Moving to Cold Weather Location/Europe

[Munson]

Hello All,

I am moving to Sweden for a few years for work and planning on shipping my 4Runner overseas with me. My company will handle the shipping there and back so I don't have to worry about that. I have done the research on the inspection process to get titled and licensed in Sweden and am confident my truck will pass.

My question is, being a SoCal driver the majority of my life, are there any tips anyone who has lived in colder areas might pass on to me or anything I should do to the truck to prepare it for the cold winters? I am aware that Sweden requires all vehicles to get snow tires for the majority of the year, so I will be getting those. But should I be looking at upgrading any components to deal with cold starts or get any undercoating. Assume I am an idiot and know nothing about having a vehicle in the cold.

Thanks,

Kurt

 

[fourwd1]

moving to OT

 

[apohl17]

Hello All,

I am moving to Sweden for a few years for work and planning on shipping my 4Runner overseas with me. My company will handle the shipping there and back so I don't have to worry about that. I have done the research on the inspection process to get titled and licensed in Sweden and am confident my truck will pass.

My question is, being a SoCal driver the majority of my life, are there any tips anyone who has lived in colder areas might pass on to me or anything I should do to the truck to prepare it for the cold winters? I am aware that Sweden requires all vehicles to get snow tires for the majority of the year, so I will be getting those. But should I be looking at upgrading any components to deal with cold starts or get any undercoating. Assume I am an idiot and know nothing about having a vehicle in the cold.

Thanks,

Kurt

I mean, besides the fact that driving in snow/ice conditions requires a little more attention to detail in the road itself (salt spots, snowdrifts across the road, black ice patches) as well as getting used to the fact that you need to start slowing down before you get close to any stop sign, it isn't that much different. I'm not sure of the exact climate and how it compares to, say, northern Wisconsin where it regularly hits temps in the teens every year, but there really isn't too much a guy could do to "coldproof" his rig. See below for some things I thought of!

- Some people do block heaters for getting your engine up to temp faster, I personally haven't had any reason to do that with mine even below 0.
- Make sure your AC/heating is good to go because you don't want to be waiting 10 minutes for heat.
- If your battery is on the verge of needing to be replaced due to age, get a new one. Cold weather does a number on older batteries.
- Obviously, make sure your tire situation is figured out. A good set makes a big difference!
- Depending on if they salt the roads (vs sand them) in your new location, you could do some rust prep on the frame, especially if you plan on being overseas for a long period of time. A few years with no rust proofing won' have that much of an impact, but you'll start to notice it on some of the uncoated sections of frame, the welds, and dented or scratched body blemishes. Up to you if you want to spend the time and money to pre-treat for this.
- Practice! If the conditions are right (light snow/sleet) and you are comfortable on the road, find an open parking lot (if any) and experiment with how your rig handles when the back end loses traction. I'm not saying you should sit there and do donuts for an hour, but the more prepared you are for when it does happen on the road, the better you can correct yourself and hopefully not end up in the ditch.
- Don't be afraid to drive with the 4wd on the majority of the time, that's why you have it!

All in all, winter driving scares a lot of people, so you have to be wary of the (non-stereotypical, shh) old ladies in passenger cars driving 30 on a major highway in a snowstorm. You have a T4R though, so you'll be fine :cheers:

 

[Zeke588]

Might think about a block heater. Depending on the temps and if you park your truck inside or out.

Might want to change the battery before winter comes. Don't want it too freeze and not be able to make it too work.

I live in Montana. We get pretty cold winters. Sometimes weeks of sub zero temps. I haven't installed a block heater or changed my battery since I bought my truck used 3 years ago. I also park outside. It just depends on what you feel is necessary.

 

[Munson]

Thanks for the replies! I fortunately do have experience driving in the snow, just not keeping a vehicle in constantly cold temperatures. I wanted to make sure there wasn't something very basic I was missing. I did change my battery out 6 months ago, but I am looking to add some off-roading lights so I might upgrade to a new batter again with a better capacity. Thanks again for the input!

M

 

[Oldmanb777]

When you get there, you can see what others do. Probably not too much with modern vehicles. Their gas is formulated different. Voltages will be 220v with fairly low amperage. You p[probably would be smarter to unload your car here, buy something over there. then sell it when you return. Check the taxes real close on whatever you do. Taxes can be amazing over there. Winter tires and snow tires can be very different.

 

[96RedRunner]

[MENTION=130253]Munson[/MENTION], I doubt things have changed since I've been there 2012. It was much easier and economical to have a small vehicle, parking is tight fuel is costly. Taxes are different there for vehicles I would check to see what your Runner is going to cost to operate there. My Runner and Audi were taxed as luxury vehicles there and you paid for that Luxury label. I leased a vehicle for the duration left my vehicles in US.