Plan for Rarely Driven Truck

[TromboneAl]

Until fishing season, my 1999 Tacoma will just sit in the garage.

I'm deciding on one of these two plans:

1. Drive it 10 miles once a week.
2. Hook it up to a battery maintainer (like this) and drive it 10 miles once a month.

What do you think? Other ideas?

 

[ERD50]

Impossible to say, since I don't know when/how long "fishing season" is. How about giving an actual time frame? Are we talking about sitting for one month, two, until the seas rise and come to your door?

At any rate, 2 sounds good, but I'd make it more than 10 miles, you want it warmed up long enough to evaporate any condensation that built up.

-ERD50

 

[Andre1969]

I'm in a similar boat, with a 2012 Ram I have. I used to drive it pretty regularly, but then in 2017 I inherited a 2003 Regal when my Dad passed away. I started driving the Regal more, because it gets better economy, and does fine on 87 octane, whereas the Ram is a Hemi and calls for 89. And then, after I moved and my commute went from 2.5 miles each way to 18-25 (depending on traffic and which way the GPS takes me), I started driving the Buick even more. Sometimes I've gone as long as 4-5 weeks without starting the Ram. I'm trying to get into the habit of using it more often though...maybe drive it to work once a week.

It got a good long run last weekend. One of my relatives had a sectional sofa she wanted to get rid of, that was in really nice shape, so I went down with the truck and got it...about 120 miles round trip.

I have a few antique cars that I'll confess, I've let sit too long. I took advantage of nice weather today, to try getting them started, for the first time this year. '67 Catalina...dead. The interior lights would come on, but not enough juice to turn it over. '76 LeMans, fired up about as well as any car from that era probably did when it was new...which means, fidgety. But, no worse than it probably acted, right off the showroom floor. Unfortunately, the Catalina was blocking in the LeMans, so all I could do was let it run, I couldn't move it. '57 DeSoto, fired up, eventually. Choke was acting up so I had to get out and jiggle it manually.

I definitely need to start running those old cars more often.

 

[Walt34]

I leave a battery charger on my truck all the time. The Honda Accord is the daily driver and the truck may sit for a few days or a few weeks and I usually don't know ahead of time which it will be. The price has gone up since I bought mine, they were $25 back then. I bought two, sometimes both vehicles sit for a week or more.

And I agree with ERD50 that 10 miles won't really warm it up fully, except maybe on a hot summer day. In the winter 25 miles is more like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-S...sprefix=12v+battery+main,aps,237&sr=8-13&th=1

 

[TromboneAl]

I leave a battery charger on my truck all the time. The Honda Accord is the daily driver and the truck may sit for a few days or a few weeks and I usually don't know ahead of time which it will be. The price has gone up since I bought mine, they were $25 back then. I bought two, sometimes both vehicles sit for a week or more.

And I agree with ERD50 that 10 miles won't really warm it up fully, except maybe on a hot summer day. In the winter 25 miles is more like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-S...sprefix=12v+battery+main,aps,237&sr=8-13&th=1

That charger looks good.

25 miles! It's like driving a Model T compared with our EV!

 

[pb4uski]

We've left my Mom's SUV hibernate for the winter for 20 years.

Just disconnect the negative battery terminal. Then reconnect it when you need to use the truck, check the tire air pressures, start it and let it idle for 15 minutes and then use as you normally would.

 

[Ronstar]

Do the battery tender option. I have the same battery tender jr. I unplug mine when it gets 100% charged. Then I plug it in again after a few weeks. I read somewhere that you shouldn’t leave your car on the tender for an extended period of time.

 

[travelover]

............. I read somewhere that you shouldn’t leave your car on the tender for an extended period of time.

It depends on the level of technology in the battery tender. Old "trickle" chargers were dumb and could overcharge a battery but modern smart tenders regulate the charge, some even have a desulphator mode that extends battery life.

 

[mountainsoft]

Until fishing season, my 1999 Tacoma will just sit in the garage.

I'm deciding on one of these two plans:

1. Drive it 10 miles once a week.
2. Hook it up to a battery maintainer (like this) and drive it 10 miles once a month.

What do you think? Other ideas?

A few years ago my 1976 Rabbit went from being my daily driver to my collector vehicle. I licensed it as such, got collector vehicle insurance, bought one of those battery tender's and hooked it up, and placed an oil drip mat under the car to prevent slow drips from messing up the garage floor. I drove it to town a couple times and took it on a long scenic drive, but it mostly just sat in my garage. After a few months of this I came to the realization I was wasting time and money to maintain a vehicle I would rarely drive again. The space in the garage was more valuable to me than keeping the car, so I ended up selling it. I made a little money and the new owner was thrilled to have what was now a rare vehicle. I occasionally have moments when I regret selling it, but mostly I'm glad I don't have another vehicle to maintain.

In other words, if you don't plan to drive your vehicle regularly, it would be smarter just to sell it. You can always rent a vehicle if you need something different for special occasions.

 

[NW-Bound]

... if you don't plan to drive your vehicle regularly, it would be smarter just to sell it. You can always rent a vehicle if you need something different for special occasions.

Or get a trailer to tow behind the car to haul cargo when the need arises. Trailer maintenance cost is minimal.

 

[mountainsoft]

Or get a trailer to tow behind the car to haul cargo when the need arises. Trailer maintenance cost is minimal.

Yep, that's what I do. I have a 4'x8' utility trailer I use for hauling building materials, garbage to the dump, moving furniture, etc. It's covered by my car insurance, and only costs about $25 per year to license. I can easily haul 1000 pounds of materials, 4 people, a trunk full of groceries, and still get 25mpg.

 

[rk911]

Until fishing season, my 1999 Tacoma will just sit in the garage.

I'm deciding on one of these two plans:

1. Drive it 10 miles once a week.
2. Hook it up to a battery maintainer (like this) and drive it 10 miles once a month.

What do you think? Other ideas?

battery tender. we’re on the road in our motorhome for nearly 5-mos each year. i leave our ‘03 wrangler and ‘46 willys hooked to battery tenders. no issues.

 

[Ginny]

Great discussion. I have custody of my son's 2017 Honda for 2 years while he is stationed on an island. It is out side and it rains alot here so I cannot use a battery maintainer/charger. I guess we will have to use it once a month or so. We already have 2 cars and a truck for 2 people (and 2 motorcycles) so it may be time to sell something. I do not really want to part with my Lexus convertible though this would be the most likely one to sell. First world problems.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Daily drive at normal temp is best for IC engines. Oil film on the bearings and including cam lobes is important for longevety. aja8888 would be the go to member on this, inasmuch as he worked as an engineer at big oil.

I have custody of an old ( 1987 ) , low miles vehicle owned by a relative that no longer drives. I try to drive it 2x per week. Dont care about battery, cheap item.

 

[CaptTom]

I use a solar battery maintainer on my truck. The truck has some sort of anti-theft thingy that's always draining the battery, and I might not use it for weeks at a time.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07212337M

No need for extension cords in the rain, and it's not likely to over-charge.

For the boat, I just plug in the charger about once a month over the winter. It's a smart charger system with a panel that displays the status. Even at once a month, the battery takes only a few minutes to drop to "float" status, indicating minimal charging current and a full charge. With the negative terminal disconnected, I'd say you could go several months without damaging a fully-charged battery.

You do need to worry about condensation in the exhaust system if it's only run for short times with minimal or no load. For longer-term storage, you also need to worry about condensation inside the cylinders and should jack it up so as not to damage the tires and suspension from sitting in one position too long.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I don't drive my truck much, but I make sure to take it out twice a month even if only for a short drive.

 

[SnowballCamper]

Just disconnect the battery, doesn’t cost anything. I left my VW bug for a year, parked in field. Hooked the batter back up and it started right up. I was very surprised since it was a diesel. The brakes were shot, but rather worn when I parked it, so the first trip was directly to the closest brake shop.

 

[travelover]

............The brakes were shot, but rather worn when I parked it, so the first trip was directly to the closest brake shop.

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.

 

[pb4uski]

Great discussion. I have custody of my son's 2017 Honda for 2 years while he is stationed on an island. It is out side and it rains alot here so I cannot use a battery maintainer/charger. I guess we will have to use it once a month or so. ...

If you're just parking it, take the insurance off of it other than comprehensive and the just disconnect the negative battery terminal. Then just reconnect when you want to start it... no trickle charger needed. Reconnect, start, let idle for 30 minutes, pump up tires if needed, turn off and disconnect. Repeat every 6 months. EZPZ.

Or better yet sell it, bank the proceeds buy another car in two years and avoid two years of depreciation.

 

[TromboneAl]

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.

 

[Jerry1]

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.

For something as light as bikes and kayaks, there should be a trailer for that that even the Tesla could pull. Any chance of that? I’m thinking not given the discussion we had about jack stands there’s probably no way to add a hitch. But there’s little trailers even for motorcycles so I don’t think the pulling weight would be the problem.

You might have to get that Tesla pickup in order to get down to one vehicle.

 

[Music Lover]

New battery tenders are smart and won't overcharge the battery. Plug it in and forget about it.

If it was me I'd try to use the vehicle every month or so...but rather than a token 10 miles I'd try to use it on a day when there is a lot of driving required to give it a nice good run. Save up a bunch of errands and run it for 2-4 hours.

 

[travelover]

For something as light as bikes and kayaks, there should be a trailer for that that even the Tesla could pull. Any chance of that? I’m thinking not given the discussion we had about jack stands there’s probably no way to add a hitch. But there’s little trailers even for motorcycles so I don’t think the pulling weight would be the problem.

You might have to get that Tesla pickup in order to get down to one vehicle.

Not sure what Al has but here is a hitch for a Model 3. I'm sure it would pull a small trailer like this Harbor Freight folding model.


Edit, I see there are actually 3 different hitches, the linked one is the most expensive but hidden.

 

[Bamaman]

With three houses and 5 cars, I'm insurance poor. I sold one house Friday, and two vehicles are inactive--not being run. My daughter ran my Lexus IS250 thru a ditch, and it needs a $2800 rack & pinion rack. I'll get one out of a salvage yard. Last week, she lost the special key to my Jaguar XK convertible and I honestly don't know what it's going to take or cost to get another key. I might have to go to a Jag salvage yard and buy lock cylinders, etc.

If you really like driving the Buick, have you considered putting the truck on the retail market? If you can get a good price for it, let it go. I too have a utility trailer and could get by without my 03 F250 diesel, but I just have liability insurance on it.

 

[pb4uski]

The post suggesting selling was actually responding to the situation where the 2017 Honda would not be used for 2 years... but they make roof and bike racks... even for Teslas... here's one. Or a trailer hitch for the Tesla and a small trailer to haul kayaks and bikes... you wouldn't have to heave the kayak onto the roof rack.