Thread: Snow parking - EPB and wipers

Just back from the big dump at Falls. Many in the over night car parks were unprepared for what they found on departure. At least one with handbrake issues. The gap between vehicles full of snow up to the bottom of the windows and 1/2 metre on the roof! Where were their shovels? In the car of course! We always take our shovel with us to the accomodation.
The handbrake. We have always left the auto trans in park with handbrake off as a precaution. Wet roads causes moisture to be present between the shoes and drum/disc surface at the time of application which can then freeze depending on length of stay and conditions. The treatment of wipers seems to vary from doing nothing, to removing the blade from the arm, to tilting the blade at right angles to the windscreen. Modern vehicles make some options impractical. Starting the engine and turning on windscreen defrost as soon as possible works wonders. An ice scraper for glass surfaces can be handy. ( a credit card works well! ) Ensure the coolant's anti freeze properties are ok by test and fill the fuel tank with alpine diesel before heading up the mountain to prevent wax and condensation forming. Try arriving with less than 1/4 tank to get as much alpine diesel in the system as possible. If you are up for an early departure, don't rush, take your time to get the vehicle up and running and comfortable. Often conditions are icy which can lead to slips, falls and injury.
Enjoy the snow!
Trevor.

Do L319 and L320 have the same freezing park brake issues, given it's an internal brake?

Originally Posted by Trevor Cock

Just back from the big dump at Falls. Many in the over night car parks were unprepared for what they found on departure. At least one with handbrake issues. The gap between vehicles full of snow up to the bottom of the windows and 1/2 metre on the roof! Where were their shovels? In the car of course! We always take our shovel with us to the accomodation.
The handbrake. We have always left the auto trans in park with handbrake off as a precaution. Wet roads causes moisture to be present between the shoes and drum/disc surface at the time of application which can then freeze depending on length of stay and conditions. The treatment of wipers seems to vary from doing nothing, to removing the blade from the arm, to tilting the blade at right angles to the windscreen. Modern vehicles make some options impractical. Starting the engine and turning on windscreen defrost as soon as possible works wonders. An ice scraper for glass surfaces can be handy. ( a credit card works well! ) Ensure the coolant's anti freeze properties are ok by test and fill the fuel tank with alpine diesel before heading up the mountain to prevent wax and condensation forming. Try arriving with less than 1/4 tank to get as much alpine diesel in the system as possible. If you are up for an early departure, don't rush, take your time to get the vehicle up and running and comfortable. Often conditions are icy which can lead to slips, falls and injury.
Enjoy the snow!
Trevor.

I have saved and stored some plastic wiper sleeves from the car wash for use on my Disco when parked in the snow. This covers if I forget to turn the auto wiper function off as well.

If the roads are dry and the brakes are warm, I suspect there would not be a problem. Any distance over wet approach roads (rain, slush, or melt run off) allows cold water to splash over most parts of the wheel arch area. The situation I described at falls meant that the rear wheels were totally buried for days at very low temperatures with snow even making its way through the spokes in the rims. In one case, I have seen wind blown snow accumulate all around the wheel/brake assembly ,followed by a couple of sunny days letting water get between a disc pad and disc, then a snap freeze stopping the wheels rotating. 50+ years of skiing means you see lots of unusual situations. Most amusing was the bloke at Hotham who had applied the hand brake and had it freeze solid. Rear jacked up, wheel off, and at least a 100 metres of extension cables from the nearest lodge connected to a whistling kettle trying to thaw the drum in very strong wind! A little story to finish that shows sometimes the best prepared plans come unstuck. One trip we came down to breakfast in the lodge and chatted to a guest who was heading out with his son and two of the lodge shovels to dig their car out. Wife and other kids sat down to eat. 1/2 hour later, the shovelers returned and were convinced by SWMBO to sit down ,relax, and fill up on hot breakfast. That done, the entourage grabbed their bags and headed off. 15 mins later they all returned, husband fuming. Whilst the shovelers were relaxing and eating, the blokes from the cars either side of theirs, dug theirs out, chucking all the snow in front and around and on top of the previously excavated vehicle. Now there was twice as much snow for the family to shift! So much for their planned early departure.
Trevor.

Love the car wash protection sleeve idea! Haven't had the luxury of a car wash so didn't know about them. Just goes to show there is always something to learn from this forum. Brilliant !!
Trevor.