I dunno if this would work ok for others in the colder regions... but I decided to toy with the notion of getting a piece of thick cardboard from a box, and put that over my radiator to keep the truck warmer.

Today it was 5F out with a nice windchill factor of -15F. By doing this, I noticed that the truck warmed up quicker, and I went from 18.7 mpg to 21.2 mpg.

I put the piece inside, behind the radiator support so it doesn't look tooo scary.

But it works like a charm.

I also noticed my exhaust didn't leave too steam behind after the truck warmed up, compared to other times.

However, I plan on only doing this trick when it's below 20F outside... other than that, I might run the risk of an overheat or something.

But it's a good thing to know that it works well.

 

I've always heard of this trick but i didn't figure it would work to great...so where are you sayin you put the cardboard??...that would help, were just now pullin out of the cold weather in PA...but for next winter this may help.

 

I forgot how the radiator is setup on the older models, but just lay it right up against the radiator... you only need a small piece. I would use some long twist ties or something.

I plan on fabbing up a screen for my grill this summer so my radiator doesn't get loaded up with bugs and junk.