My 1st Actual Winter. Any Tips?

Hey all- I wanted to post this here instead of the recovery forum since the 3rd gen forum is a little more active. Sorry in advance for the long post:

TL;DR:
Moved to New England but I'll only be here 2-4 years. I have questions about my first real winter with snow and ice, so I'm trying to figure out what's overkill vs necessary:
1. Do I need snow tires in New England? (live in the suburbs)
2. Is rust prevention undercoating worth it on modern cars? It seems like a coinflip answer online, but I'm trying to take really good care of our cars.
3. Anything I should keep in my cars in case of emergency? My list so far is below.
4. Do I really need winter windshield wipers?

I moved to New England (just outside of Boston) about 3 months ago for my wife's job. We are from South Texas and moved here from the Florida panhandle, so our experience with actual Winter is pretty limited. Limited meaning I can count on my fingers the number of times I've actually seen snow stick to the ground.

That being said, I've done all the research for car winter prep that I can fathom and come up with a list of stuff to get together before shit hits the fan. I wanted to run it by people who have actually lived in the cold before I start buying stuff that may not necessarily be worth it. I've heard from neighbors that they take really good care of the roads in and around Boston during Winter, but we both have cars that are only a year old so we're trying to baby them so they last a little longer because these were both of our first big "adult" purchases. We also are only expecting to be up here for 2-4 years, so that might make a difference when we are figuring out what to get. For reference we have a '22 Platinum 4X4 LB and a 4matic MB GLB, so we have 4x4 on both vehicles.

To start, I put together a list for an emergency kit to take with us if we go somewhere and end up stuck or broke down: windshield scraper, flashlights, Tylenol, extra warm clothes, food, kitty litter, lighter and a small portable heater. I keep a toolbox, first aid kit and "normal" recovery stuff like jumpers, tow cables, etc. in our cars year-round.

For winter tires, I'm for sure going to have to put a set on her car because she is running summer ties. I'm not 100% sure what I'll do with the Tundra yet but I'm leaning on putting on a set to be safe. Currently running stock Bridgestone Duelers and looking at the Michelin X-Ice's if I make the change.

Also was hoping for some input for 2 things I'm not sold on yet: winter undercoating and winter wipers. Not 100% sure if either is worth it. Instead of undercoating, I was thinking it may make more sense just to pressure wash underneath weekly when roads are salted to avoid the undercoat since there's mixed thoughts everywhere on if it's worth it on modern cars. Not to mention the amount of wiring and sensors nowadays, I feel like you're asking for a problem by spraying a coat of anything underneath your entire car. And for the wipers, not sure if it's worth having a separate winter set or if I should just replace the blades as needed. Wipers aren't that big of a deal to get since they aren't crazy expensive, so I'm not too worried about that.

Other than that, I was planning on taking both the cars into the shop just to get a quick tune-up before winter regardless so I can have the dealers look at everything like the battery and fluids to be sure I don't have to use the emergency kit lol.

I appreciate any input anyone might have because we don't learn anything about the cold in Texas until we have to wrap our water pipes in towels lol. Any input on what is overkill vs necessary would be much appreciated!

 

lived in boston for 5 years.

never swapped tires on any of my awd SUVs or even her old nissan sentra. never did winter wipers. never needed any of it.

the salt, sand, and grit blows though. they do a pretty decent job in boston and the surrounding areas, south shore, metro west etc of keeping on top of the road conditions. but the crap they toss down is brutal. destroyed my nissan rogue (admit i didnt really stay on top of keeping it clean)

 

1. No. With good tires and 4x4, you'll get through nearly anywhere you want to go. Snow tires will help but not necessary.
2. Salt is a killer. I've personally never undercoated but most on here will swear by it. If you really want to take care of the vehicles, either wash them once a week in the winter when salt is down or undercoat. 2-4 years worth and back to TX is not the end of the world though if you don't. It's not a 2012 Tacoma frame.
3. There's a thread https://www.tundras.com/threads/winter-is-coming-what-do-you-do.132693/
4. They help prevent wipers from being froze up and not staying formed with the windshield.

 

Drive slow.

Watch out for all the other idiots who don't know how to drive in the snow.

 

that's every driver in Boston regardless of season

 

1. Not necessary, but might help a little.
2. Not necessary, but might help a little.
3. A cell phone and a charger. And always try to keep a relatively full tank of gas in case you get stuck.
4. Not necessary, but might help a little..

The biggest trick to winter driving is keeping plenty of distance from other cars. Always allow far more stopping distance than you normally would. Stay alert and anticipate idiot drivers. Use 4HI in your truck whenever the roads are even remotely slick. That's what it's designed for. It won't make you stop faster, but it will significantly improve traction and handling.

Overall, take it calm and slow. Some of the worst winter drivers are people who get all nerved up and make stupid driving decisions.

 

All of this, but make sure you turn 4H off when you are parking or making sharp turns and the road is NOT slick. Go light on the brakes when there's ice, don't let yourself start sliding and you'll be fine.

 

1. go find a big parking lot without a lot of light poles
2. play around in 2wd
3. play around in 4wd

you will learn a lot about the limits of your truck doing that

its how i taught myself the first year i was in ND moving from GA with a rwd sedan before i got fed up with rwd cars up here in winters.

 

If you do decide on winter tires, in my opinion, Bridgestone Blizzak's outperform the Michelin X-Ice. If you want to go with studded tires, Nokian Hakkapeliita's are the best...

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/10-tips-for-driving-in-the-snow.10107/

 

First - Don't stress. You're not moving to some remote ranch in North Dakota where one might die if not properly prepared. It's suburbia on the east coast and you have a 4wd which many do not even own. Most folks do NOTHING extra for winter prep. No special tires, no special wipers, no special undercoating. Keep your vehicle well maintained, fill up a bit more often, and maybe throw an extra blanket and hat in the back.

Plain old all-season tires will be fine. If you are worried about getting out during a snowmagadin type storm which only last a short time then get yourself a set of chains. That is MUCH cheaper than buying winter tires and will last the life of your vehicle.

When snow and ice are on the road be aware that fools abound. Increase space between yourself and others. Concentrate on being smoooooth (with the extra O's) meaning smooth on the gas, smooth on the brakes, smooth on the steering inputs. Deep slush mounds that form between traffic lanes deserve some respect. Remember that 4WD does nothing to help reduce stopping distance compared to 2WD.

The most dangerous time to be out is once the snow starts to accumulate and a for the first couple of hours after it stops. Unless you have to be somewhere (or are very comfortable driving in snow) just skip that part. Traffic just before a storm in suburbia or a city sucks much more than normal. Go to the grocery store well before or well after storms.

Now if you actually enjoy driving in snow (like I do) I'll tell you a secret - A great time to go to the store is about 30-60 minutes AFTER it starts snowing. The rush will be over. Milk and eggs may be scarce by then but there will be plenty of other stuff and no crowd to fight.

 

1. Not necessary. Boston suburbs will only get a couple of storms that are bad enough you should just stay in until the roads are cleared. Some all season all terrains will be plenty. If you’re not down with the all terrain tires then dedicated snowtires will be good to have. The duelers are terrible.

2. self apply some fluid film. Not an undercoating shop or whatever. They drill holes, holes are bad. Steel + Water + salt + heat = rust. Better off just rinsing in an enclosed wash bay 2-3x month (not an auto car wash) and not parking in a garage if you can help it. Unless you can remove 90% of the salt each time you pull into the garage.
3. That’s a solid list. Don’t let the gas go below ¼ -⅓ tank in the winter.
4. Not necessary. Buy OEM factory blades. Not the sight lines. or->
Warm the truck up first, lift them off the windshield if there’s a chance it might ice. Use winter rated (-20° or better) washer fluid. (And this might go with #3 - a can of de-icer might come in handy).


Drive slow. Then drive slower. Enjoy!
Snow is awesome

 

1. Winter tires will outperform any other class of tire in the winter. Do,you “need” them no. Do I recommend them? Yes. Nokian is 1st choice. Toyo second. Blizzak 3rd. Blizzaks are fine until 1/2 worn. Then they are “meh”

2.yes. Especially Toyotas past issues of frame rust. Rust is bad. Anything to slow it down is good. Oil spray once or twice a year. You don’t have to drill holes. I’m trying a different process this year. Post to follow.

3. I carry more or less what you carry, except substitute sand for cat litter.

4. I have personally tried many different brands and types of wipers, including “winter” wipers. My personal opinion is they are all more or less the same, and much like motor oil, it’s more important to change them at least once a year than what brand you buy.

just my opinion, take it,for,what it’s worth

 

*On Frozen Wiper Blades. Remember your Tundra has defroster’s built into the windshield to free frozen-in-place blades. Just turn on your mirror defrosters and the wiper defrosters will heat up.

 

All good advice. I just wanted to re-iterate to OP about the winter washer fluid. Keep extra in the garage and even in the truck. I use way more washer fluid in snow season than bug season.

 

This feature is on par with the dial for adjusting the headlights. Great engineering, small good details.

 

Toyo AT3

 

nd rules for winter

1. if you leave the city, dont let tank get below 1/2. if you slide off or get the vehicle disabled, nd is pretty rural outside of the main roads, it could be hours before someone drives by if you are stuck in a no cell reception area, also if could take hours before help gets to you depending on road conditions
2. keep candy bars for emergency food, everything else will freeze solid during the winters here
3. keep blankets
4. keep small shovel, if you get stuck dig out the exhaust pipe as needed when running the engine
5. DO NOT WALK to find help, 99% of deaths in ND are from people mis judging distance to a farm house to get help. they end up freezing to death on a side road.

if you follow those rules 100% of the time you will survive until help arrives or someone spots you.

 

Greetings from Rural Quebec Canada. Your list looks good except I'm suspect on a "heater". Anything that uses combustion to provide heat is a suicide pact for you and your passengers.
I also didn't see a collapsible shovel on your list; get metal. plastic will shatter in the cold. If you wanna stay warm and you have a lot of gas, simply keep your exhaust clear of snow and idle the truck to heat the cab.
Sand and kitty litter are only useful in icy conditions for limited traction. You're better off to google "Snow Traction Mat/Pad's".
We keep electronic LED flares aboard. In white out conditions, they will help following vehicles see you or if you're stuck/pulled over to the side. We also keep energy bars and bottled water aboard.
Recovery straps/tow ropes are handy to have. I once got pulled out by a snowplow in exchange for a quart of rum, but he didn't have any straps. Luckily I did.
I also have fluorescent orange gloves and reflective vest. Flashlight with extra batteries.
Good hat or Balaclava. good gloves. good socks. . . People that hate winter simply aren't dressed for it.

Finally, the lad above, who said find a snowy parking lot and find the limits of your truck, gave the best advice. Late one evening, I took a girlfriend to a Walmart parking lot in my 86 Monte Carlo. After about 10 minutes of doing donuts and power drifts the cops showed up. They were rather surprised when she rolled the window down and meekly said "Good evening officer". He was quite pissed until we explained she had never driven in the winter before. After a stern talking to, he finally smiled and said "Get the fuck outta here". No charges.

If you know your vehicle and don't get stuck, hopefully you'll never have to use the items mentioned above.

 

There's a saying in the Adirondack "mountaineering" community: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear and bad attitudes."

 

Awesome, thanks everyone for the replies. They definitely are helping out. Thankfully we're in suburbia so I think my biggest concern is going to be the rust, but I'd rather be safe than sorry with all the emergency kit stuff

 

The practice driving advice is indeed the best.

It's also worth saying that in some rare conditions when the temperatures have been very cold but the road has been dry, you can have the so-called "black ice" conditions which approximate an ice rink. When that happens, don't go out, or if you are out, get off the road and find a safe place to park and wait it out until the salt truck can arrive. Fortunately you probably only get one of those days every two or three years.

These trucks can be bit light in the tail, so it might not hurt to get some bags of sand to help weight down the tires to get better traction. That's if you really need to be out at all, though.

 

i used to use tubes of 70lbs sand. they go over the rear axle a lot better than the typical square bags of sand. usually a lot harder to find the tubes than the normal square sand bags

 

Warm up your engine before you drive.

 

I do this:
(Park it till the snow melts

 

Reviving this a bit, regarding fluid film, is there anything to avoid hitting? Ive seen mixed opinions of it getting it on rubber would deteriorate it or not. Also i know to try and avoid electrical wires etc.