Anyone put their truck away for the winter?

[bcbouy]

so.for you who aren't in the sunbelt,how do you guys pull your trailers,carry your sleds,make your dump runs,make any food/booze runs in extremely inclement weather, maybe pull your boats if your trucks are tucked in all nice and cozy? no way would i drive my family around in winter conditions in a winter beater when i have a 4x4 sitting in my driveway,but that's just me.it's like not hanging pictures in your house because you don't want to put a hole in your wall,or not driving your high dollar side by side because you might break something.your truck,your rules,i'm just trying to wrap my head around the logic.

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Nice looking rig, and heck, if you have the means to store your truck, good on you, Bud.
Keeping it pristine for you is a great mindset because we know these trucks hold zero value whatsoever on a resale type of investment.

If you're going to store it, do consider putting a barrier of some sort between the ground and your vehicle (i.e. park on a tarp), regardless of parking indoors or outdoors and the type of ground (bare concrete, gravel, dirt, grass). If your indoor floor has a good epoxy sealant on it, disregard this statement.

Now, this also isn't really applicable if one is storing ones vehicle on a lift and keeping it nicely elevated. My comment is reserved for those that park directly on grade level.

I'd also have it Krown sprayed every late spring to early summer (which you've indicated, but just restating this for anyone storing a summer only vehicle in the winter).

Keep it stored full of fuel, use a good fuel stabilizer, and do an oil & filter change just before storage.

Don't start it up for a little run each month as it only creates moisture in the system that just sits there as one can't get it to full operating temps just parked and idling.

Keep a battery tender on it, or just remove the battery altogether and store it separately.

Use a good quality indoor cover that breaths, too.

When I stored my 06' 300SRT8 indoors for the winter, I'd also silicone all the window tracks and rubber seals throughout the vehicle just before covering her up for her winter sleep. It kept them moist and supple, and I never had issues with dried out bits, or sluggish/chattering of the windows or sunroof when I took her out in the late spring.

I also overinflated my tires by 25% or so, once it was parked for its winter slumber. I did this to help prevent flat spotting.

I've got a buddy that does all this indicated above, and and also jacks his vehicle up and stores it on stands so that the wheels just touch the ground and the suspension is only slightly compressed. Done so the majority of the weight of the vehicle is off the tires and suspension, but without over extending the suspension and letting it fully sag whilst stored.

 

[Marmay]

No,this is my daily driven vehicle, in Ontario too,summer or winter ,everyday 65 km ,keeping this truck off for 4 months it's like, you spend lots of $ and now you gonna watch this truck seated on the driveway or garage? Waste of money,used as much as you can.

 

[RamTruckMan]

Eh… it’sa truck. For me, I’m driving it. I’m not going to beat on it but paying $50K+ for a vehicle to not use it. Nah. Maybe if it was a Lamborghini, but, no, that’s not my choice.
You do you, you don’t need our validation.

 

[Adamcr68]

My old truck got put away for the winter,but it was more fun dragstrip toy then it was actual truck,lol. Truck was a 14,and lived in AB all it's life,and still looked this good underneath when i sold it a few months ago.

If you mean brand new by “ still this good”, then I completely agree!

 

[raggdoll]

Eh… it’sa truck. For me, I’m driving it. I’m not going to beat on it but paying $50K+ for a vehicle to not use it. Nah. Maybe if it was a Lamborghini, but, no, that’s not my choice.
You do you, you don’t need our validation.

Not looking for your validation, just sharing what I do.

 

[RamTruckMan]

Not looking for your validation, just sharing what I do.

Sorry man, no offense intended. I misunderstood your initial question (“Am I crazy for doing this?”)

 

[raggdoll]

Nice looking rig, and heck, if you have the means to store your truck, good on you, Bud.
Keeping it pristine for you is a great mindset because we know these trucks hold zero value whatsoever on a resale type of investment.

If you're going to store it, do consider putting a barrier of some sort between the ground and your vehicle (i.e. park on a tarp), regardless of parking indoors or outdoors and the type of ground (bare concrete, gravel, dirt, grass). If your indoor floor has a good epoxy sealant on it, disregard this statement.

Now, this also isn't really applicable if one is storing ones vehicle on a lift and keeping it nicely elevated. My comment is reserved for those that park directly on grade level.

I'd also have it Krown sprayed every late spring to early summer (which you've indicated, but just restating this for anyone storing a summer only vehicle in the winter).

Keep it stored full of fuel, use a good fuel stabilizer, and do an oil & filter change just before storage.

Don't start it up for a little run each month as it only creates moisture in the system that just sits there as one can't get it to full operating temps just parked and idling.

Keep a battery tender on it, or just remove the battery altogether and store it separately.

Use a good quality indoor cover that breaths, too.

When I stored my 06' 300SRT8 indoors for the winter, I'd also silicone all the window tracks and rubber seals throughout the vehicle just before covering her up for her winter sleep. It kept them moist and supple, and I never had issues with dried out bits, or sluggish/chattering of the windows or sunroof when I took her out in the late spring.

I also overinflated my tires by 25% or so, once it was parked for its winter slumber. I did this to help prevent flat spotting.

I've got a buddy that does all this indicated above, and and also jacks his vehicle up and stores it on stands so that the wheels just touch the ground and the suspension is only slightly compressed. Done so the majority of the weight of the vehicle is off the tires and suspension, but without over extending the suspension and letting it fully sag whilst stored.

I do almost all you mention, being a long time Corvette guy and pretty used to storing cars.

The nice thing is I can make one call to the ins company, twist a key and drive it if needs change.

 

[raggdoll]

Sorry man, no offense intended. I misunderstood your initial question (“Am I crazy doe doing this?”)

Yeah, this is meant to be a light hearted, fun post. Really to show how I love my RAM truck LOL

 

[Wild one]

Nice looking rig, and heck, if you have the means to store your truck, good on you, Bud.
Keeping it pristine for you is a great mindset because we know these trucks hold zero value whatsoever on a resale type of investment

I sold my 14 for $10,000 more then i paid for it back in 14,that's a pretty decent return on my money in my opinion

 

[stevenP]

I put my previous Gen4 3500 away every winter. And now my 2022 2500 gets put away every winter as well. I only really use the trucks for towing my fifth wheel RV, as well some occasional running around. I have other AWD drivers for the winter months. Living in the northern climate, where the slop and salt is always something to deal with, I would just not want to get my $80k all slopped up. To each his own this subject.

 

[ramffml]

My truck is grandpa gray for one reason: in the ontario slush, snow, and depressing mud, my truck always looks clean even though it never gets washed more than once a year.

This is why I buy a tradesman/bighorn, I don't have to worry about using a truck as a truck, that's literally why I bought it. Tow in the spring/summer/fall, get me through the ugly snow in the winter.

I do like my truck, and I maintain it very well (all the fluids and stuff are the best I can find and gets changed well before the best before date), I park in the back parking spots to keep it out of reach of thoughtless teens and Karens swinging their buggies around mindlessly.

My goal was to keep it 15+ years (it was brand new when I bought it) and that shouldn't be a problem given the mileage I put on every year (about 20,000 to 24,000 kms). So after 15 years it will have about 350,000 kms (220k miles), the body may have some signs of wear, but it should look relatively clean and nice yet on the outside, even with 15 Canadian winters, and the engine would be near end of life.

I can't see driving it any less per year, so the body should still last longer than the engine. I can't get that attached to it because one day it could get wrapped around a tree and there goes all that careful time and energy if I had babied it.

 

[RamTruckMan]

I know, in Rhode Island, it’s popular to paint/seal the undercarriage. Mostly because their vehicle inspection process isn’t just emissions but road worthiness also.
I imagine doing that every 3 years or so would help with Ontario winters as well.
Also, what’s this Krown everyone keeps mentioning?

 

[raggdoll]

I know, in Rhode Island, it’s popular to paint/seal the undercarriage. Mostly because their vehicle inspection process isn’t just emissions but road worthiness also.
I imagine doing that every 3 years or so would help with Ontario winters as well.
Also, what’s this Krown everyone keeps mentioning?

Krown is a company that does oil spray/rustproofing. Cost $180

 

[CanuckRam1313]

I sold my 14 for $10,000 more then i paid for it back in 14,that's a pretty decent return on my money in my opinion

I don't disagree at all.
Your previous baby was quite the exception to the normal rule of thumb for our domestic trucks

 

[Wild one]

I don't disagree at all.
You previous baby was quite the exception to the normal rule of thumb for our domestic trucks

I'd had a gal that'd been trying to buy it off me for a few years,ever since she seen it at the local dragstrip giving hellcats fits,lol. When she said put a price on it,i thought i'd priced it high enough she wouldn't want it,but the damn women showed up with cash in hand 2 hours later,
After the wife shattered her leg,she couldn't really get in or out of it,and the truck spent more time sitting then it did racing,so it was time to let it go

 

[White six four]

I have a work beater so that helps keep the miles and winter driving to a minimum for the truck. We usually get our first snow around the end of October and the salt doesn't come off the roads til March/April. No way my cheap ass would keep a 4x4 truck parked half the year. Even if it's paid for.

Living in the country it's nice to also go for a drive after a big snow storm. I do fluid film it every spring and fall.

 

[emjohn4]

My 2012 didn't see salt until early 2021. It's only seen 3 winters (2021, 2022, 2023), and it's parked again for the upcoming winter....as I've procured another winter beater.

Trucks / cars are expensive. At the amount they cost, they better last 20+ years in pristine condition - and we know they won't if exposed to salt / snow.

 

[markabby]

i got my powerwagon for winter driving,so that's a no for me.i did get an undercarriage pressure washer attachment that works great.we get sand,not salt where i am.

sand is nice, better than salt, but a windshield killer.

I'd rather have a scratched windshield than a rusted everything!

 

[hogan1945]

My 2012 was never in the garage for 10 yrs i owned it, with no Rust. Lost it 2 yrs ago, to a bad truck driver? What makes rust is winter salt melting while still on the body. So i always washed my Ram when needed? I have 34 washes on my Kwik Trip wash card right now. So i look forward to many more rust free years on my replacement 2013 Ram R/T!!