Who parks their TJ for the winter?

glwood

glwood

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I've seen this subject come up in other threads, so I am just curious - who parks their TJ for the winter, mostly I'm guessing to avoid the corrosive effects of road salt accumulation on the underside (or anywhere else)?

If you do, what do you have to do to bring it back to life come warmer weather?
 
I wouldn’t say we park ours entirely for the Winter, but we drive it a lot less, that’s for sure. I also usually avoid driving it in rain. Not sure why, but I just do. I would say last Winter I drove it maybe 4-5 times.
 
Chris said:
I wouldn’t say we park ours entirely for the Winter, but we drive it a lot less, that’s for sure. I also usually avoid driving it in rain. Not sure why, but I just do. I would say last Winter I drove it maybe 4-5 times.
Click to expand...
I'd go through withdrawals if I didn't drive mine at least a couple of times each week...
 
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glwood said:
I'd go through withdrawals if I didn't drive mine at least a couple of times each week...
Click to expand...

Oh I do... trust me. But then when I get back into it it’s the most exhilarating feeling. Like driving a new car or something! It’s as if I enjoy teasing myself.

In the Spring and Summer I drive it daily!
 
I park mine for the winter mostly because I no longer go into the mountains to snow wheel. Surprisingly the Explorer is a far better DD than the TJ, IMO (handles and brakes better).

What do I do when it goes back on the street?
Re-insure it.
Check the fluids and tire pressures then start it and go.

Enjoy!
 
I got my Tj in October and have been slowly building it this past winter (actually finishing up the front bumper tonight) so it has been parked for a couple of months but we also park a Toyota pickup truck and my dad's weekend track car. An absolute must is a battery tender or put it on the charger for a day or two before you plan on starting it. We usually do a oil change right before park them, put the tires on rubber mats (cold concrete sucks the life out of tires In our experience) and put a wash cloth(s) in the exhaust pipe(s) and intake to keep critters from creating nest. Then in the spring/summer, just unhook the battery tender and pull the cloths out and we have never had a problem with one starting. Been doing this with the Toyota and dad's track car for the past 8 years
 
I garage mine in the winter. I start it and let it run for about 15 minutes or so about once a month. I dont do anything else to it. When it warms up I check the fluids, remove the doors and top and head out. Its basically just our warm sunny day vehicle. I am contemplating getting another one that already has some minor rust issues and a hard top so I wont care too much about driving it in the winter. I hear they are a beast in the snow but I wouldnt know.

I'll admit that i miss. but i hate rust
 
Driving it in the snow now. I couldn’t let mine sit anymore. When I got this jeep I washed and waxed it weekly and it never saw a drop of rain. Then I looked at it one day and said why the hell did you spend almost 20k on this thing for?? It’s made to be driven so drive the damn thing lol. Sold my 2017 grand Cherokee and have been driving this daily ever since. This is the most fun I have had driving a vehicle.
 
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Preventive maintenance is the key.

I use mine all year round when I live in Chicago. I park them outside during winter because my garage is heated.
 
I have not driven mine much this winter due to roads having a ton of salt on them.
I bought it more for a summertime vehicle anyway, that's my excuse!
I will drive it in the winter, as long as we get some heavy rain first, to wash the salt off the streets.
 
Even in a relatively warm climate, I mostly park my jeep for the winter. I’ll drive it 1-2 times a month just to get it out on sunny days. My window defroster doesn’t work so when it gets to the upper 30’s at night I have a hard time getting the windshield defrosted. I’ll fix it here at some point.
 
mine is sitting in the driveway, under a cover, waiting for spring (and the stroker kit to be installed)...the battery is inside where I put the trickle charger on it every couple of weeks so it stays charged up
 
Mine is always parked from before first snow until spring rains have washed away the chlorides- I plan to keep mine as “cherry” as possible because mine is a toy for off-road that I plan to keep forever. And yes- I can’t wait to fire it up in spring.

Since there is no good reason to start a fuel injected engine when parked long term (carbureted do need to be started though)— I do not. Although some might argue that recoiling dry parts by running it- my old engineering training taught me that 90% of wear comes in the first 5 minutes of start up. Fogging each cylinder might be wise but I do not.

I do put a battery maintainer on it approx every 3 weeks and she is put away washed and if possible with an oil change- at least not with old oil that has the TBN all used up. Tank will be completely full of winter grade gas.

I just start it and go in spring.
 
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