If you’re thinking of storing your classic VW over the winter, but aren’t sure how, then this is the perfect guide for you.
We'll explain why you might want to give your Volkswagen a winter break, how to properly prepare it for hibernation, and share helpful tips to ensure your vehicle is in top shape when you bring it back out in the spring.
Quick Links:
• Give your VW a service before you store it
• Clean your vehicle first
• Keep your VW safe from mice!
• Leave it in neutral
• Move your wipers off the glass
• Protect your battery
• Prevent tyre damage
• Allow ventilation in the interior
• Stop your fuel tank from corroding
• Consider covering your VW
• Check that your vehicle is secure
• Visit it throughout the winter
• Consider laid-up insurance
Service Your Classic VW Before You Store It
It's important that you give your Volkswagen a good service before you tuck it away in storage for the winter.
This means it will be ready to drive when the warmer weather returns, and key jobs like changing the oil and replacing the oil filter help prevent impurities causing engine damage while in storage.
You should be able to complete a basic service yourself, providing you've got the time, tools and confidence to tackle the task, but there are also plenty of garages nationwide who can take care of this for you.
If you’re not sure how to go about servicing your classic VW, we’ve put together a bit of an overview for servicing your vehicle on our YouTube channel.
You’ll also find loads of help in books like John Muir’s or our very own Kamper Manuals for the T2 Bay and T25.
To make things easier, we offer a wide range of service kits for your VW, tailored to all different models, years, and engine sizes. Click here to see our full range of service kits. You'll also save money by buying all the parts as a bundle, compared to buying each part separately - a win-win!
Give Your Volkswagen a Thorough Clean
You'll need to give your classic VW a really thorough clean before storing it away for the winter, to prevent any dirt or contaminants from damaging the paint or metalwork during its time in storage.
Make sure the car is completely dry before tucking it away to avoid trapping moisture, which could lead to bigger problems down the line.
It’s also important to clean the inside of your vehicle, and make sure that there’s no bits or food or anything else left in there which might attract mice. We’ve all heard horror stories about people going back to check on their classic cars to find that a family of rodents has taken up residence inside – and started eating away at the apparently delicious interior!
Check out our quick guide on how to get your VW sparkling clean over on our YouTube channel, which you can watch below:
Prevent Rodent Abuse
For some reason, mice and other rodents are drawn to the wiring, hoses and rubber components in classic cars. Maybe it's the materials, or maybe they just enjoy chewing on them - either way, it can cause lots of issues.
Whatever the reason, you'll definitely want to prevent rodents from getting to your VW components. Plugging any gaps from the exterior to the interior with things like wire wool can help keep them out and safeguard your wiring and hoses.
If your vehicle doesn't have heater pipes leading from the exchangers to the body, that gap can be an easy entry point for rodents to sneak into your VW and start chewing!
It's also a good idea to check the area that you're going to be storing your vehicle in to see if there are any obvious ways for mice or other animals to get in, and secure those as well.
Leave the Hand Brake Off, and Put it in Neutral
When it’s time for you to park your classic VW up for the winter, it’s always best to leave the handbrake off, and leave it in neutral. If you’re storing your vehicle on a slope, this might cause problems, so consider using something under the wheels to keep your VW from rolling. Anything heavy that you might have to hand will do, but if you've got a set of levelling chocks then they might be just the thing.
Doing this will help prevent unnecessary strain on the handbrake cable and the clutch cable. While they are fairly easy to replace, it's even easier to avoid needing to replace them at all!
Move the Wipers Off the Glass
If you can, consider raising your windscreen wipers off the glass, to prevent the rubber from sticking to the glass. You don’t have to lift the wiper arms all the way up, and can place some paper or an old cloth underneath the wiper blade to stop it from pressing against the glass.
This is another quick step which can save you a bigger job in the spring!
Consider a Trickle Charger, or Removing Your Battery
Another quick and easy task which can save you some frustration in the spring is taking care of your vehicle’s battery.
If you’re storing it indoors or under a cover, you’ll likely want to remove the battery and keep it topped up so it’s in good condition when you’re ready to re-install it in the spring.
Alternatively, you could take a look at a solar trickle charger, which will keep your battery topped up throughout the winter if it’s got access to sunlight – but you might not want to leave your VW exposed to the elements all winter, if you can help it!
However you go about it, making sure that your vehicle battery doesn’t go flat or degrade over the winter will make it much easier to get back on the road again in the spring.
How to Stop Your Classic Vehicle’s Tyres Getting Damaged During Storage
If you're planning to store your classic VW for a few months, you'll want to take steps to protect your tyres from damage while it's not being driven.
When the weight of your vehicle rests on one area of the tyres for too long, it can cause them to deform and develop flat spots. To avoid this, consider using axle stands to raise your VW off the ground, to prevent flat spots from forming.
For those of you who can't use axle stands, you can minimise the risk by inflating tyres to their maximum or near-maximum pressure. It can also be helpful to periodically roll your vehicle forward or backward slightly (if you have the space to do so safely), which will help distribute the weight more evenly across the tyres.
Allow a Breeze into Your Interior
If it’s safe to do so, it’s generally a good idea to leave your vehicle’s windows open a crack, to allow air to flow in and out of your vehicle. This will help prevent moisture from building up inside and causing things to go musty or mouldy, or from rusting out metalwork.
You might also want to take a look at moisture traps, which will collect up any water from the air and prevent it from causing problems. Just remember to empty it when you check on your Volkswagen through the winter!
How to Prevent Your Fuel Tank from Corroding
There’s a bit of a debate about this online, with some people saying that you should leave your fuel tank full if you’re storing your classic car over the winter, and others saying you should empty it out.
In reality, either of these approaches is fine, and both will prevent moisture from building up in your fuel tank and causing corrosion.
The fuel in your tank will draw in moisture if there’s a pocket of air in your partially full tank, which isn’t an issue when you’re driving your car regularly, but if you’re storing it over the winter then this can lead to rusting.
By filling your fuel tank all the way up, and adding some fuel stabaliser to it, you’ll ensure that there isn’t any space for moisture to build up and cause corrosion.
Emptying your fuel tank means there’s no fuel in there to draw moisture in in the first place, which also prevents the corrosion problem. Just remember to run your engine until the carburettor is empty before you put it away, and that you’ll need to fuel it up before you can enjoy it again in the spring!
Consider a Vehicle Cover, or Instant Garage
If you’re storing your classic VW outside for the winter, then it’s well worth considering investing in a breathable vehicle cover to help protect your vehicle from the elements.
We just so happen to have created our very own range of luxury breathable vehicle covers for the classic VW Beetle through to the newest VW T6.1.
Each of them is made from three layers of highly water resistant, breathable polypropylene non-woven fabric. We’ve chosen this material as it has good ventilation, to allow moisture to escape, but will help shelter your vehicle from harsh UV light, frost, bird droppings and other things which might damage the metalwork or paint.
If you are storing your vehicle under a cover, it’s a good idea to remove it on clear, dry winter days to allow even better ventilation and so that you can give your VW a good check over.
There are also instant garages, which you can set up like a huge tent and park your vehicle in over the winter, if you haven’t got a permanent garage (or you do, but it’s full of stuff and there’s no space for your VW in there!).
We stock a range of heavy-duty instant garages from Clarke, including exclusive Tall and Extra Tall garages which are ideal for high-top vehicles and can only be found here at justkampers.com.
Check That Your Vehicle is Secure
Whether you’re storing your classic VW on your driveway, in a garage, or elsewhere, one of the final jobs you’ll want to do before saying goodbye to it for a while is to make sure it’s secure.
If you have left the windows open, consider cab window vents, which will allow air to pass through, but not prying hands!
Security accessories like wheel clamps, steering wheel locks, or cab floor pedal locks are also great deterrents against opportunistic thieves.
One of the best things you can do to prevent anything happening to your VW while you’re storing it is to make it as unappealing and difficult a target as possible, as well as not making it obvious exactly what or where it is.
Try to park it somewhere which is difficult for others to access, or place awkward items (or other vehicles!) in front of it, to reduce the chances of anyone trying to make a quick getaway.
Visit Your Classic Car While it’s in Storage
It’s always a good idea to go and check on your VW every few weeks while you’re storing it over the winter, to make sure that it’s all okay.
Check for signs of rodent activity and any damage to wiring, hoses, and other components. If you spot any issues, it's worth ordering replacements but consider waiting until spring to fit them, so you don't have to repeat the process again!
Also check for moisture pooling on or in the vehicle, and see if you can take any steps to prevent this from happening, like placing a moisture trap inside, or fitting a vehicle cover over your VW.
It’s best not to fire up the engine, unless you’re going to take it for a drive, as you’ll want to give the engine plenty of time to properly warm up and run. If you are taking it out for a drive, don’t forget to either completely fill up or completely empty your fuel tank again when you’re back, as we mentioned earlier.
A Note on Laid Up Insurance
If you know that your classic VW isn’t going to be on the road for a few months over the winter, then it’s well worth taking a look at Laid Up Insurance.
This is essentially a special vehicle insurance policy which doesn’t cover you for road use, but does keep you covered for anything else, which is ideal if you’re not planning on driving your VW through the winter.
Just Kampers Insurance offers three levels of laid up cover:
• Accidental damage, and fire,
• Accidental damage, fire, and theft,
• Fire, and theft.
These laid up insurance policies cover your vehicle while it’s kept at your home address, or on a driveway/garage, or during transport in a locked vehicle or secured trailer.
Your vehicle won’t be covered for use on the roads if it has laid up insurance, but it will be covered if driven for track days, race events, or to MOTs and IVA tests!
If you want to learn more about laid up cover from Just Kampers Insurance, then click here.
Thanks for Reading, and Have a Great Winter!
We wanted to say a quick thank you for reading through our guide to storing your classic VW over the winter, and we hope you found it useful.
You’ll find more guides, how-to articles, and other useful information here at justkampers.com as well as loads of great how-to videos over on our YouTube channel.
