What about a neighbor?
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What about a neighbor?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don87
I agree with Don and would keep it charged up and plug in the heaters before starting that would be best. One winter uncovered isn't that big of a deal and I am sure by next year you will be good to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave5264
How about Fluid Film?
Unless you're gonna work it for at least 30 min you should just let it sit. You need to get it really hot for awile to burn off the condensation that forms when you start it. Otherwise, you'll do more harm than good.
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I live just across the border from Fort Frances. I once had a fairly cheap fabric shelter and it only lasted a couple years. Later I paid more and bought a Round Top brand. I bolted it to double layer 2 x10's (do you use metric measure lumber in Canada? The sheets you send us are 4 x 8 foot and in fraction inch thickness so I wonder). Then I anchored each side with the largest screw anchors I could find and chained around the planks with 5/16" chain. Now going into its 6th winter. However it only houses the boat except for a short time housing my tractor while building our new machine shed.
I tarped the boat one winter before getting a shelter and it was devastated.
I'd try to figure out some better way to protect your investment. I cringe now because I ave not yet implemented my winter storage plan so my Kubota is in the unseated machine shed and we ad snow again today. It needs to be in the heated garage. Freezing weather starts involve filling the whole building with smoke and nearly gassing me to death.
Park it where it will be protected from wind driven sand / snow if you can and then leave it. Start /stop heatup/ cool down cycles are what will cause the damage . Our winter air is dry air, yours probably is as well. If snow gets under the hood, it won't hurt anything until it melts and sits as water for an extended period...
Do you have any neighbors with barns? Offer tehm some green to store your tractor for the winter. I hate having my equipment sitting outside
Quote:
Originally Posted by MHarryE
I slide a 10 or so foot section of this McMaster-Carr over the exhaust pipe and slide it out under the door. Then start the tractor. I drive out of the building before I remove it.
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I don't have a canvas and pole, carport, lean-to, shed, or barn to store it in. I use my tractor all winter for snow removal and before we get too much snow, moving logs out of the woods; so it doesn't sit. Like several others have said, putting a tarp over the whole thing holds in the moisture and promotes even more rusting and condensation. So here's what I do.
1. Keep the leaves off the tractor. We have a lot of oak and those leaves are very acidic. Don't let them set on the tractor for any length of time. Clean them off at least once a week, daily is better.
2. Rust spots: for body and structural parts, scrape the rust off or lightly sand the spots, then hit them all with rust compound. It basically chemically bounds with the iron oxide and forms a plastic-like coating that can be left as is, or painted over. For your hydraulic pistons, don't let them get rusty in the first place. Keep them well greased. I know with my Bobcat's FEL, when the bucket is at full rest position, all the rams are completely retracted in their cylinders and not exposed to the elements at all. You can touch up a slightly rusty piston with ultrafine sandpaper, or buffing compound, but you have to thoroughly clean them afterwards before regreasing or using, otherwise the grit stays on it and it just keeps wearing. Don't sand too heavily or you can damage the piston; and getting them repaired is EXPENSIVE, at least to me.
3. If you have a cab, you're golden. If not, you can cover the seat and control area loosely with a tarp just before it snows if you want to make things easier to clean off. Otherwise, keep a soft broom handy for cleaning it off. I've even seen a couple guys use a leaf blower to clear powder off their tractors.
4. Park it on a place that drains well. You don't want your tires or attachments to get stuck in or to the ice and ground. Also, make sure your tires are at proper inflation. If they're a little low, that's more surface area to get stuck to the ground with, and you lose structural strength of the tire; which means pulling loose from the ice will cause more damage than if properly inflated.
5. Make sure your coolant antifreeze is good, and all your lubricants are full. I recommend keeping your fuel tank full to minimize condensation area in the tank. Algae growth in fuel is pretty much a non-issue in the winter, assuming you don't use it that much. In southern NH I'm not worried about the fuel gelling up in the cold. Up in the far north, or high country, that might be an issue and you might need an additive to keep it flowing properly.
Next year I should have enough logs cut to put up a pole barn shed against the side of the garage to store my tractor in.
The first couple of years I owned my tractor, I tarped it in the winter. I pretty much wrapped it up like a Christmas present - I worried about moisture, but I did not have get any issues whatsoever - not to say it is still not a concern. However, if you lie a tarp on the ground and park on top of it, that will prevent moisture coming up from the ground. Then put another over the tractor. You shouldn't have any moisture issues.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave5264
JayC
Have you looked at Farm-Tek.com?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay4200
They have a whole range of Ag-approved/sized buildings of various degrees of permanence.
Not sure what the duty and VAT would add to their usually pretty reasonable prices.
They often have odd lots and left-overs at a steep discount.
FWIW