The "calm" before the rust belt storm...

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I don't miss the hard winters coming from northern WV. I'm in Richmond, VA now and it's a lot nicer down here. Don't regret moving at all 32 years ago. We still get some snow and miserable cold but it doesn't last very long. We also get hurricanes but we're inland far enough to minimize them.
 
New England weather is all I know. The short winter days I hate the most; I'm still young enough that moving snow isn't that bad. But I can't imagine worse humidity, and already for the month of August I avoid any outdoor work during peak sunlight hours--I'd burn to a crisp (too much Irish blood in me I guess). I love the idea of moving someplace nice but working in a tech field means I'm dubious relocating just right now--worries about changing field of expertise, retraining, starting over. Plus, wife likes it up here and would not be amenable to moving.

Anyhow. That reminds me--I've yet to pull up my Fluid Film and spray stuff down. Time to do that, maybe this weekend, maybe next. Ugh.

New house does have a garage. Everyone is telling me that I'm going to love getting in my car in the morning and not having to scrape before I leave. I'll still have to deal with that when I park at work!
 
We watch Ice Road Truckers, Highway Through He!!, etc., and are quite frankly amazed at the conditions you guys in the Northern Hemisphere live and work in. Can't imagine having to deal with that for months on end. Just the everyday stuff like getting kids to school, buying milk and bread, going out for dinner, must be a nightmare. I sure couldn't and wouldn't do it!
 
Originally Posted by Kurtatron
Lived in Idyllic Coastal California weather most of my life, then went to school in central California where it got up to 110 in the summer. Live in Michigan now. While I don't like the extreme cold, I'd rather take it then the heat and especially the humidity. Winter, you can bundle up. Heat, the only thing you can do is go swimming, but how often would I be doing that? I can tolerate extreme dry heat, but humidity just feels absolutely torturous to me. Sticky sweat and stubbornly warm nights keep me away from the south.

The only thing I hate about winter is driving. Walking in it, playing in it, snowboarding in it, snow is not a terrible thing. But yes, I could not live up here sanely without a winter beater.


Defintely agree on the humidity. I have no desire to go outside in that nasty humid soupy weather. I stay inside in the a/c when its like that. I could not live down in the deep south with that humidity all year long.
 
Come to kentucky! summers can be hot but winter is mild to cold with a dusting of snow here and there my truck is 23 years old and the paint on the cab corners is starting to bubble.
 
I'm working up the ambition to wool-wax my 2017 Ram 1500 and maybe the the Versa. I had the Ram Krowned last year. It's either pay another ~$150 for that or borrow my brother's fluid film/woolwax kit and reimburse him for what I used.

Buffalo winters obviously suck, but snow is typically the only potential natural disaster. Traffic isn't bad, cost of living isn't horrible and percentage of crack heads isn't too bad! What's not to love.
 
There is a saying that you don't know how bad something is, until you finally get away from it, and have something better to compare it to. I think the 2 best examples of this are climate and women... Not necessarily in that order.

When I lived in Chicago, I simply tolerated the non stop lousy weather. I had no choice back then. You were constantly B.S.'ing yourself into thinking, "This isn't so bad". Then I finally decided to quit lying to myself, and mustered up the courage to get out of that God forsaken stink hole.

It was the smartest thing I ever did in my life! No more road salt, slop, freezing weather, all but constant rain and or snow, bad roads, nowhere to go, watching your beautiful new car self destruct before your very eyes. As you conduct an all but endless battle against rust, and trying to keep it clean...... Until you just give up. No more 90 day Summers, (June, July, & August). With it either raining, or else threatening to over half of the time. All while getting eaten alive by Mosquito's, 5 minutes after the Sun sets.

And that is coupled with what amounts to 9 month long Winters. Spring and Fall are horrible in the Midwest. Constant rain and dampness. Overcast coupled with bone chilling humidity, and all but non stop blowing wind. (It's not called, "The Windy City" for nothing). It's a title that is well earned, and very well deserved.

Now I have to deal with 320+ days a year of Sunshine. All but 2" of rain a year, if we're lucky. Cool, beautiful weather from October until the end of April. Yes, the Summers are hot. No question about it. But after dealing with 38 years of sub zero Winters there, and 29 years of desert Summers here, I'll take heat over the sloppy, freezing, overcast, Midwestern Winters 7 days a week, and twice on Sunday. I will NEVER set foot in Illinois again.
 
Buy aluminum F-150, problem solved.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted by billt460
There is a saying that you don't know how bad something is, until you finally get away from it, and have something better to compare it to. I think the 2 best examples of this are climate and women... Not necessarily in that order.

When I lived in Chicago, I simply tolerated the non stop lousy weather. I had no choice back then. You were constantly B.S.'ing yourself into thinking, "This isn't so bad". Then I finally decided to quit lying to myself, and mustered up the courage to get out of that God forsaken stink hole.

It was the smartest thing I ever did in my life! No more road salt, slop, freezing weather, all but constant rain and or snow, bad roads, nowhere to go, watching your beautiful new car self destruct before your very eyes. As you conduct an all but endless battle against rust, and trying to keep it clean...... Until you just give up. No more 90 day Summers, (June, July, & August). With it either raining, or else threatening to over half of the time. All while getting eaten alive by Mosquito's, 5 minutes after the Sun sets.

And that is coupled with what amounts to 9 month long Winters. Spring and Fall are horrible in the Midwest. Constant rain and dampness. Overcast coupled with bone chilling humidity, and all but non stop blowing wind. (It's not called, "The Windy City" for nothing). It's a title that is well earned, and very well deserved.

Now I have to deal with 320+ days a year of Sunshine. All but 2" of rain a year, if we're lucky. Cool, beautiful weather from October until the end of April. Yes, the Summers are hot. No question about it. But after dealing with 38 years of sub zero Winters there, and 29 years of desert Summers here, I'll take heat over the sloppy, freezing, overcast, Midwestern Winters 7 days a week, and twice on Sunday. I will NEVER set foot in Illinois again.

I have known several people who visited Arizona loved it and eventually moved there and never regretted the move. All of these folks were from Vermont and most were native Vermonters.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Buy aluminum F-150, problem solved.
thumbsup2.gif



Not really. They have a steel frame and various other steel parts, and Aluminum corrodes.

I've seen plenty of corroded Al bodies that have been neglected when subjected to road salt in winter. Including Aluminum body Ford trucks with bubbling and peeling paint due to corrosion.

Bottom line: If you live where salt is used on the roads in winter, be diligent about keeping your vehicle clean and protected as much as possible, or live with the consequences.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by billt460
I will NEVER set foot in Illinois again.


Watch out, we'll tax you just for mentioning us.
 
Originally Posted by billt460
There is a saying that you don't know how bad something is, until you finally get away from it, and have something better to compare it to. I think the 2 best examples of this are climate and women... Not necessarily in that order.

When I lived in Chicago, I simply tolerated the non stop lousy weather. I had no choice back then. You were constantly B.S.'ing yourself into thinking, "This isn't so bad". Then I finally decided to quit lying to myself, and mustered up the courage to get out of that God forsaken stink hole.

It was the smartest thing I ever did in my life! No more road salt, slop, freezing weather, all but constant rain and or snow, bad roads, nowhere to go, watching your beautiful new car self destruct before your very eyes. As you conduct an all but endless battle against rust, and trying to keep it clean...... Until you just give up. No more 90 day Summers, (June, July, & August). With it either raining, or else threatening to over half of the time. All while getting eaten alive by Mosquito's, 5 minutes after the Sun sets.

And that is coupled with what amounts to 9 month long Winters. Spring and Fall are horrible in the Midwest. Constant rain and dampness. Overcast coupled with bone chilling humidity, and all but non stop blowing wind. (It's not called, "The Windy City" for nothing). It's a title that is well earned, and very well deserved.

Now I have to deal with 320+ days a year of Sunshine. All but 2" of rain a year, if we're lucky. Cool, beautiful weather from October until the end of April. Yes, the Summers are hot. No question about it. But after dealing with 38 years of sub zero Winters there, and 29 years of desert Summers here, I'll take heat over the sloppy, freezing, overcast, Midwestern Winters 7 days a week, and twice on Sunday. I will NEVER set foot in Illinois again.


This is when I really wish there was a "like" button...actually would have used it on servals posts in this thread.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Buy aluminum F-150, problem solved.
thumbsup2.gif



Not really. They have a steel frame and various other steel parts, and Aluminum corrodes.

I've seen plenty of corroded Al bodies that have been neglected when subjected to road salt in winter. Including Aluminum body Ford trucks with bubbling and peeling paint due to corrosion.

Bottom line: If you live where salt is used on the roads in winter, be diligent about keeping your vehicle clean and protected as much as possible, or live with the consequences.


I've owned a Ford with "aluminum"...I don't know where they get their aluminum, but wherever it is it not very good. In less than five years that aluminum will turn into a bubbling mess of dust and corrosion.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
I'm working up the ambition to wool-wax my 2017 Ram 1500 and maybe the the Versa. I had the Ram Krowned last year. It's either pay another ~$150 for that or borrow my brother's fluid film/woolwax kit and reimburse him for what I used.

Buffalo winters obviously suck, but snow is typically the only potential natural disaster. Traffic isn't bad, cost of living isn't horrible and percentage of crack heads isn't too bad! What's not to love.


I've actually found the one guy that's going it worse than me. Buffalo.

Colder, snowier than New England. But I love Buffalo...love the Bills...love Ralph Wilson stadium. Haven't been but I've always wanted to go. And as a Pat's fan, Buffalo is the one team in the division that I kind of root for. Good town.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Buy aluminum F-150, problem solved.
thumbsup2.gif



Not really. They have a steel frame and various other steel parts, and Aluminum corrodes.

I've seen plenty of corroded Al bodies that have been neglected when subjected to road salt in winter. Including Aluminum body Ford trucks with bubbling and peeling paint due to corrosion.

Bottom line: If you live where salt is used on the roads in winter, be diligent about keeping your vehicle clean and protected as much as possible, or live with the consequences.

+1. Most aircraft are made from Aluminum. There is a very good reason you won't find a salt truck anywhere near an airport runway or taxiway in the snow belt. Instead they spend a fortune on thousands of gallons of deicing agents that won't corrode Aluminum.

If the airlines had to buy planes from Boeing as often as consumers replace corroded F-150's, no one would be able to afford a ticket.
 
Worse than the PIA winter in upstate NY is the early spring where my town dirt road turns to 6" of mud due to an incompetent town highway supervisor. Around here they are elected.
 
Where are all these corroded aluminum body F-150's you all are referring to? I'm in the snow belt since forever and have yet to see one.
 
The nicer cars that I want to keep as long as possible go in the garage from November to mid April. The winter beater last year got Yokohama Geolander IT G072 tires on steel rims and New Hampshire Oil Undercoated. Not inexpensive but it keeps me happy. Just make sure you do all possible mechanical work before the NHOU spraying. The fun part is watching it burn off the exhaust driving down the highway.
 
So many people bashing California for any reason they can find. I've never once had to deal with any of this ice-scraping salt-corroding nonsense.

The only non-CA vehicle I've owned was a 1967 Mustang originally sold and driven in Connecticut. Had a huge hole rusted through the floorboard, you could reach under and poke your finger through and feel the interior carpet. LOL, no thanks.
 
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