cut onions work as an odor absorbent too

Sliced lemons are great and smells good

I seem to remember that you're supposed to drive slower than 15 mph when you have chains on.

I believe that would be called "limited slip differentials and axles" in North America not "locker". It's also true of awd vehicles, they are effectively one wheel drive in poor traction situations unless they have limited slip differentials and transfer cases. The big thing about Suburu's was that they limited the slip in their transfer cases so that a minimum of 30% of the torque would still be delivered to the non slipping axle, hence if one wheel slips, the other axle still turns (however unless they have limited slip differentials too then if a second wheel slips on the other axle, you're sol). Basically an AWD without limited slip differentials but with limited slip transfer cases is essentially a two wheel drive. Note that a standard two wheel drive vehicle with limited slip differentials is effectively a two wheel drive in poor traction situations too. 4wd is where you can lock the transfer cases and differentials together so that all the wheels turn at the same rate which is great for poor traction conditions but dangerous on dry pavement, you're also supposed to drive really slow when under 4wd as in 15 mph max slow. It's only with 4wd that there might be something called a "locker" in North America. Some 4wd's only have the ability to lock the transfer cases, indeed this is the most likely 4wd setup, this is safer as you don't have to drive slower and it's probably safe on dry pavement but in this scenario, if a wheel slips on both a less then you have no traction. I don't believe chains are to be used above 15 mph. I remember thinking that really limits their usefullness when I bought chains. Then again I bought them in Canada so I think the warning was to not drive above 20 km/h.

People use wool because they believe they are safer than synthetic materials like polyurethane, polyisocynate (polyiso) and polyethylene during a fire but wool also produces carbon monoxide and cyanide gases when they burn. The trick to avoiding condensation is to have the vapour barriers on the warm humid side of the insulation and have the other side well ventilated to keep the insulation dry. However, with vehicles, you pretty much have to expect that sometimes the outside is the hot humid side and other times the inside is so you need to have vapour barriers on both sides and somehow install the insulation under dry air conditions or stuff silica gel with the stuffing to control the humidity inside the insulation. You can buy bulk silica gel at craft stores and seal them inside small paper envelopes to tuck in with your batting, place them high as humid air rises. As to the inside of the front windshield condensing, you could try putting silica gel in muslin storage bags in your cabin area to reduce the humidity there and vent the cabin when you cook or shower. Waxing your windshield on the inside might reduce the condensation too. I would say put electric heat strips on external tanks and pipes then insulate them over the heat strips, a temperature sensor would be a good idea perhaps in the tank itself so you know when the heat strips need to be turned on. You could also install a block heater into the tank. The DEF is 40% urea and the rest is distilled water so I would imagine keeping the DEF tank warm would be a good idea too (urine is only 4% urea so don't try using urine without first processing it to extract the urea and then mix the urea with distilled water). Urea is only needed to decomposed nitrous oxide back into nitrogen and oxygen and it's sprayed into the exhaust before the catalytic converter. In Europe, you add the DEF when you fill your tank and there would be a separate DEF cap beside your fuel tank cap but the EPA requires all emissions control devices to not require operator interaction hence the DEF is topped off during oil changes and therefore a larger tank is needed. The whole Volkswagen fiasco was that instead of finding room to put in a large DEF tank, they just programmed the computer to only use DEF when the car is being tested for emissions, there was nothing wrong with the engine and really no need for everyone to return the vehicles for refunds (I would've insisted on free oil changes for life and brought them in more frequently for oil changes or just find the cap and top it up myself). You can usually order a diesel engine with an oil pan heater and of course a block heater to keep the coolant warm. The oil pan heater and block heaters may be enough to keep the DEF warm by slightly warming the engine compartment. You can buy electric warming blankets for car batteries but in general, they won't freeze if they are charged; when discharged, the electrolytes is basically water and would freeze. They also sell blankets that you put on the grill of your car so that the diesel engines warm up faster and stays warm longer, they usually have a flap that can be left open for some airflow while you're driving.

John Wang Interesting info. about DEF and Volkswagen. As for wool, the ignition temperature for wool is 600° C, IIRC. While it may give off CO when burned, it's going to take a whole lot of heat for it to catch.

If they are charged, they won't freeze.

P.s. The letters AT on your tires are the important ones when going into snow/dirt/mud because they stand for AllTerrain. The LT on your tires stands for Light Truck. Meaning they're a light truck tire. Hope all is well and that you're having/had a wonderful weekend. :)

you always leave the fridge cracked open to allow air flow and avoid mold issues.

As for Clearing snow off of a high vehicle I suggest buying as wash broom. It is a car wash brush attached to a handle about 4 feet long that is meant to attach to a garden hose. I bought one to clear the snow off the roof of my Ford E250 4WD van. The brush is soft so it will not damage the paint. Being a normal height guy, 5'6", it made the task possible.

An extendable handle snow roof rake would take care of the snow on top of the car. You really have to drive slower with chains on. I would suggest winter tires with studs. Modern factory studded tires have retracting studs so they don't damage the pavement. Then she could drive at the speeds she's comfortable with without having to take off the chains. About 90% of the winter tires sold in Scandinavian countries are studded tires. Besides she's only using lightweight cables not actual tire chains so she might as well just go with studded tires even though the requirement for those roads are chains or 4wd. One trick to strapping chains on quickly is to use the car jack, lift the wheel up and then put the chains on instead of laying out the chains and driving onto them. You do need to practice putting chains on.

They will avoid that sound, they stay nice and tight. Keep a grubby old jacket around for chain installation, and grab some heavy black rubber gloves.

4x4 does nothing for braking and that's where she was sliding...

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nLN4hqWJz8_dkZc.html Point proven

I was thinking the same thing. She is just about living out of this van. And she knows she is a skier with plans to take it into the mountains. This is a no brainer. And the 4x4 is also useful for off road trips in warm weather as well. My SUV is 4x4, and it’s an absolute beast in the snow. I live in the mountains, and the only times I ever missed work was when the snow was higher than the bumper. If she goes off the road one time or ever has a fender bender, the rise in her insurance rates would pay for the 4x4, not to mention the hospital if she is really hurt, or worse. Again, safety. No brainer. I hope she reads this comment.

7heRedBaron hey there. Yup. We’re both on the same page. I was merely making a suggestion. Many dealerships have a 4x4 day. Anyone can go and actually see their capabilities. You made another good point - the van doesn’t only go to the snow, in summer it’s in the mountains or desert. Essentially by having a van with 4x4, diff lock and low range the van transforms from a “rv” to a “overlander”. You CANNOT put off road tires on a vehicles and think that you can then do wild and wonderful things because you have off road tires. 4x4 would open up so much more to her. From capability to safety in any road /track condition.But besides that. Even if the young lady was camping in the snow or rain and got bogged down in mud, sand or snow, 4x4 would get her out. Not 2x4. Many think of 4x4 as four tires moving together. They do not consider the fact the vehicle can still run in 2 wheel drive and with a push of a button transfer the vehicle to 4 wheel drive and should things get a little more difficult transfer the gearbox to 4 wheel drive low range and should you still get stuck? Then there’s rear diff lock. And then there’s also Centre differential lock. The upgraded suspension and the expensive tires are already on the vehicle. This is turning into a rant. Lol. Have an amazing day. Remember. KEEP CALM AND ENGAGE 4x4. Happy trails.

I think you summed it up well when you said that most don’t realize the value of the 4x4 if they haven’t had one. On the overall cost of that van, $10,000 is money well spent to avoid those chains and getting pulled out of parking spaces.