Winter Van Care
Moving into the colder months, inevitably the trips in the van will become less frequent. But don’t just park up the van and forget about it until spring, it’s still going to need some attention.
Firstly, keep it dry. Sounds obvious…and unless you have a garage, not that easy.
Ok. So you don’t have a garage, invest in a vehicle cover. These are easily found on Amazon, eBay, and places like Halfords. You can even get them in the middle aisle of the budget supermarkets. You don’t need to spend a lot to save a lot in the long run.
But a cover alone, or parking up in the garage aren’t going to keep it completely dry. Moisture, whether from wet roads or from the damper air will gather in spots around the body work of the van. The colder weather makes it harder to clear and the chance of rust developing increases.
Some hot spots for this are around the underside of the wheel arches (I’ll do a video soon showing these areas). There’s an easy fix. Firstly, WD40 is great at forcing out the pooled moisture, you can spray this liberally around such areas. Unfortunately it’s a temporary solution as it tends to mostly run off the body work over time or evaporate.
A second, more long term solution is Waxoyl. A thicker substance, which sticks to the underside of the vehicle and keeps it fully waterproof for a long time. You can get this in spray form or it can be painted on. It’s best to do this in warmer weather, but if using the paint stuff, submerge the can in hot water for a while before use and it will be more viscous, allowing it to flow into harder to reach areas, ensuring comprehensive cover of the target areas.
Moisture absorbing devices, like the Aero 360 are great for leaving inside the van, reducing the chance of rust on the internal metalwork, mould, particularly in the carpets, and just generally keeping damp smells at bay. However, there is another simpler and cheaper solution. Salt. A couple of old butter tubs or something similar sized, half filled with course salt and a few holes popped in the lid will help absorb moisture in the air.
Such things are great for popping in places around the garage too, to reduce external moisture.
Another thing to consider is how much fuel you leave in the van. If not using the van for months at a time, it can be worth leaving as little as possible in there as it can cause corrosion if left for idle. That said, it’s unlikely to cause any real issue and only becomes a real problem when going beyond a few months.
Will you be using the van over the winter at all? Most people will take the occasional trip out, but many will leave it idle until spring. Why not consider declaring it SORN to DVLA. (if kept of the road)? You could save yourself few quid. It’s also worth contacting your insurer to see if they can provide policies covering stored vehicles over this time. Again, you could save yourself £££.
Whether parking in the garage or outside, the paintwork is at greater risk, again from the moisture, over the winter months. It’s worth doing one last deep clean and wax. Get rid of any left over bug or bird s***, both of which are acidic and damaging to the paint, before applying a good coat of wax. Polish, such as Autoglym resin polish is an alternative to wax and will offer some protection, but it’s more of a top up product. Something like a good coat of Simonez will protect the paintwork for a long time.
If you do intend to use the van over winter, remember there will be more salt and grit on the roads, so more regular washes and wax will be needed. If you don’t have them already, all weather tyres would be a good alternative to standard tyres. The UK rarely gets cold enough to warrant full winter tyres, but all weather tyres will be more robust in the colder months and offer much better handling.
Lastly, if you’re only going back to using the van in spring, make sure you do adequate safety checks on the tyres and brakes, in case they’ve seized and where possible, use this time for your annual service.
I hope that helps, but if you have questions or other tips to add, why not share them in the forum forum.