Am I stupid to Keep in garage

[Russ2023]

When I lived in Mass I had a winter beater vehicle and kept anything nice garaged until spring. If you plan on keeping it then don't expose it to the salt and crap. Mine is a weekend fun vehicle and will never see road salt.

In a former life I was into the Porsche and BMW sports car thing and I remember how funny to me it was when I first heard about winter beaters from the guys up north. Was a completely foreign concept to this boy from Texas. It made complete sense though.

Sponsored

 

[Jteakus]

When I got my C7 my buddy asked why I didn’t drive it more. Told him I wanted to keep miles off it. He said, “Not driving that car is like not having sex with your wife so the next man can enjoy it”. ?

 

[Erievon]

I did some hauling today too after having fun.

 

[Erievon]

I did notice off-road+ let me use the rear locker in 4A and 4H. Ooo that some drifty fun.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Once winter is over I'd pressure wash / clean the underside in every spot I can get to. I might even do that on a decent day in the middle of winter too.

wash thoroughly any chance there is - if it's above freezing, I take it in to a car wash and MANUALLY wash it.


Be really sure to RINSE as the chemicals used in car washes are rather caustic - never leave any soap residue.

As far as purpose, I bought mine because I needed a small truck. I need to haul stuff, tow stuff, it's become a daily driver taking the place of a WJ and a Silverado, cutting down to 1 vehicle instead of two, and Jeeps are great in all sorts of weather, including snow.
So I always figured mine would be used in winter, but - it's going to get washed a lot, any time it's warm enough to get the salt off of it, top, sides, undersides, under and between panels and so on.
You can't let it sit any length of time and because salt prevents water from freezing at 32 - even when cold and freezing out, the salt can cause trouble. So don't wait to clean it.
The garage will allow it to dry after washing.

Well here's mine after yesterday's snow storm in Cleveland. Sheeesh, my overland never did this. The running boards blocked way more then I thought.

Our Wrangler is a Rubicon - of course came with the stock rock rails. Worthless for winter protection.

My wife wanted steps - and I figured that would be great winter protection, so I put Sahara running boards on it (like the JT overland gets) and boy do those keep the sides cleaner. But the best is mud flaps AND running boards.
The running boards weren't enough of a "step" for us, so I put RSE power steps on - almost as good as running boards, not quite, though.

 

[CyberHero]

I guess if I had a sport or even an overland I wouldn’t even garage it and let it sit outside no matter the weather and ride it in worst conditions. I actually had a sport max tow and kept it outside and drove it no matter the roads. But an extra 15k ish I think I’d rather be smart and preserve it instead of cut down the years I can! Plus I paid it off so a bit more pride then to just sit outside and let it get pissed on lol to each their own I guess. I mean I always laugh at jeeps/trucks with large lifts and insane tires too. Always makes me think something else is going on there so maybe I’m just overall in the minority! One day when I save up another 60k I’ll buy a second for a toy

 

[CyberHero]

Says the guy who lives in Nevada where bad weather doesn’t exist lol

 

[CyberHero]

wash thoroughly any chance there is - if it's above freezing, I take it in to a car wash and MANUALLY wash it.


Be really sure to RINSE as the chemicals used in car washes are rather caustic - never leave any soap residue.

As far as purpose, I bought mine because I needed a small truck. I need to haul stuff, tow stuff, it's become a daily driver taking the place of a WJ and a Silverado, cutting down to 1 vehicle instead of two, and Jeeps are great in all sorts of weather, including snow.
So I always figured mine would be used in winter, but - it's going to get washed a lot, any time it's warm enough to get the salt off of it, top, sides, undersides, under and between panels and so on.
You can't let it sit any length of time and because salt prevents water from freezing at 32 - even when cold and freezing out, the salt can cause trouble. So don't wait to clean it.
The garage will allow it to dry after washing.



Our Wrangler is a Rubicon - of course came with the stock rock rails. Worthless for winter protection.

My wife wanted steps - and I figured that would be great winter protection, so I put Sahara running boards on it (like the JT overland gets) and boy do those keep the sides cleaner. But the best is mud flaps AND running boards.
The running boards weren't enough of a "step" for us, so I put RSE power steps on - almost as good as running boards, not quite, though.

I looked into those RSE steps today! Very nice I think I maybe going that route when save up the money

 

[Sigz]

Have there been any reports of rust issues? Particularly with the first year models?

 

[HankB]

Yes, there was a time when the end of the summer meant finding a winter beater car. The most memorable was a 63 Mercury Comet Caliente two door hardtop i had the winter of 72/73. It was basically a two door comet with a Mustang interior, but before the days when mustangs had muscle car intentions. I bought it for less than $100, put a set of used Michelin radials on it that were customer takeoffs, and bought a case of ATF for the leaking power steering pump. i got it cheaply because it smoked incredibly and was stuck in drive. I fixed the smoking by replacing the transmission’s kick down valve and the transmission by sticking a piece of 2x4 under the tail of the transmission to replace the failed rear mount.

it did cost me a girlfriend. Prior to Columbus Day i was driving a 69 XKE 2+2, after the holiday weekend i was driving the Merc. By Thanksgiving she had moved on. It’s just as well, i sold the XKE in the spring and replaced it with my first decent 911.

We bought our Glad for the purpose of driving in the winter and doing all of the jobs we don’t want to do with the cars, i.e. picking stuff up at HD, going to the dump, chauffeuring the dog. But i find that i drive the Glad most of the time even in good weather. For the winter My car and our boat are both parked inside a heated building on their respective battery chargers.

 

[CyberHero]

Have there been any reports of rust issues? Particularly with the first year models?

For the Midwest people it’s only a matter of time lol

 

[Wildtoad]

So you have a brand new(ish) Gladiator you keep in a garage. No issue with that. You don't drive it often. But you say your wife's car is out in the cold, snow, crappy weather. One car garage?

It were me, I'd give some thought to letting the car that's driven get the garage, buy a cover for the manly Jeep. Unless your wife thinks the current setup is OK, clearing the windshield.

 

[Reddog]

We got 2-3 of snow and my wife’s car is covered in salt/frozen slush. Should I just be driving it or am I right to avoid getting it nasty to prevent future rust from the lovely Midwest weather! It’s only got 850 miles on it got it in sept and we don’t neeeeed it really. I mean I paid it off last week it’s a 23 rubicon so it’s loaded with all the features i wanted that I couldn’t do myself. I’m thinking why limit my years on it!

If you don't know I guess we can't help you here.

Sponsored