Storing my Gladiator for Several Years

[Blade1668]

I think you should put expanded steel flooring in it... you'll never have an issue with it holding water again, and mut/dirt will just drop through...

Dang you seen how much crap I leave in the floor. It might be a good thing but hitting water puddles might not be fun especially in cooler weather.
BTW Florida is still "nice" hot n humid, spent a week on gulf side.

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[Blade1668]

My family may be going out of the country for 2-5 years. Uncle Sam will store my Jeep, but do I want him to? I'm sure the battery(s) and tires will need replacement when I get it back. Anything else that can go wrong over that time? We love our Jeep, but is it better to sell it and buy again when we get back to the States?

Thanks,
Tom

If you can have it stored in a dry climate control area maybe. But 2-5 years is a long time to set. Rust and corrosion never sleeps my 91XJ that didn't have any rust developed rust just from being parked and just being rained on. Condensation then puddled in low spots and crevices leading to rust.
I left my Ford pickup with family when I PCS to Germany it sat better part time for years. 89-91 in midwest. I'd been better off selling it still. Go figure, it was stolen after I got back state side.

 

[Rusty PW]

Sell it. It will cost you more money to fix it after letting the gov't store it.

 

[Tazbert]

I'm enjoying all the comments. I guess I need to wait and see where (and even if) we're going before making a final decision. I think it'll come down to take it or sell it.

 

[yoda13]

I wouldn’t let the government store it. If you can swing someplace safe and weather free to store it, I actually think I would do this if I had a Jeep I was attached to. However, I wouldn’t let the government store it.

 

[Stan H]

I would just write off the batteries. You should however, disconnect them. Keep the fuel tank full. I have a car that has been sitting since the Covid Era. I have kept a trickle charger on a schedule. I have moved it a few times but the 4 year old fuel is making it run rough at idle. Your brake rotors will rust to a point that you might think about brakes. If you like it, keep it.

Grease them rotors . Easy to use a rag and brake clean to clean em off

 

[Stan H]

Leave it with other family members . Leave it with instructions to drive a couple hundred miles a month . Problem solved.

 

[Lost1wing]

My mother has a 2017 Malibu. (Sunday driver, less than 12k) She stopped driving in 2020. I told her to sell the car at that time. The car is still sitting in the garage. I can't imagine how much it has deprecated over the years. A Jeep will do far better than a Malibu, on holding it's value.

 

[Mr._Bill]

My mother has a 2017 Malibu. (Sunday driver, less than 12k) She stopped driving in 2020. I told her to sell the car at that time. The car is still sitting in the garage. I can't imagine how much it has deprecated over the years. A Jeep will do far better than a Malibu, on holding it's value.

The bulk of the loss happens when the vehicle is driven off the dealer lot. There's more to value than what you can get out of it. Many people find comfort in having that car in the garage, just in case. Selling just reminds them of their circumstances. My mom had just turned 80 when she bought her last new car.

 

[BlackRuby23]

SELL IT. Cars and trucks do not like to sit.

Years ago I was the service manager of an independent auto shop. A woman came in with a late 80s Bronco II which barely had 20,000 miles on it, but had been sitting the better part of 20 years. She had just purchased it and was super excited, but also concerned because her garage floor was getting oil and fluids all over it, so she wanted to fix the source of the leak.

I felt bad informing her that almost every seal in the vehicle was bad. They had dried out. It needed many thousands of dollars worth of work, just because it was never driven. The rear main was leaking, the valve covers, the axle seals, the transfer case. The entire powertrain was one big leak. It was the worst I'd ever seen. And the thing was barely broken in.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

If it was mine, I would time capsule it and bury it. It went pretty well for this one and at the end of the day it becomes a shrine visited by more people than the Queen got at her death. You could even charge an admission and live the American dream.

 

[BRMoose]

Find a gas station that sells ethanol free and run a tank thru, add marine grade stabilizer during a final fill up with ethanol free

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