May be a little late to ask but out of curiosity is there anything in particular that should be done to the dakota for driving in the winter? Ive got pretty good all-terrain tires, I need to change the oil and the 4WD is practically brand new since last owner, who is a friend of mine and I can verify, pretty much rebuilt it, new drive shafts, universal joints, and all that jazz. But is there anything that has to be changed/made different?

 

They only thing that has to be changed is from 2wd to 4wd Since the 4wd system is pretty new its prob fine to go. Just make sure there is enough fluid in the transfer case.

 

Mine's a reg cab and before I needed some weight in the back or else I'd be fish tailing everywhere.

Picked up a set of Wranglers and you wouldn't believe the difference.

Doesn't hurt to put a bit of weight like a sandbag in there for safety.

 

I don't usually do a whole lot. I cleaned my battery terminals this fall since they had some build up on them and my battery is still the original battery; it gets pretty cold up here (-20 the other morning).

I changed all my fluids this fall but they needed to be done anyway. I did the trans, t-case, both differentials. I don't do that every year though.

Make sure you have antifreeze windshield washer fluid if you live where it gets cold! The first winter I had my truck apparently the previous owner had summer fluid in there and froze like a block. I'm lucky it didn't break anything.

I'm kind of **** about how my wipers work. So if my aren't just about perfect I replace them before winter. There's nothing I hate more than bad wipers.

Nothing major though

 

I dont know if rc cab is much different from cc but I was running with bald bfg's last year and 4wd never let me down that was with no weight in the bed either.

 

I've never had a problem since I've had 4wd. The new Coopers are awesome in the snow. Very impressed.

 

dont lock the door, it might frzze closed. dont pull hard on the door handle if seals have ice on them. get a hair dryer on them. or warm up windshield fluid and pour it on the ice.

 

Ok, i'm from Quebec Canada. My english is'nt so good but my winter experience is pretty complete !!!

First of all it's very very important to test your antifreeze, if he are'nt enough concentrate he can freeze in your radiator, motor and make a huge mess.

The tire is the only thing that keep you on the track, buy good winter tire on 4 wheels, not only on rear wheel.

Keep some "emergency stuff" in your truck like : shovel, traction-aid, booster cables and a good pair of gloves.

Good battery and 5w30 (not 10w30 or 10w40) motor oil are important too.

By the way I lock my doors all the time since 15 years and didn't freeze in locked position one time. You can applied a silicone lube on your rubber door seal to prevent from "sticking" in cold weather.