Out of town for extended periods of time

[Mr_Hann]

Looks like I'm leaving my car for a bit of time. So I have a few general questions, none of which have concrete answers (least I don't think so).


How many months of inactivity would you consider using a stabilizer and removing battery?

How long would you let your car sit before asking someone to turn it on and let it run? (Assuming no one you know can drive a manual)

What is maximum amount of time would you feel comfortable letting your car sit without starting it whatsoever?

[Packofcrows]

1 month tops id let it sit wo moving. I left mine about 21 days. No issues. After that I'd ask someone to turn it on 5-10min. Battery if in good shape shouldn't die. I know many members here saying their battery died in like 2 weeks though. Id purchase a car cover if parked outside too.

Personally, Id feel comfortable letting it sit 3 months wo someone driving it. Imo ^^^

[Mr_Hann]

Yea, just looking for personal opinions here. And associated reasoning wouldn't hurt, either.

[Tcoat]

So many variables in your open ended questions that you are going to get a huge range of responses many of which will just confuse the issue more.
How long do you need to let it sit?
In a garage or outdoor?
Will it be easily accessible?
Season (it does make a difference)?

[Mr_Hann]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

So many variables in your open ended questions that you are going to get a huge range of responses many of which will just confuse the issue more.
How long do you need to let it sit?
In a garage or outdoor?
Will it be easily accessible?
Season (it does make a difference)?

It will be a couple of months, outside and during DC winter. Outside of a residence, so yea easily accessible.

DC winters range from teens to forties (fahrenheit), and 8" or less of snow at one time. Occurring less than 10x a winter.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Mr_Hann

A couple of months, outdoors, yes easily accessible, and winter in DC

That makes it a whole lot easier to get answers.
A couple of months are easy.
Battery in with a tender attached or remove battery and place in house. (will be fine with zero draw on it for 2 months).
Good car cover. (don't skimp here)
Full tank of gas. (partial will condense moisture from temp changes)
No need to start or drive. (but if it is make sure it is run right up to full temperature not just for a couple of minutes.)
Place rodent bait around it especially under the hood. (you will hear100 different ways to keep them away but none are as effective as killing them)

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by Mr_Hann

It will be a couple of months, outside and during DC winter. Outside of a residence, so yea easily accessible.

DC winters range from teens to forties (fahrenheit), and 8" or less of snow at one time. Occurring less than 10x a winter.

I'd probably take the battery inside, and stabilizer in the tank is cheap insurance. When you get back, check the engine compartment for signs of rodents. I've had nests built, especially inside air cleaner housings, more than once in some of the cars I've stored over the winter.

On the other hand, before I got older and more anal, there were plenty of years where I'd just park a car for the winter months, do nothing, and just start it up (w/ a mobile battery pack if necessary.. sometimes it wasn't) once the snow and salt were gone. My cars are a little nicer now, and I'm a little more careful, but really nothing bad ever happened.

HTH..

Barry

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

I'd probably take the battery inside, and stabilizer in the tank is cheap insurance. When you get back, check the engine compartment for signs of rodents. I've had nests built, especially inside air cleaner housings, more than once in some of the cars I've stored over the winter.

On the other hand, before I got older and more anal, there were plenty of years where I'd just park a car for the winter months, do nothing, and just start it up (w/ a mobile battery pack if necessary.. sometimes it wasn't) once the snow and salt were gone. My cars are a little nicer now, and I'm a little more careful, but really nothing bad ever happened.

HTH..

Barry

Way back in the bygone ages I would go on a six month or even year long deployment and just park the car and walk away. Most of the time that was just fine but cars were much more basic back then.

[ls1ac]

As I understand it the new additives designed to work with fuel containing alcohol work to stabilize the alcohol to absorb water but not sink to the bottom of the tank and start to rust. They also keep the gas from evaporating and forming a hard varnish that will not redissolve in the new gas. These are not problems that happen in a month but rather storing for several months.


If at all possible a battery maintainer is the best thing you can do for a car left for more than a few weeks. It will keep the charge up on the battery even with the parasitic load of new computer systems. By keeping the charge the specific gravity of the acid is kept high and it will not freeze or form the sulfates that will kill batteries. Pulling the battery and putting it on a charger in the house is a lesser choice that will save the battery but the memory in the car will be lost. A distant third is to get a solar charger to put on the dash. I started doing this several years ago with seldom used boats with good success.

[jawn]

If you're going to be gone a while, in addition to the stuff mentioned above, I'd think about getting blocks to prevent flat spots.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by jawn

If you're going to be gone a while, in addition to the stuff mentioned above, I'd think about getting blocks to prevent flat spots.

Not an issue for just two months.

[jawn]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not an issue for just two months.

Ah. I missed the part where he said that. Still, it'll be a good idea to make sure you have sufficient pressure in your tires.