Help me winterize?

[GregMiller]

Growing up in Fairbanks, we always had three heaters installed: engine block, oil pan, and battery. Also, remote start is the best thing ever (not legal to use in Colorado, I believe, some law about not leaving your car running unattended).
For Anchorage, you might be fine with just the engine block heater. Invest in a quality extension cord that won't crack at -40F.

I drove a rear wheel drive Crown Victoria full-time at work in Denver winters for over a decade before we moved to something better. We never had snow tires on those cars, and there was only one blizzard I can think of where we simply couldn't get through some of the snow in that vehicle (and that vehicle is about the worst you could think of for snow driving).

My dad was a police officer in Fairbanks, and I always thought the Crown Vic's were a ridiculous choice. And then of course they switched to Chargers

[polar]

Remember (again) that the driver if the biggest factor in all of this. I drove a rear wheel drive Crown Victoria full-time at work in Denver winters for over a decade before we moved to something better.

Driving in Denver in the winter is really not that bad. They do a pretty good job of keeping the roads clear, and it's usually sunny again just a few days after a snowstorm. What the OP wants to do is go up and down I-70 between Denver and Aspen in the wintertime, so she definitely needs the right equipment. I've seen more than my share of front wheel and rear wheel drive cars sliding and slipping all over the place in a snowstorm on I-70 going up the hill to the Eisenhower tunnel. No amount of good driving can help in that situation.

[coloradokevin]

Remember (again) that the driver if the biggest factor in all of this. I drove a rear wheel drive Crown Victoria full-time at work in Denver winters for over a decade before we moved to something better.

Driving in Denver in the winter is really not that bad. They do a pretty good job of keeping the roads clear, and it's usually sunny again just a few days after a snowstorm. What the OP wants to do is go up and down I-70 between Denver and Aspen in the wintertime, so she definitely needs the right equipment. I've seen more than my share of front wheel and rear wheel drive cars sliding and slipping all over the place in a snowstorm on I-70 going up the hill to the Eisenhower tunnel. No amount of good driving can help in that situation.

While I agree that the Denver area and mountain corridors are different, there's no reason to suggest that someone can't get by just fine in a front wheel drive car on I-70. I was skiing about 30 days per year a decade or so ago, and often drove my little Hyundai Accent (rather than my Jeep) just to save money on gas. Sure, if I knew a big storm was coming I'd choose the Jeep, but there were plenty of times I was caught in an unexpected storm in the little car. I've seen idiots sliding all over the road in small cars, and I've seen them doing the same in big SUVs. Unless you're getting off the beaten path you'll typically be fine in any modern front wheel drive car with all season tires. Obviously a 4WD with studded snow tires is going to do better in the traction department, but there's no reason to believe that you can't still get around safely without such an option. I really do boil this down to about 85% driver, and 15% vehicle.

If the OP is actually going to be living in these areas (and thereby driving in these areas on a regular basis), I fully agree that some solid snow tires on an all-wheel or 4WD vehicle would be the ideal setup. I just fall short of telling anyone that you need to have these things to safely drive on an Interstate highway in Colorado during the winter months… good all season tires on a well-maintained front wheel drive would be my "minimum" setup. 4WD and studded snow tires would be the ideal setup.

[winmag4582001]

1. Know how to put the chains on before you need to put the chains on. Use extra bungie cords if youre going to run them more than a couple miles.
2. Fast uphill, slow downhill.
3. If you're scared or driving slow, save youreslf, and others, the stress and pull over.
4. 1 extra windshield wiper and extra windshield fluid is nice to have.
5. Make extra pee stops.

[Alicat423]

Thought I would post a follow up in case anyone ever searches for the same answers I was looking for...

I drove over 5,000 miles from TN to Alaska in December. I made sure all my fluids were to the right temperature rating and got it checked out at the shop to double check everything before I left. My car has 4wd and all season tires that are "mud + snow" rated. I had an emergency kit with the following:
Tire chains
2 gallon gas tank with gas in it
Battery blanket plus portable battery charger
Ice scraper, cat litter, ice melt, emergency warm things if stranded, shovel

Everything went great and I didn't use a single thing in my emergency kit (but was glad it was there, esp the gas tank - had one close call in the Yukon and it was comforting knowing I had backup)

Anyway I had been really worried about the tires I had since they weren't badass snow specific ones but I had no troubles at all
Colorado and the al-can roads were well maintained


Thanks so much to everyone for all the helpful advice and tips and everything!!!

[SoCool]

Having driven the Alcan a few times myself, I'm sure it's quite an adventure in winter. You make it look easy!

[Dakota]

Thought I would post a follow up in case anyone ever searches for the same answers I was looking for...

Anyway I had been really worried about the tires I had since they weren't badass snow specific ones but I had no troubles at all
Colorado and the al-can roads were well maintained


Thanks so much to everyone for all the helpful advice and tips and everything!!!

I grew up in North Dakota and do not know anyone that puts on badass specific snow tires. With my Dad, it was always about the cheapest.

Anyways, I'm glad to read you had a SAFE epic road trip. I bet it was fun!