Moving to Minneapolis MN!

I'll see if I can get you a pic tomorrow. It's dark here on the east coast!!

 

That’s a good data point for us to have.....it sounds like you’re doing it right too

 

Here is a pic of my frame first is just "as is", and second shows where I wiped off the oil/grease/dirt. All that brown is just good old fashioned red clay mud splatter. It goes long periods between washings this time of year. More frequent in winter/salt season.

 

Looks good^^

 

is that a 15yr old NY frame?

 

BAAHAAAHAAA!!!! That's about three year old replacement!! But, in all honesty, the frame that was replaced wasn't much different than that. As has been stated many times on these forums, the frames rust from the inside out. I pushed my thumb through mine in one of the usual spots. (All prior to finding this site, and learning a lot more about these trucks, and the frame issues)

 

Ain't nothing special about living in MN. Make sure your battery is up to snuff, have some good tires (I'm a Michelin LTX M/S2 believer), and get the underside washed once in a while.

The biggest/best factor in keeping a vehicle in shape in MN is parking it in a garage at night. Even if it isn't heated, a vehicle will hold up so much better in a garage than sitting outside 24/7 - especially in the winter.

 

So for this......isn’t a cold garage / outside better for avoiding rust than a heated garage? Wouldn’t the melted snow and ice / liquid water cause faster oxidation on the frame?

My truck is Krown coated and looks nearly brand new after 3 winters parked outside. Never been washed underneath except when the Krown guys do what they’d call a “salt wash” and basically clean all the crap off the underside before reapplying.

This winter my wife will be parking her Jetta inside a heated garage.....I’ve told her she needs to get the underside washed like once a week. That Jetta is 8yrs old and has been parked outside full-time for its entire life.....and looks pretty good too.

What do you guys think?

 

my truck has never been in a heated garage, parked outside occasionally buried in snow so the roadspray usually just stays frozen until I can hit the DIY spray and wash, it does start melting when the weather gets balmy, weather here fluctuates to an extreme, 60F one week and 10F the next! I don't know if MN fluctuates like that or not? the most extreme brutal winter I ever faced was in MN outside of Sioux Falls SD just across the border! but that was before I had my current truck

 

we don't quite got those fluctuations but there are some pretty big swings in the spring.....like winter can't decide if it wants to give up

 

about 10yrs ago was the worst winter for snow cover I have ever experienced. almost 3 ft spread out over weeks to months that never fully melted for almost 4 months!
it never got much above freezing in the global warming days lol
the rabbitts were hopping on top of the snow eating the bark of the little bushes up 2ft off the ground, the bark below was untouched

 

3 ft of snow? That’s cute.

 

the 3 ft is not the point i was trying to make!
it is VERY uncommon around here for that winter snow to remain fully 'unmelted' for that long period of time without ever seeing the grassy lawn in that many months.
Now maybe Iowa never gets temps fluctuations and just gets piled upon
I mean this past winter we had 2ft of snow cover for about 5wks maybe, then it all disappeared in 2days (i am sure you know the story) but it did not linger around unmelted for nearly 4 months!

 

There are winters in upstate NY in which the ground was snow-covered from Nov to mid-April. Weekly snowstorms of one to two feet of snow at a time is not uncommon. There were times when the snow cover on my lawn reached six feet deep. For me, you prepare for winter. That means having food, fuel, and supplies to last for a few days in case we get snowed in. I suspect much of MN has the same type of winters. Besides rust proofing get all other maintenance done before the snow flies. Winters in the northern states are beautiful, but getting through the winter months requires a degree of preparation.

 

do you get temps that are seriously sub zero?

 

Usually, we get a few weeks where the temps are single digits during the day and below zero at night. Brisk!!

 

Prepare for -50 windchill temps. Synthetic fill if you haven’t switched already, good battery, decent tires, fluid film and car washes at least every other week. Dry your door jambs after or you’ll be breaking door handles off..

Lubricate all hinges, locks and moving parts. Drop your spare and throw it in your box for easy access when it’s dark at 430 pm and you have a flat at -40.

Wash, wash, wash but don’t do it when it’s 35 and sunny otherwise it’ll be a salted mess by the time you get up to highway speeds. Wait until roads are cleared, relatively dry and just below freezing, then your wash will go a long way.

Throw some tube sand in the back even though it’s 4wd. This will help plant your vehicle and it’ll be more stable and safe.

Before starting your truck, turn the key to the on position for 5 seconds to let your ECU calibrate to the blistering cold weather before starting.

Good luck!!

 

it was 10 degrees below normal today here
so much for the global warming garb...
don't think I can recall the last summer that has been so cool and not hot here

does that often spell super cold winters to follow?

 

Are you asking about NY or MN?

This was air temp one day last winter in MN:

 

NY (sorry)