How much do I need to drive?

I don't currently drive very much, and I live in close proximity to most of the places need to go (less than 5 miles and also commonly bike). As such, the truck could sit for extended period of time if I don't make an effort to drive it. Case in point, I bought the truck in early September and it barely has 300 miles on it. I try to go out on country roads on 10-20 mile trips at least once a week, one just to get out, but two to run the truck out a bit.

My question is, I know vehicles don't like to sit, so is what i'm doing enough? I plan on keeping the truck for a good while, so I want to keep it up properly. I always hit time intervals over miles, so I'm aware of that aspect of less frequent use.

 

Drive it enough to get all the fluids to temp, stay on top of oil changes, minimum of once per year. As far as frequency, I go based on battery. My battery likes to stop cranking after about 2-3 weeks of sitting (1st gen).

 

The manual says to exercise 4x4 10 miles per month. Also be mindful of rodents eating the soy wires.

 

10-20 miles per week should be good. Your battery might not last as long, but not terribly short, you could put on a battery tender if you’re wanting to get max life out of it.

 

According to the Interstate Battery site, you should be driving at least 30min at highway speeds per week to keep the battery in good condition.
https://www.interstatebatteries.com...ur battery adequately,gets the boost it needs.

 

I’ve parked vehicles for anywhere from 8 to 15 months at a time, with only a monthly startup and allow to come to temperature. You’ll be fine if you are doing it as you’ve written. The biggest problem I have run into was when my tires developed flat spots that took miles of driving to get rounded back out…

 

THERE ARE NO SOY WIRES! QUIT SPREADING MYTH! Wow.

 

I don't know what the insulation is made of, but rodents will chew the insulation off wires. BTDT 3 times. Twice on a Honda Fit, once on a Honda Rancher.

 

I hit 20,000 miles on my 2016 a couple of weeks ago. I drive a minimum of 3 miles and less than 10 miles per trip. Sometimes in the winter I only drive it once in ten days and then it is around 6 or 7 miles. I replaced the battery in 2021 when it failed to start the truck.

 

Just passed 34,000 miles with my 2007... comes out to an average of 6.29 miles a day over the last 15 years. A lot of time the truck sits for a week at a time. I get the tow package battery replaced with a Les Schawb extreme power every 7 years... never had an issue.

 

You’re fine. Driven once a week for 10 miles works.

 

I drive short distances and warm it up first like remote start it. You want the engine warmed up to temp or issues can happen, they need to evaporate the moisture whether it be inside the engine, exhaust ect.

 

Just let someone else drive it

 

Remote start it from the window now and then.

Take some Sunday drives.

Maybe let a bum or two overnight in it when it gets really cold, but no soup kitchens. Charity is good. But there is a line.

Check under the hood and the undercarriage for signs of mice nests.

 

Peanut Butter

 

Dirty Mike disagrees- there are no limits.

 

Geeze,

Where do you live?

I'm in Suburban/Rural Delaware and live 4.7 miles (one-way) from work--There is no way I'm riding a push-bike at 5am on Highway 13! lol

My daily driving M-F is roughly 10 miles per day/50 miles per week. I have just over 15K miles on my Sport since May 2021.

But back to you and the dilemma about your truck...

What was your intended purpose for buying the Tacoma? (I don't mean to pry but trying to understand why this situation now exists)

You intend on keeping the truck for a while and are aware of the intervals over miles so why aren't you driving it even for less that 5 miles?

Lately, after work I've been taking long routes home to keep up with mileage/usage.

Maybe you can do the same? I don't know if you're still working or retired so please don't take my line of questions in the wrong tone.

 

That should be enough, unless you park in direct outside sun, or outside in the cold winter. Worse case scenario, you need a new Battery, but the truck will be fine.

 

They chew metal too. Your point?

 

That's probably good enough to be honest though I usually take mine for a good hour long drive at 60+ once a month and and also put it into 4 hi once a month for about 10 miles down a dirt road but not the same weekend. That's usually enough to keep it happy. I've done it for years ever since I noticed my Z was rocking the daily drives at 75+ every day to work. Guy who bought is a master mechanic for Nissan. He tells me it's still throwing down like it was a new car after a proper break in.