to winterise or not?

[afsecpolice]

So for those of you that live in colder climates with snow and don't have access to a garage...would you recommend running your M-37 every few days or would it make more sense to pull the batteries and do some other type of winterising? It's coming up on my first winter with my M-37.

[greeno]

Here in Minnesota I bring all my batteries inside and drain the gas from all my vehicles with steel gas tanks. I understand filling gas tanks full also protects the tank against moisture build-up.

I drain the gas from the M37 (rather than fill the tank) only because its not street legal and I'm not hauling 20ish gallons of fuel to where its parked.

[w30bob]

Hi asfec,

It really depends on how disciplined you are. By that I mean I say every year I'm going to run my stuff regularly over the winter......but there's always an excuse not to do it or something that's more important. Then before you know it Spring is here and nothing has run. And be careful when you say "run". There's probably nothing worse for an engine than starting it for a few minutes and then shutting it off. If you're going to "run" it you need to commit to 30 minutes or so, and better yet would be to drive it. Reason being that running an engine causes condensation to form in both the crankcase and the whole exhaust system. Not running it long enough to get things hot enough to get rid of that condensation just contaminates the oil and causes your exhaust to rust from the inside out.

On my smaller stuff (motorcycles, lawn tractor, Farmall tractors, etc I drain the gas and run them until they quit. Then I make sure the float bowl is totally empty. For the bigger stuff I pretend I'm going to run them, but put Marine Sta-Bil in the fuel tank and run/drive it so I'm sure the Sta-Bil has worked it way thru the entire fuel system. On my 2-stroke stuff I don't do anything....the oil in the fuel preserves everything nicely.

So long answer to a simple question that probably doesn't answer it all. Sorry about that.

regards,
bob

[k8icu]

Let me share my 28 years of MVs and winter. I agree with Bob that you may say your going to run it but you don't and then when you do the batteries are dead from sitting and getting zapped by the cold temps. I've left my trucks sit out and I've wrapped them up. The best thing I ever did was spend some money on a storage garage and put the truck in there for the winter. Drain the tanks and run stabilizer like Bob said through the system. Also I would jack the vehicle up and place it on jack stands. This helps keep from forming flat spots in the tires while it sits. By putting it in the garage you word off some of he effects of the snow, rain, sleet etc on the vehicle plus some of the freeze thaw that goes on. May also help keep mice and so on from getting into things. Nothing like firing up that MV for the first time in the spring and smell burning leafs from some mouse making a nest on your manifolds. Also make sure your anti-freeze is set up to fight the cold, is clean and fresh. Nothing worse than a cracked block to ruin your day/week/month/year.... I would also go through my PMCS at the time I'd put them up to make sure all my oils were fresh, all grease spots hit etc. Basically maintenance it and the put it to bed for the winters nap.

Or if you want to keep it running then run it every day or every other day...drive it around allowing it to get up to temp and work the kinks out.

Good luck.

[m37jarhead]

So for those of you that live in colder climates with snow and don't have access to a garage...would you recommend running your M-37 every few days or would it make more sense to pull the batteries and do some other type of winterising? It's coming up on my first winter with my M-37.

Your question was not clear. Do you want to store it for the winter months or have it available to use occassionally in
the winter to play in the ice, snow and cold? "Winterizing" an M37 is not much different than any other motor vehicle.
The posts from others shown above are good advice. "Mothballing" a vehicle for non-use during winter is a somewhat
different proceedure. Again, posts listed above are very sound advice on that. And, speaking of mothballs... they work
great in deterring critters from nesting in your vehicle if it's stored for long periods. You'll hate the smell but so do the
critters.

Both proceedures will take some thought, effort, $$$$, and common sense. Unless your M37 is show quality and you
want to keep it looking perfect, why not just winterize it and have some fun pulling your neighbors out of snow banks
with your M37. An 8,000 lb. Braden LU4 winch is a "no contest" compared to the skimmpy winches found on other
civilian 4wd trucks and Jeeps. And you'll get a chance to show those drivers what a REAL 4wd truck can do. Isn't that
why you bought it in the first place?

Few will disagree that regularly running a vehicle, summer OR winter, is the best long term medicine.

Just my thoughts from many years as an ex-tundra resident.
Jerry