No battery tender at all, it sits in my garage all winter too. About a month after I bought it, I got a company truck. Now I just use it in the summer to tow our side x sides. I really should just sell it, but it’s paid for and is still in beautiful shape.
Not sure if it helps, but I run the Fox stock replacement stabilizer on my 09 and it is a HUGE improvement over stock. I have a 2.5" level kit with 20x9 BMF Novakanes and 325/60/20 Nitto's. The Fox stabilizer took out any wobble I had with the stock stabilizer.
I have a 200 amp, 240 volt Lincoln MIG I bought at Home Depot. It will work with or without gas, and weld steel up to 1/4" thick. I've never used it without gas, only with Argon. It works great, and I'm a newbie welder!