Quick Q: Short/Slow (25mph) Daily Commute Harmful?

Hello all,

I have a fairly new 2014 DCSB 4x4 (just surpassed 5k miles after driving it across the country to get to my new station).

I now live on an isolated military base.
To get to work and back at the end of the day, it's about 2.5 miles total.
As with most bases, the speed limit is 25 mph.
I've started to wonder if this may be 'bad' for the truck in the long run -- for the next year, the truck will barely get used above 25-30 mph and only drive very short distances at a time. Perhaps once every 2 weeks will it get an hour of city driving at 45-70 mph.

Will this cause any negative effects over time?
Thanks!

 

I dont think it will. I have had a couple cars that i have drive that almost exact scenario for multiple years at a time, and never have had that problem before.

 

Been there done that. 23 years in the Air Force. I know what you mean about the 25 mph. The only thing I could think of might be having to replace some of the exhaust items as some of the moisture from the exhaust doesn't get boiled off/evaporated as much from longer trips. But I think most of the exhaust might be stainless now, I think.

Steve.............

 

If there's any vehicle that can handle this, it would be made by Toyota. And I'm not brand loyal at all to any vehicle.

I would recommend on those weekend get-aways to the city, try to do a few WOT romps. The worse I see happening is like already mentioned, water not being blown out of the exhuasts. I don't think Toyota puts a weep hole in their mufflers like GM, Ford and some others do.

 

You will probably start to notice emulsified water under your oil fill cap. Thats from your oil not being hot enough to drive out any condensation that collects in it. Others have stated that you will not fully dry out your exhaust, I think this is a farce. One of the byproducts of combustion is H2O. Your exhaust never dries out unless you are sitting in a desert not running your engine at all.

Just change your oil at least every six months and don't worry about it.

 

You could try running instead. I think the Army has moved away from it's previous slogan.

 

Get off base every couple of days and get the truck to operating temp. Use ONLY a high-end full-synthetic oil - Dino oil will sludge up under those frequent short-trip conditions.

 

Make sure you flip into 4HI and 4LO once a month, even if just for a few hundred feet. Engage the rear locker if you have it too.

 

I'm on base right now too, I usually just ride one of my bikes. It saves on gas and gives me a chance to decompress before I get home. If you have a locker, just keep a uniform at work.

 

I would warm up the truck more before leaving to/from work. That will help the oil get to operating temp.

Also, on weekends, take her out for a longer ride and a couple WOT (such as accelerating on a freeway onramp).

 

Thanks for all the replies folks.
How long to reach operating temp? 10 minutes? Less?

 

I wouldn't let it sit and idle, but the general accepted value is 10 miles driving, give or take for outside air temperature.

 

We used to get old vehicles from the air force base for the PD for use at the jail they had very low miles but lots of hours sitting idling they all ran fine never had any real problems with them.

 

While yes you're argument about the oil is valid, so is the argument for water build up in the exhaust... Yes H2o is a byproduct of combustion and is always present in the exhaust, but when the exhaust gets to operating temp the water is boiled off and blows out the pipe instead of puddling in the cat or muffler. Puddled water = rusted out exhaust

 

"Well, that's just like your opinion... man" -Lebowski

Edit: After thinking about this some more... I would take her out on the freeway for a blast every now and again. Even if their is not a benefit to the vehicle, at least it feels like their is. Back in the day we used to run some carb cleaner and take a good long 80+mph blast on the freeway to get our old carbureted rigs through emissions. Though I believe vehicles today burn so clean that carbon buildup on the cylinder heads and in the exhaust is not much of a problem anymore.

 

The owners manual has some general guidelines about stop-go/sustained speeds for the first ~1000 miles.

After that, just drive it as you need to, and change yer erl, matey (getting close to Talk Like a Pirate Day).

Do what ^ said and run through the 4x4 gears on a monthly basis, preferably for 10 miles, and the locker once in a while for few first downs, carefully, going very slowly, of course. Always on sand/mud/gravel/snow.

 

I know your likes and dislikes are different than mine. But at a 5mi roundtrip commute you're going to get shit for gas mileage, especially if you let it run so all the fluids circulate beforehand. And if you DON'T let the fluids circulate, it speeds up the wear and tear (not much, you might only get 350k instead of 400k on it). I would honestly just buy a somewhat cheap bicycle and ride it there and back. Use the truck when it rains or winter. 5mi is nothing, I know you're in good enough shape to do that. Hell I'm not in good shape and I commute 7 miles one way on a bike about twice a week. Plus you can tell your insurance you drive less than 10k per year and it will drop your rates. Save all that money and mod your truck

Like I said, this is just me. It's your truck, do what you want.

 

Use a high quality DINO oil and change it every three months...I have a couple trucks I use around the property and they NEVER go over 25 mph or more than a few miles at a time. The two biggest worries are dead batteries and diluted oil.

Howard

 

Its funny youshould say that about the first 1000 miles. My first 1000 went really quick, and now its just here and there usually every weekend or every other weekend we use my truck to go out it. Nothing major usually less than 50 or so miles. But i work alot sotheres not much time to do anything other than that ya know.