Whenever I review the winter vehicle kit (such as I doing now for next week's travel about 300 miles up north), I always refer back to this thread for ideas that I might incorporate into the seemingly ever evolving winter vehicle kit.

One thing I cannot stress enough is the importance of keeping the gas tank full as possible and carrying extra gas with you. For example, next week, 2 x 5 gallons of gas will be riding in the back as around here and all too often, the mountain passes are suddenly closed for hours due to extreme snowfall and or equally extreme avalanche conditions. When the temperatures drop well into double digits below zero, there are not too many home brewed ways of keeping warm and being able to run the vehicle engine periodically without worrying (as much) about running out of fuel is a big plus.

That said, earlier this fall, I picked up a Mr. Buddy portable heater as recommended by a friend who uses one to keep their small trailer warm in the fall months. If need be, the heater can be setup in the back of the truck and would keep the interior comfortably warm without having to run the vehicle engine. I tested this theory a couple of weeks ago and let the heater run for about 3 hours with the outside temps were just below zero. The heater kept the interior almost too warm so it should be fine when the temps are much lower.

As for the stay vs go for assistance dilemma, this is a very tough call depending on the situation. If you are snowed in on a highway or trafficked secondary road, you would probably better off to stay put as road or emergency crews will appear at some sooner rather then later point.

On the other hand, if you find yourself off road or on an old barely used side road, the decision of stay/go is much more difficult as it is tempered with too many human, terrain and environmental variables. As I said, tough call and even though at first glance, the right call may be to stay. It could also be the wrong decision. Case in point, is the couple who got lost in Nevada. The husband died while going for help and the wife lived (barely) subsisting on the very little food that they had until it was gone. However we will never know what may of transpired if the husband stayed and the food she had rationed would of been split between the two and thus consumed much faster and well before the wife's eventual rescue, 49 days later.