Winter survival and hotel living

One trick to finding a hotel/motel room is to stop
earlier in the day. Start early and Stop early.

When you reach an area where you intend to stay,
get your motel room first! Do not delay this by getting
fuel, food, seeing a landmark, phoning home, etc.
A few minutes can make a difference of not getting a
room. Also, I have known motels that regularly asked
more money after a certain time of day; even when
there was no storm.

After you have a room, if you need to make trips,
make all trips now. Do not unload your car:
1) it lets your engine cool off.
2) it exposes you to theft from the motel
Try to do all your trips at once, so you can return and
stay for the entire night.

A few times, I have cell-phoned ahead, to a Motel 6,
while I was still rolling. I gave them my Card number,
and guaranteed payment, regardless of whether I arrived.
(I got a list of their direct phone numbers from the web.
I do not trust a central reservation phone number,
because I have seen this fail, for another motel chain.)
I assume Mtl-6 would hold up their end of the bargain,
but I do not have much experience and I do not know
the legalities. Any experience here?
 
If you have a reservation confirmation #, they have to give you a room or bump you to another hotel and cover the room at their cost or for the same rate you were going to originally pay.
 
fnc said:
When you reach an area where you intend to stay,
get your motel room first! Do not delay this by getting
fuel, food, seeing a landmark, phoning home, etc.
A few minutes can make a difference of not getting a
room.
Click to expand...

that is a very good point! some companions and i once ran into a the beginnings of a blizzard and needed to stop. one fellow wanted to run errands first then get a room. i insisted on getting the room first because we had enough food and water to get by for several days. it is a good thing i won that argument because we got one of the last rooms. the others were spoken for within 15 minutes after our check-in.
 
Regarding tires... I have always been of the opinion that all season tires are equally poor performers in all conditions. Living in southern Ontario I have always had a set of winter tires mounted on steel wheels ready to put on when temperatures start to approach freezing even if there is no snow forecast. The compound of a modern winter tire is much softer than the all season or summer tires and provides better traction, braking and handling on cold pavement even when there is no snow or ice. Also, modern winter tires have come a long way from what we used to call snow tires with the big blocky tread patterns.

It is an added expense, but when you consider that you are saving your good summer tires from a few months of added wear and spinning on winter roads the cost is minor as the tires will now last a couple more years.
 
I wonder how well stand watie fared his first winter in the North. No posts since July.:D
 
Necroposting, but what the heck.

Some items that are good to have but I didn't see mentioned:

- Spare wiper blades . I have to change one out on the side of the road after it iced up and I tore it trying to get it deiced. Or, you can damage them when you're scraping the ice off your windshield before you go out.
- A candle lantern, to heat a snowbound vehicle. Make sure you crack a window though, so you don't die from CO poisoning.
- A CB or ham radio (if you're licensed).

Stoves have already been mentioned. A coffee can makes a cheap container for holding survival gear, and can also be used as a pot for melting water.
 
martoonisotu said:
I realize much of this may not be practical for everyone, (especially with all this extra weight and fuel at $3.00/gal & climbing), but maybe it will get you thinking about something that works on your end. Is this overkill? Absolutely. Has it save my ass? You betcha.[/I]
Click to expand...
Excuse me for asking, but do you smuggler narcotics across the Mexican border for a living? :)
 
mewolf1 said:
I wonder how well stand watie fared his first winter in the North. No posts since July.:D
Click to expand...

I just now dug myself out of the snow hole. ;) My after action report will start with the simple fact that a northern winter is something to be respected for sure!!!! I'm thankful for all of the advice from everyone on the thread b/c I did indeed have to dip into my winter kit a few times.
 
This is an excellent thread, a few of these guys are making some of the best winter posts I have ever seen.

My addition is to buy a sub zero sleeping bag (cheap is OK) and store it unrolled if you can, and remember to put some hot water bottles into your ice chest if you ever have to sleep in your vehicle at cold enough temperatures.

If all your preparations fail, you and your dog won't die if you keep your body warm, and a couple of wool blankets won't cut it.
 
Excellent advice you all!

...Bumpo, if I may ask: what do you do that requires year- round hotels?
Just curious....
 
Jamesh, I work on a blimp crew. Most crews travel from city to city most of the year and get about a month off. Long timers generally have no conventional "home" to speak of. The company puts us up in hotels, or if we are going to be in a stationary site for more than three months or so, sometimes in temporary apartments. Personally I get "home" once every 12 to 16 months when visiting siblings.
 
Put many small water bottles in vehicle. As they are small when they freeze you can put them in pockets or over the heater to thaw easier than large blocks of water. You can cut the bottle off the ice and put it in a metal container to melt over a small stove or candle. Not easy to do with a 3 quart block of ice.

Skam
 
This is really just common sense, but whenever you go out in your vehicle dress for the weather outside. A lot of people seem to think that they can just throw on a sweater and a vest because they're just going from their front door to their car to wherever and they won't be outside. I'd recommend getting new snowtires. The best all seasons won't compare to a set of good snows for winter driving. And I always have a blanket, a long life candle and lighter, and a couple toques and mitts in the trunk.
 
Did not see this mentioned but it makes lot of difference: the best and lowest viscosity synthetic oil you engine can take. Helps starting and keeps the engine alive a lot longer.

Otherwise I like martoonisotu's list, ours would be slightly more cold oriented instead of too much snow.:D

TLM
 
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