Reading all your posts about the winter weather, I can't imagine how cold that is the temperatures your mentioning.
We get -8 Celsius (17F) at the most. -14 C (7F) is the lowest I have seen.
Last week we had a new record up north with -17 C (1.5F)
In Germany temperatures dropped to even -45 C (-49F)
Coldest winter months are Jan and Feb.
You can say winter is over at the end of Feb.

How do you guys do that with your truck.
I know about the engine heater but what about the interior, isn;t everything icecold.
Is your truck outside or parked inside your garage.
Just wondering.

What is the coldest temperature you have seen in your place and tell us about the truck in cold weather.

 

I know I have not seen the lowest temps. you will read about in this thread but, it is now Dec. 31, 2001 I got up at 5:45Am and it was 20°F outside. The truck is in the driveway, I will hit the remote start button 20 minutes before I am ready to go and when I enter the truck it will be warm and cozy. This year we have had record warm temps. here in Boston, I drive up to Vermont quite a few weekends in the winter and the temp. drops to -20-30°F on a normal basis. THATS COLD

Ed

 

Just this morning waking up we had our coldest reading so far, and it was -8 F. It was cold, but I have seen a lot colder, and I have seen it where it hasn't gotten above 0 degrees for a high.

 

A couple of winters ago, I think it was the winter of 96-97, we went up north to check on the roof of our cabin to see if we needed to shovel the snow off. While we were there, the temp bottomed out at around -50 F. Not fun. Didn't have the truck up there on that trip, but we kept the one we brought in a garage with a heater going to keep it warmer. It was still below zero in the garage though. The state record low temp was reset that winter at -63 F over in Tower or Embarrass. Our place is about 20 miles away as the crow flies.

At -20, it does start to feel pretty cold!

 

Tommorrow it is suppose to get to a low of -11C. It has not been to cold this year yet. We usually get a few days of -30C. That is cold. As far as the truck it usually starts fine. At -30C everything is stiff including the oil in the shocks and the cars and trucks ride like a wagon for a while till they get warmed up. At those temps or lower driving a manual tranny is interesting when it almost takes 2 hands to move the shift lever because the oil is so stiff.
My truck sits outside. It does have a block heater that I can plug in but have not used it this year yet.

Sales of remote starters have been big in the last few years and we do have one in the van. My wife is a nurse and works shifts. When it is real cold and snowing and she finishes at 11:00Pm she can start it by pointing the remote at a window out to the parking lot. That way it is warming while she is going down the elevator etc.

You asked about the interior. Yes the interior is cold and it will take 10 minutes or more before there is enough heat in the engine for the heater to work.

 

You can also tell when it is really cold outside, because when you get into the truck, the suspension will make popping sounds when you get in, just really braking the ice away from the springs but still rather interesting. Also the seats are really stiff, by that I mean you sit higher because the foam doesn't compress that much when it is really cold outside. Just have to bear with it until the truck warms up, and actually have heat. Thank God Ford has the best HVAC systems in their trucks and cars.
My truck sits outside all winter, with the snow and the cold. Never had a problem with it yet, other than the power windows freezing....That sucks for going thru drive-thurs to get food, or coffee on those cold Minnesota mornings.
David

 

in its coldest now it is in the low 30's, i think the coldest so far was mid 20's

 

We have had days here where the temps. were -40F in the afternoon, warmed up from - 45F that morning. The truck starts fine when plugged in to preheat. The p/s pump squawks for a few seconds. But the best part is at those temps. the tires flat spot and for about a half mile the truck bounces like crazy.

 

In like 1985 we had -71F in elk park Montana.

 

8* here in Harrogate, Tennessee this morning. Not very cold compared to you people up North.

 

I've been in -85 wind chill in western Nebraska. Even with a block heater the old 69 Ford barely started, and never warmed up, even with the radiator fully covered. I remember that many people had the natural gas freeze up at night in their meters that were facing the NW. Then I moved to Sault Ste. Marie MI., like it was warmer up there. I'm glad I live in Florida now, it gets to 30 and people bitch, ha.

 

I was in Laramie WY last night and when it was -26 out at 12am, without a wind chill. It didn't feel that cold but thats what the thermometer said.

 

Ahh, the noises and feelings of the cold winter! Suspension creaking and popping when you get in from iced up / lightly rusted parts...starter running half speed from warmer weather...power steering whine...flat spotted tires (frozen flat spot when parked for the night)...creaky suspension that doesn't want to move. I could gauge what the temp was with my old car by all the noises and buzzing sounds it would make as it got colder.

Its amazing how tolerable cold weather can be when there isn't any wind to contend with. I used to work as a surveyor and my wife (fiancee at the time) officially thought I was nuts when I came home from working outside one day when it was in the -20 F range but really still. She was all curled up in a blanket inside freezing cold. So long as you kept moving, it wasn't bad!

 

its only been down to 0*F here so far this year. a couple years back on the farm during christmas break it got down to -70*f thats with windchill . thats was cold. we left every thing running all day once we got it started. I had the 4wheel drive tractor under a tarp being heated by a salamander heater, the engine was running, the block heater was plugged in and the engine still froze up. fuel turned to ice. we already had degel in the fuel when it froze so we ended up putting some karosene in the fuel to melt it. while the tractor was warming up we cut ice so the cows could drink, the water would splash and freeze to your cloths, the moisture from my breath froze to my face mask. you had to stand and watch the cows drink because the water would freeze up while they were coming to the pond.

 

they forgot to mention what it's like to shift the tranny when it's that cold. feels like the gear box is half full of the thickest sludge you could ever imagine.
best i remember here recently was about 7 yrs ago. windchill was -70 F. remember it well, i was delivering newspapers while going to school, in a van with no heat. it was a long cold miserable night. started delivering at 1:00am and done at 8:00 am.