Stuff to stay warm in winter a smart move. Human body can be easily harmed by sub freezing temperatures, & typically most light duty passenger vehicles like most people drive in America are very poorly insulated, if they are warm when operating, then cool off in minutes when turned off. Warm hats, gloves, scarf, socks, pants, insulated booties for feet, an electric blanket & battery generator, heated gear with rechargeable batteries, flashlight & extra batteries, a battery pack charger for your cell phone, so you don't have to turn your car on to charge your phone. Water, water, in water bottles.
Water in Winter, let me explain something
3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 30 days without food
Your body able to do ok without food for a long time, especially if you have any body fat, are at all overweight, that body fat is stored food energy & will power your body for days if you are forced to long duration fast without eating, but you need to drink water for your body to make use of its fat for energy, so water when not eating even more important.
Bring enough water for everyone!
Air can be a complex problem inside a smaller vehicle in super winter rain snow conditions where rolling down the window would allow lots of water inside the vehicle, interior volume can support breathing for hours, but if your car has many people & stuck for more than a day, you need to refresh the air otherwise moisture released from breathing & CO2 will built up inside & a group of 3 or more people will deplete the oxygen inside.
Cracking a window can vent the CO2 & bring in fresh air without special gear or cost, just that in heavy cold rain you have to be careful to not let cold water into the door switches, so small gap the key, also turning the car on & not using recirculation & turning the fan to full will bring in fresh air & force out CO2, with the engine on it will enable heating. In most cases just cracking the window key as CO2 levels can rise to dangerous levels within 40 to 60 min.
One option a low mass composite scuba tank full of air, fire trucks carry them with a harness so they can operate in smoky conditions, but as a last ditch air supply if you have to camp overnight in your car, having extra air when its not practical to vent or import air can be a life saver, though an air pump used for snorkeling can shove air into your car & do not worry about exhaust, if your pumping air into the car it will force moisture CO2 rich air out of gaps & seams easily. It's more about providing air for breathing in worst-case long-term car camping.
CO2 becomes a hazard at 1000 ppm, causing cognitive impairment. When we breathe, we breath in oxygen laced nitrogen air, then breath out a mix of CO2, oxygen & nitrogen. 1 liter of air per minute, the car typically has an interior gas volume of 2500 liters, so that is enough air for even an overnight sleep, but with more than one person you must consider this consumption rate. CO2 we breathe out becomes the major hazard, not the lack of oxygen. Moisture we breath out also increases interior humidity, which fogs up the windows in cold or winter weather when car camping. Cars are not gas sealed very well so CO2 & moisture can escape & oxygen can leak back in, but its really when your driving with the HVAC fan system blowing or windows cracked that gas exchange happens at good rates to refresh air in the vehicle.
Notice the amount of talk about breathing & air from the 3 minute rule. Air 10 times more important than water for survival. Water 10 times more important than food for survival. 3-3-3 rule noted!
I regularly take 1-hour naps in the trunk of my 22 Toyota Corolla Sedan Hybrid LE, where I fitted out foam, blanket, pillow, so I can crawl in the folded passenger side rear seat & take a nap, at 5ft 11 inches I am just barely short enough for this to work, just barely. I have noticed when sleeping for more than 1 hour I get a weird get the f out of the car right now, then hustle to get out, probably because CO2 levels are increasing in the trunk area.
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