Prepping For Alaska!

[War_Wagon]

This won't be a popular suggestion on this forum, but I will say it anyway. Two words - remote start. When it's -xx degrees out you will need a bit of run time to ensure the windows are defrosted etc, might as well get that going from the comfort of your house.

[bestclimb]

I keep a snatch strap the car (I have pulled quite a few people out with my little cars). For the one or two days a year you "need" 4/AWD a set of cable chains works great.

Remote start is a nice connivance, but a coolant heater is more efficient. In 10 years of being up here I have never thought one necessary.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by War_Wagon

This won't be a popular suggestion on this forum, but I will say it anyway. Two words - remote start. When it's -xx degrees out you will need a bit of run time to ensure the windows are defrosted etc, might as well get that going from the comfort of your house.

Eaaapp! Wrong answer.

The block heater takes care of that.

No, the block heater doesn't do all your window scraping for you, but if scraping causes that much duress then window covers of some sort are in order, or a garage, or move to a temperate climate.

Yes most people gravitate towards the extremes of lazyness and if there is a remote start it soon gets enlisted as a remote total window deicing device.

And that is why we don't see remote starts being used for a couple of minutes- perhaps somewhere online there is a real statistic on idle time when remote starts are employed but I'd wager it's closer to 30 minutes than a couple.

[War_Wagon]

Well the OP posted this because he was in fact not moving to a temperate climate. Having lived with unpleasantly cold weather, I can say that the ideal way of doing things doesn't always apply, sometimes you just need to not be outside as quickly as possible. But as you said, most people do gravitate towards lazyiness, and all of the people I know around here fit into your 30 minute rule. One person I know lives 5 minutes from the beach, and hits his remote start on his Duramax a good 10 minutes before driving. And that's in the early fall! The windows aren't even frosted up! He likes the heated seats to be warmed up by the time he gets in. I shudder when I hear stuff like that, but short of snapping the antennas off his remote unit in the truck there isn't much I can do about it.

[Frank Lee]

I think the damn things should be illegal.

I too live in an icebox; people that opt to live in places like this should employ jackets, hats, and gloves, not remote starters.

When I see the rows upon rows of idling SUVs and Pickups that have been running long enough to completely clear every speck of ice and are surely as hot as a sauna inside, I wonder if these puss ies are really the descendants of the hardy stock that homesteaded the area.

[War_Wagon]

I agree, you should need a license to own one. Another person I know lives 20 minutes from where they work, and she won't own a car that doesn't have a remote start! The weather here is very mild, if you aren't familiar with Vancouver just look at Seattle's weather, it is very similar. 10 minutes of idling for a 20 minute drive. I am starting to think I need new friends lol

[Frank Lee]

It can be hard to have friends at times; when some of them cruise guzzlers, idle excessively, spam your inbox with neocon garbage, and listen to neocon talk radio while you're trapped in their car, a person sometimes just has to try to meditate their way out of grabbing them by the throat.

[Miller88]

I wouldn't use a remote start on a cold day. Never know if the vehicle isn't starting what it will do (drain the battery).

Starting, especially on a -20 day is something I want to be there for.

Synthetic 0w-20 for sure in the element!

[bestclimb]

Originally Posted by Miller88

I wouldn't use a remote start on a cold day. Never know if the vehicle isn't starting what it will do (drain the battery).

Starting, especially on a -20 day is something I want to be there for.

Synthetic 0w-20 for sure in the element!

Use the specified oil especially as tolerances open way up that cold (not that -20 is very common)

You will know if the vehicle starts when it is super cold, the exhaust cloud is very evident. You know it's cold when an econobox leaves a contrail.

[aktacoma]

I am from fairbanks and I actually found this thread because im wondering how many people do we have from AK on the site?? But I second the block heater and oil pan heater and tranny heater although I have never lived in a warmer climate so we use autostarts and dont call me a ***** cat because you can come start my car at -40...