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Winter storage of the BOSS.

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johna said:
Wow - "the bubble" for the car looks great.

This is my first winter where the boss will be sleeping in my unheated insulated detached garage. I have a small budget set aside where I was going to be running some wires to a 240 volt heater for a 500 sq ft garage. I was planning on heating the garage over the winter to 40 degrees. With my same budget I can afford the bubble - or the heater but not both (until next year).

I have never stored a car before; it does get very cold here in chicago...which one would be better - heat or bubble. Or either one would be fine. Just curious how damaging the cold can get.

Thanks
JohnA

If you have the ability to start the car up every 7-10 days and let it get up to temp then you really dont need to heat the garage. The heater is to prevent condensation from building up inside the motor . If you are running the motor on a regular basis and letting it get hot, you really shouldnt have a problem.
 
NFSBOSS said:
Unless you live in Alaska isn't it a bit early for this annual thread?

I live in Alaska and I'm not putting up my Boss yet. Hopefully have a couple more weeks and then even some dry winter driving might be available.
 
Another thing you might consider for long storage is parking your Boss on something other than the concrete to avoid possible flat-spotting your tires. I know todays tires are a lot better than those of yesteryear, but I choose to park on some rubber pieces I cut from some heavy garage mats. Food for thought...
 
featurecar50 said:
Winter came a moth early in MI. We already have some snow, just enough to cover the ground.
yes it has although I haven't witnessed the white stuff yet but temps have changed drastically here. last Sunday was the last drive of the year most likely and she's tucked away in the garage in winter mode.
 
put some plywood down and park the car on top of it for the moisture. place some moth balls around inside the garage and some dryer sheets for inside the vehicle. I never tried any of these things but I hear people do this to keep mice away. if you have some jackstands put the car up on those so the tires don't develop flat spots. I start mine up and move the car back and forth during the winter inside my garage. I live right off Lake Michigan just south of the lake in Indiana and the snow and cold can get pretty bad. but the last couple of years they have somewhat been ok. but it is still cold :eek:
 
I'm in Atlanta so fortunately for me, I don't need to "store" my car for months like some of the northerners do. I am a northerner at heart and was raised in Mass. Love the summers, hate the winters. I do have a question. I recently purchased a 95 Mercedes Benz as my daily driver mainly because I don't want to drive a 600rwhp car all the time. Btw...if you want to joing the fun/drama I'm going through on my s/c install, just check out my thread on here (https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=6238.0)

I bought a decent cover for the boss (not using the one the car came with). My plan is to only take out the boss once every week or two. Are there any protocols I need to follow to make sure I'm maintainng my boss that will be parked for no more than two weeks at a time? I did notice (after leaving my car for a week) that the TPMS light showed. I found that a bit odd but the temperature outside did change 20 degrees during that week. It was in the mid to high 50s when I saw the tire pressure light on. Have a great weekend everyone.
 
yankeehick said:
I'm in Atlanta so fortunately for me, I don't need to "store" my car for months like some of the northerners do. I am a northerner at heart and was raised in Mass. Love the summers, hate the winters. I do have a question. I recently purchased a 95 Mercedes Benz as my daily driver mainly because I don't want to drive a 600rwhp car all the time. Btw...if you want to joing the fun/drama I'm going through on my s/c install, just check out my thread on here (https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=6238.0)

I bought a decent cover for the boss (not using the one the car came with). My plan is to only take out the boss once every week or two. Are there any protocols I need to follow to make sure I'm maintainng my boss that will be parked for no more than two weeks at a time? I did notice (after leaving my car for a week) that the TPMS light showed. I found that a bit odd but the temperature outside did change 20 degrees during that week. It was in the mid to high 50s when I saw the tire pressure light on. Have a great weekend everyone.

Im not sure how cold it normally gets there or if your garage is heated, but maybe a battery tender? Especially if you are only running it every two weeks over the winter.
 

TymeSlayer

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It's one thing to just start the car but another to roll it out, drive it around and park it again. Here in Colorado, you can just about get the car out on the road every other week and I've never had any issues with the tires, battery or gas. I keep it on Race Deck flooring in a insulated but non heated garage where the temp never gets below 35. The one thing I do concern myself with are mice but a few caps on the front brake cooling ducts and a few dryer sheets placed strategically seem to do the trick.
 
TymeSlayer said:
It's one thing to just start the car but another to roll it out, drive it around and park it again. Here in Colorado, you can just about get the car out on the road every other week and I've never had any issues with the tires, battery or gas. I keep it on Race Deck flooring in a insulated but non heated garage where the temp never gets below 35. The one thing I do concern myself with are mice but a few caps on the front brake cooling ducts and a few dryer sheets placed strategically seem to do the trick.

Where are the 'strategic placements,' or is that classified information? ;)
 

four-walling

Kerry, San Diego
I have an electronic gate for my driveway and have placed mothballs (NOT moth repellent) into the gate controller box. The rodents LOVE the box as a place to nest and munch on the wire insulation.

The mothballs need to be put into a plastic tupperware type container with slits cut into the top via a box cutter. The slits should be just wide wide enough to let the odor escape but narrow enough to prevent the mice from carrying the mothballs away-and they will do that.

I have used this method for 10 years and it works perfectly. The mothballs eventually "evaporate" (for lack of a better word), so the container must be partially refilled every 4 to 6 weeks.

Use this method putting mothballs in your engine compartment and the rodents will stay away. Mothballs stink too much to use them in the interior of the car.

P.S. put a note on your dashboard to remind yourself to remove any remaining mothballs from the engine compartment when the spring driving season arrives again.
 
Here in southern CT, for the last 2 winters, I've been lucky to be able to start up & drive my Boss at least once a week all winter as long as the roads were dry & the temp wasn't frigid. The Boss is kept in an attached 2 car garage where the temp never goes below 55 degrees. My wife uses the other half of the garage on a daily basis which must keep the mice at bay, as I haven't seen any evidence that they're around.
 
When I was in high school my brother picked up (really my dad) a '70 AMX Hornet that has been stored in a barn with mothballs. We could never get the smell out even after tearing the entire interior apart and repetitive cleaning. That car forever became known as "Mothra".

Point being, be careful with your mothball usage.
 
I chose to put mine away, even though I am in Colorado. I have a 98 Chevy Z71 as a daily driver...while the road may be clear, I hear there is a lot of grit / sand that hangs around until the Spring.

I did use the factory car cover, it's in an insulated (not heated) garage, full tank of fuel with Sta-Bil, over-inflated tires parked on two layers of carpet with a few of those "strategically placed" dryer sheets.

I purchased the $80 battery manager IV from Griot's

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/battery+manager+iv.do
 
Sean said:
What do you guys do about insurance?

The insurance companies do this all the time. Just tell them that the car will be in storage and all your coverage with the exception of comprehensive will be suspended. Call them in the spring and tell them you want your full coverage re-instated.
 

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