Checklist – Winterizing the Grand California

For many of you, the season is over and the Grand California will remain unused until spring, but simply parking it is not a good idea. Below you will find a short checklist of points you should think about so that there are no nasty surprises in the spring.

Batteries

The Grand California has two batteries and these definitely need your attention over the winter months. To maintain the battery voltage, the best solution is to keep the vehicle connected to the shore power so that the charge of both the body battery and the starter battery is maintained.

But not everyone has the opportunity to permanently connect the vehicle to electricity. If this is the case with you, you should definitely disconnect the batteries from the vehicle’s circuit. This way you make sure that the batteries only have to deal with self-discharge. The body battery can be easily disconnected from the vehicle via the red battery master switch in the technical cabinet. If you also ordered the battery disconnect switch for the starter battery when ordering the vehicle, this should also be used. It is a bit more complicated if you do not have this switch. Then you should remove the starter battery or disconnect the terminals.

The starter battery is located under the floor mat on the driver’s side. Removal is not complicated and usually only takes a few minutes, proceed as follows.

1. 1. Remove doormat

2. Remove the cover for the floor. To do this, remove the three screws from the gray plastic strip.

3. Lift out the floor, there is nothing screwed here.

4. Remove battery cover

Now you can either remove the battery completely or just disconnect the terminals.

Tires

In the next point, we will devote ourselves to our four black friends, who are instrumental in getting us from A to B. If a vehicle stands in one place for a long time and no action is taken, the tires will thank you. In the worst case scenario, you will have a flat tire after the winter and new tires will be due.

The king solution are so-called tire shoes, here the vehicle is driven on 4 “plastic plates”. These ensure that the vehicle weight is evenly distributed over the tires and not just over the narrow contact area.

https://amzn.to/3BnvHyx-> Click here for the tire protectors <-

There are some people who say it would be enough to put styrofoam under the tires and choose a higher air pressure. We tried this once with one of our old-timers and were bitterly disappointed. We ourselves use the tire shoes mentioned above.

Dehumidifier

Perhaps not a must, as the Grand California has forced ventilation, but dehumidifiers are still advisable. The doors are not opened frequently or at all during the winter months, allowing moisture to collect in the vehicle.

We even use dehumidifier cushions in our classic cars; these are filled with granulate and remove moisture from the air.

-> The dehumidifier pads are available here <-

Alternatively, you can also put cat litter in a cup or similar in the car. However, we find this somewhat difficult to handle. You can heat the cushions in the microwave and then use them again. In the end, it’s a matter of taste.

Water system

Perhaps the most important point, the water system! It is imperative that you completely drain the tank and especially the lines. Even if the temperatures are not yet a cause for concern, this changes abruptly as soon as there is frost. If you have not drained the system correctly, this can result in expensive frost damage.

Please note that this point is once again hotly debated, we do it this way when the car is not used for a long time in the winter.

To be on the safe side and not risk frost damage, we recommend using a ->click here drinking water antifreeze<-. After you have drained the tank, add the antifreeze and run the faucets until the agent is distributed throughout the system and runs out of the faucets (don’t forget to flush the toilet). Easy to recognize because the product is colored pink. Once you have filled the system with it, you can open the lines normally. The remaining liquid can no longer freeze and the lines are additionally disinfected. This means you don’t have to worry about possible frost damage.

The pipe system must of course be completely cleaned in spring, but this would also be the case without frost protection.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email or just leave a comment.