cheyenne383

iTrader: (25)

My new truck gets here this summer and I am planning ahead a little bit, I want to get the cold weather gear before next winter (along with other stuff). On my 2003 I just have an engine block heater and on those -25 and colder mornings you can tell it is not a happy camper.

For my new truck I plan on a trans pan heater, block heater, and battery heater. Now for the questions:

What is better, a battery blanket or trickle charger?
What brands are best for block heater and pan heater?
What is the best way to connect the 3 and have one plug out the front?

Any other suggestions? I spent the first 15 years of hot rodding trying to keep stuff from getting to hot in the 90+ degree humid days all summer.

There is a lot of room where the battery "should" go, I figure power distribution should be pretty easy from there. Just looking to make this truck last 10+ years and be as nice to it as I can at 55 below zero.

nonnieselman

iTrader: (10)

-55* just sounds fun!!!!!


you can figure up how many watts or amps everything is total and can see what size wire you need to combine..

ive never seen a battery heater, and where you find a transmission pan heater?

AKlowriderZ71

iTrader: (22)

Trans pan heater, engine oil pan heater, battery blanket, 4 to 1 arctic leash.

I'll look it all up & send you a pm.

AKlowriderZ71

iTrader: (22)

This vid helps explain how we deal with cold up here.

APC Group Modern Marvels - YouTube

cheyenne383

iTrader: (25)

Sweet, thanks Roger, and yeah... -59 was the coldest I've dealt with this winter. Been quite an adjustment, I think before Alaska it got down in to the teens a few times in Tennessee and Georgia and I about **** myself. I can remember in school (Georgia) they closed because it was 17 degrees above zero and the buses wouldn't start, not here!!!

CDN SS

iTrader: (1)

Best cold weather start tip is .....quality sythentic oil .0w-20w or 5w-30w a winter front for the grille and of cpourse the block heater .........park facing away from the wind

SlvySS

all you need is a block heater man , that all most poeple have here in saskatchewan and it can get down to - 30 or -35 at nights in the winter, just plug it in all night . run light oil and let it warm for 10 or 15 minutes before you drive it . the other stuff is not necessary

DR132

if your truck sits for any amount of time a trickle charger is a good idea, anything less than a week a battery blanket is sufficient though. just make sure you don't leave anything on

anyway, pan heaters are good because they're cheap and easy to stick on so you might as well use them and definitely thin synthetic oil. i like mobil1 personally but anything synthetic will retain it's low viscosity in the cold. you can get away with less no doubt but the extra winterization measures are easy enough so why not?

cheyenne383

iTrader: (25)

I know I can get by with less, I only have a block heater on my 03 and it's been fine, a little slow to turn over below about -20 but liveable. With the new truck I plan to keep for a long time why not save the wear and tear of that extreme of a heat cycle, I ponied up for a brand new truck for only the second time in my life and might as well spend another little bit to keep it nice.

I also only run Mobil 1 oil in all of my newer vehicles, did an oil change on the 2011 at 500 miles and will keep it that way forever.

AKlowriderZ71

iTrader: (22)

-60 is a far cry from -30. If his winters were here in the Matanuska Valley, where we see -10 to -30 pretty regularly, a block heater would be just find. Dex 6 and Mobil 1 are just find in those temps. But, put them in -60 or worse for a week or two, and you're going to have an unhappy engine and unhappy transmission. Not saying that they will cause an immediate failure, but accelerated wear until the temps come up is definately going to happen. Nothing like starting your truck, letting it warm up for 15 minutes, and the transmission won't engage when you put it into drive because the ATF is gelled. Wonder what's been happening inside that trans for the past 15 minutes?