While storage is a major component to keeping your items safe over the course of the winter, there are other things that can threaten your items besides the weather outdoors. There are certain things you should do for your items whether you’re storing them at home or with a storage facility. Here are some instructions on how to prepare your warm-weather items for their storage unit stay, especially if you choose not to use climate-controlled storage.

Gateway North Provides a Convenient Firestone Location

Storing Boats and Sport Utility Vehicles — If you choose not to use the climate-control feature in our storage units, there are things you’re going to want to do in order to make sure that the cold temperatures don’t negatively affect your engine or other mechanical components. Even if you do go with a climate-controlled unit, these are good steps to take to ensure the least amount of breakdown to your recreational vehicles.

1. Change The Oil — Changing the oil is a good step to take before storage to ensure that you have clean, uncontaminated oil in the engine. You should also run the engine for a short time to circulate the oil. Not only will dirty oil be more prone to turning to “engine sludge,” but oil that has been contaminated with acids or water can corrode your engine when sitting for too long. For that reason, this is particularly important for marine vehicles.
2. Remove Drive Belts — Removing drive belts can prove worth it for any vehicle going into storage for long amounts of time because remaining at such high tension combined with environmental factors can cause cracking. This is more important for those without climate-controlled storage.
3. Fill Your Gas Tank — Whether your recreational vehicle is in a climate-controlled unit or not, filling your gas tank is a smart move. Condensation can form in the gas tank’s empty space if you don’t, which could speed up the breakdown of your gas tank and other components once you start the vehicle. A gas stabilizer should be added to the fresh gas as well, to ensure that the gas doesn’t lose its quality over the winter.
4. Clean The Vehicle — Dirt may seem harmless, but when left over the course of a winter, stuck-on dirt and debris can help accumulate moisture and cause rust, cracked paint, and sometimes worse deterioration.
5. Lubricate Essential Mechanisms — Whether a boat or sport utility vehicle, you should do your best to grease down any essential joints, cylinders, gears, or steering columns. Make sure to do this after you clean so you’re not spreading dirt around.

These are just basic steps to make sure your vehicle and its components last for the long haul. A good rule of thumb for someone who really loves their vehicle is to prepare your vehicle like someone’s about to drive it off the lot. That way, when you pull it out of storage, you’ll have something that feels like new.

Storing Patio Furniture and Camping Gear — The steps to preparing your patio or lawn furniture or camping gear for storage are a little more straightforward than preparing a vehicle. Again, most of these steps are advisable if you’re not using a climate-controlled storage unit, but even if you are, they can’t hurt.

1. Clean and Prime Any Furniture — Dirt and debris can turn to mold and mildew while in a storage unit. All the furniture, whether a hammock or a plastic chair should be washed with whatever is suitable to the material and dried thoroughly before being put in storage. Wood furniture should be primed before storing to prevent cracking.
2. Bring Them In Fast — Aluminum and metal chairs, as well as wooden furniture, can be threatened by the earliest snowfalls of the season. The rusting process can start if you don’t get the metal items in fast enough, and it can be hard to tell when wood is actually dry. Getting them in before they’re damaged and before they can carry moisture into your storage unit is key.
3. Clean and Wrap Camping Gear — Storing camping gear correctly is important because it can be so expensive. For most camping gear, you should be treating it like clothing. Clean it, dry it, and wrap it tightly or seal it completely for storage. If not there’s always a chance for lingering bits of dropped food, bugs, or plain old dirt to be carried in with your goods. Any of those can mean a chain reaction that ruins your expensive gear. This is important even for climate-controlled units, as they don’t guarantee safety from insects. Keeping out pests is just as much a responsibility of the owner as it is of the storage facility