The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Winterizing truck

Well Summers over and winter will be here sooner than you know it. What do you guys do to prepare your trucks for winter storage?

Change the oil and filter, and run the engine until it has warmed up.

Put the appropriate amount of Stabil in the gas tank.

Depending on the type of battery, maybe put it on an automatic battery maintainer?
I do nothing with my 6v Optima batteries.

Check the air pressure in the tires?
I grease my truck after hibernation, but it could be done before?

Just fill the gas tank.

That's when my truck gets the most usage. If it's pouring down rain, I leave the bike in the garage and take the truck.

My old suburban has so many holes in it, I might as well be riding a motorcycle in the rain.

Same as Leo......Just keep the gas tank full with a stabilizer, but I treat the fuel at ever fill up with
Stabil anyway. Don't use a battery maintainer either. Old blue sat since last fall and I just cranked
her up last week for the first time. Farm & Fleet 6v battery quite old but no problem starting even
after that long nap....and did I mention.....had a full tank of that year old E10 in her also. I just ran
the last of it out this morning and and filled up with some fresh 2017 petrol. I have, for the past
12 years run only Shell Rotella T 15w-40, summer and winter. Only drive her when the weather is
dry, can be cold but must be dry.
I think the majority of the problems that people blame bad fuel, bad batteries, bad oil for, can
be traced back to poor engine condition, poor maintenance, poor electrical connections.
When new, these trucks were reliable and driven in every imaginable weather condition.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Make sure to have a few mouse traps that get checked frequently for furry friends.

Ed

Storage, I don't use any stinking storage. I drive it on a semi-regular basis.

I have no heater so.....

Drive mine year round. No heater in the '48 Burb, just put on a coat. The '62 C-10 has a heater I assume works. Need to check it out. I make sure the antifreeze is good because they both set outside all the time.🛠

Wait just a minute. Let me be sure that I understand this correctly.

Am I to believe that everybody does not have a heated & cooled shop/garage? What the.........??

Mike

HA!......UH......NO

Don't forget to check the coolant mix to insure it's good to a temperature BELOW your local low winter temps.

Mike B

All great advice -- Also be sure to visit our Tech Tips section (use the handy menu bar at the top of the page ) because there's a very handy article there regarding

Winterizing your truck

Who knows, there might be other information there you find useful or interesting (or ... gasp ... BOTH!!)

And yes, my shop is heated and cooled -- It is heated quite nicely in the summer and stays very cool in the winter.


John

Now that was a good one John. You caught me till I read further!!
I did chuckle a little!!
Take care,
Jim

Yep, ya got me goin' also John. Had that sinking feeling of jealousy about that "heated and cooled"
shop...........till I finished the sentence that is.
I'm in the process of converting from propane in the house and wood burner in the barn
to Natural Gas that was run out our way last winter. House is up and running now, so
the barn is next on the list. Got it plumbed in from the house, under the 60 foot drive
and out to the barn this weekend and will be working on over head piping for the
80 foot length of the building this week.
Not gonna live with another air conditioned winter in the shop.
DG

You really should change the oil BEFORE storage. The old oil has 'acids/contaminates' in it, which are not good to let sit in the engine all Winter.

Sta-bil in the Full gas tank.

Battery maintainer.

Wax and cover.

If you know for certain you won't be driving it again until things thaw out next spring, I'd go ahead and put it up on jack stands to avoid having flat spots on the tires.

Be certain to disconnect the positive cable from the battery to assure no battery drain and/or accidental fire.

What is this "Winter Storage" you speak of? Oh, that.

Seriously, If non-ethanol contaminated gasoline is available, I strongly suggest having only that in the tank for long term storage. If that's not possible, last thing after all the final prep is done is to squeeze off a rubber portion of the fuel line while the engine is running to ensure no ethanol gas is in the carb to do mischief over the winter.

Ron

Windyville, you need to winterize yourself and keep driving your truck.

Ha! I can't drive it very much till my leaky transmission is fixed. Sounds like that may be a longish job. I may freeze to death figuring out how to get the seals replaced.

LOL In Phoenix AZ, just the opposite...how to SUMMERIZE! And given the current trend,the only comfortable driving is Novenber trough april.I dont even need a choke!