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| Xeogaming Forums - General Chat - Cold Weather Survival Tips? |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable          Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| Ok, so as many of you know, I am moving to Pennsylvania in less than a month.... in the middle of December... when it is all cold and snowy. So, being a native of Southern California, who can count the number of times she has been in snow on one hand, I need help.
First off, we are going to be driving there. Going I-40 until Texas when we cut up through Oklahoma on the Will Rogers Turnpike, into Missouri and up the 44 to St. Louis and the I-70. Through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to the I-79 in Pennsylvania and up to Slippery Rock. I have no real idea of weather conditions on the road that time of year and so I look to the experience of you all for tips. Are all weather tires good enough for these major roads, or do we need chains? Clothing recommendations? How annoying is it to drive through St, Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus? AAA trip books can only tell us so much. |
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Bitmap #1 Enhancement Shaman US Ravenholdt  Since: 09-05-04 From: His Laughin' Place Since last post: 4569 days Last activity: 4563 days |
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| All I can say is that winter tires are overrated.
They are mandatory here in Quebec, but I don't see the point. Seriously, a bad driver with any kind of tires will be a bad driver. And a good driver will be good with any kind of tires, if he's just a little bit careful. So, really, just be aware that braking isn't as easy when there's snow. As for clothing, I dunno. I haven't been to pennsylvania, so I can only give general tips. Hands and face: cover them if it's realy cold. But really, cold isn't that bad unless it's cold AND windy (wind chill is a bitch). If that is the case: less skin showing the better. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| Well, the tire debate is mainly this:
Ben's mom says that basically everyone out there just has all-weather tires and never use chains because they are so good about keeping the roads plowed. No one uses chains, and a few people use snow/winter tires. Right now Ben's car has regular old tires, which would require his buying chains. We plan on getting the all weather tires since he needs new tires anyway, and they will be fine for the roads out there. Problem is we don't know about the roads going out there... would they be okay, or should we get chains? They are major interstates, so in theory they should be fine... but I also don't know how bad the weather typically is this time of year back there. |
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Astrophel Fear will kill your mind and steal your love as sure as anything; Fear will rob you blind and make you numb to others suffering  Since: 10-03-04 From: Azul Lux Orbital, Kirin Beta Since last post: 2492 days Last activity: 1343 days |
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Originally posted by Elara This is an important note. Places that get snow regularly are prepared for it when it comes, and are usually pretty good about getting it cleared up. Virginia Beach once got a few inches of snow and no one knew wtf to do. Woodstock gets snow every year, and it's only most people that don't know wtf to do. |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 646 days Last activity: 455 days |
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| Having just been in the snow yesterday while hiking a dormant volcano I have this crucial, yet fairly obvious piece of advice:
SCARVES ARE YOUR BFFS. Get a big fluffy one and wear the hell out of it. I get along fine with a coat, a hoodie underneath, jeans and boots, but my god... scarves are like towels in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy universe. |
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Belial Bazu Since: 01-29-05 From: New Zealand Since last post: 4377 days Last activity: 3991 days |
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| Okay. Here's the story:
I traveled in a dually truck from Southern California to Northern Idaho and back... in January. Getting there, we went Through Nevada, Utah and part of Montana. On the way back, we went through Washington, Oregon and Northern California. It was the worst experience of my life, no joke. On the way up, we were caught in a small snowstorm in Utah. We ended up pulling into a truck stop to sleep (we had no extra money for a hotel), and the next morning, the road was clear enough to drive without chains. We start getting into southern Idaho.. and we pull over near a gas station for chains. *Keep in mind that the places you are traveling through may be devoid of people.* It was the first time in my husband's, our friend's and mine we had ever tried putting chains on. It took 2 hours. We drove for a bit, then the snow cleared. We kept on... Montana was insane. Talk about heavy snow storms. Our headlights were so muddy/snowy that we had our brights on and could barely see. Now, going through Washington was awful. We couldn't see past the hood of the truck. The rigs go around you at 60mph while you're doing 25mph. Let's not talk about the hills and slopes and chains-required areas we had to go through to were horrendous. And you would think it wouldn't be because we were, after all, driving a six-wheeled truck. We nearly went sideways into a frozen lake in Oregon (which, by the way doesn't plow their roads much at all). To tally all of the things going wrong: We didn't know how to put chains on the tired. One of our chains broke and nearly took out the fender. We rear ended someone because the truck wouldn't stop on ice. We got stuck in a ditch we didn't know was there because it was snowy. Nearly fell into a lake in Oregon. We got a flat tire immediately getting into Northern California The small U-Haul trailer fell off the truck in a shady town outside of Sacramento. So, my advice: Prepare for the absolute worst. Some states clear there roads a LOT better than other. (The border between Oregon and California was a line from unplowed roads to plowed.) Give yourself plenty of time... don't rush. Get and learn to use chains. I can't imagine what Missouri winters are like. Winter tires are helpful... especially if you're used to California weather. We had all weather tires.. and could have greatly benefited from the extra traction winter tires provide. Just a suggestion: look at the weather in the major cities you'll be going through, so you can be prepared for any snow/rain/sleet. Good luck! (Sorry this was long...) |
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Rogue If you're reading this... You are the Resistance Since: 08-17-04 Since last post: 646 days Last activity: 455 days |
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Originally posted by Belial Holy shit. The worst I ever had was driving through Texas and having the car suddenly start spinning in the middle of the road. Thankfully, everyone stopped and we didn't hit anyone. But yeah, my boyfriend at the time did all the things you supposedly aren't supposed to do. He was hitting the brake, turning away from the skid, and all that and somehow managed to survive. This site is a pretty good resource for driving on snow and ice: http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/drivingsafety/drivingsafetytips/snow.html |
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Cairoi This isn't about you and your loud mouth, This is about me and my fucking beard. Since: 08-29-04 From: PA Since last post: 4861 days Last activity: 4484 days |
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| Here in PA we have a fantastic winter fighting system. There's a lot of snow plows, lots of salt to soak that shit up.
Two most important things: Get winter clothes. FIND THE WARMEST ARTICLE OF CLOTHING IN THE UNIVERSE AND GET SIX OF THEM. You never know. Also, all weather tires > chains, and as long as you stay on the major roads, you won't experience anything. If there's snow, the interstate highways and what not are priority number one for the state. |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| Damn, Belial... that sounds terrifying. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Belial Bazu Since: 01-29-05 From: New Zealand Since last post: 4377 days Last activity: 3991 days |
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Originally posted by Elara It was... Definitely the worst experience of my life... haha. I'm glad we survived... |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| I need to do some research on how the states we are going through are on plowing. I have a friend that moved here from Ohio and she said that Ohio is pretty much on par with Pennsylvania about keeping the roads clear. I would assume that the rest are the same, though I wish I knew more about the middle states we are going through (hey, Xeu, you ever been down near Joplin?). I am also worried about the winds, as I have never driven in a snow storm and don't know the differences between it and heavy rain storms.
I am now looking into the antifreeze for lower temperatures, since I want to get it changed out before we go... especially in my car which is being shipped and might sit for a few days. Any recommendations? |
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Katana Dark Wizard \"She said tonight...come on come on collide...see what I fire feels like..I bet its just like heaven.\"  Since: 08-15-04 From: Philadelphia, P.A. Since last post: 1567 days Last activity: 1384 days |
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| Antifreeze will be your best friend. Seriously. If you forget that shit, you're fucked. If your car leaks green shit, that means you have an anti-freeze leak, so you're going to be needing more until you can get that fixed. (Just in case say you end up driving through colder weather. I don't know if it's a normal thing, or just a thing my family does, but they seem to forget the concept or antifreeze. I spend many an hour during the winter making sure the leaks are fixed and shit. Those bastards always forget to check themselves.)
When exactly are you making the trip? I'm getting the feeling we're going to have A LOT of snow this year, being as hurricane season fell pretty short. Barely anything came up the coast this year, so that's going to effect the snowfall for the year. I am unfamiliar with what the other states are like to travel through, but I'll ask my brother and his buddies about what to do. They think they're car junkies. Or my friend who works at the Pep Boys in my plaza...What kind of car will you be driving anyway? I can get some info on how the aerodynamics will effect driving through the wind. I know I HATE driving light ass cars through the wind. |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| The estimate right now is that we will be out there by Christmas. We are driving a 2007 Dodge Calibur, which is a fairly light car. The car being shipped is a 2001 Mazda 626. Neither have any leaks that we have found... we are both pretty good at taking care of our vehicles, though I do plan on getting a new car as soon as I can afford one (the Mazda has other issues, trust me).
I got a bunch of numbers to check road conditions in the various states we are going through. If they work the same as the Cal-Trans line does out here it should be just fine. |
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Katana Dark Wizard \"She said tonight...come on come on collide...see what I fire feels like..I bet its just like heaven.\" Since: 08-15-04 From: Philadelphia, P.A. Since last post: 1567 days Last activity: 1384 days |
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| The lines work pretty well.
Do you have my phone number? I want to try and keep track of the weather for you when you're getting closer. I'll at least be able to let you know if I'm not working that night, so I can keep looking shit up for you, and whatnot. I won't be able to run into Pep Boys until Sunday, because the guys I know well enough to not talk to me like some silly girl in an automotive place, and will actually give me straight answers, will be in then. If you're here by Christmas, I know locally we're expecting some flakes, sometime this week, but that's about it. |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| Yeah, I still have it. We also have smart phones so if the passenger is awake we can look up things... probably going to need to once we get close since all of the maps we have do a rather crappy job of getting us from the 79 to Slippery Rock. I don't know if the 108 or the 422 would be better, or if it would be a good idea to cut through Moraine State Park on PA 588. I know that we can just call his mom and ask once we get close, but it would be nice to know before hand, ya know?
One thing I know I am going to need is some winter boots... any recommendations? I have looked at some online, but you can only get so much looking at words and a picture. I need to find someplace around here that sells them for a decent price, and sells more than those stupid Ugg boots. |
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Belial Bazu Since: 01-29-05 From: New Zealand Since last post: 4377 days Last activity: 3991 days |
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My brother was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri (which is right off the 44), and he says the freeway there is kept up really well.  |
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Katana Dark Wizard \"She said tonight...come on come on collide...see what I fire feels like..I bet its just like heaven.\" Since: 08-15-04 From: Philadelphia, P.A. Since last post: 1567 days Last activity: 1384 days |
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| For boots, Timberlands. They're expensive as hell, but far more practical than the cost will hurt and you'll get quite a few years about them.
You're going to be in Pittsburgh though, right? Where? Or right in the city? The winter may be a little different there as well. I get by on simple payless winter boots. It typically doesn't snow too badly here. Just enough to piss people off. But last year was pretty "bad" by Philly standards, and this year is probably going to be worse. |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 112 days Last activity: 112 days |
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| We are gonna be in Slippery Rock, about an hour north of Pittsburgh, just south of the 80. Ben's mom said it was not too bad to deal with last year even though it was a pretty bad winter. I will look into those boots.
Good to know about the 44 Belial, thanks. |
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