Surviving the Cold

The content for this post came from an Expedition Overland podcast. I found much of it very useful for surviving cold conditions so though I would pass it along in condensed form. If you ever wanted to know more about overlanding, XOverland is the podcast you should listen to.

In this post I am defining “cold conditions” as -30F and colder but some of this is good for warmer conditions.

When packing for a cold weather trip consider that for every 1,000 feet in elevation gained you should plan for the temperature to be 3-5 degrees (F) colder than the surrounding flat land.

Staying warm at night
Sleeping bags are rated for survival not comfort. To be comfortable, get a bag rated for around 20 degrees colder than you think you will need. If you can't get or don't want to spend the extra money on multiple bags. You can double up your bags.

Two sleeping bags are warmer than one. But don't put one inside the other. Instead use one as a quilt over the other. If you put one inside the other, zipped up, it will reduce the loft of both making you colder.
If you have a wool blanket put it in your bag not on your bag to maintain the loft of your down. Or depending on your sleeping mat, the wool blanket might keep you warmer under your sleeping bag rather than on top of you. You can also wear warm clothes to bed or get a bag liner. Just make sure that anything you sleep in stays as fluffy as the manufacturer intended.

From my experience, don’t overdress for sleeping. If you sweat in your bag you will be colder and have to deal with a damp bag.

Don’t sleep on a cot. The cot has air under it and little or no insulation so the part of you against the cot will never get warm.

Never breathe inside your sleeping bag. Your breath has moisture, which will make your bag damp. After several days it might even be wet. The wet bag will not keep you warm but now you will also have to think about mold. Consider that in 8 hours, you can exhale 0.5 -1 liter of water.
If several people are sleeping inside an enclosed space, each one is exhaling water making the inside of your tent/RV wet. To combat this, in the morning, turn your heater on and open all the vents and windows to dry everything out before packing up.

Three things you should take to bed with you.
1) Place a water bottle (Nalgene or similar) with hot water in your sleeping bag 15-20 minutes before you go to bed. Remember to check for leaks before you place the bottle in your bag.

2) Take some food to bed with you. Around 5:00 am your body will run out of easily accessed energy which will make you cold. Eat something low in liquids, like a granola bar, or a few scoops of peanut butter. This will give you extra calories to warm you up in about 10 minutes.

3) When you're packing for your trip take a bottle specifically to urinate in so you don't have to get out of the tent during the night. This is also good for avoiding animals during the night. Women don’t forget to practice outside the tent. You don’t want to miss the bottle in a tent.

Food/Cooking
Eat small meals of hot food often. This should be substantial food like soups. Coffee and tea will warm you for a short time, but you need calories as well to get optimum results from this technique.

Consider cooking on your campfire to get double duty from your fuel and not have to leave the fire while you cook.

Take small containers of water. They are easier to thaw or stash inside your vehicle.

Not all fuel burns the same. Cold propane is harder to keep burning. Isobutane is slightly better but they make two blends a regular and a winter blend. Check your container when you’re packing to ensure you have the correct one for your conditions. White gas is the best fuel for winter.

As you burn the fuel, the remaining fuel in the container expands and cools making it even colder. This cooling can cause difficulty in maintaining your fire.

You can make a fuel-container heater for white gas by wrapping your container with duct tape then coil a copper wire around the container multiple times followed by a final layer of duct tape to hold your heater in place. You want to coil the wire enough times to heat the container but not so many times that it melts the tape. Experiment at home. Once you have your tank heater set up, place the ends of the wire where they will be in the flame. This will heat your fuel enough to keep the fuel flowing consistently.

Running a heater in a small space will add water to the space. See the bedding notes above.

Don't let your Lifesaver(R) jerrycan (for water) freeze. Freezing will crack the filter making it worthless. See the photo above where I am holding the filter.

Vehicle Notes
Steel at 0F is 20% more brittle than under normal (70F) temperatures. So you have to treat your vehicle more gently so it won't break. Same for plastic getting more brittle. The suspension can break with a jolt that would be no big deal on a nice fall day
If you start your engine to warm it, remember that other parts that haven't moved, transmission, differentials, wheel bearings, etc are still not warm. You will need to drive very slowly, 5-8 mph, for 10 to 15 minutes to let those parts warm up.

At cold temperatures the paraffin in diesel will separate and clog orifices and filters preventing the flow of fuel. To prevent the separation, use fuel stabilizer or type 2 diesel. Be aware that type 2 diesel will provide lower power.
Keep your diesel engine warm by starting it every few hours during the night. Under extreme conditions (-40F and below) you might want to not shut the engine off.

Tires
Narrow tires are better for snowy conditions as they have less rolling resistance through the snow. Their smaller footprint also increase their pressure (grip) on the ground.

The slits in the "lug" on your tires that are too small for rocks are for griping slick surfaces.

Wide tires are good for floating in snow when it’s deep, but the snow depth needs to be 110% or greater than of the vehicle's clearance for this to matter.  Basically if the snow is deep enough that you are pushing it, then wide tires are better.

Sleeping in a running vehicle is ok as long as the exhaust is not blocked or the wind is so extreme that is does not allow proper venting of exhaust. But do not face your vehicle into the wind as this will cool the engine. Do not burn things inside the vehicle or camper.

For winter recovery, have Maxtrax(R) as shown above, and only that brand. You should take four. If you have more available take those too as you can make roads out of them over snow if you need to.

You want the chains on your tires to be tight. To accomplish this most easily, air down some before installing. Then, install the chains as tight as you can and air back up.
After installing chains, it is important to check the clearance between your tire and fenders while considering the flex of your suspension and space when turning.

If you have cold weather tips or tricks, tell me about them in the comments. Just remember, staying home is not a fun tip.

***