehicle location visible.

She stuck it on top of the car, with the flag a few feet above the car roof, and it was that flag, sticking out of what looked like just another snow drift, that SAR spotted and allowed them to rescue her. They would never have found her were it not for that one thing, because the car was completely buried...
 
Id think this is the most likely survival emergency that would happen to me. In the winter I carry those chemical hand wamers, extra gloves, socks, and a blanket. A big nono, is I usually have a bottle of whiskey, that will just make matters worse.
 
Orange trash bags like bio bags or DOT trash bags would work well hung in the branches of trees- snow would not stick to them. Shower curtains from the dollar store could be draped to cover the exposed glass on the inside. One end tucked over the visors and the other on the dash for example. It would create an intermediate barrier to keep the glass from cooling your warmed air. Get feet up out of the floor and into the seat stretched out to maintain circulation-- use upholstery to go between you and the car door if you are leaning back. Remember to crack a window every now and again for fresh air. Door seals often freeze shut in these circumstances so be prepared to have to kick the door open or possibly even break a side window. The shower curtain could be used to block air out should you have to break window.

Having water on hand is important, high energy foods as well. A pinch of salt in the water boittle(smnall pinch) will keep it from freezing when you pack the vehicle.

2Door
 
Dantor said:
...related to your story (sorta) years ago on a science channel I seen a simple/inexpensive device you attach to your vehicle battery cable/clamp that prevents you from draining your battery.

it had a breaker type switch and when your battery went below a certain power level it would "switch" off the power/connection/drainage and you'd have to manually switch it back on.

this way you could never accidentally drain your battery, but except for a few die hard batteries a few years later I've never seen it on the market. did they kill it (this was around 10 years ago)!
Click to expand...

I have a VW California and I have two batteries. I have a device installed on it that prevents the freezer, secondary heating and other apliances from drainning the main battery. The lights run from the main one so I guess that in case I screw up and left them switched on, I could always swap them to get the engine started (unless the second battery is also drained). There is a bunch of electronic devices that connect your batteries together while you are driving so they charge equally and then disconect them once you stop your engine. Just like THIS one.

If you have a big trunk you can always stash another battery there. Hook them up using a device like this one and in case you drain the main one, swap them.

Mikel
 
I keep a Candle lantern in my vehichle for that very reason(w/matches),but my location does not hardly call for that extreme cold weather...but you need to be prepared for anything...
 
I had heard that filling the car with leaves is a good way to provide insulation. Obviously this depends on the area where you're stranded, if the said leaves are dry and if weather conditions allow it.

If your vehicle has a back seat you could pull out the insulation too.

It has been mentioned above but let's say you can keep your car running but are stuck in the snow, be sure to keep the tail pipe area cleared. A local couple died when they backed up into a snowdrift which partially blocked their exhaust. The car filled up with CO and they drifted off to a permanent sleep.
 
I'm enjoying this. We don't manage the snow but I have had one or two miserable nights in a car in sub zero temps and each time I had a sleeping bag. After the first experience showed the folly of a Rhodesian war surplus summer bag (rated 25c) I vowed never to be so stoopid. I travel with a Zero rated sleeping bag behind my pickup seat and an extra set of clothes. Summer just a pillow and mosquito repellant.

Always lots of water and a bug out bag.
 
In the area where I live (eastern Maine), the majority of backwoods fatalities start out with the victim getting a vehicle stuck and attempting to walk out. Winter or summer, makes no difference. A few years back, an elderly couple got a car stuck on an old tote road in August. The male attempted to get help by setting out cross country. Despite a massive search, it was two years before a forester found his remains. The female perished in the vehicle. They were less than a mile from US Rt.1. They hadn't told anyone where they were going. The most important things anyone can do is let someone know where you are going, when you will be back, stick to your plan, and stay with the vehicle.
 
I went on an hunting trip for elk in the Colorado Rockies several years back with my brother. It was the middle of October and the night temps were in the teens. My brother liked to leave the truck door open for some reason, despite my warning that the battery was being drained by the dome light, and since we had not started it up in a week this was wearing on the battery. Anyway, in the morning of our departure we got all loaded up and ready to leave. I turned the key and discovered a dead battery.

We had plenty of survival gear, our horse that were still on scene as the outfitter had not come to pick them up yet, and a tool kit I keep in the truck. We were about 20 mile from a highway/blacktop and 30 miles from a tiny town, so even with horses it would be a long ride into town. Also it was a Sunday with anything close being closed. Of course cell phones were a no-go too.

I know that a cold battery is not effeciently working so I removed the battery, built a fire, emptied the cooler, filled my 8 quart dutch oven with water, and preceded to heat the water. I next placed said battery in the cooler. As each batch of stream water became hot to the touch I would pour it in the cooler, thus using the water to warm the battery. After about an hour of labor the battery was warm, not hot, to the touch and I reinstalled the battery into the truck and started it up.

I did not stop the enginge until I found an open auto parts shop in Gunnison Co, some 90 miles away. They tested the battery and it was shot, it was 5 years old anyway. So I replaced it with an Optima that I am still using 6 years later!
 
Chem lights for signalling. tear the foam out of one of the seats for insulating your clothes. Handwarmers are an awesome piece of car kit. I also keep a jump box in my truck in case of dead battery.
 
I have boots that are rated to -60 and a down parka that works in sub zero temps. I live in cold country so this is a natural thing to do. Even NOAA tells you not to go out without a survival kit and extreme cold weather gear. Of course not everyone is smart enough to listen. I have been stranded with sub zero temps. Someone will pick you up. No one here will leave someone stranded.
 
I have pretty much got away from candles after my sister found these small TIKI candles at WalMart. The small one on the left burns a full ten hours and the bigger one on the right is supposed to burn 30 hours. I have not burned the bigger one to test it for burn time, but I have burned the smaller one. I believe it would last dang close to 30 hours if not more just going by the results from the smaller one. They are also very cheap, the small one is $0.98 each and the big on is $1.47 each.

I have tested them for leaking. I turned them upside down and left them that way for over a month and they never had even a HINT of leaking. Same results when I turned them on their side and left them. The caps are VERY well made, and seal very very well. You will need something to pry them off with. I myself can not get my fingers under the plastic lid to pop it off. I have to use the back of my knife and even then, it is hard to do because they are on so tight. Basically these will not come off while carrying them in a ruck. The plastic bottle is very tough. I threw it up in the air about 30 feet or so to see what it would do when hitting the concrete. I did this several times and the lid stayed on and the bottle didn't break.

You can pull the wick out to get more heat, but you will not be able to push the wick back in. You will also not be able to put the cap back on unless you cut the pulled out wick back down to its normal length. If you are doing this, I think you will be burning up most of the fuel anyway to stay warm, so who cares. There is a lot of wick inside the bottle anyway, so if you pulled it out a half inch for more heat, you will still have wick touching the bottom of the bottle. If you look close in the bottom picture you will see the wick curling towards the left because it is so long. The bigger candle I was looking at for a 72 hour kit thinking three 10 hour nights of some kind of heat.

Over all I think they are a nice little cheap, compact, durable heat source that won't melt in high temps, or leak all over your gear.




I did use that little mod striker to lite this candle for this picture. I think it is Doc's mod, but I can't remember who posted the idea. Anyway, it took about 10-12 spins and the candle was burning. Put this inside a coffee can and it will give you some good heat. Wrap yourself in a space blanket or poncho liner and set this between your legs and it will keep you warm. I did this before but with a wax candle and coffee can while deer hunting. It will keep you very warm.

 
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