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Old 01-01-2019, 08:59 PM   #21
hornet28
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Wow some responses there. My question was because JRTJH stated that outside was not an option in his part of Michigan in the winter and he really doesn't get anymore snow than we do here along the big lake. My hot rods and wifes car are always inside. I have room if I wanted to put my truck in my shop, but I feel that the constant freezing and thawing lets the salt work on them and is harder on a vehicle then sitting outside. I also don't care to introduce all that moisture into my shop space. As an example I have friends who have had their garage kept trucks rust out while mine was still fine. When I sold my 02 Chevy HD in 13 it was a no rust one owner with 122K on it and it was outside year round. So different strokes for different folks. When I lived on my farm I would at times leave my truck in town during storms and snowmobile to and from it in order to go to work. So I do know about deep snow. I also never use a shovel to clear snow off a vehicle so they never have shovel scratches.

Also sitting outside year round are, 38' car trailer, 5th wheel and an enclosed cargo trailer
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Old 01-01-2019, 09:32 PM   #22
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It looks like Danny beat me in responding, but I'll add my two cents anyway. You see, I spent 6 years at KI Sawyer in Gwinn Michigan, had to park my vehicles, boat, camper and anything else that wouldn't fit in the living room outside. During the winter, every morning I'd get up at 4AM, spend two hours digging my truck, DW's car, the driveway out of the snow, and then inside to shower (dead damn tired from shoveling) to get ready to go to work. I didn't have a vehicle during that entire time without a shovel mark "somewhere". Between scraping windows, warming up trucks after jumpstarting them, plugging them in to keep the engine warm and running over the cord with the snow blower, I simply decided that when I build a house in this kind of climate, I won't be forced to park outside.



If you want to, more power to you, I'll simply say that you're more rugged than me. I'll wait for the snow to stop, use the snow blower or the 3 pt blower on the tractor to clear the driveway and then I'll walk into the garage, get in the truck (warm and no windows to scrape) and drive where I need to go. When I return, I don't need to worry about piles of snow on the roof, no need to worry about the bed being full, no need to worry about the wheelwells freezing and ripping a tire off the wheel when I try to turn. I just drive into the garage, the snow will melt and fall away from the truck and it'll be "ready to go" without scraping the next time I want to drive somewhere.



Parking inside is a "luxury" I've afforded for myself and I made the choice. While it might have limited my selection of vehicles, honestly, the pole barn length had already limited my selection of fifth wheels, so it's not a crisis by any means. Besides, we're already 71' long when towing the slingshot and 74' long when towing the boat, so even if I wanted a longer trailer and a DRW, I couldn't travel the way we want because of Michigan's 75' double trailer towing restrictions. And, that's 10' longer than Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, so I couldn't get out of Michgian, even if the limit was 100'.



Works for us, I'm sure parking outside works for you. I'm happy for you, be happy for me.....
Having been born in Michigan, lived most of my life on the shores of Lake Erie, and countless snowmobile trips to the UP I have one question...WHY WOULD YOU RETIRE THERE LOL! WE'RE GONG SOUTH! just kidding No need to answer. It is certainly beautiful country and even more so in the winter. The older I get, and being a truck driver, the more I hate winter. When I was a younger man and I could play rather than work in the elements I used to love winter. Maybe if I had a change of profession or a break for a few years I'd appreciate it again.
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Old 01-02-2019, 05:29 AM   #23
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Enjoy your new truck. Welcome to the DRW club.
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Old 01-02-2019, 05:52 AM   #24
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I am one of the poor folk I have to park outside Cape cod in the summertime Nokomis fl in the winters.
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:05 AM   #25
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Those couple posts demanding parking inside also read like because you park them inside you wouldn't have to get up early to shovel the driveway clear, curious, how does parking inside prevent that? Seems to me with no truck in the driveway there'd be more snow to move.
I have family in western Michigan, the UP & all up through the middle of the state, beautiful in the summers, but NO WAY do I have any desire to be there in the winter. My BIL on the western side a few years ago called to wish us Happy New Year & said they'd already had 144" of snow, YUK!
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:12 AM   #26
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I live in the mid Atlantic region. We get pretty cold and some snow but nothing like up by the lakes. I have never had a garage I could put my cars in throughout my whole life. So cars and trucks are always outside year round.

The main thing we get in winter is SALT. The local governments here stock pile salt and then loose their minds on threat of snow and lay it thick everywhere. I rarely shovel my driveway (less than a couple inches normally melts off in a few days) but DO have to be conscious about hosing off the bottom of the cars after a "salting" to minimize corrosion.

As for the vehicles appearance....it is a tool, it gets washed a couple times a year maybe but that is it. They do not look like junkers but I am not about to obsess over every square inch waxing an buffing just for some idiot in a parking lot to put their door into my vehicle (which I am 100% on so far).
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:20 AM   #27
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Parking inside DOES mean you don't have to worry about those things!
1. You don't have to "worry" about getting all the snow off the vehicle, scraping the ice and defrosting. It's done magically as your vehicle stayed nice and warm and shiny in the garage.

2. The lack of worry about that means you have less worry about the snow. And then, when you open the door of that nice warm garage the heat emanating from within combined with the glow of happiness from your face magically dissipate any snow buildup outside. Then, the slippery exterior of your bright, clean vehicle just "slips" right through any snow that might be left.

Ahhh, a pleasure for sure. Now, in reality, I dislike greatly having to remove snow from a vehicle and then unthaw it; especially if has thawed, frozen and snowed again. FAR prefer to have the vehicle ready to go and remove the loose snow from the drive/walks.
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:33 AM   #28
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We have the 2018 High Country version of yours. Love it towing our Avalanche.
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:37 AM   #29
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larry337,

I was "perfectly content" in south Louisiana, warm, no snow, camping most of the year, good crappie fishing and some of the best food in the world.....

My DW is from Michigan, we met at NMU in the chemistry lab in 1968, and have had a camp (actually a small doublewide) on 40 acres adjacent to Pigeon River State Forest for about 25 years. When I retired, my DW "informed" me that she had endured snakes, alligators, hurricanes, 100F days "long enough" and wanted to go back to Michigan to live at our "camp"... Well, knowing there was NO WAY I could live in that 26x44' box with her during a Michigan winter, we sold the doublewide and built a house (complete with garage) and I "reluctantly moved north" with the understanding that I could have all the toys to make use of "all that Michigan has to offer"... That meant a new boat, two ATV's, a UTV, 2 snowmobiles, new diesel tractor with a snow plow and 3 point snow blower, a new 4x4 truck and a new RV and a pole barn to store it all... So, how could I say no to that promise and VOILA, here we are......

As for "enduring snow during the winter"... There's a significant difference in "having to go to work in that crap" and being retired, waking up, pouring a cup of coffee, opening the front blinds, looking at and thinking, "I'll stay in until I'm ready to go out there".... An entirely different "mindset" when you aren't forced to be out there in the cold and miserable conditions.
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:43 AM   #30
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We went with a Dodge 3500 diesel dually. Very happy with the choice. Towing our 38' 5er feels very good with it. And like has been said, the exhaust brake is very nice.
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Old 01-02-2019, 08:52 AM   #31
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Originally Posted by hornet28 View Post
Wow some responses there. My question was because JRTJH stated that outside was not an option in his part of Michigan in the winter and he really doesn't get anymore snow than we do here along the big lake. ...
It's a personal choice, and, for me, parking outside is not an option whether it's summer (pine sap and oak "sticky rain") or winter (snow and ice) on my vehicles. It's also a personal choice to use my snowmobiles in the winter, on good snow, not sandy, icy trails or in the summer. It's also my "personal choice" not to head out on the ice when the lakes have 2" of clear ice, although there are ice shanties on the lake behind our house right now with people fishing. No thanks, I'll wait till summer to fish from the comfort of a boat... Choices, all personal for each of us.

Here's an example of someone else's "personal choice".... At Graceland, this past year (we finally stopped in Memphis long enough to go tour Graceland), I took these photos of the snowmobiles that Elvis bought. Not having enough snow to use them didn't stop him. The factory modified them so he could "ride around the lawn at Graceland" on his snowmobiles, even in the summer.... That's also a "personal choice" and something I would never consider, although some do it..... I can't imagine what the grass looked like after "ripping around" the lawn and what the track and boogie wheels on those snowmobiles looked like. For me, sort of like parking outside.... Not my choice.

Enjoy the photos, and if you haven't been, try to take a day to go to Graceland. Our parting thought was, "My how luxury has changed through the years"......
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Old 01-02-2019, 10:15 AM   #32
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larry337,



I was "perfectly content" in south Louisiana, warm, no snow, camping most of the year, good crappie fishing and some of the best food in the world.....



My DW is from Michigan, we met at NMU in the chemistry lab in 1968, and have had a camp (actually a small doublewide) on 40 acres adjacent to Pigeon River State Forest for about 25 years. When I retired, my DW "informed" me that she had endured snakes, alligators, hurricanes, 100F days "long enough" and wanted to go back to Michigan to live at our "camp"... Well, knowing there was NO WAY I could live in that 26x44' box with her during a Michigan winter, we sold the doublewide and built a house (complete with garage) and I "reluctantly moved north" with the understanding that I could have all the toys to make use of "all that Michigan has to offer"... That meant a new boat, two ATV's, a UTV, 2 snowmobiles, new diesel tractor with a snow plow and 3 point snow blower, a new 4x4 truck and a new RV and a pole barn to store it all... So, how could I say no to that promise and VOILA, here we are......



As for "enduring snow during the winter"... There's a significant difference in "having to go to work in that crap" and being retired, waking up, pouring a cup of coffee, opening the front blinds, looking at and thinking, "I'll stay in until I'm ready to go out there".... An entirely different "mindset" when you aren't forced to be out there in the cold and miserable conditions.
Your place sounds like the kind of property I always dreamed of owning. My uncle always kept a camp up north also. I'd say you came out pretty good in that transaction, happy wife is a happy life right? You can easily talk me into that situation. But I married a born and raised Northern girl who is a freeze baby at heart and can't wait to move South. Right now the plan is to stay here and Snowbird in the winter, happy wife is a happy life right? Even though I'm ready to go to myself. And I agree, it's a lot different when you go outside when you have to vs when you want to. Every night I run the roads anywhere from Chicago to the Pennsylvania mountains and keep thinking to myself "man they got trucks in the South too you know". My job basically ruined winter for me LOL.Click image for larger version

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Old 01-02-2019, 11:12 AM   #33
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My BIL on the western side a few years ago called to wish us Happy New Year & said they'd already had 144" of snow, YUK!
Here on the west side we had a brown Christmas. I did use the snowblower once but if I had waited a couple days I wouldn't have had too. It did start to snow some this morning but it's supposed to be raining tomorrow. Of course in my almost 75 yrs I've seen all kinds of weather this time of year. Been driving in it since 1960 and it's not near as bad as it used to be. Where on the west side does your BIL live?
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Old 01-02-2019, 12:32 PM   #34
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Your place sounds like the kind of property I always dreamed of owning. ...
Every night I run the roads anywhere from Chicago to the Pennsylvania mountains and keep thinking to myself "man they got trucks in the South too you know". My job basically ruined winter for me LOL.Attachment 19761
It is a "dream come true" for us. I'm from south Louisiana, after living there for 30+ years, DW wanted to spend some time with her family in this area, so the camp became a permanent residence. It's not all "roses" though, summer brings trying to manage fallen trees, raking endless leaves and trying to prevent erosion along the lake shoreline. We do find time to just "up and go" and for that I'm extremely thankful.

As a major plus: I can't remember the last time I heard a "jake brake" or a siren and there are no neighbor's security lights to shine into the bedroom at night..... Definitely advantages, but along with that comes the reality that in the event of a medical emergency, the nearest ambulance is at least 30 minutes away..... Lots to be said about being remote, but it's not all positives..... LOL I'll take my chances on having a heart attack as a tradeoff for peace and quiet.... YMMV

Oh and thanks for the UPS support. Yes, there are trucks in the south, but I'd suspect that there are a lot of truckers who vie for those limited jobs so they may not be available to all.... As for UPS, our quality of life would mean significantly more trips to town were it not for Amazon and UPS.....
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Old 01-02-2019, 01:24 PM   #35
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It is a "dream come true" for us. I'm from south Louisiana, after living there for 30+ years, DW wanted to spend some time with her family in this area, so the camp became a permanent residence. It's not all "roses" though, summer brings trying to manage fallen trees, raking endless leaves and trying to prevent erosion along the lake shoreline. We do find time to just "up and go" and for that I'm extremely thankful.



As a major plus: I can't remember the last time I heard a "jake brake" or a siren and there are no neighbor's security lights to shine into the bedroom at night..... Definitely advantages, but along with that comes the reality that in the event of a medical emergency, the nearest ambulance is at least 30 minutes away..... Lots to be said about being remote, but it's not all positives..... LOL I'll take my chances on having a heart attack as a tradeoff for peace and quiet.... YMMV



Oh and thanks for the UPS support. Yes, there are trucks in the south, but I'd suspect that there are a lot of truckers who vie for those limited jobs so they may not be available to all.... As for UPS, our quality of life would mean significantly more trips to town were it not for Amazon and UPS.....
So you're from Louisiana and got station at KI Sawyer and I'm from Ohio and got stationed in Biloxi. Go figure. Anyway enough hijacking, congrats to the OP on your new truck. And no I don't think you have too much truck LOL that's just not even possible.
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Old 01-02-2019, 01:38 PM   #36
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Here on the west side we had a brown Christmas. I did use the snowblower once but if I had waited a couple days I wouldn't have had too. It did start to snow some this morning but it's supposed to be raining tomorrow. Of course in my almost 75 yrs I've seen all kinds of weather this time of year. Been driving in it since 1960 and it's not near as bad as it used to be. Where on the west side does your BIL live?
He lives in Montague, just retired from Howmet. His wife is still working for a few more years, but he says once she's retired they're heading to warmer climates, they can come to visit in the summer, much less work to swat black flies than shovel snow.
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Old 01-02-2019, 02:25 PM   #37
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From 73-89 I lived 10 mi north of Montague. Back in the early 80's we had 120" of snow fall in Jan. My kids had 3 days of school all month but I never missed a day of work and it was 27 mi. one way at that time. I guess part of my nonchalance is the fact that I've lived in this area from the time I was born. The furthest away from birthplace was 26 miles. So I grew up with it.
But I can understand how a southern born person would have a hard time
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Old 01-10-2019, 08:49 AM   #38
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Talking What's all that "white stuff"?

Thank you, guys, for reminding me how very fortunate we are! I began to shiver as I read nearly all the posts from the "frozen North":lol

We live in Tucson AZ where the biggest threat to parking outside is pack rats and steering wheels that will burn your hands when you first get in. But we can recreate all year long and I never have to "winterize" anything other than my cold drinks. I grew up in Colorado but loved leaving the snow behind. Someone once told me to "never move to a location where you like to vacation because it will ruin it for both cases."

Congratulations on the new truck - if you are like us, you will wonder why you didn't do this "years ago". Our 2017 F350 DRW (plenty of power to pull our 27,000 GCVW) sits outside because it won't fit in the garage.

Just to show I'm not without some empathy, attached is a picture from Tucson taken Jan. 2, 2019. Yes, it snows in Tucson - about once every 20 years or so! While you guys are clearing the drive, I believe I'll have another warm cup of coco!
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Old 01-10-2019, 09:55 AM   #39
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I know why mine sits outside, so my 1969 Camaro can sit inside.



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I know your comment was directed at John, but...., why would anyone ever want their vehicles to sit outside year round....for what? I've never, I'll repeat never, seen a vehicle that sits outside year round look as good as one that sits in a garage...never; I guess you could say it's impossible - and I parked my vehicles outside for years because I didn't have enough garage space for them. And when sitting outside, to keep it looking decent, what do you do? You wash and wax maybe every 2 weeks. Why - it's not required when the vehicle is covered? The list for having the vehicle inside is so long that it doesn't need to be posted. The reasons one has to keep them outside...well, there are about 2-3, but it's generally not because you want to - but it could be because it's OK for you - maybe not everyone else.
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Old 01-10-2019, 10:00 AM   #40
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I will tell you first hand, having a beast like the Durimax, made all the difference in the the world. I have a lot of 5th wheel behind me and the truck really does not even breathe hard. I have been up 6,7, and 8 percent grades and need to watch the speed. Coming back down with the engine brake, she really does a great job. I do love the truck.
I know there are a lot of other makes and models that do just as good of a job.
It is so great the manufacturerers are really helping out with the RV world, rather it be a bi-product or not.
I was lucky enough to to be able to afford a nice truck and RV. I do mean lucky. What ever you have and drive, have fun. You only go around once.
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