Our first criteria for any of our vehicles is to be able to handle winter and snow flawlessly. We frequently travel over remote 10k-11k' mountain passes in blizzard conditions and at night. We haul sports gear, children, and grandmothers. Our cabin is located in the "Icebox of the Nation" near Fraser, Colorado. It snows 300"-400" a season and we get two or more weeks a year of subzero temps during the daytime, with subzero being common most every night of the winter.
The WK2 has been a beast in the snow and cold, and we've broken her in already with 2k miles of deep winter driving, -19 F temps, and tons of the white stuff. We've gone through two gallons of wiper fluid with no issues.
Here's a few tips that have made this and any vehicle bulletproof in these conditions:
Get a Snow or Solid AT Tire with Snow Ability
Blizzaks DMV1's are the standard bearer for dedicated snows, but certain AT's with good snow ratings work really well and are more versatile. My wife runs the Blizzaks on her crossover and my WK2 has the Firestone Destination AT's. Colorado Discount Tire and Firestone stores sell equal amounts of both here. We go anywhere in any conditions with confidence. I'm that guy who relishes snow driving, sometimes at speed.
Snows only stay on in winter, the AT's can be run year round in all conditions - and perform really well. As Rdalcanto states, a good set of snows or AT's is a helluva lot cheaper than an accident and two sets of tires last as long with better grip than one set with a follow on replacement.
Tire Rack Snow Survey Ratings - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=W&VT=LT
Tire Rack AT Survey Ratings - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT
Note Tire Rack does not include some other killer snows or AT's such at the Nitto Terragrapplers or Nokians. Check out other tire threads in JG, there's some great tire knowledge by veteran members here - especially NHWK05 who is THE tire guru.
Recovery Gear
We get lax about this but one incident pays you back in spades. Carry basics: recovery straps, tow hooks up front, hitch or loops out back, blanket, gloves, flashlight, tools, jumper cables. These extras stow away in the spare WK2 compartment and stay there year-round. A collapsible shovel is nice in snow country.
Effective Winter Wiping - tips prior to driving
1) Flip the Wipers Off the Glass when parked outside - this keeps snow and ice from collecting, and lessens the need to bang and scrape the rubber and damaging it. Just a few bits of ice on the rubber wiper creates a magnet for other snow and ice to collect and causes crappy wiping. Do this and any wiper will last a full season if not a full year. Don't do this and wipers will be useless in a week.
2) Physically Clear Snow and Ice using Broom and Scraper not defroster - get all material off of windshield, wiper cradle, between hood and windshield, and from hood itself. Using defroster just streams water and frozen bits down to the wiper cradles. Cannot stress this enough for same reasons as above.
3) Get the Windshield Warm: Use the defroster in winter conditions. It will kick on with remote start if left on prior to last use.
4) Winter Wipers: help as they remain pliable with softer compounds, but we have never needed them.
Using the above techniques, we have only had one extreme wet storm cause the WK2 passenger side wiper to collect snow and ice while underway, and had no problem reaching out the window to slap the wiper arm against the windshield - while driving. Goes with the territory.
What else you guys got from the great white north? Let's see it.
The WK2 has been a beast in the snow and cold, and we've broken her in already with 2k miles of deep winter driving, -19 F temps, and tons of the white stuff. We've gone through two gallons of wiper fluid with no issues.
Here's a few tips that have made this and any vehicle bulletproof in these conditions:
Get a Snow or Solid AT Tire with Snow Ability
Blizzaks DMV1's are the standard bearer for dedicated snows, but certain AT's with good snow ratings work really well and are more versatile. My wife runs the Blizzaks on her crossover and my WK2 has the Firestone Destination AT's. Colorado Discount Tire and Firestone stores sell equal amounts of both here. We go anywhere in any conditions with confidence. I'm that guy who relishes snow driving, sometimes at speed.
Snows only stay on in winter, the AT's can be run year round in all conditions - and perform really well. As Rdalcanto states, a good set of snows or AT's is a helluva lot cheaper than an accident and two sets of tires last as long with better grip than one set with a follow on replacement.
Tire Rack Snow Survey Ratings - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=W&VT=LT
Tire Rack AT Survey Ratings - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT
Note Tire Rack does not include some other killer snows or AT's such at the Nitto Terragrapplers or Nokians. Check out other tire threads in JG, there's some great tire knowledge by veteran members here - especially NHWK05 who is THE tire guru.
Recovery Gear
We get lax about this but one incident pays you back in spades. Carry basics: recovery straps, tow hooks up front, hitch or loops out back, blanket, gloves, flashlight, tools, jumper cables. These extras stow away in the spare WK2 compartment and stay there year-round. A collapsible shovel is nice in snow country.
Effective Winter Wiping - tips prior to driving
1) Flip the Wipers Off the Glass when parked outside - this keeps snow and ice from collecting, and lessens the need to bang and scrape the rubber and damaging it. Just a few bits of ice on the rubber wiper creates a magnet for other snow and ice to collect and causes crappy wiping. Do this and any wiper will last a full season if not a full year. Don't do this and wipers will be useless in a week.
2) Physically Clear Snow and Ice using Broom and Scraper not defroster - get all material off of windshield, wiper cradle, between hood and windshield, and from hood itself. Using defroster just streams water and frozen bits down to the wiper cradles. Cannot stress this enough for same reasons as above.
3) Get the Windshield Warm: Use the defroster in winter conditions. It will kick on with remote start if left on prior to last use.
4) Winter Wipers: help as they remain pliable with softer compounds, but we have never needed them.
Using the above techniques, we have only had one extreme wet storm cause the WK2 passenger side wiper to collect snow and ice while underway, and had no problem reaching out the window to slap the wiper arm against the windshield - while driving. Goes with the territory.
What else you guys got from the great white north? Let's see it.