This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
I asked a similar question last year but this one is a bit more specific....
Am heading off to the sun and sand for 6 months next week
Will be leaving my vehicle outdoors whilst I'm gone.
I have a rain=proof cover for it but the question is:
Is it better to cover or not cover?
There is some theory that covering can lead to a build up of humidity...
Any views?
Am heading off to the sun and sand for 6 months next week
Will be leaving my vehicle outdoors whilst I'm gone.
I have a rain=proof cover for it but the question is:
Is it better to cover or not cover?
There is some theory that covering can lead to a build up of humidity...
Any views?
In reply to Kimono:
This is only two anecdotes, but my Mum's Fiat Uno was stored under cover in a garage with some damp issues for somewhere between half a year and a year, and the sub frame rotted, and my Dad's 17 year old Audi A6 was left outside under a lime tree for approx 9 months without being moved, and passed it's MOT after a broken suspension spring and a couple of issues with the brakes being addressed.
Based on very little experience of this sort of thing, and a gut feeling, I'd probably leave it uncovered for six months, but I'd probably make sure it's in good condition to start with in places where it could start to rot, in painting something protective over parts which would be safety critical if they corroded.
Others may disagree and may be right to...
This is only two anecdotes, but my Mum's Fiat Uno was stored under cover in a garage with some damp issues for somewhere between half a year and a year, and the sub frame rotted, and my Dad's 17 year old Audi A6 was left outside under a lime tree for approx 9 months without being moved, and passed it's MOT after a broken suspension spring and a couple of issues with the brakes being addressed.
Based on very little experience of this sort of thing, and a gut feeling, I'd probably leave it uncovered for six months, but I'd probably make sure it's in good condition to start with in places where it could start to rot, in painting something protective over parts which would be safety critical if they corroded.
Others may disagree and may be right to...
Post edited at 13:51
In reply to Timmd:
I'd suggest the difference in your 2 examples is between a cheaper car and a higher end car with a galvanised chassis so possibly not the best comparison. In saying that I don't actually have anything to add to the OP so will leave it up to him to decide.
I'd suggest the difference in your 2 examples is between a cheaper car and a higher end car with a galvanised chassis so possibly not the best comparison. In saying that I don't actually have anything to add to the OP so will leave it up to him to decide.
Post edited at 14:21
In reply to Kimono:
Have you got anyone who can give it a run while you're gone? I'm leaning towards uncovered, just because a car is usually fine this way.
Have you got anyone who can give it a run while you're gone? I'm leaning towards uncovered, just because a car is usually fine this way.
In reply to FreshSlate:
Well, that depends what you mean by a 'run'?
Its another issue but i have heard that just starting up the engine and letting it run for a bit was possibly less use than not starting it at all.
Due to insurance issues, this is all that i could ask someone to do however
> Have you got anyone who can give it a run while you're gone? I'm leaning towards uncovered, just because a car is usually fine this way.
Well, that depends what you mean by a 'run'?
Its another issue but i have heard that just starting up the engine and letting it run for a bit was possibly less use than not starting it at all.
Due to insurance issues, this is all that i could ask someone to do however
In reply to Kimono:
Whichever option you choose, covering the sub frame and chassis parts etc in grease (or something) to keep out any moisture is something I'd probably do myself.
I can tend to think of the worst case and then obsess about it once I have, but it'd help set my mind at rest.
Whichever option you choose, covering the sub frame and chassis parts etc in grease (or something) to keep out any moisture is something I'd probably do myself.
I can tend to think of the worst case and then obsess about it once I have, but it'd help set my mind at rest.
Post edited at 15:06
In reply to Kimono:
Could you find a car port? Could you make a car port?
Wonder if you need planning consent to erect a free standing car port in the street? You probably do.
You could buy a 'murder scene' tent and people wouldn't come near it. ()
Could you find a car port? Could you make a car port?
Wonder if you need planning consent to erect a free standing car port in the street? You probably do.
You could buy a 'murder scene' tent and people wouldn't come near it. ()
Post edited at 15:12
In reply to Kimono:
http://www.rust.co.uk/we-rust-proof-your-car-from-250/c32734/
This might be better. ()
http://www.rust.co.uk/we-rust-proof-your-car-from-250/c32734/
This might be better. ()
In reply to Kimono:
Had you NOT been going away, would you now be panicking about your car being out in the rain for the next 6 months?
Assuming we're not talking about a 80s Lancia or classic car why worry? A quick wash off and minor service when you return should see you right.
Had you NOT been going away, would you now be panicking about your car being out in the rain for the next 6 months?
Assuming we're not talking about a 80s Lancia or classic car why worry? A quick wash off and minor service when you return should see you right.
In reply to Kimono: There's no reason why your car should rust too badly standing outside over the winter, if you were using it it wouldn't get any less wet.
You may get damp on the inside so running it up to temperature with the heater on once in a while wouldn't be a bad idea if you can get someone to do that and it would stop the engine from seizing, not that that's likely.
I would recommend you don't put the handbrake on as that will almost certainly seize on after 6 months, leave it in gear. I once left my car for a few weeks and had that happen, as I tried to drive off the back wheels were just being dragged along! I had to jack them up, take off the wheel and smack the drum with a big hammer to break the seal. Also your brake discs will be corroded after 6 months, using them stops any rust building up normally so they might need replacing or at least go easy until the pads clean them up.
You may get damp on the inside so running it up to temperature with the heater on once in a while wouldn't be a bad idea if you can get someone to do that and it would stop the engine from seizing, not that that's likely.
I would recommend you don't put the handbrake on as that will almost certainly seize on after 6 months, leave it in gear. I once left my car for a few weeks and had that happen, as I tried to drive off the back wheels were just being dragged along! I had to jack them up, take off the wheel and smack the drum with a big hammer to break the seal. Also your brake discs will be corroded after 6 months, using them stops any rust building up normally so they might need replacing or at least go easy until the pads clean them up.
In reply to Kimono:
Fill the tank with non-alcohol containing fuel. If it´s a relatively modern car with fuel injection then add a fuel stabiliser.
Over-inflate the tyres to 3-4bar.
Leave handbrake off.
Remove battery and store in the dry or leave installed and add a solar charger, you can´t use a cover then.
Using a cover helps against some things like UV but make sure it doesn´t rub if it´s windy, parked in the street I wouldn´t use one parked on the street since you can have issues with the concept of roadworthiness and Mr Plod wants to see all those reflective bits etc. I´d use a storage wax polish instead.
Chuck loads of silica gel drying thingies inside.
Add oil to the cylinders if your fussy.
Seal air intake and exhaust with plastic bags and tape.
Fill the tank with non-alcohol containing fuel. If it´s a relatively modern car with fuel injection then add a fuel stabiliser.
Over-inflate the tyres to 3-4bar.
Leave handbrake off.
Remove battery and store in the dry or leave installed and add a solar charger, you can´t use a cover then.
Using a cover helps against some things like UV but make sure it doesn´t rub if it´s windy, parked in the street I wouldn´t use one parked on the street since you can have issues with the concept of roadworthiness and Mr Plod wants to see all those reflective bits etc. I´d use a storage wax polish instead.
Chuck loads of silica gel drying thingies inside.
Add oil to the cylinders if your fussy.
Seal air intake and exhaust with plastic bags and tape.
In reply to Kimono:
If I was you I'd sell it and put the money into an interest account rather than having to deal with the faff and deprecation of it.
If I was you I'd sell it and put the money into an interest account rather than having to deal with the faff and deprecation of it.
In reply to John Simpson:
I wouldn't. I spend every summer here and can't be arsed with buying and selling a new car every year
I wouldn't. I spend every summer here and can't be arsed with buying and selling a new car every year
In reply to Timmd:
The problem is the bits that rot, or used to rot, are hard to get at, but modern cars don't rot unless you park them on the sea front.
To the OP:
Just park it normally, disconnect the battery perhaps. Battery manufacturers suggest you give it a charge every month, impossible for you, or put a little trickle charger (about a fiver on Amazon) to prevent it sulphating. Again difficult if parked on the street. Garage parking is best. Over winter a cover will keep the snow off, and save the paintwork a bit - it used to be standard practice but cars are finished much better these days.
PS. Don't leave it with the handbrake on, just in first gear as sometimes the shoes can stick on the drum.
> Whichever option you choose, covering the sub frame and chassis parts etc in grease (or something) to keep out any moisture is something I'd probably do myself.
The problem is the bits that rot, or used to rot, are hard to get at, but modern cars don't rot unless you park them on the sea front.
To the OP:
Just park it normally, disconnect the battery perhaps. Battery manufacturers suggest you give it a charge every month, impossible for you, or put a little trickle charger (about a fiver on Amazon) to prevent it sulphating. Again difficult if parked on the street. Garage parking is best. Over winter a cover will keep the snow off, and save the paintwork a bit - it used to be standard practice but cars are finished much better these days.
PS. Don't leave it with the handbrake on, just in first gear as sometimes the shoes can stick on the drum.
In reply to Kimono:
I left an old heap of an astra for a winter session once. Never even thought to protect it in any way. The handbrake was seized on when I came back (easily solved with a hammer) and a tyre had perished, but I suspect it wasn't in great nick before I went away! Other than that, no issues. I reckon it will be fine!
I left an old heap of an astra for a winter session once. Never even thought to protect it in any way. The handbrake was seized on when I came back (easily solved with a hammer) and a tyre had perished, but I suspect it wasn't in great nick before I went away! Other than that, no issues. I reckon it will be fine!
In reply to Kimono:
Having spent my whole life working in different countries, I often leave cars in one place for quite a few months. There are only a few precautions I take:
- Leave the vehicle with the fuel tank practically full. This stems from my experience of leaving a jeep in Arabia near the sea with a nearly empty tank. The tank rusted on the inside, causing endless problems with the carburettor. I had to replace the tank.
- Make sure that all perishable rubbish has been thrown out
- Make sure that everything electrical in the car is really turned off, including CD players etc
- Have a spare battery charged up. I like to keep portable batteries in my cars, with built in jump leads, because they are so much quicker to use than jump leads. Often when I return to a car after a few months the car battery is dead, but the portable battery has never left me down. (If it did, it would be very easy to charge.)
When I return to a car that has been left, I:
- Hose the car down because it has usually collected a lot of dust, even if left in a garage. Cars that have been left outside seem to be a natural magnet for bird droppings and tree resin.
- Start the car up and leave it running to charge up the battery. I usually do this whilst hosing the car down.
- Check the expiry dates on road tax and annual test (what the Americans call a "brake tag"). Tempus fugit.
- Check that all the lights are working. On one of my recent trips to the US, I forgot to do this and got stopped by the police on the first night I was back because one of my rear lights was not working. I was made to "walk the line" at gun-point, which was not a fun experience
- Check the radiator and washer-water levels - the latter can often evaporate away. It is useful to have plenty of washer fluid in the car when you take it for the first drive, so as to be able to clean the front and rear windows thoroughly with the wipers.
- Check the tire pressures. I do this simply by pressing the tires very hard with a thumb.
- Take the car for a drive to check it and also charge up the battery further. (I usually combine this with a trip to the local shop to get essential groceries.) Often the brakes make dragging and scraping noises until they have been used a bit. If the car has a remote key, that may require a new battery - and one might as well replace that straight away.
I do these things immediately upon my return. I leave the car outside the house with the engine running whilst I go into the house and throw out the dead roaches (I call this the "roach count") and run all the taps and flush the toilets. After that, the house and car are pretty much "ready to go".
Having spent my whole life working in different countries, I often leave cars in one place for quite a few months. There are only a few precautions I take:
- Leave the vehicle with the fuel tank practically full. This stems from my experience of leaving a jeep in Arabia near the sea with a nearly empty tank. The tank rusted on the inside, causing endless problems with the carburettor. I had to replace the tank.
- Make sure that all perishable rubbish has been thrown out
- Make sure that everything electrical in the car is really turned off, including CD players etc
- Have a spare battery charged up. I like to keep portable batteries in my cars, with built in jump leads, because they are so much quicker to use than jump leads. Often when I return to a car after a few months the car battery is dead, but the portable battery has never left me down. (If it did, it would be very easy to charge.)
When I return to a car that has been left, I:
- Hose the car down because it has usually collected a lot of dust, even if left in a garage. Cars that have been left outside seem to be a natural magnet for bird droppings and tree resin.
- Start the car up and leave it running to charge up the battery. I usually do this whilst hosing the car down.
- Check the expiry dates on road tax and annual test (what the Americans call a "brake tag"). Tempus fugit.
- Check that all the lights are working. On one of my recent trips to the US, I forgot to do this and got stopped by the police on the first night I was back because one of my rear lights was not working. I was made to "walk the line" at gun-point, which was not a fun experience
- Check the radiator and washer-water levels - the latter can often evaporate away. It is useful to have plenty of washer fluid in the car when you take it for the first drive, so as to be able to clean the front and rear windows thoroughly with the wipers.
- Check the tire pressures. I do this simply by pressing the tires very hard with a thumb.
- Take the car for a drive to check it and also charge up the battery further. (I usually combine this with a trip to the local shop to get essential groceries.) Often the brakes make dragging and scraping noises until they have been used a bit. If the car has a remote key, that may require a new battery - and one might as well replace that straight away.
I do these things immediately upon my return. I leave the car outside the house with the engine running whilst I go into the house and throw out the dead roaches (I call this the "roach count") and run all the taps and flush the toilets. After that, the house and car are pretty much "ready to go".
In reply to Kimono:
Unless it's something special I wouldn't cover it although a lot of modern covers I've seen are made of a breathable material similar to modern roofing felt.
One thing I would stress would be checking the coolant and washer fluid before you go, you wouldn't want that freezing up. I'd also consider changing the oil if it's been a while just in case any crap sediments out in an oil vein and then blocks something important when you start it up again.
Unless it's something special I wouldn't cover it although a lot of modern covers I've seen are made of a breathable material similar to modern roofing felt.
One thing I would stress would be checking the coolant and washer fluid before you go, you wouldn't want that freezing up. I'd also consider changing the oil if it's been a while just in case any crap sediments out in an oil vein and then blocks something important when you start it up again.
In reply to Kimono:
Ok, some really useful stuff there guys.
Think i may just leave it uncovered with handbrake off and nice one Gethin for reminding me to empty the window washer tank!
Ok, some really useful stuff there guys.
Think i may just leave it uncovered with handbrake off and nice one Gethin for reminding me to empty the window washer tank!
In reply to Kimono:
You should change the following shortly prior to leaving it.
- engine oil
- engine oil filter
- coolant
- brake fluid
and consider the same with the following
- gearbox oil
- differential oil
The vehicle should be driven tens of miles after doing this and run at full engine temperature (the thermostat should be working correctly!). The resulting condition will mean that these assemblies are protected from condensation and temperature effects. The longer that last run the better protected the exhaust system will be from internal condensation.
Rubber parts may suffer. It may be helpful to clean rubber parts with silicone spray. Expect to replace wiper blades after your return. If there is a sunroof then carefully inspect the seals for damage and make sure they are clean and wiped with silicone spray.
Brakes will always tend to suffer when not used. If brakes and pads are already badly worn then maybe just acknowledge that they will need replacing after you return. There are few ways of protecting the brakes from deteriorating. One might theorise that brake cleaner spray might help but I am not entirely convinced.
You should change the following shortly prior to leaving it.
- engine oil
- engine oil filter
- coolant
- brake fluid
and consider the same with the following
- gearbox oil
- differential oil
The vehicle should be driven tens of miles after doing this and run at full engine temperature (the thermostat should be working correctly!). The resulting condition will mean that these assemblies are protected from condensation and temperature effects. The longer that last run the better protected the exhaust system will be from internal condensation.
Rubber parts may suffer. It may be helpful to clean rubber parts with silicone spray. Expect to replace wiper blades after your return. If there is a sunroof then carefully inspect the seals for damage and make sure they are clean and wiped with silicone spray.
Brakes will always tend to suffer when not used. If brakes and pads are already badly worn then maybe just acknowledge that they will need replacing after you return. There are few ways of protecting the brakes from deteriorating. One might theorise that brake cleaner spray might help but I am not entirely convinced.
1
In reply to Jim Fraser:
Gearbox oil is usually never changed on modern cars and is often the same oil as the diff on many fro nt wheel drive cars. If fact a lot of fords haven't even got a gearbox drain plug and the only way to drain the oil is to remove a half shaft.
Wiping things down with silicone spray is a good idea though, and the note about making sure the last run is long enough to heat the exhaust enough to evaporate off condensation is also good.
Gearbox oil is usually never changed on modern cars and is often the same oil as the diff on many fro nt wheel drive cars. If fact a lot of fords haven't even got a gearbox drain plug and the only way to drain the oil is to remove a half shaft.
Wiping things down with silicone spray is a good idea though, and the note about making sure the last run is long enough to heat the exhaust enough to evaporate off condensation is also good.
In reply to Kimono:
I'm sure I remember your post last year and it seems like the same kind of conclusions...i.e. modern cars are pretty robust and nothing needs doing. The exceptions are really down to your car, if you've got new tyres you might want to prop it up on stands to protect them, if you've got lots of life left in your wiper blades then take them off etc.
Most of the old advice like filling your tank up with petrol and putting new coolant in are I think irrelevant (coolant lasts forever these days and fuel tanks are plastic so wont rust).
If you're leaving your handbrake off then chock your wheels in some way as well, leaving it in gear does fail sometimes and the whole to cover or not to cover thing will be irrelevant if your car's in a ditch half way down the road.
In answer to your actual question I wouldn't unless it was a newish car or I suspected it might leak somewhere. Either way a good wash and wax would be good and it's a good opportunity to inspect the whole car before you leave and see if there is any rust that could do with treating.
I'm sure I remember your post last year and it seems like the same kind of conclusions...i.e. modern cars are pretty robust and nothing needs doing. The exceptions are really down to your car, if you've got new tyres you might want to prop it up on stands to protect them, if you've got lots of life left in your wiper blades then take them off etc.
Most of the old advice like filling your tank up with petrol and putting new coolant in are I think irrelevant (coolant lasts forever these days and fuel tanks are plastic so wont rust).
If you're leaving your handbrake off then chock your wheels in some way as well, leaving it in gear does fail sometimes and the whole to cover or not to cover thing will be irrelevant if your car's in a ditch half way down the road.
In answer to your actual question I wouldn't unless it was a newish car or I suspected it might leak somewhere. Either way a good wash and wax would be good and it's a good opportunity to inspect the whole car before you leave and see if there is any rust that could do with treating.
In reply to Kimono:
also, someone mentioned "rustproofing from £250", rustproofing an oldish car for anything less than 4 figures probably wont be worth it, it's a big time consuming job to do properly and a waste of money for a half arsed job.
also, someone mentioned "rustproofing from £250", rustproofing an oldish car for anything less than 4 figures probably wont be worth it, it's a big time consuming job to do properly and a waste of money for a half arsed job.
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Elsewhere on the site
Loading Notifications...