Is it ok to leave a tractor outside? I remember winter last year when I hadn’t built my tractor garage, I always kept my tractor outside, and after a while, I noticed that the color of my tractor had begun to fade away. Not only that, but a lot also happened.
Here I will be showing you how you can store your tractor outside without incurring damage to it and the best way to store your tractor.
Can you leave a tractor outside?
Yes, tractors can be stored outside if the place is clean and the winter is okay, not too hot or cold. Also, if you must store your tractor outside, it should be stored temporarily. Atmospheric elements can readily tamper with the functionality of your tractor, including the vital parts.
It would help if you did not store your tractor outside during the winter, as it can damage or cause rust to some tractor parts. If you must keep your tractor outside during winter, cover it with a waterproof tarpaulin.
Never leave your tractor exposed outside during rainy or extremely sunny seasons; it should be well covered with a good tarpaulin.
8 Essential Tractor Storage Tips
Below are simple and cost-effective ways to store your tractor outside to ensure your tractor isn’t damaged.
1. Choose A Dry Location
When storing your tractor outside, the first thing to do is to select a dry and safe location. It would be best to understand that condensation and transpiration could severely damage your tractor. You can store your tractor on a driveway or a dry porch if you have a large porch.
2. Clean Your Tractor Effectively
One mistake you can make is to store a dirty tractor, as it can accumulate debris in essential parts, which can cause wear or tear. Also, this can cause chipping and scratching to the tractor’s body.
So before storing your tractor outside, ensure you thoroughly clean it. It should be completely clean, both inside and outside. You can use a garden hose to wash away dirt, debris, or mud on your tractor. The best way to wash your tractor is to start at the top and then wash your way down.
If you must keep your tractor outside, ensure you clean the tractor once a week. Also, as a part of the routine to prevent corrosion or rust, you must clean the undercarriage every time you wash the tractor.
3. Carry Out A Maintenance Check Under The Hood
If you want to store your tractor for a long time outside, you must conduct a maintenance check under the hood. This check entails adding antifreeze to the tractor’s coolant system, especially in wintertime.
Also, you need to add a fuel stabilizer to help fight off the water that enters the fuel system, thereby ensuring the fuel system is not contaminated.
4. Remove the Battery & Store it
When storing your battery outside, remove it and store it in a cool, dry place away from the ground. Never leave the battery inside your tractor because the battery will drain itself, which can cause it not to hold a charge in the future.
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5. Tire Maintenance
The tire is crucial to consider when storing your tractor outside. Tractors are mostly heavy. A utility tractor weighs about 5,264 pounds (those utility tractors are within the 52 to 75 horsepower range).
A commercial tractor is estimated to weigh about 15,628 pounds. This entails that storing your tractor outside for a very long time can cause your tires to be flat. However, this is not without a solution.
Put blocks under your tractor’s frame rails to prevent your tire from flattening. After placing the blocks, you must release some of the tire’s pressure so your tractor will lower and release itself on top of the blocks.
6. Routine Waxes
If you don’t like covering your tractor when storing it outside, I will advise you to carry out routine waxes on your tractor. A routine waxing on your tractor helps to protect the paint against UV rays and extremely hot weather conditions. Also, waxing is useful to the tractor even during the rainy season.
Over the years, natural waxing has been more durable than synthetic waxing. It is not funny to wax your tractor; within two weeks, you begin to see cracks in the waxing; this is what you get when you use synthetic waxing on your tractor.
7. Place Your Tractor Under A Canvas Cover
Tractor covering is arguably one of the important things to consider when storing your tractor outside. If you don’t have e shed, barn, garage, or a large carport, to you’re your tractor under, you can opt for a canvas cover.
The canvas cover is something you can manually create yourself on the farm. To create one, tie a canvas between trees, and ensure it is tied correctly. If there are no trees around, you can pack your tractor, cover it with a canvas, and weigh it down with bricks. While using the latter, you must ensure the tractor is well covered before weighing it down with bricks.
The canvas cover is very effective; you don’t have to worry about your tractor outside. Instead of using a plastic tarp, stick to a canvas cover because a canvas cover is breathable and enhances air circulation, which is essential for preventing moisture from being trapped in the tractor body; this is important for preventing rust. So with this, you ensure that your tractor remains rust-free.
8. Ensure The Seat And Dash Are Well Covered
While covering the tractor exterior, ensure that the seat and dash on the inside are properly covered. This is very important when you wax your tractor to protect the interior of your tractor, like the seat and dash, against the sun’s harmful rays or freezing winter weather, including moisture.
To cover your seat and dash, you should go for a breathable covering like canvas as this helps to trap moisture that can wear and tear on the seat and dash.
Is it Okay to Store Your Tractor in the Rain?
If you must store your tractors outside during the rainy season, ensure you use a waterproof tarpaulin to adequately cover the tractor, as moisture can cause interior and exterior damage.
To be safer, I advise storing your tractor under a covering. You can construct a garage in your backyard as a haven for your system. Ensure that your tractor is not stored outside for a prolonged time to avoid fault.
In applying chemicals against pests, ensure that the chemicals are not too harsh to affect the tires or cause scratches on the tractor’s body.
