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Car Forum / Dodge / Dodge Trucks / December 2005Diesel that will be parked for 9 months a year
Hello: We recently bought brand new Dodge Ram '05. We used it tow our travel trailer during the summer and now it will be parked for the next 8 or 9 months. We live near the sea, so the air is constantly humid and their is a significant amount of airborne "salt mist". The truck is parked in a garage, but the garage to big windows that have nothing but metal bars on the, so that the outside air circulates freely through the garage. So my question is what should I do to ensure that our Dodge Ram CTD remains in top notch condition and is not harmed by the 8 to 9 months of being parked in a humid and saline environment? 1. How often should I start-it up? 2. When I start-up should I run it n the highway for a some time? 3. Is there anything I need to do to the fuel (like put a stabilizer in it)? 4. What about the engine oil?Do need to change it before we embark on our annual summer trip? 5. Should I disconnet the batteties? Thanks in advance for your input. > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Thanks in advance for your input. Sell it and rent a truck when you need to move your trailer or pay somebody to tow it. >> Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Sell it and rent a truck when you need to move your trailer or pay > somebody to tow it. Oh really? I just traded in my 1979 4WD Dodge. It only began falling apart this past year. It's never been garaged. As far as renting....where the heck would that happen! No where. And you would trust some jerk to do the towing...LOL. YENC-POST 2002 scribbled in the wall; >Oh really? I just traded in my 1979 4WD Dodge. It only began falling >apart this past year. It's never been garaged. As far as renting....where >the heck would that happen! No where. And you would trust some jerk to do >the towing...LOL. And you live where, exactly? I'm in the deserts of UT and I see solid, old iron everyday, like a 64 Belvedere 318 polyhead with still shiny original paint, or a 46 PowerWagon that just needs a little TLC for it's paint. Btw, look in the yellow pages for a place to rent a truck from, under "auto rentals" or possibly "tool rentals" either one works here in this little burg of 4000 population. Budd. >>> Hello: >>> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > Oh really? I just traded in my 1979 4WD Dodge. It only began falling > apart this past year. It's never been garaged. That is my point. The truck in question, a fairly expensive truck, will be sitting in a shelter by the sea shore for 8-9 months. That is probably the worst storage situation. Even following the factory storage procedure and putting it in a envelope will help some but... > As far as renting....where Hot shot or equipment rental, i'd call cummins and check with them as to storage for the diesel powerplant. or check with a tractor dealer (look in a owners manual for a farm tractor) they have storage instructions for their engines. (but again probably want to verify they would be recommended on your application) > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Thanks in advance for your input. If you do nothing else, you must preserve the brake rotors. They will rust like crazy. I would put the truck up on jack stands, remove the wheels and oil the rotors about once a month. Keep them covered with drop cloths, not plastic. Clean with solvent before replacing the wheels. Steve > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Thanks in advance for your input. I own & drive 5 Corvettes and a Chevelle for 7-8 months of the yrar and store them for the other 4-5 months.... >1. How often should I start-it up? I do NOT start them... PERIOD ! >2. When I start-up should I run it n the highway for a some time? IF you start it up I definately wourd drive it about 15 to 20 miles >3. Is there anything I need to do to the fuel (like put a stabilizer in >it)? I gave up using stabilizser etc long ago...now store the cars with 1/4 tank of gas (there is another group of guys who insist on storeing with full gas tanks. however) so I really do not have an answer... >4. What about the engine oil?Do need to change it before we embark on >our annual summer trip? I change the oil when I store the vehicles...(not the filter) .and change it again (and the filter) when I pull them out in the spring... Maybe I put 10 miles on each car before I change the oil..most of the time I do not put any mles on them >5. Should I disconnet the batteties? Honestly I used to have to replace 2 or 4 batteries every year until I started hooking up a float charger (Battery Tender) to each car...been at least 5 years since I had a battery die on me ... >Thanks in advance for your input. No problem...BUT you are storing your truck for twice as long as I store my "toys".. really should not be a problem however... I would think about taking the weight ff the suspension (with jack stands) if I were storing for 9 months... never needed to to that just for my short time winter storage... Oh I read this newsgroup because my daily Driver is a Dodge Truck... Bob G, I have an old Dodge truck that gets taken out of storeage once a year for about 15 miles of driving. I add about a gallon of gas every year . I haven't changed oil in years. I live in a dry climate so maybe that helps. > I own & drive 5 Corvettes and a Chevelle for 7-8 months of the yrar > and store them for the other 4-5 months.... [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > Bob G, > I change the oil when I store the vehicles...(not the filter) .and > change it again (and the filter) when I pull them out in the spring... What's the point of dumping in fresh oil that you're just going to drain out again before ever firing the engine? I know oil's cheap, but... ? >> I change the oil when I store the vehicles...(not the filter) .and >> change it again (and the filter) when I pull them out in the spring... > >What's the point of dumping in fresh oil that you're just going to drain out >again before ever firing the engine? I know oil's cheap, but... ? The cost for doing all 6 vehicles is only a few bucks...and since I enjoy "messing" with them it really is cheap "entertainment" for me in the spring.. Lube the chassis etc... I also change the oil every 500 (Five Hundred Miles) on the ones with solid lifters and every 1000 miles on the others.... and honestly this practice is pretty common with owners of vintage cars...I doubt that it is really needed but the cars are my toys Heck its only money.... Bob G. Someone mentioned the disc rotors rusting during storage but no one mentioned the cylinder liners rusting over that long storage period??? I thought the rule of thumb was to start a standby engine at least once a week and run them till up to temperature??? Fred > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Thanks in advance for your input. > I thought the rule of thumb was to start a standby engine at least once a > week and run them till up to temperature??? That's more like the rule of "dumb". Totally a waste. > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Thanks in advance for your input. I read the answers to your post and they mostly seem like work. Who needs it? How about just loaning the truck to someone like Mac Davis? He would start it regular, keep it clean, tow with it monthly, keep the oil changed and the tank full. What more can you ask for? FMB (only one B in FMB) |
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