Rinning a DD two stroke in the winter?

[bevans6]

I am considering, under wifely influence, a run from Nova Scotia to Daytona beach in late January for the 24 hour race.  That is when it's cold up here, figure 0 degrees F at night at least.  It will take me at least two nights stopping to get anywhere above freezing at night.  Night stops will have to be at truck stops, there are no camp grounds open up here at all.  My 8V-71T is a hard starter when cold, but I've started it at freezing temps with a sniff of starting spray and no pre-heat, and I do have a generator and a block heater.  Am I stupid to even think about this?  I have all-position tires (Firestone FS-560 Plus) which are tending towards more of a steer tire than a traction tire.  Would I need to change the drives to traction tires?  It's been over 35 years since I drove a bus in snow, it was a front engine school bus and I was invincible and all-powerful being 20 years old, so that experience probably doesn't count.

Thanks for your thoughts,  Brian

[luvrbus]

Good batteries and a block heater or pan heater for a couple of hrs she will fire,fwiw all A timed 8v71's are hard to start in the cold the low compression pistons used in the turbo engines only makes it a little more hard starting go for enjoy the weather 

[Jon]

We owned a 2 stroke in western NY for 10 years. We did most of our travel in the winter. A few hours with the block heater and the coach started right up. I let it run on high idle until the temp gauge came off the peg.

The only time I was concerned about an overnight was in WV when we stopped for the night and it was minus 21. By morning it had dropped to minus 26. I did not turn off the engine that night because I did not want to risk not starting in the morning.

Enjoy your trip.

[Utahclaimjumper]

 If your stopping at truck stops for the night then there is no problem. Run the generator all night, this way you can keep the batteries hot, run the block heater all night, run your coach furnace for internal heat, and be ready to go in the morning with the least hassle. ( truck stops don't mind a generator running).>>>Dan

[Nineforever]

Brian i dont think its crazy but then again im used to severe winter operation what you need for sure is
Good traction tires on the drive axle , set of single chains . that way u could use on the steering axle if need be .
I would stick with SAE 40 i use SAE 30 in the winter but i'm dealing with -40 -45 continually
High out put block heater .... i've seen those pan heaters boil oil i don't use them ..... If your engine is serviced and running properly it will start effortlessly at -50 with SAE 30 .
I'm not a believer in engine idle especially a 2 stroke detroit best to shut down plug in ... u can easly kill a detroit idling in the winter  if you need to keep running   watch your engine temperature it needs to run at at least 180   maybe the high idle isn't enough i use a flat head screw driver under the foot pedal adjust RPM accordingly .......   minus -20 and below i block of the rads with a piece of plywood to stop all cold air coming into engine .
Keep  close eye on the engine temp  and adjust accordingly .
Service your air dryer......... drain  air tanks and suspension filter after shut down   ........                install a alcohol evaporator about 100.00 at Napa  and use brake saver before u start up engine refill evaporator . My way might not be the right way but it works for us

[gumpy]

I run lug tires on my duals, year round. I like em. I've been through blizzards on Wyoming, ice storms in the midwest, and temps down to -10°F at nights. No problems.

I have a preheat system in my AquaHot, though, that makes my DD nice and toasty.

For you, run the generator for a couple hours with the block heater plugged in. Get the engine temp above 45°F and it should fire up with no problems.

[luvrbus]

Those little magnetic heaters won't boil the oil in a few hours it is just enough to heat the oil a little,now the 1 that screws into the pan is a different ball game.

I wouldn't idle it over night they are hard to keep up the 170 min degrees even with fast idle unless you have the fully closed thermostats and it has been a long time since I last saw a set of those  

[Nineforever]

Thoze magnetic heaters are probably okay , used one to start a car once .

[MightyThor]

In the old days when Grampa had to start the crawler in order to feed the cattle.  (too cold and snow to deep to use the trucks) he would take the charcoal fire it up in the bottom of a cut off 50 gallon drum and slide it under the crawler with a canvas tarp over the engine.  Heat was kept inside and there was no open flame.  Not ideal, but it worked.  Modern options would include one of the propane catalytic heaters and a larger bottle that will run the heater all night.  Might still want to put a tarp over the engine or bus to keep the heat concentrated. Just think of it as putting the bus in tent to camp at night.   

[sledhead]

my wife and I leave for florida on dec. 26 at 6 am each year . coldest it has been was- 25 f when we left . I set a timer for 2 am to turn on the block heater ,after it starts I turn on the fast idle until we leave 1/2 hour or so . I have louvers that stay closed until 160  f. so it helps to warm up the eng. but after we are on the road for a hour or so the temp. is at 180 f .we have infloor heat so after it heats up it stays warm for a long time . when we pull over for the 1st night ( I try for north carolina ) 10 pm every thing in the bus is warm 76 f . I have a propane furnace but do not usually us it as when we get up at 6.00 it is about 55-60 f in side at the front  and it has been as cold as -15 f out side . I start the eng. with no problem as it is still warm from the drive the day before . I do all the driving and I stop every 3 hrs or so to walk the dog ( about 20 min. ) then back in the seat again . We make our meals in the coach and again stop for 20-30 min . 1st day I try to do 1200 - 1400 klm ( 14 hrs )  the 2 nd day we usually see temps in the 50-60 f by 12 noon . we have done this drive for 9 years with no problems . some years we have to drive through snow .worst was 6-9 " on I 79 in pennsyvania 1 lane .just keep driving by the time I went through west virginia I had 50 cars and trucks following me as my coach hardly moves a round at all in deep snow ( good thing I never had to do a panic stop ) . made it to florida by 10 am the next day as I did not pull over at night until after midnight . I have firestone fs 400 on all .    go for it just try to get as far south as you can the 1st night  

dave  

[mung]

What is this winter thing you speak of?  I try to avoid seeing any of the wet white stuff like the plague.  Winter in Central Florida is when the good sailing winds are here and when we wear a light jacket on those really cold days. 

[Brian Diehl]

Brian - tires:
Are there any seriously steep mountain passes you need to run?  I haven't been up in the New England states, so don't know what is on your route.  However, I run Toyo steer tires on my drive axle.  They have almost 80,000 miles on them.  I have driven through a lot of snow both in the midwest and out west in the mountains.  The weight of the bus is a blessing in that it gives you extra traction (just don't start slipping/sliding!).  I have driven up mountain passes in the west through several inches of snow.  I just go slow up and very slow down.  Gravity works in your favor going up hill if you need to slow down.  Gravity works against you going downhill and only tries to speed you up more.  Therefore, extra slow downhill is the only way when the roads are icy or snowy.  I found that a 6% grade required 15mph to feel safe and be able to stop if need be.  So - back to the tires - if you have steer tires on your drive axle and don't need to replace them, then don't.  Just recognize you need to watch your speed and remember you have less traction than with studded drive tires.  If you need new ones then the decision might be easier for you.

When I had my 6v92 I found that it would start easily in the morning after 8 hours of being shut off.  There was always enough residual heat that it would start without any coaxing without regard to the outside temperature.  I did always have a can of ether along though "just in case"!  If you have a generator or an inverter than it becomes easy to use an electric outlet timer and set the timer to turn on the block heater an hour or so before you need to start up. 

So - long and short of it is - I don't think you are crazy at all.  Plan for the cold, make sure your schedule would allow you to delay a day or two for bad weather to blow over and go for it!

[TomC]

2 stroke Detroits are used a lot in Alaska still because they perform so well in winter. If you're running the genset all night, just run an extension cord to the back and place a 300 watt halogen light aimed up at the oil pan. Keeps it warm enough to start. If you have a two lever governor, I always start mine from the rear when it is cold. The trick is to hold the stop lever in with your thumb, then start cranking the engine. Slowly let out the stop lever (in about a 10 second time) and the engine just comes up to idle. This is because the stop lever also retards the timing aiding in cold starts. Good Luck, TomC

[oldmansax]

When  I was driving a truck I had a regular run from Virginia to PEI & Halifax, NS all winter. Had a 8V71 in a Diamond Reo. Never had a problem.

TOM

[luvrbus]

The wife's hair dryer stuff in the intake will start one in a hurry if you have no block heater fwiw