Prepping truck for long term storage

Hey guys, im parking my truck for 6 months due to work. just curious if you have any experience with this or tips for me to do before i leave. I have seen change oil, some things say full tank of gas or very low gas. im planning on getting a cover for it and washing it before i leave sadly i don't have garage access. I will also be disconnecting the battery. Thanks for the help!

 

Lots of rodent deterrents/poison
Fuel stabilizer for your gas

 

full tank with some stabil in it. get it off the ground if you can otherwise overfill the tires. pray to god rodents don't eat your wiring harness.

 

Full tank with stabilizer. Clean interior so it wont attract mice for any reason. Set tires to 44psi. Don't use parking brake.

 

Honestly, letting it sit for 6 months is unlikely to do any real damage no matter what you do.

if it makes you feel better and its about time anyway, change the oil.
if you care about the paint, wash it, wax it, cover it or put it in storage.
maybe fill the tank up.
and id probably put it on blocks or stands and cover the tires.

but the reality is you could just leave it for 6 months as is in a muddy field, As long as you disconnect the battery or bring a jump box it should pretty much be fine.

I have a jeep I only use for a week every 6-8 months for the last 20 years with no unexpected issues.
and I do none of those things. I don't even disconnect the battery. starts every time.
not long enough for the gas to go bad.
nothing major to worry about for that relatively short time.

 

Full tank of no ethanol fuel, fuel stabilizer if you want but drive it a bit to get it to through the fuel system. Disconnect the battery. Add rodent deterrents, lots of them. Covers are so so, in some ways they keep sun off, but if dirt gets under, as wind blows if can rough up the paint. Sunshades at a minimum.

I've actually left vehicle with friends before, they appreciated driving something different and I didn't have to deal with storage.

 

There was a similar thread about this time last year, and a good point someone suggested was to put your truck on jack stands to prevent the flattening spot in tires

 

Park it and lock the doors. Not really much you need to do for a 6 month storage. Cars regularly sit on dealer lots for 6+ months, I park 2 cars in my garage for 10 months out of the year and have for the past 15 years, never had a issue.

When you get back, your brakes will grind as the rust gets cleaned off the rotors.

 

You will get better advice from the Sailors and Marines you work with that do this regularly than from us yahoos on the internet. What works for someone in Florida or Massachusetts may not be a good idea in 29 Palms.

 

I stored a truck in a storage unit, while on deployment for 6 months; all of the given advice is what I did, but i also added 2 large tupperware style containers filled with arm & hammer baking soda. I drilled a dozen or so 1/4" holes into the lids and put the containers on the floor, front & rear. When I got back, the truck started right up, and i had no flat spots on the tires, or funky smells in the cab.

Oh, and steel wool in the tailpipe--to keep the rodents from making a nest in there.

Clean & wax if you like.
Stabil in a full gas tank, let the engine run for the recommended time as stated on the bottle.
Vehicle inside storage unit.
Remove the battery.
Vehicle up on jack stands.
Arm & hammer.
I recommend not covering the vehicle if it's inside a storage unit--if rodents get in, you don't want them not being able to get out, and dying inside the vehicle (which could happen anyway.)

 

Rather than disconnecting the battery, putting a maintainer on it would be a better way to go (if possible).

 

As far as the fuel for storage fill the tank with 93 octane and add some stabil...run the truck a few miles with it. I left may battery hooked up with a battery tender in my tundra. Biggest issue it wasn't put on jack stands to take the weight off the tires....took days of running with them flat spotted before slowly getting back to normal.

 

Mine picked up rodents in a week. Fortunately the dog alerted me to them before any damage was done. Not sure what to do about them but I know a couple people who have had some expensive repairs due to the rodents. You can buy an under hood repeller for cars and I've heard they work well. For $25 it's worth trying.

 

Just like storing a motorcycle for the winter; clean it, full tank of fuel with fuel stabilizer and attach a battery tender float charger. Easy, don't think too much in to it.

 

run gas to almost empty, fill with non ethanol rec fuel, disconnect battery, or put on a battery tender. do not use pump fuel and stabil, it is just bad gas and snake oil. i have dont this with snowmobiles for over 20 years. NO ISSUES AT ALL. Ski

 

Fuel stabilizer is not snake oil, it's standard protocol to use it while storing motorcycles for the winter. Totally understandable if you have another method of storing your snow mobiles, but to call it snake oil is just a lie.

 

Its hard to prove whether or not it actually does anything though, which really makes its utility debatable.

We regularly let vehicles sit 6-8 months. Full tank of non-ethanol gas without any stabil, and a battery tender. Zero issues.

 

@DVexile keeps his truck in NV. He can probably offer some good tips.

 

Have you done the test with regular pump gas? Not everyone has access to non-ethanol gas and/or it's easier just to pump gas and add Stabil. Have any scientific tests on the quality of gas been done, or is it determined to have "zero issues" just because the vehicles starts up?

 

This.

I've had cars in storage for winters without any fuel stabilizer and no issue. If you're worried about it, make sure it is full. Less oxygen makes it take longer to go bad, but again, I've used gas that was a year old without issue. Oil and such should be fine, but maybe change it upon your return.

Mothballs wouldn't be a terrible idea though.