The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk winter driving? do you guys do it?

hi all,

been a while since i've posted. still on the hunt for a bolt. but i've got a question. my family raised the point what are you going to do in the winter time if you get an older truck. so my question is do you drive your trucks in the winter and don't worry about possible rust? or do you have a newer truck you drive in poor weather and drive the old bolts when its nicer out?

jordan

p.s. ias it sits now i am getting a new truck because of this

I drive mine year round

Laroke - I wonder why!! I could drive my truck year round as this part of the country gets little if any snow. Only problem is when we do get an inch the drivers go mad, they close the schools and the police warn us not to drive unless we have to.

I drove my 52 3800 year round for several years.
And if it had axles under it now I'd still be driving it.

When I finish my 6400 the plan is to be a year round driver, but depending on how nice it is, and how much money in the paint and such, I may find it hard to drive in bad weather. I do expect I'll have to wash it regularly, assuming I can learn how to wash a vehicle...

Grigg

here we get 5 - 10cm on averrage when it decides to snow (not all winter) bad times when it snows up to 30 cm. it is the same way here to olblu. they close everything and the police do say to stay off the road unless absolutely necessary. must a canadian thing. i really do want an older truck but this has got me torn. a solution my family suggested was get a newer truck then eventually get an older truck.

jordan

Drive it. There are more out there when you rust that one out. Enjoy it now. Later is too far off.

hey Jordan, thought about cost? you can get a shiney new truck for 30,000 or you can get 3 old trucks for the same price, or get one old one that's a good driver for 10,000, then have 20,000 left to spend fixing problems caused by winter weather for the next 20 years - and meanwhile the 20 thou can earn interest

the nice thing about using them [aside from plain fun] is when it breaks or rusts or gets crunched, they're easier, and generally cheaper, to fix than a new one

I drive mine always, regardless of weather, right now the 58 is the only vehicle I have licensed, but pre-72 is all I've ever had, even when I had 3 licensed

Bill

I treat my truck, "Lucille", as though she's retired!! No more lousey weather to drive in. Only on "Clear Carolina Blue Sky Day!! At her being 62 years young, I think she's earned the honor of being the "Godess of the Garage"!!

I don't drive it in bad weather but I do drive it all year around.

Here in the Upstate NY snow belt I don't/wouldn't drive my 4t6 that I been working on forever, However I would love to buy a newer rolled S10 and toss on a bolt for year round use. Good tires,wipers and heater is the key to living here in the cold. Did I say good heater? My 91 Chevy has over 200000 and starting to get a little tired so a change maybe coming(has a great heater)
Dan

Drive my '64 K10 Suburban all year. But, I try to avoid driving it when it's sloppy (read melting snow) or generally when the roads are wet. Yesterday, I needed to drive it, as luck would have it snow was blowing onto the highway and melting. Whata ya gonna do?

It's so dry here that normally snow doesn't stay on the roads very long. I'm glad I don't live somewhere that ice/snow and the salt are a big deal. Like Michigan, for instance.

Well, I think that you should drive it when you want to, but if it were up to me, I'd drive it all year round like it was built to be. Of course, if you have a trailer queen or something close, then don't drive it in bad weather. But as I said, I think you should drive them like they were built to be, because if they survived 47 or more years, chances are they probably like to be driven rough!

Real lucky here in central Virginia, daily driver, year 'round, my only vehicle.

In New Jersey, I remember when I had some cars and trucks at the beginning of my life long hobbie, I would only drive them in the fall, spring and summer and stored them for the winter in a bag. I quickly realsied how wasteful it was not enjoying my rides. The winter is the best time to drive, there are no bugs to clean off the windshield, no overheating problems and they just belong on a nice sunny winter's day. No snow though.

Here where I live now it never rains, never gets colder then 60, no bugs to clean and the sun usually shines, however I don't think I want to drive during an earthquake...Lol.

Buy it now and satisify the urge thats eating away at you, you'll never reget it. And drive that thing like there is no tomorrow. Make evey day count!!!

Dave

well said dave, well said. of you that do drive all year round and that live where it snows. do you get your gem undercoated every winter? (i know its logical but i just thought i'd ask.)

thanks all for the great input
jordan

I have driven all of my old trucks, all 46's, year round. They work fine in the snow and ice and have since they were new. The only challenge is the windshield wiper. Leaves a little to be desired but still gets the job done. In fact these trucks were better on snow and ice than some of the later models I have had.

Mine work more in the winter than they do in the summer. One is loaded down with 6 ton of gravel and has a snowplow mounted on the front and two haul firewood that I sell, all winter long. Next year I plan to add another one with four wheel drive to the fleet,
Scott

I drive my POS F#rd F150 4wd P/U during the winter. The Chevy stays in the warm garage and gets polished with a diaper. Too much salt on the roads here in NY, and way too many dopey drivers out there to risk driving the Chevy. I have too much blood sweat and cash invested in her to risk it all. Does this make me a bad bolter?

Buy a cheap beater for winter driving.

I drive mine all year long except in the Snow..... Ifigure by the time the truck rusts away I'll be in the ground somewhere... Drive it thats what I say and then wash and wax it when you can....Peter

I'm surprised how many of you drive year round. We have salt sheds about 5 miles apart, all over the place and they spray salt brine now instead of the flake. Yesterday they sprayed on dry pavement because of the threat of a storm. I was behind the salt sprayer and needed the windshield washers going. I cannot imagine driving my pride and joy in those conditions. I never see old vehicles out and about in winter.

around here they use salt/sand mix in town, but mostly prilled calcium chloride on the highways, not as corrosive but harder to clean off - I avoid driving unless I really need to when the roads are being salted, mostly for safety, rust can be fixed

Bill

If you ain't gonna play with it, why have it? Cold enough to be miserable around here in the winter, but there's always a day comes along that you can get some soapy water on it until spring gets here to do a better job of cleaning it. Besides, it's my driver, and I like the feeling I get when I get out and about, regardless of the weather.

Whenever I finally get a title for my 67 and get it on the road, it'll be a daily driver year round. It might grow up into a 3/4 ton 4x4 though. Seems working around the farm, I really miss having a 4 wheel drive truck, sometimes the little Willys is just not enough! I learned to drive in these older trucks, and as good as they drive, well I'd as soon be in it than most of the later models I've been in.

My '59 is my working "Big Bolt". It doesn't see much drive time in the winter as it has no heat, and the vacuum wipers barely work. I bought it mostly for working around my home, and when it gets cold, I don't do much outside.
My only other operable bolt, is the '42 that I bought from fellow Bolter "Racecarl". I really haven't had enough free time to drive it much. In my situation, neither truck is practical to use for daily commuting in Omaha.

Needless to say, my Silverado is the most logical choice for everyday use, especially when it snows. In my neighborhood, having a front wheel drive is almost a necessity, and a four wheel drive is even better.

When I get my '41 half ton on the road, I plan to drive it a lot. But that probably won't be for quite a while, and even then, it most likely will not be driven much in the winter.

John

I have to preface my answer by starting with the fact that my wife and I have 6 vehicles for 2 drivers. We also only have a 2 car garage. 4 vehicles live outside. My truck is one of them. It gets driven mostly on weekends for hauling chores. My dily driver for my 40 mile commute is a 63 Corvair. It gets better mileage than the truck. It rarely snows here, but 100 inches of rain is normal.

Devin

Five years, year round daily driver, 45000 miles since I put it on the road. Check the pics - that's gen-yoo-wine Illinois road salt, not the cheap imitation stuff. 9 inches of snow yesterday, and we made it, slowly, but no problem. The fun of driving it outweighs all else.
http://www.chuckthetruck.com/page18.html

Both of my old trucks are registered as historical vehicles. I only drive them in the summer to cruisins,and shows.My trusty little Ford Ranger is my regular driver.During the winter the two old Chevies sit in a nice dry shop,and usually get a few upgrades for the next cruisin season.

your truck looks awesome chuck.

Petmil....I don't care what anyone says, but thats a pretty truck right there!

I used to drive mine year around, now I don't like to drive mine when the weather makes it more likely someone will kill my truck.

In fact I lost a truck just a couple months ago because someone else did something stupid while driving. Since then I've tried to drive something easy to fix or easy to replace when the weather is questionable. Fortunately that day I was driving a modern truck.

My Stovebolts have been staying home when the weather isn't nice since.

My 54 1/2 ton is sitting in a friend's garage, with fragrant dryer sheets and Irish Spring soap inside the cab and (sitting on top of the motor) to keep mice from nesting in it over winter...I live in the mountains of Washington state and my Subaru Forester is the only way to get around, especially this year as we have had near record amounts of snow....

winter is one of the reasones to have these trucks they run so smooth you cant here them the heat cranks out so good you stay toasty if i had mine going id be driving it every day when its raining theres nothing like the sound of those wipers going back and forth i could go on and on and when its moveing it dosent have time to rust its when there parked that they get rusty

here in PA i wont run mine , it is bad enough havin the family car creamed with anti skid and salt ...that i couldnt do that to my truck ..the 06 daily driver i will trade in a few yrs ...i really dont care to much .
Just part of livin in this part of the Continent ,but here the anti skid & salt would kill my efforts real quick ..
take 5 or 6 months of PA winter drivin would be like you taking a sanblaster down the lower half of your truck ...just to watch it rust for giggles !
It is that bad here .

Jordon F,

I have never undercoated my pleasure rides but I do clean the frames with a pressure washer. If the car or truck is a driver and the frame is painted like from the factory and not like the outside of the vehicle, I usually do a brush job on the frame with a rust deterent such as POR-15. This stuff is better then undercoating. Some rodders use a bed liner coating such as RHINO for protection of the inner fenders from stones that will starr the outside painted surface. I've seen this used as a sound deadener inside the cab as well.

In conclusion I look at it this way,why have something that gives you the most pleasure sitting in a bag, like you are saving it for someone else. Don't get me wrong here I don't destroy the vehicles. I just maintain them top to bottom, bumper to bumper to last my lifetime but mainly to enjoy. Nothing beats the look or the feeling of looking down the hood of a vintage car or truck as you drive...I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!!

So what are you waiting for Jordon, when are you going to buy that truck you have been dreaming about driving and possibly restoring? We are all waiting for you to join the ranks of this hobbie...and please DON'T FORGET THE PIX...LOL.

Dave

The main thing is salt. Even though these old trucks are built with a thicker steel than new vehicles, salt does a lot of damage. I believe New Mexico is outside of the "salt belt", so yes, I drive it year round. Even with 1-wheel drive, I love blasting through snow drifts.

Depends on what the weather is like. If I know that a bad storm (snow or otherwise) is on the way, then the '55 stays home. But if the wather isn't too bad, I'll take it out in the winter. In fact, had it out today, taking some insulation that I didn't use back to Menard's.

[IMG]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/58/558/3/99/14/2930399140096215731ubfuxl_th.jpg[/IMG] Snow makes for good traction if you put it in the right place.

Heck Hotshoe ..ya werent visitin PA were ya ???.. you & your truck would fit right in !..lol

when i get mine back after a 2 year restoration i will drive it year round. it was better in snow than my PT cruiser. ron