Alaska and CTD winterization

[DieselFiend]

I just found out I'll be relocated to anchorage alaska around June of next year. I'd like to go ahead and get my truck ready for the winters up there and I need some suggestions from those that have lived there or near there.

Here's a list of stuff I've already thought up but I do need to know where to get them. I'd like to avoid the dealer if I can.



Radiator front with flaps

battery blankets

oil pan heater

block heater cord

 

[VanOverbeke]

You would be fine with the mods you suggested. I also have a transmission pan heater and an in cab heater so I do not have to scrape any windows and to help the cab get warmer faster. I am leaving next May, I just hope to go some place cold with snow again. I have a cold front that goes behind the grill and is mounted with four snaps on top and two bungies on the bottom, there is a zipper to open or close as needed. It was made at alaska tarp in

Anchorage and you cannot see it when it is on. In the summer I take it off of course and I have a screen that goes in its place to keep bugs off.

 

[Jack in Alaska]

You have a good list of "stuff" for the winter. It really doesn't get that cold in Anchorage in the winter. Ocassionally below zero but not very often. You might want to get a set of heated wiper blades from Genos.

I siliconed a 150 watt heater pad to the side of my oil pan and ran the cord to the front and plugged it and the engine heater into a common plug so there is only one cord out the front.

Welcome to the Great Land. Once here you will never leave.

 

[John Boyce]

You will want to use 5W-40 synthetic oil, per the owner's manual.



Here in Bismarck I park my truck in an unheated garage at night and outside all day. I have never used my block heater, and the truck has always started just fine. I think if I parked outside at night, I would probably plug the block heater in. The garage is attached to the house, but is unheated and uninsulated. Even so, it's usually 15 degrees warmer in the garage than it is outside, and no wind, too!



I use the Mopar cold front in the winter, and it seems to help the truck warm up a little faster, but it will cause the fan to kick in if you don't open it up for highway driving, even in cold weather.

 

[courierdog]

Form a person who lives in Alberta where we see -40 C as a common Winter temperature I also suggest a belly pan or blanket to cover the underside of the engine, with the fender walls and a belly pan the only air that comes in to the engine compartment is what you allow in via the front barrier.
The rear of the engine compartment needs to allow air to escape.
Run a block heater at all times as it helps to prevent moisture build up in the engine as well as keep the engine block warm. The oil pan and transmission oil pan heaters prevent the oil from allowing any water to freeze under the vital fluids. I run a block heater 365 days as I am running as a hot stand by for after hours hot shot service. Do not forget also to the Fuel filter and provide a means to warm it as much of the fuel up North comes in the previous year and much of it is contaminated by storage, clean fuel is vital especially if you run a 6. 7 Litre engine.

 

[viper700]

I have been in Alaska since 1971. The best winter care I have found for my CTD is October 15th is I go to Yuma and don't come back till late March. It works for me. The Anchorage Temps are not that bad in the winter only if you go North a bit. I use a fuel additive in the winter when traveling.

 

[Crunch]

If you want to see the exteme measures, check out the first episode of Ice Road Truckers. Those guys did all kinds of stuff to their trucks, and it didn't always work for them. But then, they were regularly dealing with -40* temps.

 

[DieselFiend]

I did see the first episode. It surprises me that anchorage is that much warmer because it's about the same latitude as yellowknife. Thanks for all the input.

 

[viper700]

To DieselFiend

Do a weather check on the internet and get a winter history of Anchorages weather. The weather stays milder in Anchorage because of the tidal water that comes and goes twice a day. It can be as high as 37' in a tidal period. The huge ammount of water keeps us a little warmer on the normal times. A cloudy day will be warmer than a clear day. Clouds will not dissapate the heat from the water as quick as a clear day. Out in the Valley as they call it near Biglake it can be 20 to 30 degrees colder in the winter and that is only about 25 airmiles from Anchorage. It is away from the tidal influence of Anchorage. Go 375 miles north to Fairbanks you are looking for temps -40 and below at times. Enjoy your self in Anchorage.

 

[viper700]

DieselFiend

You mentioned that you were coming up here in June. Are you Military by chance ,they always liked to rotate in June??

 

[Nate]

The trucks we ran at work had battery blankets, block heater and some had a trans pan heater and oil pan heater. Rarely had any issues. Sometimes I would zip tie a cardboard to the back of the grill on my work truck if I was motivated. Often though, the other guys would "steal" my truck after that.

Usually the Dodges had enough battery power to fire up even if someone forgot to plug one it. The Fords (all 7. 3Ls) on the other hand, would very rarely fire up. Seems they need to spin the motor really fast, which is hard to do with a cold motor with drained batteries.


That being said, I don't even have a block heater on my Jeep and I never had an issue with it. Lived in Anchorage for ~4 years. The winters aren't bad at all, though I grew up in Northern Maine where it's closer in temps to Fairbanks.

I bought my CTD the summer before I left Alaska, and I left in October, so never really got into the cold temps with it.

 

[Jack in Alaska]

Viper 700 has the best solution... ..... Yuma, Az. in winter.
I do the same but in Casa Grande, Az. Been in Alaska since 1963.

 

[Cummins Pilot]

Dieselfiend, with what you mentioned for changes you'll be ok. I also suggest 5w40 syn oil in the winter. One other note some people miss is that some wiper fluids freeze solid. Make sure you purge the tank if your not running cold compensated wiper fluid. Cold also takes a toll on the serpetine belt more than warm temps. In Fairbanks a new belt will crack in no time.



Also think about winter gear for yourself. Set of gloves, hat, something to kneel on if you need to change a tire or something like that. When I lived in Fairbanks it wasn't uncommon for me to be 200 miles from town at -50f. I carried enough winter gear & food to be comfortable if the truck died.



As for that ice road truckers show, what a joke. Other than not driving across a lake the truckers in AK running the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay are in the same temps. That show is WAY over dramatized!

 

[SNoyes]

After three years in Anchorage I've had to move because I was re-assigned. However, while there I ran three diesels (2 Ford 7. 3s, and a 06 cummins). The Dodge performed much better in the colder days, especially when it got down to the -15 degree F days. I would say all good advice here, maybe a little overkill on all the extra heating devices for the Anchoarge area. Figure just the block heater alone is 1000 Watts, so if you plug it all in you will most likely trip a CB. I changed the oil weight, ran just the block heater, made sure to park it away from the house in case something went wrong and caught fire, and made sure to put it on a timer to start up 3 hours prior to my morning departure. Enjoy Alaska, I'm going miss it...