Storing Your Farm Equipment for the Winter

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Now that all your outdoor work has been completely wrapped up, it’s time to start putting your farm equipment away for the winter. There’s a lot to do, but when you break it down step by step, things will get a little easier. That’s why we here at Central Arkansas Mahindra have provided you with some tips to help you get started. You can also stop by our location in Little Rock, Arkansas, with any additional questions you might have. We welcome all those from Sherwood, Conway, and Hot Springs, so visit us today!

Find Your Owner’s Manual

First things first: you’ll want to consult your owner’s manual for every piece of equipment you’re winterizing. While we can give you some general tips that should apply to most machines, the only place you’re going to find tips and guidance for your particular models is in their manuals. There’s usually a storage section that should give you some pointers on how to approach this process.

Hose it Down

Over the working weeks, you’ve probably built up a little bit of gunk on your machine. Even if you washed it regularly as you were using it, now’s a good time to do one more, very thorough cleaning before you put it away. Try to get into all those nooks and crannies you might have passed up before and ensure it’s completely dry before putting your farm equipment in storage.

Preparing the Engine

You’ll probably want to spend some time on the engine, ensuring it’s ready for a long period of no use. This means checking and replacing as many fluids as needed, as well as replacing the filters. Farm equipment engines can be a bit more complicated than the average machine, so if you’re not quite sure what you’re doing, consider contacting a professional to perform an inspection.

You’ll need to add a fuel stabilizer or find another way to prepare the fuel for winter. After about a month, standard gasoline will start to go bad. If you know for a fact that you won’t be starting and running the engine regularly, then take the appropriate steps to get the fuel tank ready.

Remove the Battery

If you leave your battery hooked up to the engine, you might come back to a dead battery in spring, especially if your machine isn’t kept in a temperature-controlled area. Remove the battery and hook it up to a trickle charge in a place that won’t be affected by freezing temperatures. Then, when it’s time to pull your farm equipment out again, simply hook the battery back up.

Tending to the Tires

If you leave too much pressure on your tires for an extended period of time, it can start to wear on them and affect the psi levels. There are a couple of ways to combat this:

Move the equipment a bit once a month to relieve pressure from one particular spot.
Elevate the equipment entirely so there’s no pressure on the tires whatsoever.

We also highly recommend checking the psi levels periodically throughout the winter so if one of your tires does start to lose air, you know about it sooner rather than later. Don’t forget that the cold can affect pressure levels, so you might need to touch up your tires throughout the winter.

Once all this is done, your farm equipment will be ready for storage. If you notice one of your machines needs some repairs, then contact our service department at Central Arkansas Mahindra and we’ll get you set up with one of our experienced technicians. You can also check out the equipment we have for sale right now, so visit us in Little Rock, Arkansas, today! We also serve Sherwood, Conway, and Hot Springs.