Getting the big boy toys ready for winter

As much as I don’t want to say this, winter is not that far away. The open water fishing season is winding down. Portions of the state have been closed to coho fishing while other areas have had their silver salmon bag limits expanded. The moose hunting season also wraps up in less than ten days, too. Some of the caribou hunts have been closed by emergency order as well. It’s time to start thinking about winterizing your boat, your motorhome, and probably your ATV also, depending on how you use your equipment during the winter.

Since I never de-winterized either my motorhome or my boat this past summer because of surgeries, I don’t have to worry about getting them ready for freezing weather. But that doesn’t mean you’re ready for the seasonal change. I would hope you were able to get out and utilize your “big boy toys” while enjoying our Alaskan outdoors.

If you’re smart (I have never been), you will get your motorhome’s oil and filter changed, along with any maintenance projects you’ve noted during this past season’s use. Check tire pressures, lights, and any other routine items before storing the unit for the winter. Make sure all your waterlines are drained and winterized, along with the water heater and both the gray and black water tanks.

Make sure the house batteries are fully charged and then disconnect the negative wire to keep the batteries from losing their charge over time. I usually hook up a battery charger a couple of times over the winter just to top the charges off. Top off the fuel tank and add some fuel stabilizer. If your motorhome has a built-in generator, it’s a good idea to get it serviced, if needed, as well.

My riverboat has an inboard engine, so I’ll talk a little bit about winterizing that style engine. First, drain all water from the heat exchanger, sand traps, and exhaust manifolds. Change the engine oil and filter and check the engine coolant levels and change if needed. Top off the fuel tank and add fuel stabilizer. Change the fuel filter too. Give your trailer some love by checking lights, tire pressures, any loose nuts and bolts, and anything else you might have noted during use.

I have a master battery switch for the dual batteries on my boat. I make sure the switch is shut off to eliminate battery drain. I also have a battery charger/maintainer hooked up to both batteries to make sure they’re fully charged and maintained over the winter months.

I have a fabric building large enough to store the motorhome, the boat, and my small four-wheeler and the bigger six-wheeler out of the weather. The building is not heated, but it does keep the rain, snow, and direct sunlight off the vehicles.

You can do all this winterization/maintenance yourself if you know how or you can hire a mechanic to do the work. I usually do the boat stuff myself and all the motorhome stuff except draining and adding antifreeze to the waterlines. I’ll do the trailer stuff too unless I run into something beyond my basic mechanical ability and limited skills.

I’ll do little stuff on the four-wheeler, like adding lights, a new winch with extra battery capability, and mounts to carry my ice auger for icefishing. I’ll do similar type stuff on the six-wheeler, and the snowmachine, but I usually take the machines in to a dealer for regular service and maintenance. Again, I know just enough to be dangerous while working on these vehicles and I’d rather have someone who knows what they’re doing to do tune-ups, service, and maintenance.

I have a couple of good friends who are competent “shade tree mechanics” and I’ll ask them for help if I need something done on any of my small internal combustion engines powering things like ice augers and a small four-horsepower outboard I occasionally use on a twelve-foot boat while lake fishing.

It just dawned on me how much maintenance I do every year to maintain my “outdoor toys.” If I was smart, I’d make friends with folks who have these same toys and just go with them, thus avoiding all the work and cost of maintaining a “fleet” of outdoor toys. I must admit, though, that it is nice to not have to “beg a ride” to do stuff, now that I’m able to walk. Having all my own toys lets me do what I want when I want (within limits, of course!).