And help is an unknown time/distance away. Conditions are such that leaving the car is NOT a good idea. Sure, you've got your BOB, or car kit, but you think some hot liquids/food might be a REALLY good idea at some point.

You have a couple of choices: (1) Use the Cig lighter to power a liquid-heater of some sort, but that runs the risk of draining the vehicle's batt down to a potentially dangerous point. You might need some of that car-batt juice to power your cell phone/call for help, or start the car once conditions permit. Starting the car every now and then, to run the heater/cig lighter is not a viable option, since you don't have an inexhaustable fuel supply, and you don't know how long you will be stranded. Sure, you'll do it, but you'll also have to run the alternator/engine a fair amount of time to recharge what you extract from the batt to start-up the engine AND run the power-hungry electrical liquid heater. Unless you have a volt meter that monitors your batt's charge level, you will be guessing about the batt's ability to re-start your vehicle. And most modern cars do not have such.

(2) Use some sort of heat source that does not drain the batt, provides useful amount of heat, and which you can use INSIDE the car with windows(s) closed. Hey, it's cold, windy, and snowy out there! Who wants to open windows and let the meager heat inside the car blow out instantly? Oh, BTW, it would help if the heat source did not emit toxic fumes OR suck up a lot of oxygen within the closed car, and also be long-term storage stable.


I am thinking an alcohol stove, although it consumes oxygen, so windows would have to be opened a crack, and in this scenario, that is undesirable. Maybe some MRE heaters, although I believe they emit noxious fumes.

Anybody got some ideas?

Candles work really well!

blankets, lots of them. use them to cover the windows and doors to help keep the heat in. wrap them around you to keep you warm. there are automotive electric blankets but battery drain becomes an issue. once you have the blankets around the windows, just start the car up every once and a while to pump the cabin full of hot air.

I undeerstand that the roof and floor of most cars are sound-insulated, and thus more-or-less heat insulated. I also understand that the glass is where almost all heat-loss occurs. How does one secure insulating material, in an effective manner, over the windows of a vehicle?

i would use something to hold it in place like a wooden dowel or make something out of Al. tape wont cut it. sticky backed velcro might do it as long as you prep the mounting surface well. also, the roof isnt insulated in most cars. the only thing up there is the headliner. best thing to do is get in your car/truck and see what, if anything, you already have in there that you can hang the blankets. for that duty i would say find some of the thick wool moving blankets. i know u-haul use to have nice ones not sure if you can find them. all else fails, some of the surplus wool blankets from CTD/SG would do just fine.

Take your blankets/towels you're going to use to insulate the windows and just drape them over the door (leaving a little bit on the outside) and shut the door on them.

Front/rear, no idea.

Everything that I can think is GOING to kill you by either stealing oxygen or by producing toxins or both.

Blankets, running the car at night, find other shelter where a fire can be built. Thats all I got.

As it stands right now your car is your coffin. Use it at night while you have gas, get out of it in the daytime.

make igloo. use engine oil, gas, and spare tire for smoke signal

tagged for more info...

Happens from time to time around here in the high country. This winter we had an elderly couple stranded in a disabled vehicle. The woman died after only 3-4 days. Another woman was stranded for about 10 days with only two bottles of water and a couple of candy bars.

I have several chemical warmers in the GHBs and car kit along extra food / water with an emergency folding stove for hot food and drink outside the car.

But stranded in the car.....

Too bad about the elderly woman, but what about her presumably elderly husband? What made the difference in one surviving, and the other dieing?

In any event, the scenaro posed is a tough one, I grant you. Most of us have fuel/stoves to generate heat OUTSIDE the car, but in blizzard/super cold/super cold and windy conditions, getting out of the car might be the wrong move.
Imagine getting out of a the car, and finding that the fuel in your stove will not ignite. Just trying to generate some thoughts/discussion of question to which I don't have an answer...

BTW, the stranded inside the car scenario is not much different than a stranded inside the tent scenario, come to think on it, although folks stranded in a tent probably have MUCH better sleeping bags/gear than the usual car driver.

Don't know for sure how much of this is " Fact "... ?

Swedish man trapped in car for two months
Updated: 12:04, Monday, 20 February 2012
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0219/sweden.html

PAPI

Nothing is going to be great, no matter how you plan it still could end in death, and even if you don't die it's not going to be fun. I try not to get into this in the first place, watch the weather reports, most cell phone have an app for the weather, use it, I think we are talking about a major storm, lots of advance notice, either don't go or if on the way home stop before you get stuck somewhere better then along the roadway. I have 4x4 truck and still try not go out in major storm. However I have blankets and rations in truck and a full tank of gas. Most of the ones caught like this did not watch storm coming, made no plans and are driving small car with poor tires for snow, but hey it get good mileage and the government should have the roads open. Respect the power of nature.

Maybe I'm over thinking this but if u had some sort of rig with ss tubing inside on the radiator and ran two hoses inside of the car you could have like a medical heat pad and pump the antifreeze in that separate circuit with a hand crank pump.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Snow will insulate the exterior glass quite well but it will also hide you from the help you need.

Blankets, poptarts, a crossword and and a bicycle flag for visibility.