I'm going to be looking at a house that doesn't have a garage. If I get a carport, what precautions should I take for winter?
(I know this may be stupid to some, but all my winters have been in California, never dealt with snow problems)
I've heard something about keeping the battery plugged in so it doesn't freeze. If I just get a carport for my truck and car, what do I need to do to make sure they will be funtional during winter? I'm going to be in the Santa Claus or Evansville area.
Thanks

I have a garage but it's so full of motorcycles and other crap that i cant fit my explorer in there.  I leave it in the drive all year and I have never had a problem.  Just make sure your battery is healthy - that even applies to sitting IN the garage unless the garage was heated.

-Nuke

As long as your car is in good shape with a good battery and the proper concentrations of coolant/ antifreeze, you shouldn't have any problems.  We will occasionally get close to zero around here but that is pretty rare and usually not for very long.

That's why I like the area, comparitively light winters. It's not like Indy or South Bend. You get a snowy winter, but it's not smothering you.

I've been parking outside (no carport) every winter here for 10 years and no problems.  The part you plug in is a block heater and your car almost certainly doesn't have one (even in WI you usually have to order it).  All it does is keep the block "warmed up" so it starts easier and warms up quicker on cold days.  Dad only plugs his in on the coldest nights and he lives in WI.

One thing you do want to make sure you have is an ice scraper.  I find that the metal-edged ones work better on frost, but can break on thick ice.  So I have one of each.  They're cheap, sometimes free with advertising on them.  You'll also want a brush for sweeping snow off the car.  

Thanks to everyone for the tips. I think if I get a carport I should be fine as long as I keep up the maintenance on my cars. It gets cold enough here to scrape the windows, but not that often.

The "plug in" is for places like North Dakota.  In which case you pull in to the garage AND plug in.  Best thing you can do is have a heavy duty alternator on your vehicle.  Like the one typically included in a towing package.  I have been parking outside for the last 11 years.   No problems.  The heavy duty alternator is also nice for jump starting other peoples vehicles.