Long term storage ?

Hello all!
I've been slowly building up my Tacoma for a nice long overland trip next summer, but I need a little advice on storing it until then. Basically, Uncle Sam is sending me to North Africa for 6 months and I need to store my truck so it's protected from the elements and good to go when I return. I'll invest in a cover of some sort... disconnect the battery, and probably put it on jackstands .Any other suggestions or better suggestions?
Any help is appreciated!!

 

Get something to deter mice from eating your trucks wires

 

I appreciate that....it was a thought/worry...hmm I'll have to research a little

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mice-chewed-wire-harness-again.633487/ here's a thread on it

 

Thank you!

 

http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answ...-my-toyota-vehicle-for-long-term-storage-(1-6

Also copied here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...entionally-powered-vehicles-1-6-months.33252/

 

10’ X 25’ drive in storage, put DCon traps under the truck.

 

Drain as much gas as possible.

Park.

Forget about it.

Mine sat 9 months while waiting on a frame with zero prep. 40k miles later

 

I've stored my FR-S every winter since it's been new (5 years). Up here for winter storage they recommend filling gas tank with fuel that has as little ethanol content as possible (modern fuels don't go bad sitting for 6 months) and taking the battery out (or at least disconnecting it). Only other thing I do is give it a fresh oil change. Don't want the carbon/ impurities the oil picks up sitting and causing corrosion.

 

Thank you... luckily,the gas station near me sells nonethanol

 

Mines in storage right now; parked it in June and it won’t be driven again until Christmas. I filled the tank and added gas stabilizer.......Parked in my garage......Put some dryer sheets and scented moth balls in the truck, under the hood, up the tailpipe etc.........Scattered a box of green, mouse poison throughout the garage.......Put a good battery tender on it..........That’s it. Confident it’ll be good to go when i’m back.
If I had to park it outside I probably would have bought an expensive, all weather fitted cover and doubled-up on the poison and mothballs too. I’ve never stored anything with radial tires on jack stands and never had a problem (old bias-plys are a different story though)

 

What battery tender are you using? I’m going to be storing my IS300 here in the next couple of weeks and am looking for a good battery maintainer to use.

 

Thank you for your input! I'm definitely going to be trying these tips. I'm going to have to invest in a cover since I don't have a garage

 

It’s either a ‘Genius’ or ‘Optima’ charger (I’ve got a bunch of them and can’t keep track) Just make sure it won’t overcharge the battery.....

 

@DVexile stores his regularly.

 

Thanks! I'll get in touch.

 

When I went on a 9 month vacation, I rented an enclosed storage unit and stored it in there. Still covered though with a car cover even in the storage unit. Left the tank damn near empty, but I did throw some a can of seafoam in at the recommendation of a mechanic buddy.
When I got back the battery was dead, but quick jump and it was good to go. I did change the oil and other basic maintenance things since it had been sitting awhile.

Keep the receipts for the storage unit and then when you get back you can submit them to finance for reimbursement.

 

Copying my PM response here for the archives as it were:

Six months isn't bad at all. Really the main thing you'd want to do is put a full tank of gas in and then put in some STA-BIL fuel stabilizer. It's available at pretty much every auto parts store. You use a whole 8 oz bottle for a tank the size of a Tacoma, costs around 5 to 8 dollars. I usually put it in right before I fill up the tank so that it gets washed down the filler neck and mixes a bit into the tank. Then drive around city streets for a few miles to get the tank sloshing around to mix it well. Gas without stabilizer tends to go bad after a few months. With the STA-BIL it is good for about a year. Even with STA-BIL though I find that stored tank of gas gets a bit less mileage than a fresh tank does. People usually store with the tank full to reduce the potential for condensation in the tank over such a long storage period.

Also disconnect the battery in the truck. There is enough small drain on the battery from the truck when off that you'll discharge the battery in that time most likely. Not the end of the world but better for the battery if you can avoid deep discharges. When you get back and hook up the battery expect the truck to stall the first time you turn it over. This is normal - the ECU has forgotten all its learned settings with the battery disconnected that long and it seems to take two or three tries to get the truck turned over.

People will make all sorts of obsessive recommendations like once it is parked taking out all the spark plugs and shooting a teaspoon of oil into each cylinder. Frankly this kind of stuff is ridiculous and you are more likely to strip the plug threads on the cylinder more than anything else. You'd be better off just making sure the truck has a nice longish drive before storage such that it gets well up to temperature to get any condensation out of the oil. If it is getting close to an oil change might as well change the oil close to when it is going to be stored, but don't obsess about that.

So that's about it really. Pickup some STA-BIL, give it a good drive (say 15-20 minutes at highway speeds), stop at the gas station, put in the STA-BIL, fill up the tank, drive it around a few blocks making turns to get the STA-BIL mixed into the tank, park it and disconnect the battery.

Honestly the only issues I ever read about from long term storage is rodents. Rodents can do a number on wiring in an engine! So choose where you are storing it wisely.

Oh and one addition. While the standard recommendation is to fill the tank for storage these days since I store in southern Nevada where there is no moisture in the air I actually tend to store mine nearly empty. That minimizes the amount of old gas I have to run through the engine. That said I often store full with STA-BIL as well.

 

Drain the gas and fill up with non-ethanol gas. Ethanol is not good for storage.

 

I appreciate that info! I hadn't even thought about getting reimbursed for storage. I guess it's too late to ask for reimbursement for storage on my previous deployment haha