Following on from this thread:
https://www.uk-preppers.co.uk/forum/vie ... hp?t=18952
You have your car ready for winter mechanically but there's more you can do you can kit out your car to help you out in a bit of a moment after last weekends snowfall in some area people were stranded and I saw one report of one death ..
https://www.netweather.tv/weather-forec ... e-district
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk-snow-weat ... death-car/
This isn't a definite list but sone things to consider...
Firstly most people become stranded due to lack of grip.. even winter tyres have their limits coupled with the height of the car.. but if it's loose powder snow you can often be push through if youve got grip ..
The real contenders are snow socks or snow chains ... Socks are easier to fit where as chains give more grip but can be a faff.... I've gone for a hybrid of the 2 with michalin textile chains which are the best of both worlds... With metal cleats for extra grip..
There are also plastic grip mats I successfully helped rescue a royal mail van tonight with mine on a muddy verge ..
Coupled with a shovel you've got a fighting chance of self rescuing....
Add a decent tow rope / strap if your able to find a nice person with a 4*4 or tractor....
So you've done all that and 1ft of snow falls and you end up stranded now the fun begins....
Hope you've kept your car as full of fuel as possible that reserve light isn't wanting to come on 5 minutes before you grind to a halt on top of the pennines in the middle lane of the motorway due to a jacknifed hgv .....
In heavy snow keep the exhaust clear of snow (a shovel will help here) and crack a window if your running the engine for 15 minutes per hour to keep warm.... ..
Listen to the local radio (battery radio will safe you risking flattening the car battery.)
So the s has really hit the fan and BBC local radio is saying the local motorway is totally pole axed and the emergency services are swamped and expect to be there for the night it's minus 10 plus wind-chill in other words is Baltic...
Now your average tartan rug isn't going to keep you warm it's ok on a cool summer's evening but we are talking life threatening cold.. here risk of frost bite is a real possibility
Hat scarf gloves and a decent winter rated sleeping bag / s are a must have if you have them great .. get your boots off and get in it..... The survival foil blankets on their own won't do much but they can be used for sticking to / trapping in the windows to attempt to trap as much heat in the cabin as you can ....
If youve got a bright bit of clothing tie it to the radio antenna if your car has one. It'll make you easy to see by rescue workers ..
A candle in a little holder will also help raise the temperature slightly....
A mars bar and a bottle of water will do but a few mre meal pouches you can warm them by running the engine and putting them on top of the engine for 30 minutes or a small stove means hot water and hot food.. break out the tea bags stove should be used outside.....
Try and keep the inside dry it's hard with snow covered boots but try ....
In extreme situations take a knife to the seats and use the foam padding under your coat to further insulate yourself from the cold...
Winter car kit
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Winter car kit
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Re: Winter car kit
Amazing post, Y/Andy, thank you! I'm now looking at buying a car locally, as opposed to the best-priced one in my whole region, so the day when I need to make decisions about this stuff is coming closer and closer. I won't be driving in snow or even in the dark just yet, and as a retired person I'm privileged to be able to take those choices, but you never know when emergencies might happen - either my own or close family, that would need me to be out and about in snow/at night.
Currently, I have a spare rucksack packed with a few initial things:
- umbrella
- rigger gloves
- hi vis jacket
- LifeHammer with integral seatbelt cutter
- AA 3 in 1 emergency beacon (no backup batteries yet)
- AA book of Know Your Roadsigns (I know ... that will go in the glove compartment).
- empty 2.17 litre plastic bottle that contained washing machine liquid, with a big plastic funnel. I'm female, if I'm stuck in a car somewhere, I need a way to pee in safety. Just because people are also stuck in their car doesn't mean there aren't opportunists - rape isn't about attractiveness, it's about power, so even someone my age needs to be savvy about exposure.
- unopened pack of 3 emergency ponchos
- set of cable ties - I read on here recently about DIY repair to a car using them to hold something up? They're light, I know where they are, so ...
- 8 x 10 binoculars I bought last year for wildlife spotting.
- I *was* going to include a map case - but I bought it a million years ago, and the plastic's perished. I'd do better with a plastic bag
Ready to go in: compass, first aid kit, tartan wool blanket , bog standard sleeping bag. Ooh, toilet paper, hand sanitiser. Radio, hat gloves and scarf, tealights and secure rest, matches, a stove, hot tea makings, spare socks, brightly-coloured rag for antenna, food and water, spare socks. Plastic bags. Powerbank. Torch - could always do with another one though
My ordinary key lanyard has a 2" knife, a whistle, and a seatbelt cutter.
Yet to buy: textile chains, rope (I have some I bought at Chatham Dockyard for pretty earlier this year, I wonder if it would be strong enough?). More batteries. 12v plug in hot water thing.
Currently, I have a spare rucksack packed with a few initial things:
- umbrella
- rigger gloves
- hi vis jacket
- LifeHammer with integral seatbelt cutter
- AA 3 in 1 emergency beacon (no backup batteries yet)
- AA book of Know Your Roadsigns (I know ... that will go in the glove compartment).
- empty 2.17 litre plastic bottle that contained washing machine liquid, with a big plastic funnel. I'm female, if I'm stuck in a car somewhere, I need a way to pee in safety. Just because people are also stuck in their car doesn't mean there aren't opportunists - rape isn't about attractiveness, it's about power, so even someone my age needs to be savvy about exposure.
- unopened pack of 3 emergency ponchos
- set of cable ties - I read on here recently about DIY repair to a car using them to hold something up? They're light, I know where they are, so ...
- 8 x 10 binoculars I bought last year for wildlife spotting.
- I *was* going to include a map case - but I bought it a million years ago, and the plastic's perished. I'd do better with a plastic bag
Ready to go in: compass, first aid kit, tartan wool blanket , bog standard sleeping bag. Ooh, toilet paper, hand sanitiser. Radio, hat gloves and scarf, tealights and secure rest, matches, a stove, hot tea makings, spare socks, brightly-coloured rag for antenna, food and water, spare socks. Plastic bags. Powerbank. Torch - could always do with another one though
My ordinary key lanyard has a 2" knife, a whistle, and a seatbelt cutter.
Yet to buy: textile chains, rope (I have some I bought at Chatham Dockyard for pretty earlier this year, I wonder if it would be strong enough?). More batteries. 12v plug in hot water thing.
Re: Winter car kit
My car kit throughout the year consists of waterproofs, blanket, cooking kit & food, water, some tools, torches. Always keep fuel above half full.
In winter I add a 10kg bucket of grit, shovel, snow chains & sleeping bag and swap the all season tyres for winter tyres.
In winter I add a 10kg bucket of grit, shovel, snow chains & sleeping bag and swap the all season tyres for winter tyres.
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- Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 12:45 pm
Re: Winter car kit
Must replace torch batteries! Ummm… and two torches… thanks for reminding me!
I unearthed a couple of foil blankets and topped up my first aid kit. Plenty of petrol. Pumped up tyres. Need to retrieve rescue gear from shed. I bought a small fire extinguisher, life hammer and hazard triangle set for my husband as a birthday present a couple of years ago. HE PUT THEM IN THE SHED!!!
I unearthed a couple of foil blankets and topped up my first aid kit. Plenty of petrol. Pumped up tyres. Need to retrieve rescue gear from shed. I bought a small fire extinguisher, life hammer and hazard triangle set for my husband as a birthday present a couple of years ago. HE PUT THEM IN THE SHED!!!
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- Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:32 pm
Re: Winter car kit
I found half a dozen of those LED light pucks in a blaze orange bag on a junk stall for a tenner, just batteried them up and added them in.
Got salt, shovel (well two, a steel mini shovel and a full sized in orange plastic), snowgrips (for me, not the car), pair of chainsaw gloves (Branded by bought cheap, they have good grip and padding on the backs of my hands) and a saw.
Always have hi-vis, blanket, powder extinguisher, 10ltrs fuel, FAK etc
Got salt, shovel (well two, a steel mini shovel and a full sized in orange plastic), snowgrips (for me, not the car), pair of chainsaw gloves (Branded by bought cheap, they have good grip and padding on the backs of my hands) and a saw.
Always have hi-vis, blanket, powder extinguisher, 10ltrs fuel, FAK etc
jennyjj01 wrote:"I'm not in the least bit worried because I'm prepared: Are you?"
"All Things Strive" Gd Tak 'GarLondonpreppy wrote: At its core all prepping is, is making sure you're not down to your last sheet of loo roll when you really need a poo.
Re: Winter car kit
Today in the “middle of lidl” Portable Jump Starter with power bank.....£44.99
Jumper leads.....£8.99, ....usual good quality products at reasonable prices.
Jumper leads.....£8.99, ....usual good quality products at reasonable prices.
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- Posts: 9104
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Winter car kit
I had the older jump pack it let all it's smoke out trying to jump a 1.0l petrol car....
This one looks interesting through being lithium iron phosphate ...
Jumper cables look ok I've had a few sets end up becoming welder cables / inverter extension cables
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Re: Winter car kit
I got a smart car battery charger with that "ultimate speed" brand last year, it was awful; misread the battery voltages by over half a volt. I'm guessing the QC isnt great, so you might get a good one or just as likely a duff one.
My jump pack is a pair of spare lead acid batteries that I rotate into the solar charger every couple of weeks and a set of jump leads. Not compact, but has been solid for me. Lithium has some advantages and a place, especially little usb packs, but nothing is more robust than a well cared for lead acid battery.
My jump pack is a pair of spare lead acid batteries that I rotate into the solar charger every couple of weeks and a set of jump leads. Not compact, but has been solid for me. Lithium has some advantages and a place, especially little usb packs, but nothing is more robust than a well cared for lead acid battery.
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- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Winter car kit
deckard wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 9:50 pm I got a smart car battery charger with that "ultimate speed" brand last year, it was awful; misread the battery voltages by over half a volt. I'm guessing the QC isnt great, so you might get a good one or just as likely a duff one.
My jump pack is a pair of spare lead acid batteries that I rotate into the solar charger every couple of weeks and a set of jump leads. Not compact, but has been solid for me. Lithium has some advantages and a place, especially little usb packs, but nothing is more robust than a well cared for lead acid battery.
I got a michalin branded version after the Lidl one failed for car edc that seemed ok when I tested it at work on a dead forklift ..
As a major fallback I've got a sip lead acid jump pack
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/batte ... IIEALw_wcB
Which is a beast last summer the wife's car battery dropped dead in Tesco as in dead short internally so went from good to dead dead... I walked home and returned in my car quickly established the battery was fubar and wouldn't jump off at all...
Removed her battery and by the medium of zip ties & insulation tape I fitted the sip jump pack on the battery tray of her car secured with ties then clipped the clamps to the battery positive and negative terminals and bound in tape to prevent the live touching the metalwork in the engine bay.. it started and run fine on the 22ah battery to get it home next morning a brand new battery was ordered and fitted
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Re: Winter car kit
Make sure to take a warm windproof jacket. Pee bottle is intelligent thinking. I put a large widemouth collapsible in my BOB for that purpose. I would invest in a new map case, not just for the car, but any evacuation or other scenario. I have a posh one, but I also got a dead cheap one initially, which does the job. I discovered a new phone app recently that's quite good. It's called UK Map, and you can get free maps and buy downloads of OS Maps. I bout the 1: 50,000 North West (much bigger than a paper map) for about £3. The app is about £6. I got it because my OS sub was expiring and I decided not to renew it for now. Also got an OS compass app on my phone that has a base plate, which the compass app I already had didn't have. Base plate is essential on a compass. Obviously a real compass is more accurate. Use away from steel/iron!Arzosah wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 11:07 am Amazing post, Y/Andy, thank you! I'm now looking at buying a car locally, as opposed to the best-priced one in my whole region, so the day when I need to make decisions about this stuff is coming closer and closer. I won't be driving in snow or even in the dark just yet, and as a retired person I'm privileged to be able to take those choices, but you never know when emergencies might happen - either my own or close family, that would need me to be out and about in snow/at night.
Currently, I have a spare rucksack packed with a few initial things:
- umbrella
- rigger gloves
- hi vis jacket
- LifeHammer with integral seatbelt cutter
- AA 3 in 1 emergency beacon (no backup batteries yet)
- AA book of Know Your Roadsigns (I know ... that will go in the glove compartment).
- empty 2.17 litre plastic bottle that contained washing machine liquid, with a big plastic funnel. I'm female, if I'm stuck in a car somewhere, I need a way to pee in safety. Just because people are also stuck in their car doesn't mean there aren't opportunists - rape isn't about attractiveness, it's about power, so even someone my age needs to be savvy about exposure.
- unopened pack of 3 emergency ponchos
- set of cable ties - I read on here recently about DIY repair to a car using them to hold something up? They're light, I know where they are, so ...
- 8 x 10 binoculars I bought last year for wildlife spotting.
- I *was* going to include a map case - but I bought it a million years ago, and the plastic's perished. I'd do better with a plastic bag
Ready to go in: compass, first aid kit, tartan wool blanket , bog standard sleeping bag. Ooh, toilet paper, hand sanitiser. Radio, hat gloves and scarf, tealights and secure rest, matches, a stove, hot tea makings, spare socks, brightly-coloured rag for antenna, food and water, spare socks. Plastic bags. Powerbank. Torch - could always do with another one though
My ordinary key lanyard has a 2" knife, a whistle, and a seatbelt cutter.
Yet to buy: textile chains, rope (I have some I bought at Chatham Dockyard for pretty earlier this year, I wonder if it would be strong enough?). More batteries. 12v plug in hot water thing.