Plan for Rarely Driven Truck

[Lakewood90712]

I'd love to sell it and have only one car, but that would mean no more kayaking/fishing. Surfing and biking would be problematic also.

But the whole garage for the Tesla? A pleasure.

Well , the good thing Al , as you probably know, in California at least, a cherry ,well maintained Tacoma, has virtually no depreciation, once it hits the 5 year mark.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

The battery Tender Jr is a great value. It bulk charges at 14.1 volts to 80%, then will float charge to 13.3 volts, which is the recommended storage voltage as to not boil/evaporate out the water. It's not a powerful charger if your battery is dead. It charges at a low amp level.

I have 5 of the Jr's connected to all my vehicles/boats/camper. All work awesome, and have batteries that are as old as 12 years.

 

[TromboneAl]

You guys were right about selling the truck, it just took me a while to realize it. Got $3,700 for the Tacoma and it's wonderful to have such a large garage.

 

[MRG]

Nice model 3 Al. I guess you didn't need the pickup!

 

[Ronstar]

I've never seen a kayak or surfboard mounted on the roof of a Tesla. Looks good!

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

You might consider using non-ethanol gas. Shelf life for E10 is 2-3 months, and non-ethanol is 6. That or add a fuel stabilizer.

 

[CardsFan]

You might consider using non-ethanol gas. Shelf life for E10 is 2-3 months, and non-ethanol is 6. That or add a fuel stabilizer.

Ummm. He sold the truck and is driving a Tesla. Gas would be a very bad thing to put into it.

 

[MRG]

Ummm. He sold the truck and is driving a Tesla. Gas would be a very bad thing to put into it.

Not sure, this guy thinks EVS eat gas.
ETA: It starts getting great around:40
https://youtu.be/Ec-LrW1tSHQ

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

Unbelievable!

Not sure, this guy thinks EVS eat gas.
ETA: It starts getting great around:40
https://youtu.be/Ec-LrW1tSHQ

That's pretty funny but I can't believe it's real! I mean, I know not everyone can be the brightest bulb in the room but that's just hard to believe. Maybe some people just get so conditioned to think cars need gas they can't wrap their head around anything else.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

You guys were right about selling the truck, it just took me a while to realize it. Got $3,700 for the Tacoma and it's wonderful to have such a large garage.

Good job! It must be nice to have your garage back!

 

[MRG]

That's pretty funny but I can't believe it's real! I mean, I know not everyone can be the brightest bulb in the room but that's just hard to believe. Maybe some people just get so conditioned to think cars need gas they can't wrap their head around anything else.

I don't know if it's real or as someone else posted somewhere the guy borrowed the vehicle and wanted to return it full.

After a month of not going to a gas station it's hard to think about going back. I can wash my windshield at home.

 

[Fermion]

We are in a similar situation with our F150 truck and our Transit 250 van. The van does everything better than the truck except in the winter. It has a higher cargo capacity (3600 pounds vs about 2000 pounds), can hold longer material (11 feet long totally dry, 16 feet long on roof rack), gets about the same fuel mileage.

It absolutely sucks in the snow. So the truck sits 8 months out of the year and the van sits 4 months out of the year.

 

[zinger1457]

You guys were right about selling the truck, it just took me a while to realize it. Got $3,700 for the Tacoma and it's wonderful to have such a large garage.

Made a similar decision a while back and sold my Tacoma. The couple times a year I really need something for hauling material I just rent a U-Haul cargo van for $19.95 plus mileage.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

We are in a similar situation with our F150 truck and our Transit 250 van. The van does everything better than the truck except in the winter. It has a higher cargo capacity (3600 pounds vs about 2000 pounds), can hold longer material (11 feet long totally dry, 16 feet long on roof rack), gets about the same fuel mileage.

It absolutely sucks in the snow. So the truck sits 8 months out of the year and the van sits 4 months out of the year.

There is an easy solution for that! Sell the truck and buy a set of winter snow tires and wheels for the van! People who have never used modern studless winter tires are generally amazed at how well they perform in the nasty snow and ice, studs are no longer needed!

The changeover from summer to winter takes less than an hour including brake inspection. As a bonus, it replaces a bi-annual tire rotation so no extra work, actually. If you will be storing them in the garage, I recommend a wall-mounted tire rack to keep them out of the way. Otherwise, some tire shops offer seasonal storage of winter and summer tires for a reasonable fee.

You might be pleasantly surprised to find out the van with winter tires performs better in the winter nasties than the truck with All-Terrain tires.

 

[Fermion]

I use Blizack winter tires already on the truck...it can still slide around in the hard ice and deep snow we get. The van would just spin out...it has no weight on the rear tires.

Chains might work but that would get old really fast.

 

[MRG]

With the board on the Model 3 what speed does liftoff occur?

 

[RAE]

That's the other thing that suffers - the brakes. The rotors rust and the caliber pins seize. Tires also flat spot, though this is more of an annoyance. Driving it at least weekly is best.

+1, I agree. I had the brake calipers seize up on one of my vehicles that I had let sit idle for 5 months. Best to drive the truck occasionally, IMO. As someone else said, there is more than just the battery to be concerned about.

 

[CardsFan]

With the board on the Model 3 what speed does liftoff occur?

No, the board is upside down and would create drag, BUT, the Kayak could be a different story!

 

[Koolau]

+1, I agree. I had the brake calipers seize up on one of my vehicles that I had let sit idle for 5 months. Best to drive the truck occasionally, IMO. As someone else said, there is more than just the battery to be concerned about.

After we moved to Paradise, my old car sat outside for 9 months in the frozen tundra of the midwest. Upon returning for the summer, I started up the old beast. Amazingly, I didn't have to jump it or even charge the battery. However, the car sounded like a diesel for several minutes. I probably took years off its engine life. The brakes sounded terrible for a couple of days. I continued this way for several years (car was 21 years old when I finally sold it.) So many minor things went wrong with the car that I finally got rid of it and bought a "new" old car. Since then, I've had a friend start it occasionally and drive it less occasionally. You CAN probably get away with abusing a vehicle - especially if it's already old and not of much financial value. It's a crap shoot whether you win or loose this way. So far, I have won, but who knows. I need (want) a car on the mainland and am not willing to rent (for 3 months at a time.) So an old beater which may or may not start the next time is how I've chosen to approach the issue. I don't recommend it, but it's worked fairly well so far. YMMV

 

[TromboneAl]

That's pretty funny but I can't believe it's real! I mean, I know not everyone can be the brightest bulb in the room but that's just hard to believe. Maybe some people just get so conditioned to think cars need gas they can't wrap their head around anything else.

Yes, the consensus is that it's fake. Good actors, though.