Stuff to have in car for winter

[RosieTR]

With images of the parking lot that was Lake Shore Drive in Chicago a little while back, I realized that it could be possible for me to become stranded in winter on my way to or from work. Granted, it would probably be 24 hrs or less but I figure I should at least have enough supplies in the car for winter to go 24 hrs without a huge deal, and maybe be able to share with some of those less well-prepared. And no, I do not plan to carry a firearm in the vehicle before that whole discussion gets started. So far I believe I should have:
-snow chains or snow tires
-blanket or sleeping bag to ideally 0F
-some means of procuring water, either fuel + stove + pot to melt snow or water itself
-extra food, preferably something palatable but not enticing enough for me to cheat on
-shovel and cat litter
-flares/fire starter
-knife
-duct tape

Can you think of anything else I've forgotten? What do you carry in your car for winter emergencies? At all times, I normally carry some basic tools like screw drivers, wrench, jumper cables and a large flashlight that could be alternatively used as a club if need be (to break a window or something). The knife and duct tape are just basic survival tools that can have various uses. I can't imagine things would be desperate enough for me to need to cut up my seats and seatbelts to make mucklucks but there are sometimes odd situations I suppose. Duct tape is about the most fabulous invention ever for random survival needs so that should already be in my car for any potential problem. I am trying to think of a really bad blizzard, akin to Snowtober or whatever it was called, where I am stranded like 10-15 miles away from either my workplace or my house and emergency vehicles are not able to clear accidents or snow fast enough to allow traffic to pass. Lest one think the Chicago thing was an isolated incident, within the last 6 years a storm caused just such problems on the road between Denver and Boulder though at a time of day that didn't cause quite the Chicago mess because there wasn't the traffic.

[lmerullo]

I live in Florida, so the stranding in snow concept is a little beyond me. But my dad used to carry four floor mats to put under each tire for added traction. Scraps of carpeting would do. This works for sand and mud as well.

If I understand Snowtober, you would need supplies to STAY in your car, since the roadways were all clogged with immobile vehicles.

If snow were a possibility, I think I would try to always maintain no less than a half tank of gas in my car. I'd want the ability to occassionally cycle the car on for heat and maybe radio or car charger to phone without fear of running out of gas. Which brings me to cellphone. For so many of us, it's an apppendage - anyone else should get a prepaid cheapie emergency only phone.

[Miss Cellane]

Don't forget to check your state's website--many areas have special needs in the winter and usually the DMV or the Highway Department or the Department of Safety will have a list of essential winter gear for your car.

I have a space blanket, old Army blanket and a plastic poncho in my car, instead of a sleeping bag.

Also, I have a "coffee can emergency kit." There are a lot of suggestions out there on the internet, and I think you can buy pre-made ones, but here's the instructions I followed: http://www.baproducts.com/coffecan.htm A refinement of this idea is to punch 3 holes near the rim of the coffee can. You could then use the string to suspend the coffee can over a candle to melt water.

For cat litter, get the clay kind, not the clumping kind. I also have some traction mats, like these: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=snow+traction+mat&tag=googhydr-20&index=automotive&hvadid=8042949084&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1653457489857200795&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_5k2fmaucra_b just in case I get stuck in the snow.

In the winter, I also just pretty much keep an old parka and an old pair of boots in the car at all times. Just in case the day starts off sunny and mild and ends up snowy and cold. (I sometimes forget to check the weather reports.) Also comes in handy if you have a passenger. And I never, ever leave home without a hat, scarf and gloves or mittens. Even if the day is nice and sunny, you just never know. Half the time, I carry them and just throw them in the car, but they are there if necessary.

Other winter supplies are a gallon jug of water and a big bag of "gorp." I carry a jug of windshield washer fluid in the car--probably not going to help if you get stuck, but useful if you have to drive on snowy roads a lot.

There was a really bad blizzard in 1978 in New England--the highways around Boston got so snowy that not only were cars stopped, but people had to abandon their cars and walk to safety. Days later, they had to use cranes to remove the parked, locked cars from the highways, so the plows could get through. Since the area had pretty much been shut down for 6 days by the authorities, this wasn't the catastrophe it might have been. But it wasn't fun for anyone. (The Blizzard of '78, which technically wasn't a real blizzard because the winds didn't get quite high enough, dumped 27 inches of snow in 33 hours, on top of the two or so feet of snow from previous storms, especially the blizzard the week before. Shut the city of Boston down for a week.)

*If you are stuck in the snow and you need to turn your car's engine on for heat/power, remember to go outside and clear the tailpipe of snow.* Otherwise, carbon monoxide could fill the car.

[sweetana3]

And for many of us who grew up in Alaska or Upstate NY and have lived thru blizzards in various states, we keep nothing in the car. Never ever had an issue. Well, in past years used jumper cables but someone else always had them (now use AAA) and did use a shovel once but it did not fit in the trunk.

Dress appropriately for the climate and dont drive when the weather is going to be bad. If I took that last advice, it would have saved me more irritation and I would have missed the Storm of the Century that closed whole states, missed the ice storm in Ohio that closed Columbus, missed the whiteout in Cleveland, missed the blizzard in Erie that had semis on their backs, etc. We always made it but occasionally had to stop at a hotel. We had good tires, enough gas, etc.

[herbgeek]

I have a hat and mittens, and a space blanket in addition to a fleece sleeping bag in the car. I have an Esbit folding pocket stove with solid fuel tablets in my emergency kit in the car too, along with some tea bags. If I'm ever stuck, being able to have a hot cup of tea goes a long way to keeping up morale. Likewise, some tea candles are nice for atmosphere, but remember to crack the window a bit. I always have the usual: flashlight, duct tape, wire and tie wraps, handwarmers, rain poncho, tarp, band aids, etc to deal with foreseeable situations.

[Miss Cellane]

Sweetanan3 does have a point. I have jumper cables in my car. I've had them over 20 years and I've needed to use them once. Other people have borrowed them several times, however.

I think I treat a lot of this stuff the way I treat carrying an umbrella--if I'm carrying the umbrella, it never rains. So if I have all this emergency stuff in the car, I won't get stuck in the snow. I've driven for over 20 years, all of them in New England, and the only time I've been stuck was in my own driveway, due to melted snow freezing and trapping my car in ice.

You'd probably be fine with a blanket and a few energy bars and a bottle of water in the car, and something to get the car unstuck. That would cover 98% of the winter emergencies the average driver has. It isn't always necessary to prepare for those 2% worst case scenarios.

[SteveinMN]

We use the coffee-can survival kits, too, though those are based on the notion of a three-pound coffee can, which is an antique these days...

One suggestion I would make is to put something ON the car, and that is winter tires. If you live in a place that gets enough snow and ice to consider carrying around a survival kit, then winter tires really are the way to go. The traction improvement in snow and ice is amazing, even over good "all-season" tires. They even start, stop, and steer better than regular tires at any temperature below 45 degrees (which, up here, is all winter and a couple months besides). Plus, you give your summer tires (and those expensive alloy wheels your car came with) a rest from sand and salt. We have winter tires on extra wheels for each car and swap them on and off at appropriate times of the year. Takes just a few minutes. The best possible outcome to a car accident or getting stuck is to not have the accident or get stuck.

[RosieTR]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Steve, thanks for the info that snow tires are appreciably better than "all season" tires. I do think this will be a good investment so I need to look into that soon. However, I am not only concerned about getting personally stuck, which snow tires would help prevent, but stuck due to a combo of traffic + snow falling faster than plows can deal. It may not happen this winter, or for many winters, but I think it's likely to happen at some point. I have had to abandon my car before due to snow, though in a place where either I could walk to someone's house I knew or had a friend/relative with the ability to help me get home. Currently I travel ~35 mi each way to work, some of which is kind of far from anything but a cornfield or horse pasture. In a normal storm, there would be state plows (it's a state highway) but I think there's still a chance of getting completely impassable, even for those who have high clearance, 4WD. After all, it only takes a few stuck cars to jam up the whole highway and my thought is that if I put a few items in the car that I have around the house normally, I would have a comfortable stay in this case, rather than a miserable one. Also DH would worry far less if he knew I had supplies for "winter camping" in the car and had to basically camp out. I will have a smart phone within a few days, thus the ability to check DOT websites in realtime if needed, and of course I hope this never happens.

[Zoe Girl]

I DO carry stuff in my car being in Colorado. Mostly because our weather is so extremely changeable. It can be 20 below and 80 in the same week. So gloves, boots (some old crappy ones) a space blanket, som granola bars and a jug of water are my basics. Also I have a small first aid kit, more oil and a small thing of antifreeze. Ihave carried kitty litter when I lived in the mountains and didn't drive a subaru as well.

On the jumper cables, maybe I just am around people with older cars or something but I use mine every year almost.

Rosie is this your first Colorado winter? When snow gets that bad often a highway will be closed. The blowing and drifting can be an issue, so I always had a friend near work just in case or enough room on the credit card for an emergency hotel stay. My mom lived in Evergreen and worked down in Denver and my dad traveled a lot after all of us kids left home so somtimes she would stay in Denver rather than try to make the trip home.

[sweetana3]

I remember one ice storm in Columbus, Ohio that had shoppers at a mall stranded overnight at the local hotels. We barely made it off the interstate and the next day we were only able to get out because my husband is experienced in driving on bad roads. Some people could not get 5 or 10 miles home it was so bad.

So I second always being prepared to pay for a hotel room or to sit in the lobby overnight. Dont take unreasonable chances.

I also just remembered this was the second stranding we had. Once on an interstate in NC, which the authorities closed due to horrible weather and snow, we barely got the last hotel room and in the morning were surprised to see around 50 people sitting in the lobby of the hotel. Barely made it to the tunnel and on the other side of the tunnel was a stopped traffic jam over 20 miles long. Nine snowmen in the median made by kids while waiting. I think this was the Storm of the Century in 1991.