leaving your truck outside

[junkyardog]

i hate to but once i put the hummer tires on my m37 it won't fit inside fro the summer.. any thoughts on how to protect it...i will put the soft top on it... just hate to leave it outside.. can't stand the look of those huts

[ashyers]

Mine lives outdoors. I wash it and drive it regularly. I plan on treating the canvas once a year.

Much of the damage done to my truck seems to have been due to years of sitting, driving these things keeps them alive.

[Murf]

Time to invest in a steel/aluminum awning ?

[just me]

Mine has never been in a garage. The paint on it (from 1978 or so) is showing its age a bit.

[Elwood]

Have you considered a ShelterLogic, truck sized?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... 970&ipp=24

I've got two of these things that have been living outside through the last few Michigan winters, and they've held up very well.

[w30bob]

Hi Junkyard,

Well...........first you have to decide if you can afford, and/or want to cover it with a temporary building.........meaning the instant garage mentioned above or a similar type of structure. If it's yes, then you have to decide what works best of you. I put up one of those portable garages many years ago............worked great. The cover on these "buildings" is basically a plastic tarp of decent thickness. Mine has stood up to hurricanes, snow, etc. Only mistake I made was not securing it down to the ground with those screw auger thingys. I thought concrete block around the bottom of the frame would stop it from moving, but was wrong and had one of the vertical posts put a nice dent in the quarter panel of a Cuda I had at the time. Eventually the covers wear out and replacing them costs more than just buying a whole new shelter. A more permanent option is a carport. A bit redneck in my opinion, but not any worse than a portable garage, if you care what the neighbors think. I'm pretty sure mine consider me quite the redneck, and I rarely disappoint. The cool thing about either option is you can work on your truck in bad weather and be protected..........or just grab a six pack and go hide from your wife/girlfriend if she's driving you nuts.

If those structures aren't your cup of tea they make lots of "car covers" designed for outdoor use, just don't expect to get more than a year or two of life out of them. And then there's the plain old tarp. Canvas or plastic...........take your pick. I prefer plastic, as the canvas ones get too heavy and trap too much moisture. The key is to remove them often to let the truck breathe and don't wrap the truck with it so tight that moisture can't escape. You can get a few years out of them, a bit longer if they're not in direct sunlight. The plastic ones come in various thicknesses and you get what you pay for. The cheap lightweight ones are junk.....don't waste your time and money. Sometimes you can find vinyl "pool covers", which are the same as regular tarps, on sale now in the Spring and again in the fall. Plus they come with pro-rated warranties.

I assume it won't fit in your garage anymore because the tires are too wide for the garage door. If that's the case there's always the real expensive option........widen the door opening and put a wider door on. Just make sure your friends are sober when they help you with this one.

regards,
bob

[Cal_Gary]

Well I don't know where your "summer" is w/o your location, but by necessity mine stayed outside and/or under a carport the first 8 years I had it on the central California coast. It got rain, wind, El Nino'ed, and a huge branch that smashed the hood and right hood support panel during the worst wind storm since 1955. You can't completely keep the elements out; I covered mine in a full-size truck cover for privacy and so it could breathe. Obviously now that it is garaged the wear and tear is much less noticeable but I still intend to strip it down to the rolling frame to have all the years of accumulated rust, mud, crud removed this Spring then prep and paint it.
Just my 2 cents,
Gary

[junkyardog]

i will put the normal tires on it in the fall so it will fit in the garage and be under cover in the winter.. i don't leave a top on it in summer so i wanted to keep the rain out of it.. my garage door is to short..they don't make the panels anymore to go taller..mabey i will put the canvase top on it this year..

[52PLOWERWAGON]

how much clearance do you need?

[CSCameron]

Is it a problem of height/width or both? If height, can you air down the tires to make it fit?

[junkyardog]

im afraid to air them down they are very hard to get re seated on the rims... good idea though.. its a matter of height.. they don't make panels for that door anymore..

[just me]

They shouldn't unseat the bead even at 15psi.(sand operation pressure) After all, they require hammers and work to unseat!

[carolinamv]

With lets say 5PSI in the tires , how many inches do you think you will gain? Im curious because I have to take my cab top bow off to get mine in and out , and take the cargo bows off completely.

[junkyardog]

i can't get mine in with the top bow that holds the back of the canvace top with normal tires and then i have to put vise grips on the door so it is all the way passed the header... so its to tight already

[ZGjethro]

I had to cut the 2x6" trim board off the top of my garage door jamb. Then I ripped a 4x4' post to garage door thickness and bolted it to the top of my door panel. I'm running stock sized tires and I think it was a seven foot door