My daughter is leaving the country for one to three years and will need to put her Tacoma pickup in storage for the duration of her tour of duty. Is there a FAQ or outline of procedures for putting a 4 x 4 vehicle up in storage? What kinds of problems come up with a vehicle that is stored outside in New England weather for up to 3 years? Would it be better to not put it up on blocks and just start it up and drive it back and forth a few feet a couple times each month?
Thanks for any advice you might have.
Regards,
Ender
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
It would be better to, weekly, start it up, let it warm up to operating temp, and drive it a short distance.
Otherwise:
1) FILL the tank with gas, to the top of the filler tube. Less air = less oxidation in the tank
2) REMOVE the battery from the vehicle entirely. This will reduce corrosion in the engine compartment.
3) LIFT if at all possible, put the vehicle up in the air, using jack stands under the rear axle and front lift points, or just using all lift points. It only has to be an inch. This helps with both suspension and with discouraging critters like mice.
4) MOTHBALLS in the cab and engine compartment, keeps away the mice and squirrels
5) GREASE everything, hinges, locks, etc, and consider greasing the front rotors, keeping in mind the grease will have to be cleaned off with brake cleaner to drive it. Otherwise, a year of oxidation on the rotors may be more than just driving can scrape off
6) BED - make sure that water can drain from the bed, to prevent rust
7) OIL - a fresh oil change is better than a used oil change for storage.
and any other things you can think of: remove the stereo if it is a fancier model, consider a tarp cover, etc etc.
When starting it up from storage, remember to clean the rotors if you greased them, regrease everything else, pull the spark plugs and throw a few drops of oil in each cylinder, pull the ignitor and let the engine crank a bit without starting, etc etc.
The best thing to do is either sell it OR drive it 20 miles a week, every week. 1500 miles a year, if done right is all you need to keep the car properly running.
Oh - every 3-4 months, take out out on the weekend and run it like you normally would. Get some highway miles on it once in a while to get rid of the crud.
I'd sell it if she knows she probably won't be back for 3 years. If you don't, you may be paying insurance and license fees in order to run it on the road. You'll have to keep the gas fresh, and you don't know what could be going wrong just sitting there. Anything from paint and tire damage because of sun exposure to fire to rodent damage can occur, and a new battery is very probable. If it's a military assignment, she may be able to take the car with her. And she can probably buy a new one while over there and pick it up in the states.
My advice: be cautious as to what kind of tree you park it under (should it be outside). I had a '94 parked on BC's west coast and some sort of sap or mould literally ate the paint on the hood and roof... i see a paint job in the near future...
Thank you all for your responses! She will have lots to think about, like whether or not she really wants to hand the keys of her new Tacoma (extended cab) over to her mom and dad to trek around in. I have archived your posts to refer to and will let her decide what she thinks is best. (I have been wondering how well that Tacoma would work at yanking out old tree stumps from the backyard. The task blew out the front differential on my old 1969 Jeep CJ5... Just kidding, I wouldn't really do that...)
Ender
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
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