Winterizing Vanagon With No Garage

[jdbs3]

1990 Vanagon GL, 2nd owner

For the last 17 years, the van has never been used in Winter.  At the first sign of snow (mid to late November) it was stored in a garage until April or May.  This kept the rust on the exterior and underbody to virtually zero; the exterior is in great shape. 

Or as my mechanic noted the other day, looking at the underside of the van, "it does not look like a New England van, rather more like a California or Florida van."

But now we have moved to a house still in NE, but with no garage and a driveway that is 100 yards from the mouth of a river leading to the ocean.  Again, I will not use the van once the first snow arrives.  It will sit on a driveway covered with pavers, with a 4' fence on one side, and the house on the other side, now exposed to the elements year round.

What would folks recommend I do to minimize the effects of the weather on the van in winter? 

- Should it be parked on a trap to mitigate the effects of ground moisture effecting the underside?

- Should some added level of protection/undercoating be used to deter any rust buildup on the underside?  And if so what?

- What would be the best protection for the exterior body of the van, possible a cover for it over the winter months?  And one that would not nick the paint with constant flapping from the wind?

Any and all feedback will be appreciated. 

Thanks!

[jsnewburyport]

I can tell you what I do but I look forward to seeing the responses you get as I also live in New England.  I could probably do better.  Up until this year I was putting it in my daughter's garage but she has moved and that was no longer an option this year.  First, I did purchase a cover for my bus (1973 Transporter) from Bus Depot. I secured it with a rope to minimize flapping against the paint and I figure even with that concern it's still better than being exposed to the elements.  My other major concern is mice entering the vehicle and chewing through the wiring.  I stuffed dryer sheets throughout the vehicle, particularly where there was wiring and I spread cayenne pepper on the ground around the wheels.  I've stored it for four winters and no mice so far.  That's all I've got.  I hope you get more ideas from other members of LIMBO.  Jerry

[MrLiMBO]

Other than a cover or portable shelter, I have no other suggestions. My kombi it parked inside so its just gets a coat of dust.  My RV sits outside all year long, every spring I have to give it a good wash from the tree sap, but other than that, its good.  We have a few neighborhood cats, so mice haven't seem to be a problem for my vehicles.

[Gertrude84]

Hello!  I know this is a little late for this year. We also never take out our  van out in the winter and we are fortunate enough to have a van that never was been in its 36 years.  With no garage, we purchased a good amount of quarry stone to place under her then we bought a portable garage from Tractor Supply (sort of like this one   https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/shelterlogic-landowner-series-garage-in-a-box-roundtop-12-ft-x-20-ft-x-8-ft?cm_vc=-10005)
but we paid a lot less.  Then we reinforced the grounding. So far so good.  We then ran heavy duty extension cords to hook up a battery tender and put those plug in bug/mice repellers inside.  We check on the van regularly and start it up at least once a month.  I hope this helps.