Getting truck ready for winter

[EastWestHemi]

Well, the time has come. I’ve paid my dues and heading back East/home for good to get back to the farm after being in Comifornia for 8 years.

my truck is a 2016 2500 6.4 stock Long bed, with aftermarket tranny pan.

I need to know...
1. Best winter tires
2. Best snow plow, upgrade springs? This is regular tradesman, no snow chief package. Alternator?
3. I thinking block heater, I’m going to Northern New England, -10 isn’t unheard off, but I like a warm truck at 5 am
4. Undercarriage paint? I want to hold off the rust and have the truck last for another 10 years. I will have a 20 mile commute on country roads everyday to work.

My truck has 23k miles, been babied here on I-80 between Sacramento and SF. No mechanical issues.

Ok just happy to take my kids out of here back to rural America,

thanks in advance

 

[mtofell]

Love my 4 season snowflake rated tires. 60K mileage rating and got most of that out of my first set. I realize they aren't true snow tires but they do VERY sell and eliminate the need to swap out summer/winter tires.

Can't help with the rest since it's not that cold around here. Congrats on getting back to a more calm way of life. I'm just up the I-5 in crazy Portland. I've lived here my whole life and my wife and I are getting out in the next year or so. Can't take the craziness and don't want to raise my kids here. Going a bit warmer direction though Looking like Maui.

 

[MSgtZ]

Having come from Connecticut myself, and seeing what the pretreatment is doing to vehicles in New England now I do have a suggestion for protecting the body. Look at NHOU (New Hampshire Oil Undercoating). My brother has been doing this on his 2016 and he is very happy with it. He is trying to get longer than 10 years from his truck this time.

 

[EastWestHemi]

Hawaii sounds nice, I hope that works out for you. What kind of tire do you have mtofell?

life is to short to waste which has precipitated this move.

I ask about the undercoating because since I’m taking a huge pay cut I would like the truck to last. No amount of money would keep me boiling in this pot of water.

I’m going to look into that NH undercoating, thanks.

 

[68PowerWagon]

A lot of guys up north like doing the fluid film on their trucks. I have looked it up & believe it or not WD-40 has nearly the same protection as the fluid film. Check it out on the internet. So 3 or 4 times a year I am drenching the under carriage with this stuff & so far the underneath looks great! I do admit that when I first got it, I under coated inside of the fenders & floor pan as much as I could reach & I touch them up in the fall to make sure they are well covered. The WD-40 gets applied to just about everything else. Before I started doing this the place that I was seeing most of the rust was the inside of the rear bumper. Kind of ****** a guy off. I wash my truck at least once a week in the winter to keep the salt off of it & really get the wand up under it to remove salt from the under carriage but for some reason the bumper wants to rust. It has virtually stoped the rust now that it gets drenched in the WD-40.

 

[EastWestHemi]

WD-40? How long does it stick and last? Does it kind of soak in?

I have the engine block heater coming, looking forward to installing it. If I remember correct from casually dreaming about this last year you have to remove or partially remove the starter to install?

Going to do the 3k journey with original Firestone a/t tires and that will be the end of them at 26k miles— it will be early September. They are around 6/32 now. Going to tow my wife’s Pacifica van, maybe buy a 24’ gooseneck trailer and throw some other stuff on there too. $3.5k-4K to ship the truck and van is overkill when I can tow it for $1000 in gas.

 

[canadiankodiak700]

A lot of guys up north like doing the fluid film on their trucks. I have looked it up & believe it or not WD-40 has nearly the same protection as the fluid film. Check it out on the internet. So 3 or 4 times a year I am drenching the under carriage with this stuff & so far the underneath looks great! I do admit that when I first got it, I under coated inside of the fenders & floor pan as much as I could reach & I touch them up in the fall to make sure they are well covered. The WD-40 gets applied to just about everything else. Before I started doing this the place that I was seeing most of the rust was the inside of the rear bumper. Kind of ****** a guy off. I wash my truck at least once a week in the winter to keep the salt off of it & really get the wand up under it to remove salt from the under carriage but for some reason the bumper wants to rust. It has virtually stoped the rust now that it gets drenched in the WD-40.

OMG really? WD40 is nowhere near the same level as fluid film. It's a water displacing penetrating oil (and I use oil loosely) that evaporate shortly after being applied which is the reason you are applying multiple times a year. Fluid film actually penetrate into the seams and into the metal surface pores and leaves behind a nice coating of a lanolin wax it does not evaporate you apply at once a year

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[canadiankodiak700]

WD-40? How long does it stick and last? Does it kind of soak in?

I have the engine block heater coming, looking forward to installing it. If I remember correct from casually dreaming about this last year you have to remove or partially remove the starter to install?

Going to do the 3k journey with original Firestone a/t tires and that will be the end of them at 26k miles— it will be early September. They are around 6/32 now. Going to tow my wife’s Pacifica van, maybe buy a 24’ gooseneck trailer and throw some other stuff on there too. $3.5k-4K to ship the truck and van is overkill when I can tow it for $1000 in gas.

If you are going to live in the Northeast the block heater was definitely a good idea. There are a lot of good 4 season Mountain snowflake rated all terrain tires that work really well such as BF Goodrich all terrain ta ko2 and Falken wildpeak At3w. But if you're willing to Dish at the money for a second set of tires and rims ideally, a good set a dedicated Winters are still far superior. something such as a Bridgestone blizzaks or even the cheaper route but apparently is fairly well rated Hercules Avalanche extreme. And definitely a good undercoating done yearly. it's usually hard to find a good place that does fluid film undercoating but that is your best choice you will probably see a Krown undercoating dealer almost every corner I'm not a fan of them at all but I would still recommend using them before using WD-40 as previously mentioned by the other user.

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[EastWestHemi]

I am going to have a dedicated second set of tires. One of the benefits of living in California is all the guys Installing lifts and rims on their trucks. I picked up a second set of mint condition chrome clad 18” wheels for $25 a wheel. The guy I bought from had upgraded to
Laramie rims.

 

[tron67j]

I have had 2wd and 4wd trucks in upstate NY. I always kept a small fwd car and put 4 snows on them, really tracks well, easier to steer out of a spin, and used them like a sacrificial anode on a boat. My last winter we had just over 300 inches of snow, never got stuck once and drove hills and highway. Kept my trucks in good shape, salt will destroy vehicles, whether you rust proof or not. I would have a friend stop by to plow driveway with truck or tractor, cost was better than knowing my truck was getting destroyed. Just can't keep cars clean there, even if road is snow free the melting runoff crosses road in daytime and sanders lay salt at night.

Can you tell I still have PTSD from living there most of my life?

 

[EastWestHemi]

I have never found it very economical to run a 4 season tire even if It performs well in the winter. With the dirt road and crappy paved roads by the second winter they are starting to get sketchy and unsafe.

have a sacrificial fwd beater car with 150k miles on it, but it does need a new half axle because the boot ripped awhile ago and the belt and pulleys are getting sketchy. The suspension is a little suspect also. Probably not worth bringing back.

 

[star_deceiver]

Studded Hakkapeliita LT3

 

[bpgt]

I'm currently in Ottawa and can vouch for two things mentioned here:

Tires: falken wildpeak at3w's. Great all-around tire, especially in the snow. I can also vouch for the hakkapeliita r3 for snow traction. They're on my old daily driver.

Rust treatment: fluid film was mentioned, but i use 'corrosion free'. I think 'project farm' on YouTube did a test of all the rust inhibitors and both fluid film and corrosion free came out on top.

 

[Halligan]

I live in southeastern Ma and my next tire purchase will be Falken Wildpeak at3w's.

I have been applying Fluid Film to my truck and will continue to do so. You can purchase it by the gallon and if you have access to an air compressor you can purchases a spray gun kit from Kellsport and apply it yourself. Look hard at Fluid Film or Woolwax for undercarriage treatment.

 

[NH RAM]

I grew up in Ct and moved to SoCal for about 7 years and then had to come back to New England, for my daughter to have a better education and I like the four seasons.
I use fluid film, I split the cost with my buddies that plow and we take an afternoon to undercoat it and prep our plows.
As for plows,I have an 8'6" Fisher XV2 in stainless with LED lighting. The LED's are substantially better than the halogens, I wouldn't get another plow without them. If you're getting a straight blade you might be okay not upgrading the front suspension, but if you're getting a V, you'll need to either get heavier springs or level the front. I got my truck and plow in January assuming it would be fine with the stock front suspension...no, it was about 1.5" of clearance with the plow in travel mode (wings in). I just added a 2" top spacer to rectify that. My buddies with GM's tweaked the torsion bars to get lift for the same reason.

I ran Falken AT3W's on my last truck and they were pretty good. I decided to try the General Grabber ATX this year after plowing with the stock Firestone AT's this past winter, which was very mild. Both tires a severe weather rated. I don't run dedicated snow tires on my tuck but I put them on my wife's Jeep GC. If I was fortunate enough to find another set of wheels for $25 a piece, it would probably change things.

I have the Snow Chief package with optional dual alternators. My last truck was a 2016 1500 that I ran a Fisher HT plow and SaltDogg spreader with the stock alternator but an upgraded AGM battery by X2 from Batteries Plus and had no issues; when this battery dies, I'll upgrade to the same X2 AGM....pricey but a great warranty and BP has coupons. You can upgrade the alternator, but realistically, your battery may be on it's way out anyway, so it may be worth checking that once you get back here in New England. Winter loves to kill batteries.

Also, for when you're not able to plug in the block heater, remote start is a nice option to have, I added it to my truck when I bought it.

Enjoy the move, we drove our household from Whittier, CA to Manchester, NH, it's a nice drive.

 

[Zack02]

So, we get down well below -10, I plow snow in the winter, I'm in commercial construction, we have a farm,

1. Best winter tires -- not worth it imo, you want just a good set of A/Ts with good 'wet' and decent mud properties. A lot of people here run cooper adventurer or discoverer. Whatever you do, don't buy cheap tires. When you buy cheap ones, they are garbage after a bit.

2. Best snow plow, upgrade springs? This is regular tradesman, no snow chief package. Alternator? -- My trucks a tradesmen, but it's got the upfitter and plow package.... Alternator would be a good upgrade, the springs would matter depending on what size plow you get, imo. The best plow is the one that gets your job down and the cost fits your budget. Mines a fisher 8' straight blade with wings. I have no need for a V plow and saved the extra money (paid for in one season vs two). This plow has also ran great since 2012, second truck it's been install on. Again, it's all what you need it for. You will be limited on your plow by dealers. Im a DYI guy, but this is one you want someone to install. SnowEx for the salt spreader and controller.

3. I thinking block heater, I’m going to Northern New England, -10 isn’t unheard off, but I like a warm truck at 5 am. -- block heater again wouldn't hurt, but mine starts outside at -20 without a heater. Not a deal breaker, imo.

4. Undercarriage paint? I want to hold off the rust and have the truck last for another 10 years. I will have a 20 mile commute on country roads everyday to work. -- fluid film

 

[EastWestHemi]

Thanks for the responses! Plowing will only be farm roads and yards, and three driveways. Could do it with a tractor but since I have a family now I need to be quicker and more efficient. I was looking at the spacers for the front, don’t seem terribly expensive and will probably go that route— I like the look of a leveled truck anyway. Never really thought about a spreader, I use to plow everything with a tractor and never put down sand or salt, I’m not getting paid for plowing, maybe branch out down the road to neighbors.

The battery still seems strong, having such low mileage and warm weather, but the true test is the -13 Vermont morning. It is 4 years old which is ancient.

Fluid film... check.

My husky liners floor mats, weather tech mud flaps, and block heater came in yesterday, flaps and mats are installed. Checking out the install video on YouTube for a guy doing block heater on 5.7 seems like it’s going to be fun removing and putting the starter back. A block heater timer is what I’m thinking to cut down on power bill. I don’t really intend to use it that much, only if the temps are below 5-10 degrees and only for comfort, i had one on my old ‘03 duramax, but the 5.3 Sierra and hemi grand Cherokee started ok with a little shake at -10 without a block heater. I was thinking it may cut down on cold start wear and help the oil get heater quicker if the top end is warmer to start out.

With my second set of rims I just think the safety of a dedicated set of winter tires makes sense for me. They will Last 3 winters and I don’t have to compromise traction with 4 season tires as they wear down in subsequent winters. It seems the dirt roads around my parts wear down tires very quickly.

 

[EastWestHemi]

I have a 180 alternator. Is it worth upgrading if I don’t think I’m going to do the spreader setup the first winter? Alternators are damn expensive

 

[coobie]

Well, the time has come. I’ve paid my dues and heading back East/home for good to get back to the farm after being in Comifornia for 8 years.

my truck is a 2016 2500 6.4 stock Long bed, with aftermarket tranny pan.

I need to know...
1. Best winter tires
2. Best snow plow, upgrade springs? This is regular tradesman, no snow chief package. Alternator?
3. I thinking block heater, I’m going to Northern New England, -10 isn’t unheard off, but I like a warm truck at 5 am
4. Undercarriage paint? I want to hold off the rust and have the truck last for another 10 years. I will have a 20 mile commute on country roads everyday to work.

My truck has 23k miles, been babied here on I-80 between Sacramento and SF. No mechanical issues.

Ok just happy to take my kids out of here back to rural America,

thanks in advance

Have your truck Krown rust proofed you will be glad you did.

 

[Snacktime]

Spent some time in Iowa,

Falken at3 or Cooper at3 for tires. Spray coated everything with rubberized bed line spray cans (walmart). Did a magnetic oil pan heater it helped but the battery heater was awesome! Plow will be the hardest choice, I would watch weight. Also watch the blade height, don't want to have to buy crappy relocated head lights. Don't worry about alternator get a high cold cranking amp battery or dual batteries. Simpler plow the better, and just leave it on! It's an emergency brake!

PS don't tell people you came from California, most of the country has this weird stereo type hippie idea.