If you’re a Minnesotan, then you’ve already seen winter weather damage stuff plenty of times before. Icy roads send cars skidding. Hailstones tear shingles to pieces. Strong gusts of wind blow your kids’ trampoline into Mrs. Gustafson’s garage door, which gives Mrs. Gustafson a lot to talk about during her church’s next pancake supper. The list goes on and on.

Your dock and boat lift aren’t exempt from winter weather’s hostility toward inanimate objects. Wind is the natural enemy of docks and lifts. So too are frigid temperatures, which can warp and otherwise damage docks and lifts by freezing and expanding the water around them.

If you have purchased any of FLOE International’s fine products, then you have made it easy to keep your lakeside equipment safe all winter long. Here’s what you have to do to protect your valuable investment!

FLOE Roll-In Dock Winter Care

FLOE roll-in docks are made of sturdy aluminum and boast an outstanding strength-to-weight ratio. But those wheels exist for good reason. Retracting a roll-in dock is the best way to extend its overall lifespan. Just pull it in each fall, give it a good cleaning, and then cover it up if you’re keeping it outdoors. If you’re storing your FLOE roll-in dock indoors, then you’ll appreciate just how compactly it folds up even more.

Don’t worry if you set up your FLOE roll-in dock at a different angle to the shoreline next spring. Just adjust the Easy-Level system with a cordless drill: quickly, easily, and without having to get in the water.

FLOE Sectional Dock Winter Care

FLOE sectional docks make winter breakdown a breeze. The optional Quick-Connect system’s patented brackets eliminate the need for hard bolting, so you can detach and remove individual dock sections without any tools. The dock sections lie on top of each other like a big stack of dominos. Whether you have 4’x8′ sections, 4’x10 sections, 4’x12′ sections, or any combination thereof, storing a FLOE sectional dock requires relatively little space indoors or outside.

The Quick-Connect system works both ways: fast and tool-free reassembly awaits when the weather warms up again. And just like their roll-ins, FLOE’s sectionals feature the convenient drill-powered Easy-Level system.

FLOE Boat Lift Winter Care

FLOE’s rugged aluminum frames are ideal for boat lifts, pontoon lifts and PWC lifts alike. Their corrosion-resistant custom aluminum extrusions and stainless steel cables and fasteners stand up to harsh elements, and FLOE’s optional anchoring system keeps lifts secured to the lake bed under strong wind.

Many FLOE boat lifts weigh over 500 pounds. Even so, they’re easy to pull in and out of the water once they’re outfitted with FLOE’s optional wheel kit or Float & Roll system. Whether you go with manual or electric, FLOE’s winches are easy to uninstall and remove for winter storage. And as you might have guessed, the Easy-Level system makes springtime reinstallation a snap!

At the end of the day, FLOE is a company that understands the necessity of removing and storing docks and boat lifts before the arrival of winter. That’s why their products are replete with features that make lakeside property maintenance much less labor intensive.

If you live in Central or Northwest Minnesota, then the convenience of FLOE docks and lifts can be all yours to enjoy. Contact Richter’s Dock & Lift today for the dock and lift that complete your lakefront, as well as professional year-round maintenance and repair services!