[row684]

I drive semi truck from Utah up into Idaho and back every day, with winter coming I need to get prepared for breakdowns or blizzards that might strand me on the highway. For about 100 miles it is very sparsly populated and hilly.
I have a sleeper on the truck with a small storage compartment under the bunk to utilize. I'm planning on 3-4 days of being stranded.
Several heavy blankets to keep warm in a breakdown.
Non perishable or long shelf life foods like honey, peanut butter and tuna. I usually have a loaf of bread in here to. Some sort of Trail mix?
Extra winter outer wear.
What else?

How do I carry water in such a way that the container won't burst when frozen?
I have space for about 3 small cardboard boxes and maybe room to stuff some things around that but not much. Blankets 1, winter clothes 2, food water 3...

 

[Justme11]

A lot of people carry a little buddy propane catalytic heater that has a Low O2 shutoff feature. for an easy stove, any chinese grocery will sell those little butane stoves that are awesome. Having hot coffee and soup to drink with a little heater going would sure be nice if you were stuck in a blizzard.

Just a case of water will freeze, but I don't remember ever breaking on me.

I might get a couple grabber aluminized tarps to include as well. You can hang them over the windows for added insulation or whatever. If you have a diesel, don't they usually keep those running overnight anyway in severe cold weather, to avoid starting difficulty in the morning?

I would carry an extra set of wool socks and long johns as well.
If you get your clothes sweaty from trying to dig out or something, they will lose insulating quality.
A dry set will also just be more confortable. Bring a good book and a long run LED headlamp. You can get cheap ones now that will run for days on 1 set of batteries.

Stove
https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000...79_lp_t_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=3DH9DX25RR9BN9T41WM4

stove fuel
https://www.amazon.com/Butane-GasOn...t_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3DH9DX25RR9BN9T41WM4

Heater (keep the windows open a little.
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F2...472345872&sr=8-2&keywords=little+buddy+heater

 

[wilsdude]

Some way to melt the ice/water such as a metal water bottle/container. Heat of some sort even if it's a "buddy heater". Obviously,ventilation required.
A flare pistol might be a worthwhile consideration.
Most water containers are somewhat "expandable"such as plastic. Heating/thawing is minimally problematic. Cut the plastic bottle off and thaw. Soup/instant coffee might be nice if you're stranded in the cold:

 

[row684]

A lot of people carry a little buddy propane catalytic heater that has a Low O2 shutoff feature. for an easy stove, any chinese grocery will sell those little butane stoves that are awesome. Having hot coffee and soup to drink with a little heater going would sure be nice if you were stuck in a blizzard.

Just a case of water will freeze, but I don't remember ever breaking on me.

I might get a couple grabber aluminized tarps to include as well. You can hang them over the windows for added insulation or whatever. If you have a diesel, don't they usually keep those running overnight anyway in severe cold weather, to avoid starting difficulty in the morning?

I would carry an extra set of wool socks and long johns as well.
If you get your clothes sweaty from trying to dig out or something, they will lose insulating quality.
A dry set will also just be more confortable. Bring a good book and a long run LED headlamp. You can get cheap ones now that will run for days on 1 set of batteries.

Thanks for the heater suggestion. Yes most do run overnight if occupied, I'm also thinking for a breakdown or large pileup type accident where the truck may no longer run.

 

[row684]

Some way to melt the ice/water such as a metal water bottle/container. Heat of some sort even if it's a "buddy heater". Obviously,ventilation required.
A flare pistol might be a worthwhile consideration.
Most water containers are somewhat "expandable"such as plastic. Heating/thawing is minimally problematic. Cut the plastic bottle off and thaw. Soup/instant coffee might be nice if you're stranded in the cold:

Good suggestion on the small pot to go with the heater, unfortunately ventilation is not so obvious to some.
The DOT cops might throw a fit about the flare gun, will have to check into that. A small heater would deffinitly expand the possibilities will have to check into the regulations on the fuel sources to see what types are legal in commercial vehicles.

 

[willthrill81]

Besides the excellent suggestions of extra warm clothing, a Little Buddy heater (very good, though a portable carbon monoxide detector would be a good accessory), water (plastic containers don't burst when the water freezes), and food (fatty foods are a must for cold weather), I would add the following:

-AM/FM radio with extra batteries, preferably Energizer lithium as they work the best in cold temperatures and have the greatest capacity (possibly combo with shortwave, depending on your budget)

-hand and foot warmers (the kind that heat up themselves)

-bright colored fabric (orange is best IMHO) to hang in the window/on the antenna

 

[Justme11]

Grabber aluminized tarp.

You can get orange color to double as a signal.

Good point on the Lithium batteries. They are good for many years, lighter, and work well in cold conditions.

If you want to go an extra step, an ACR PLB emergency satellite beacon will signal for rescue from anywhere on earth, and transmits your GPS location name and contact info. No annual fee, but you must register it with NOAA.

https://www.amazon.com/ACR-PLB-375-...e=UTF8&qid=1472347916&sr=8-1&keywords=acr+plb

 

[Shooter762]

I travel through the Rocky Mountians quite often during the fall and winter for hunting season. I always keep tools and parts specific to my truck, a shovel for snow, chains, tow strap, and tow chain in the bed. In a tub in the back, I keep a couple wool blankets and a tarp in case I need to get on the ground but also to bundle up in the cab if need be. For food, keep easy to eat things such as tuna, jerky, trail mix, etc. things that do not require cooking would be the easiest.
A small heater/stove would be awesome I'd just be concerned about its fumes in a truck. I usually have assorted magazines or books in the truck as well. Be great to kill time if you need to wait for a pass to open.

 

[bkwudzhom]

I have a friend that drives cross country. He actually built a mini wood stove with a exhaust that went out the top sleeper vent with flexible pipe and made an intake that came in through the shifter boot. Heat shielding was some small 1 inch foam reflector board. He said that he most always had pallets or some other crating that he could use for fuel. He tested it in one of the many no idle zones when he was snowed in last year and said he had to open the windows. He said it worked well though and just plans to build a much smaller fire next time!!

 

[ScottPreps]

Not sure about why you'd need a flare gun unless you're likely to get really far off a road. There's plenty of high powered signal lights you could get instead. You likely already have flashlights, but perhaps that should be three lights: LED headlamp for typical doing of stuff or working on things outside in dark, LED flashlight for general use, and then a high intensity light, (probably using CR123A cells), as your emergency signal light. If this is a serious concern, there's also various rescue / emergency strobe lights.

* As to the rest, most seems to have been covered. MREs are gross to some people. But they work and they're really compact. Tuna has fairly long shelf life and there's obviously tons of freeze dried options; though these of course often required water / heating / boiling.

* Glass breaker tool?

 

[johnmcd]

I also carry a flexible 5' long 2" exhaust tube in the back of my truck. If I get stranded in a blizzard I attached it my exhaust and wire it up to the roof rack (with a downward hook in the top end). That way I can run my engine occasionally to warm up and not have to worry about my exhaust getting backed up or having to get out to dig out my exhaust pipe. I'd also recommend an air horn or really loud whistle and a pair of snow shoes/poles and some gaiters in case you're forced to abandon your vehicle.

 

[charliemeyer007]

When its cold butane sucks. A single burner propane stove will work a -25 just fine.

Hot water in a good thermos will last a day. Have at least half gallon stainless steel sauce pan w/lid to melt snow/ice. Canned food you like to eat, stores well.

Get your Ham radio tech license and a radio. Learn/program the repeaters on your route. A few hours and $50 will do both.

LED strobe beacons. Good sleeping bag, long johns to wear in bad with beanie and booties. Gloves/mittens can be nice too.

Amazon.com : Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove : Camping Stoves : Sports & Outdoors

 

[Justme11]

When its cold butane sucks. A single burner propane stove will work a -25 just fine.

Hot water in a good thermos will last a day. Have at least half gallon stainless steel sauce pan w/lid to melt snow/ice. Canned food you like to eat, stores well.

Get your Ham radio tech license and a radio. Learn/program the repeaters on your route. A few hours and $50 will do both.

LED strobe beacons. Good sleeping bag, long johns to wear in bad with beanie and booties. Gloves/mittens can be nice too.

Amazon.com : Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove : Camping Stoves : Sports & Outdoors

I figured the stove would be used inm the cab, in a warm environment, either by the truck's heater or the propane catalytic.

The butane stove I showed is far more stable than the tall one that sits on the top of a propane bottle. Plus it is as easy to use as a gas stove at home. Just twist the knob and it lights.

 

[Dessa]

How about something to "wash up" with. When I visited someone in the hospital, I saw they had waterless towelettes for patients. Actually, they weren't towelettes size, they were larger. There, they kept them in warmers which made for patient comfort. If I were heading out with the possibility of a couple of nights without a shower, I'd surely want to find a way to freshen up.

 

[greenlightjay]

My kids have used these on maneuvers . Hydroheat Flameless Tumbler (12 Oz)

 

[mutant1]

Espar or Webasto plus solar panel

There are already approved truck cabin heaters made by Espar and Webasto that run on diesel lor gasoline, and use 12V or 24V DC power.
They come with themostats and they are awesome!!!
The combustion air loop is completely external to the cab, so no CO/CO2 issue.
Add a solar panel to your truck cab to keep the baterries charged and your truck is apocalypse-ready!
There are models that can preheat engine blocks on timer control to save fuel instead of running the motor all night. They are increasinly used in the trucking industry to save fuel and maintenance costs associated with overnight idling.

 

[cwjones]

Water bricks

For your water storage you might want to get some of these water bricks

https://www.amazon.com/WaterBrick-W...8&qid=1472388221&sr=8-11&keywords=water+brick

They come in various sizes so you should be able to store them somewhere and the risk of them freezing would be minimal.

 

[cook]

TP and a bucket or plastic bags to poop in,empty water bottle.

 

[FoxtrotVictor1]

RE: Water. What we always did is to use plastic jugs for water, and before sealing apply a negative pressure. This can be done by evacuating air, or just squeezing the jug slightly before capping. This way where expansion occurs it's less likely to stress/flex the container to failure. I've always kept 2 gallons in my truck in the winter, and it will freeze and thaw and I'm still using the same container I purchase in 1996 from U.S. Plastics.

FWIW, make sure threaded areas, and pumping hardware is void of water. That's where real damage can occur.

 

[Potawami II]

On the hand and foot warmers. I would recomend that kind that are liquid in a plastic bag and you snap the metal disk inside them. These are reusable you just boil them so if you have the heat source like the buddy heater and a pot they would work great.
The regular cheap handwarmers need oxygen to work so when you stick them in the toes of your boots they quit working fairly quickly and then start heating up again when you take them back out.
I believe my reusable ones are made by EZ-Heat