Am I stupid to Keep in garage

[ShadowsPapa]

What about the holes in the frame. I’ve seen plugs for them, those help or false magic?

Don't plug the holes - more likely to hold in water and dust. Best bet is to use those to periodically flush out the frame with clear water (I think they even make garden hose attachments for that type of use)

Of the cars I've restored, rust commonly happens in hidden areas that don't get cleaned or where panels, such as floor panels, overlap and are spot welded - dust and dirt gets in between.

Sponsored

 

[Erievon]

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.

 

[Chaos Theory]

As someone who spent most of my life in Wisconsin, here's what you do...

1) Wait for the last snowfall of the season, when you're sure it won't snow again.

2) Then wait for a couple days of moderate/heavy rain (washes remaining salt off road)

3) Pressure spray wash the hell out of the undercarriage. I mean a good 20 minute spraying underneath, in every possible crack/hidden place under there.

4) Enjoy a rust-free vehicle for at least a decade or more.

 

[TestMule]

If I was in the Midwest or the NE or even the PNW right now and had to drive in the conditions you'll find there, I'd pass on driving the wife's Mazda and use the JT.

Having it do what it was designed to do trumps "saving" it from bad conditions.

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.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

Did you buy it to look at it, or to drive it? They are building and selling way too many for these to be a collector’s item…

I’d say drive and enjoy it for the reasons you bought it, take care of it by cleaning and maintaining it. Nothing wrong with garage, just don’t put it away wet. (The warmth of a heated garage can help the salts get to work faster)

 

[Jefe1018]

Here is the reminder I need that it could be worse than the desert I live in.

 

[bucolic]

Today it was 9 degrees out and some awesome snow. I purposely went out and found a snowy back road, yanked her into 4 wheel and enjoyed some rural winter scenery.

Keep it in the garage and it will last a bit longer but you'll miss out on all the fun in the snow. These things thrive in the winter snow and you're missing out big time!

 

[bd100]

Around the 15 year old mark other things start failing anyhow. I can get cars to last to 20 but they're really tired by then, lots of stuff to replace. So I figure it's a 15 year vehicle. I use it and spray off the salt when the roads are dry and water runs through the outside hose, and call it good.

 

[Erievon]

Here is the reminder I need that it could be worse than the desert I live in.

Can always put on more clothes, but you can only take so many of them off...

 

[Jefe1018]

Can always put on more clothes, but you can only take so many of them off...

Come mid July I’ll be explaining that to all of you again I’m sure.

 

[jac04]

If you plan on keeping one of these JTs for a long time, you need to start from day 1 with corrosion mitigation. Not matter how much you wash off the vehicle, IMO it's going to disappoint you in regards to corrosion unless you do something about it when it is brand new. Keeping it out of salty conditions will certainly help, but there are plenty of people outside salt-use areas that experience hinge & body panel corrosion. Focusing on protection of the frame/undercarriage is just a basic start. IMO, it is the hinges and body panels that really need corrosion protection for longevity.

 

[Minty JL]

I drive my JLUR and JTM year around.

In the spring I'll bottom blast them and spray them with either fluid firm or the stuff from Amsoil.

Buying something to garage it or fear to drive it is a waste of resources or assets IMO.

 

[chorky]

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!

You are in prime condition right now to seal up the frame before any damage is done.

Here is what I did.

• 3M cavity wax - 6 cans if I remember right, allowed for two full coats interior of the frame and some interior of the body panels
• Amsoil HD Metal Protect - year one I did a total of 4 thick coats. Frame, springs, axles, underside of the body, basically anything I could spray. Waiting 30 to 60 minutes between coats. Then 6 months later I did 2 more coats for good measure. Now it will just be spot checks when a rock chips some off. It dries nice like a wax and not hard like POR15 which can trap gunk and cause rust
• Washing - I dont have many options for this but when the washing station in town is not frozen and is open, I spent 30-40 minutes washing down as much as possible.

You could consider fluid film over top of the metal protect - I might do that if we get more snow this year. It is not dumb to park in in the garage. Yes these are great trucks and we should use it for what we bought, but at 60,000 + in cost, it is a pill to swallow that it might be a hunk of junk in 10 years. Thats a lot of money to just throw away. That being said these newer frames and bodies have better coatings on them than 10 years ago so they should not rust as fast. Our gov trucks here never had any frame protection, never get washed underneath, and are on the road all winter long. They dont have all that much rust and most of the truck are no older than 2015.

 

[Mx113]

I don’t know how Jeep stays in business selling trucks. It seems that almost everyone on here says they plan to keep theirs forever. I plan to beat the snot out of mine for 3 or 4 years, then let someone else deal with it?‍ It’s sad to see people that can’t enjoy their vehicles because they are scared they might put a scratch on it or leave some freakin salt on it. I know everyone is wired differently, but life is too short to worry about all that bs

 

[Sandevino]

Take it out and play with it…lol

Sponsored