Just getting your car ready for winter isn’t enough, you still need a winter car essentials kit. A winter car essentials kit along with your standard car kit will keep you safe during the winter months. Items like an ice scraper, gloves, and blankets will help you in the winter but aren’t needed in the summer. Which is why they are in your winter car essentials kit that you add the kit to your car in the winter.
Ice Scraper
A good ice scraper is a must if you live anywhere that gets cold enough to freeze. Using your credit card to clear frost or ice takes forever. Not to mention it’s not good on your credit card. The idea of waiting for your car to warm up and defrost itself isn’t always an option. Which is why you’ll need a good ice scraper.
When looking for an ice scraper make sure you have one that fits the kind of vehicle you have. If you drive a big truck having a little scraper isn’t going to do much good if you can’t reach the center of the windshield. This means you’ll want an extendable ice scraper if you have a larger vehicle.
Another thing to look for is an ice scraper with a brush. The brush lets you clear snow off your car so it doesn’t fly off and cause problems when you drive. It’s also helpful for clearing the ice that you’ve loosened up off.
Extra Gloves
It never fails it’s snowing out, you just got off work, and you left your gloves somewhere else. Now, you are scraping your windshield with bare hands. This is not fun. Always keep an extra pair of gloves in your car.
You want a pair of gloves that are easy to move in and keep your hands dry. Wet hands are the fastest way to get frostbite.
You don’t want huge thick mittens or fleece gloves that absorb water and get cold. Look for a pair that’s made of synthetic materials, with some insulation, yet light and easy to move in. Bulky gloves will just get in the way and you’ll end up taking them off.
Warm Hat
Having a stocking hat in your car is another good thing to have. When you get cold your body starts keeping heat towards your core and letting your extremities get colder. Thus, if your head isn’t covered it’s going to get cold fast. Having a hat you can throw on while cleaning off your car, is a must. Make sure it will cover your ears also, as they get frostbite fairly easy.
Hand Warmers
Keep some hand warmers in your car. You never know when you’ll get stuck in the snow, your heater will stop working, or you have a flat tire that you have to change. Since we are all guilty at some point of not dressing warm enough to be outside for long periods of time. Having hand warmers is cheap insurance you won’t get frostbite on your hands if you can’t use your car’s heater.
The easiest hand warmers to keep in your car are the disposable kind. They are small enough, you can put them inside your gloves and keep your hands warm. If you look they can be less than $1 a pair and they last anywhere from 4-10 hours. More than enough time to get somewhere warmer.
If you think ahead, you can usually buy them in early spring or late fall, after hunting season, on sale for around $.50-.75 or around $10 for a box. The only drawback to these hand warmers is they don’t heat up right away, taking 10 minutes or so to get warm.
Of course, if you think you’ll need instant heat, they do make electric hand warmers. Which also acts as a battery pack to charge your phone. If you are in the belief that two is one and one is none, having disposable hand warmers and an electric hand warmer is the way to go. Making sure no matter what you can keep your hands warm in cold weather. Having another way to charge your phone is
Blanket/ Sleeping Bag
Most people figure if they dress warm enough for winter they won’t need a blanket. This is far from the truth. Have a blanket or sleeping in case you get stranded. Having a blanket is for more than just wrapping yourself up to keep warm.
You can put it down on the ground to keep yourself warmer and dry if you need to change your tire or fix your car. It can also be used to protect your car if you have to put something dirty inside your car.
Any old blanket or sleeping bag will do on most occasions. However, a wool blanket is one of the few materials that will still keep you warm even if it gets wet. So in a snow or ice storm, it will do a better job of helping you stay warm. Thus keeping a wool blanket in your car is a great idea.
A Folding Shovel
Most people don’t think to carry a shovel in their car. Many people just don’t carry a shovel because they take up a lot of space. A folding shovel takes care of that problem. These shovels come in handy to move snow if you get high centered.
They can also help with digging dirt to put under your tires for more traction. Or just, for breaking up ice under your tires. If you’ve ever had to dig your car out of a snow pile you understand how great having even a small shovel is. So keep one in your car for those few times you need it.
Kitty Litter, or Sand
Depending on your vehicle having a little extra weight in the back-end isn’t a bad idea. Pretty much any rear-wheel drive should have a few sandbags for extra weight to give traction. Small pickups can normally stand to have at least 2 70 LBS sandbags whereas full-size trucks do better with 4-6 70 LBS bags to gain traction. While remembering that even if you have 4 WD in your pickup, it’s not going to give you extra traction over the back end of your vehicle for stopping or turning.
However, for your front-wheel-drive people, having some sand or kitty litter can be useful. Put it under your tires can give some extra traction to get moving on an icy roads.
Tow Strap
Most people hope to never need a tow strap, and honestly, if you don’t keep a tow strap in your car it’s not the end of the world. However, just like with jumper cables, when you need a tow strap no one seems to have one.
If you decide to keep a tow strap in your winter car kit, make sure it’s rated high enough for your vehicle. You want a tow strap that is rated at least double what your car weights. When you’re stuck it’s going to take a lot of force to pull it out.
When buying a tow strap, avoid those with the metal hooks sewn in. These hooks are dangerous if the strap breaks they can go flying and do severe damage. You want to have a tow strap without hooks on each end and if you need a good way to attach it to your vehicle buy a clevis or shackle. Those are not likely to break and go fly like the hooks on some tow ropes will.
Snow Chains?
Snow chains aren’t a necessity for your winter car essentials kit unless you live where they can be required by law or used pretty regularly in the winter. If you do live where snow chains are the normal thing to have. Make sure you get them in your car. They don’t do you any good at home when you are at work and the snow starts flying.
If you plan on traveling places you that may need chains, consider getting some simple to install snow chains. You won’t need the best chains if you are just traveling through, but you will want them just in case.
Standard Year-Round Things
I’ve already covered what you need to keep in your car year-round. However, a few of these things should be checked before winter to make sure they are still good. The first aid kit is the major one to check and restock if need be. Some medications expire, creams get hard, you use up bandaids. Checking your first aid kit and make sure it’s still good.
Your car’s jack is another thing to check. With the jack being stored in the trunk next to the spare tire on many cars. Water can get in and rust up the jack without you knowing. While you’re at it check your spare, air it up, make sure it’s still good.
While you’re at it double-check the air compressor you keep in your vehicle still works. You can do this while checking the air pressure in your car’s tires. Nothing like taking care of two birds with one stone.
Conclusion
A winter car essentials kit will save you a lot of trouble over the winter. Having a good ice scraper, extra gloves and a hat, along with hand warmers and a blanket will make those little breakdowns more manageable in the winter. Add in a shovel, some sand or kitty litter, and a tow strap and you’ll be set for most things that could become big problems. It’s always good to be prepared for those common problems, so they don’t seem like the end of the world when they happen.