I Hate Ice!!!

[Raineyrocks]

We live on a dirt road and it's not salted so it's pure ice and my van's tires were spinning out and I couldn't get up the friggin hill!!!  I tried backing all the way down and going up 3 times, nothing, the van kept sliding back down the road.  So I parked the freaking van down by a real road and walked home with the kids!!!
I'm just having a "bitch fit", hoping this makes me feel better! 
How the hell does everyone drive around here?  This stupid ASSociation charges a yearly fee, for what??? Icy non-salted roads???
  I hope that's the right smiley to use for this post.
On the brighter side, the exercise made me feel very invigorated, on the darker side, I now have more energy to be pissed off.

[Lloyd Danforth]

I have a full size van.  I have little traction in snow, ice or mud except when it is weighed down with stuff.

[Raineyrocks]

I have a full size van.  I have little traction in snow, ice or mud except when it is weighed down with stuff.

Damn it, I should've let the kids eat more crap over the holidays then maybe we would've made it up the hill!  I should've brought my dog too, he was begging me to go with me.   

[Braddogg]

Heh, and here I was expecting a rant against bureaucrats, when I was faced with a more serious foe: frozen water!  Sorry to hear about the problem :-/

[Brock]

Are studded tires legal in your area?  If not, chains are a pain in the butt, but they work.

[Michael Fisher]

In New Hampshire, always have a shovel in your car to break or chop up ice and to shovel snow. Don't forget the road salt, sand, scraper, extra washer fluid, emergency kit, gun, ammo, food, water, etc.

[Tom Sawyer]

Ice is a bitch... not a lot can be done except avoid it as much as possible.

Luckily the colder places get more snow than ice.

You learn to adjust to the weather and natures rythyms rather than the artificial manmade clock.

[slim]

I would suggest having a bag of sand in the back of the van for the winter. The sand gives you some weight and you can spread it on the road to give you some traction. I like the studded tires also.

[Nat F]

If your vehicle is front wheel drive you may have some success slowly backing up an icy slope.  It puts a little more weight over the drive wheels.  You are way better off with a bucket of sand and a shovel in your vehicle however.  Ift sounds like the road that caused the problem is an association road - consider putting a barrel of sand there safely or asking for one to be placed there.

-Nat

[Raineyrocks]

Heh, and here I was expecting a rant against bureaucrats, when I was faced with a more serious foe: frozen water!  Sorry to hear about the problem :-/

No rants against the bureaucrats, sorry!    I don't post much politically because I simply don't understand enough right now (I'm trying to learn by reading), it's confusing and I don't want to sound stupid.

[Raineyrocks]

Are studded tires legal in your area?  If not, chains are a pain in the butt, but they work.

I must learn about these things, I didn't even know they made studded tires, thanks!

[Raineyrocks]

In New Hampshire, always have a shovel in your car to break or chop up ice and to shovel snow. Don't forget the road salt, sand, scraper, extra washer fluid, emergency kit, gun, ammo, food, water, etc.

Great ideas and I posted a car survival kit thread and figured I  don't need all of that stuff if I'm just picking up the kids from school. I'm on it today, my van will be stocked, thanks!

[Raineyrocks]

Great suggestions everyone, thank you very much!

[Lloyd Danforth]

I have a full size van.  I have little traction in snow, ice or mud except when it is weighed down with stuff.

Damn it, I should've let the kids eat more crap over the holidays then maybe we would've made it up the hill!  I should've brought my dog too, he was begging me to go with me.   

Live and learn

[Russell Kanning]

Some sand isn't going to help for an entire hill. Time for more extreme measures.