Just moved to Michigan, house has a 2 car garage and a modern pole barn. Beam construction with aluminum siding. Would really like to keep the daily drivers in the garage, especially in the winter and keep my Lincoln in the barn. Would I be a lot better off keeping the Lincoln in the house garage? I'm thinking about rodents mainly and the garage is at least a little climate controlled by being attached to the house so I'd imagine that's better for the car too. Here's a pic of it in the barn.
I would think as long as you check on it from time to time you'd be fine. Or you can push it into the back of the barn and someone else in 30 years can have a cool barn find post.
I have a pole barn in Manistee, Mi and have left my 55 in there some winters. Never had any problems, I put plenty of dryer sheets in the cab and that seems to keep the mice away.
In a northern climate I'm more concerned with condensation in an unheated and somewhat open building ( not tight ) . I find that in unheated spaces like your barn on the days when its cold overnight then warms up during the day, if there is any amount of humidity in the air, you will have lots and lots of condensation on the surfaces of the engine , transmission, rear axle etc. This is because these items have mass and stay cold all day allowing the condensation to form. Its not a problem in the really cold , dry months like December,January and February, because the air is very dry, but in the transition months November, March,April, it can be a real problem. Food for thought. John
condensation would be the biggest problem like 48fordfanatic says. If you have to keep it in there, park it over a sheet of plastic and dont cover it tightly jeff
You can't have enough decon, and a cover is a must. The bats will shit on everything, but I wouldn't trade my barn for anything...
I could google it, but what the hell. Whats a pole barn? Or, why a pole barn? They all look different, are they made of poles? I always read about them on here, shop's in the pole barn, tractor is in the pole barn, party in the pole barn. Pretty sure we don't have them in Cali. But I think I want one. I'd keep all my stuff in a pole barn if that means a big ole building with lots of space!
It's a barn... made with poles... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functionally_classified_barn#Pole_barns (there's a polish joke in there somewhere, too)
I have no idea why they're called pole barns. But in my house hunting around here, pole barn seemed to mean newer construction barn. And yes, essentially any large outbuilding/shop was called a pole barn. Just googled the decon thing, doesn't look good with the dog around. He might eat it and he'd probably chew on the dead mice too. Seems like I need some cats.
A pole barn is built from a basic frame of "poles"-usually 4X4, 4X6, 6X6, or round poles like old powerline poles- set in the ground vertically. Then prefabbed roof trusses go on top and horizontal stringers are added to the poles for the siding to attach to. No real foundation is used and they have a dirt floor. A very common building in rural areas.
i think they are called Pole barns becasue the poles go up first and then everything is attached to them, as compared to western framing where walls are built level by level.
I used to keep cars in an old horse barn with the stalls torn out. The problem with moisture comes from the dirt/gravel floor we had. I covered the cars, placed mice traps & checked them often, and used a moisture collector (found at Lowes or Home Depot) that comes in a plastic tub with silicone beads in the bottom that collects the moisture from in the car. I forget what the actual name was but I would collect several ounces of water in the bottom of the container each time I would check them.
Dont be duped into thinking dryer sheets will keep out rats and mice from destroying your car. Go to your feed and farm store and buy some tamper resistant bait stations and rodent bait and install around the foundation wall. Or hire a professional, Why take the chance of rats and mice chewing up the car and urinating/spreading disease. Rat poison kills rodents ! dryer sheets make good nesting material for rodents.
Many of the early barns built with this style of construction used utility poles for uprights. the term followed the function. I store my camper in a poll style leanto attached to and older barn. the floor is compacted crushed stone, the ceiling is OSB and the roof is metal. It does wick moisture up through the floor, so I park it on a tarp over some planks. I dosed it up with decon inside. also put some decon around under it. I also put some 2 x 4's across the top and tarp the top also.
i have had to store my old truck in a pole barn-mice weren't afraid climbing in it!cover it & some form anti-rodent should be ok.hell my 49 was stored in one since 1957,
i like the green bait blocks and throw those around my garage and out side of the house each year when it gets cold
if you would build a plastic shelter over and under your car and have a little heat maybe a light bulb, also block off your air cleaner and tail pipe and make sure there are no little holes a mouse can fit into.
i have kept several cars in a unused butler building that is not air tight. i use little plastic containers like margarine containers full of moth balls and a hole bunch of holes in the lids. under the hood x2-3, inside x3-5, trunk x2-3. never had a problem. rented out a space to a buddy for his boat and told him to mothball the boat. long story, short, he didn't and the coons got into it and made a heck of a mess and none of my cars were touched. yes if it is a dirt floor put down a cheap tarp
From what I see no insulation & dirt floor. Condensation & rodents & bats & birds. I'd keep it in the garage. If you do decide to keep it in the barn best to jack it way up & cover it. I see you have pets so be careful with the decon.
I'd have to agree with Bob on being careful with the Decon when you have pets. A sick dog because it ate a mouse that ate Decon isn't a good thing. Those box traps work pretty well.
Get some 6 mil plastic under it, or even better sheet the ground under the car with 2 x 6 boards.....put mouse-pruf inside the car, trunk, etc. (Mouse-Pruf gets the furry critters to get out of the area searching for water, so they typically do not die inside....most dogs and larger animals are not hurt by it (may make them throw up). If you are concerned with condensation on the engine, get a big can of WD-40 and spray the engine down good (don't get on the belts/pulleys)..... Put Sta-bil in the tank along with ISO Heet (red bottle only).... the ISO will take care of any tank moisture...some say fill the tank, which is a good idea as condesation can rust the upper areas inside... I've been living in north-central WI my whole life, and have stored countless cars, bikes, sleds, in pole buildings, barns, even outside under tarps.... big thing is get something under it.... Oh yeah....stuff some steel wool into each tailpipe.....mysleds and motorcycles found this out more than once....pretty cool to see corn come flying out of the shotgun pipes on my HD Roadking... Tom
found a mouse nest on the passenger seat on the dryer sheet i put there two weeks before. Fresh Cab.its like potpurri and lasts about 6 months.farm supply stores carry it. my storage building is 40x80 metal uninsulated quonset with 12" concrete floor.it never really gets damp,even this time of year as the concrete is a giant heat sink.my wife lets me store a couple things,as its mostly filled with boats for winter storage. as far as mouse baits go,i try to avoid it as i have a dog,but its my understanding most dog food has vitamin k which counters the effects of most rodent control products. keep the classics off of limestone floors,i hear it accellerates corrosion.plastic sheeting helps,whats a great help is blocking the vehicle very high.i discovered this after two trucks parked side by side. one had four flats ad was starting to rot,other was a 4x4 on 37" tires.ground was quite dry under the 4x4,moss was growing under the 2wd with four flats. only difference was the airspace.these were outside so sun got under more of the taller truck also.
I have my '64 Chevy truck and my 1996 Impala SS in my pole barn on my 10 acres. I don't like the SS being in there, but it is better than her sitting outside in the weather. It has a dirt floor, and I go out there almost every weekend (future home site) and open all of the doors, and have been moving stuff in and out. I open the car and crank it from time to time. I'm hoping all of this is keeping the critters away. I have not seen any traces of anything yet.. I've temporarily closed up the big door areas with plywood in anticipation for them starting on the new house. I don't want contractors helping themselves to my stuff..
I don't use poisons because of my dogs and cats. Instead, I set traps and catch the rodents and the dispatch them as humanely as possible. If you know how and where to set traps, you can really stay on top of the mice/rats and you don't have to worry about accidently killing your neighbor's cat or your dog.
My 54 Ford tudor sat in a pole barn for several years while I was in the military. It was on a dirt floor in south Texas where it's relatively humid. The car was absolutely 100% rust-free when it went into the barn and when it came out, it had some small cancer spots starting up. It sucked, but I was stationed overseas and there was no way for me to check on it in person.
Sure why not and in 20 years someone will post about this "barn find" So can you give me your address and I'll call ya in 20.
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