Getting locked out of my truck in -30 felt like the end of the world

Two winters ago I stepped out of my F-150 in Edmonton to grab a coffee and the door latch froze solid. I stood there for 20 minutes in a gas station parking lot with no gloves, watching my breath fog up. Some guy in a company van pulled over, handed me a can of de-icer he had in his box, and waited until my door popped open. Now I keep a spare key in my boot and a thermal blanket under the seat. Anyone else got a winter survival tip that saved them on a brutal day?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles7984d agoTop Commenter

Man, that Edmonton cold is no joke. I had a similar thing happen outside of Fort McMurray a few years back. My battery died in -40 and I was stuck for almost an hour before a guy in a tow truck stopped. He showed me how to keep a set of jumper cables in the cab instead of the trunk so the terminals don't freeze together. Now I also keep a pair of those cheap insulated mitts under my seat and a little bag of road salt for the door seals. Another thing that saved me once was a small propane torch I got from Canadian Tire. Just hit the frozen latch for a few seconds and it pops open no problem.

williamt444d ago

Funny you mention the propane torch, I've seen guys melt their weatherstripping doing that if they aren't careful. The real trick nobody talks about is the door handle itself - if you spray a bit of WD-40 into the keyhole and around the latch mechanism BEFORE it gets cold, it pushes the moisture out and keeps it from freezing in the first place. A little prevention goes a LONG way compared to fighting it after the fact.