Extremely Cold Temps in Red Lake

Going up to Red Lake next week and was looking for some good tips on making sure everyone stays safe. We are renting a house from Northwoods and was wondering what people have for advice to make sure we can make it the most enjoyable time. I am afraid the cold temps are going to be root of all our problems and want to minimize these issues as much as possible. Should a guy bring an extra generator with and keep a battery charger and the block heaters plugged into the trucks? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Just back from LOTW had temps as low as -40 actuall temps. a back up heater/s would be a top priority incase something happens. We had generator with battery charger (never needed) but would still bring one…. Truck plugged in but would also start it every 5 or so hours and leave it run for an hour or so. Make sure your battery is in top shape before you go. There were all sorts of guys with issues up there as our guide said only the smart survive with out any problems.. GOOD LUCK!!!

What I do is bring a jumper pack or extra battery and keep it inside for jump starting if needed. The resorts also recommend starting your vehicle and letting it warm up every 8 hours.

I try and make sure I have a backup for everything. And sometimes a backup for a backup. Those temps are nothing to mess with. When it’s that cold I also tend to stay a little closer to shore. I don’t need to be six miles out and have a problem that I need to get back to shore for.

Something I learned the hard way last weekend is that from now on if the temps are extremely cold, I will be letting my truck run. A dead starter at 30 below on the day you’re supposed to go home is a real bummer. A 400 dollar repair bill and hitting the road 12 hours later than intended isn’t much fun either. Letting the truck idle for a day rather than shutting it off is not very expensive in gas in the grand scheme of things. Luckily that 12 hours allowed us to meet some really good people so it wasn’t all bad.

As for safety, I have a backup generator my father in law allows me to take with me. If my Honda ever dies, I’ve got his Generac. I also have a buddy heater as a backup heat source. I make sure my truck, and my 5 gallon gas container are full before sitting out for a cold night. We have an over abundance of blankets in the wheelhouse. From now on I will also be bringing a couple spare regulators for the propane tanks, as well as motor oil for the generators. Our lake neighbor last weekend had his generator die from running out of oil. He was sure happy at 8:00 at night when I had a spare generator I let him use. He had already used up his battery supply so the forced air furnace wouldn’t run. That would’ve been a mighty cold night for him and his family!

So anyway, that’s my list. Just backups and backups of all the things that keep you safe.