Posting Travel

[klacquement]

Hi all,

At the end of January, I'm posted from CFNES St. John's Newfoundland to CFNES Esquimalt BC.  I'll be driving across and want to know if anyone has suggestions for stuff I should bring with me.  I've already been told (by my parents, who've done this before) blankets, food, water, jumper cables, candles, matches, and lights.  Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[baudspeed]

Flares. If you get stuck in a white out in sask, and you are in the ditch, and your cars brake lights or hazards are on, the odds increase that someone will drive off the road, following your lights. At least they can see the flares and avoid you. I've driven across a number of times. Just make sure your ride is in good working order. Sask tends to not be kind to vehicles affected by the cold. Oh and if you have kids, a portable DVD player or laptop with an AC converter that plugs into the light socket, will help to no end.

Good luck

 

[Shamrock]

I've got an inverter in my truck for the long road moves.

Canadian Tire has some.

Also, kitty litter and an e-tool. 

 

[navymich]

On one hand it is nice to drive across the country, see the sites, visit friends and family.  But on the other hand, are you nuts?!?!  If you are posted, they will ship your vehicle for you and fly you across!  Less wear and tear on your car AND on you.  Take advantage of it! 

 

[PMedMoe]

Definitely a first aid kit and road safety kit.  Other good things would be as mentioned before, DVD player and other diversions for the kids and a cooler with snacks, juice water, etc.  Are you going in the summer?

 

[rmacqueen]

Membership with CAA and cell phone.  Very handy in case you breakdown and need to be towed or just have a dead battery.  Also, ensure you give yourself extra time in case something happens along the way.  And, of course, full winter gear

 

[klacquement]

Are you going in the summer?

That would be nice, wouldn't it?  No, I'm going in 2 weeks, snow and ice time.

No kids though.  Make that part a bit easier.

 

[PMedMoe]

I don't think I'd do it in the winter......too nerve-wracking!!  :-\

 

[JesseWZ]

Well, if you were driving my car, a spare alternator, spare iginition switch, spare battery, spare tire x2, extra oil, extra coolant, extra windshield wiper fluid, gas can...
But in all seriousness bring some kind of toolkit that is prepared for minor road repairs. I have found that if I am super prepared, nothing goes wrong, and when I am not, everything goes wrong (there is a reason why 90% of the stuff I listed is there)

 

[niner domestic]

Couple of things to add to the list; Keep your jacket, gloves and safety kit close at hand.  In the instance that you slide off the road and ditch, you may not be able to pop the trunk to access your safety kit. Same goes for the coat, you could flip the vehicle and not be able to access the back seat where you threw your coat.  At minus 40, you won't last long if you are sitting with just a sweater on so you want the stuff within arms reach. 

Keep an extra pair of dry socks with you as well as a spare set of boots.  In the severe winter conditions that tend to hit the west, it's not unusual to see temps reaching minus 45-50 at night.  Car heating systems (especially Toyota) just can't handle those extreme temps and if you have been out clearing snow from around your vehicle or tramping through it at the last gas stop, your feet/socks/boots might be damp from the snow. Sitting in a driving position for many hours with a heater that barely works in the extreme cold will have a tendency to give you frosty toes from the moisture in the socks freezing.  So, after being out of the vehicle in snow, change your socks and boots to dry ones.   

If you have a fairly new model that is made off shore (read foreign manufacturer), you might want to look into getting some headlight assembly covers to protect the headlights. Many of the jurisdictions use 1/4 inch aggregate stone on the highways and if one those flips up and smashes your headlight cover, you might be looking at a 3-350.00 buck replacement part. 

Make sure you have a cell phone but be aware that going over the top of Lake Superior and other areas across the country still do not have coverage so buy yourself a portable CB radio (Circuit City has them for about 50 bucks), as a range of about 4 km but that might be enough to save your sorry butt from a ditch and a cold night.  (I personally have a Logger's radio in my car but I drive a lot on cut roads and bush roads when I'm home)

For winter driving, I always pack a winch and I learned how to make a deadman's hitch (just for those prairies where there are no trees to hitch it).  Where I come from in the Yukon, it could be literally days before another car passed to help out, so you do what you can to get yourself out - and the best way is to slow down on the ice and snow and not hit the ditch in the first place. 

There's an unwritten rule up north and out west, if you see a car pulled over on the side of the road, you don't pass it, pull over see if you can help out. You may be the last person they see for days/hours. The favour will be returned to you if you need it. 

Watch for the bison herds that are on the highways, the boogers don't have reflective retinas and you can't see them at all at night.  It's like hitting a big black 2000 pound wall. The Elk will also be down at the highway this time of the year as they love the salt, so be careful.  Several avian species also love the highway salt and one species, the finch, actually gets a tad intoxicated from the salt and has a habit of flying into car windshields, so watch for that.   

Have a safe trip and say hi to Mr Happy Rock in Gladstone Manitoba...

 

[TN2IC]

Well, if you were driving my car, a spare alternator, spare iginition switch, spare battery, spare tire x2, extra oil, extra coolant, extra windshield wiper fluid, gas can...
But in all seriousness bring some kind of toolkit that is prepared for minor road repairs. I have found that if I am super prepared, nothing goes wrong, and when I am not, everything goes wrong (there is a reason why 90% of the stuff I listed is there)

You sound like a MRT...


:rofl:

 

[baudspeed]

MRT ?

 

[Nfld Sapper]

IIRC MRT = Mobile Repair Team.

Basically a truck with a couple of V-Techs in it with most of the spare parts to get you back on the road.

 

[baudspeed]

Ahhh... Oh there are times i could have used that.

 

[JesseWZ]

Yeah.... me too.