Tips for storage/sitting for periods of time.

[Bunchahoopla]

I have had my Gladiator for almost a year now and have built it up to be my weekend warrior. It is my daily but only have put 7,500 miles on it this year with everything going on in the world. My job is changing to where I am going to be doing a lot more driving so in an effort to save miles on the gladiator I ended up getting a commuter car.
My question, the gladiator might start to sit about a month before I get a chance to drive it. I plan on getting a battery maintainer (I have a tazer mini that is always drawing power). Any other concerns I should take into consideration? Fuel stabilizer? I plan on running 91 octane because I can find it ethanol free but didn’t know if anyone else had insight on a vehicle sitting for periods of time and had advise. Thanks for your help in advance!

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[punk'n]

A month shouldn't be an issue aside from the battery which you have already addressed. New cars sit on dealer lots longer than that without being started or moved.

If you are going to park for a few months, then yes, add fuel stabilizer, use a battery maintainer and over-inflate the tires (remember to reset PSI when ready to drive).

Only other issue is location where you park... try to make it critter proof if possible.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

A month shouldn't be an issue aside from the battery which you have already addressed. New cars sit on dealer lots longer than that without being started or moved.

If you are going to park for a few months, then yes, add fuel stabilizer, use a battery maintainer and over-inflate the tires (remember to reset PSI when ready to drive).

Only other issue is location where you park... try to make it critter proof if possible.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I own classic cars and had a Chevy that sat a month, sometimes 5 or 6 weeks, at a time.
My cars sit end of October (unless they don't put that stupid salt SLIME on our bridges) or maybe first of November until a good spring rain washes the salt and sand off the road (usually early March?)
That's a good 5 months in many cases.
Fuel stabilizer, a battery minder (battery tender, whatever) and keeping critters out are my only real concerns.
I just keep the tire pressure up, I never over-inflate. Never had seen a need. I store my vehicles with the normal running PSI in the tires.
The only vehicle that ever gave any issue sitting was when my WJ sat for about 3 months or so in my garage - the tires did get flat spots (yes, they are modern radials only about 4 or so years old!) but those came out of it after about 2 miles of driving. It's the only thing I have ever owned that the tires "flat spotted" - odd for modern radials.
We don't even discuss that on the AMC forum when we talk about storing AMXs, Javelins, etc.
Some guys like to put the car up on stands but I do NOT advocate that as it lets the suspension hang on those bushings, stressing them badly.

The biggest thing is the battery, IMO - and keeping critters out. Sitting is bad as it invites mice looking for a stable place to keep cozy. Doesn't have to be warm, just dry and safe.
Most of us car people have multiple battery minders. I talked with a guy who has owned an auto-electric shop for many years about charging systems, batteries and such - and he even said - keep that battery up.
Tazer or not, a battery sitting isn't good and they'll all lose charge over time. You have the radio and other things on these that draw, heck, even my 4.0 equipped SX4 will pull the battery down with time just the PCM and stereo.

Battery minder, fuel stabilizer if sitting long-term, keep the mice out as 3 or 4 weeks is an invite. They see that as a "vacancy" sign out front.

 

[Bunchahoopla]

A month shouldn't be an issue aside from the battery which you have already addressed. New cars sit on dealer lots longer than that without being started or moved.

If you are going to park for a few months, then yes, add fuel stabilizer, use a battery maintainer and over-inflate the tires (remember to reset PSI when ready to drive).

Only other issue is location where you park... try to make it critter proof if possible.

Thanks for the reply...it will be in my climate controlled garage so all is good there...only critters I have to worry about are my kiddos being careless!

 

[Bunchahoopla]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I own classic cars and had a Chevy that sat a month, sometimes 5 or 6 weeks, at a time.
My cars sit end of October (unless they don't put that stupid salt SLIME on our bridges) or maybe first of November until a good spring rain washes the salt and sand off the road (usually early March?)
That's a good 5 months in many cases.
Fuel stabilizer, a battery minder (battery tender, whatever) and keeping critters out are my only real concerns.
I just keep the tire pressure up, I never over-inflate. Never had seen a need. I store my vehicles with the normal running PSI in the tires.
The only vehicle that ever gave any issue sitting was when my WJ sat for about 3 months or so in my garage - the tires did get flat spots (yes, they are modern radials only about 4 or so years old!) but those came out of it after about 2 miles of driving. It's the only thing I have ever owned that the tires "flat spotted" - odd for modern radials.
We don't even discuss that on the AMC forum when we talk about storing AMXs, Javelins, etc.
Some guys like to put the car up on stands but I do NOT advocate that as it lets the suspension hang on those bushings, stressing them badly.

The biggest thing is the battery, IMO - and keeping critters out. Sitting is bad as it invites mice looking for a stable place to keep cozy. Doesn't have to be warm, just dry and safe.
Most of us car people have multiple battery minders. I talked with a guy who has owned an auto-electric shop for many years about charging systems, batteries and such - and he even said - keep that battery up.
Tazer or not, a battery sitting isn't good and they'll all lose charge over time. You have the radio and other things on these that draw, heck, even my 4.0 equipped SX4 will pull the battery down with time just the PCM and stereo.

Battery minder, fuel stabilizer if sitting long-term, keep the mice out as 3 or 4 weeks is an invite. They see that as a "vacancy" sign out front.

Awesome advise and appreciate the expertise! Any particular brand of battery maintainer you would recommend? I am leaning towards CTEK but open to suggestions

 

[Klutch]

Awesome advise and appreciate the expertise! Any particular brand of battery maintainer you would recommend? I am leaning towards CTEK but open to suggestions

I use a Battery Tender for my classic Mustang. It's compact, works great and I picked it up for just over $30.00 at Costco. Haven't seen them there in a while. They're typically $50.00 on Amazon. Still pretty reasonable.

 

[punk'n]

I also like Deltran Battery Tenders. We currently have 16 of them on various batteries. However, there are several good brands out there. Just make sure it is a smart charger that can regulate charge as needed.

As far as airing up tires, I agree it probably doesn't matter that much for a Jeep. Especially the over-inflate (by over-inflate I am referring to above the door sticker PSI but below max tire PSI). However, I own several other vehicles, some with soft summer compound tires. The manufacturers not only recommend not driving in cold conditions (below 40 degrees) but to inflate the tires to max pressure for storage. So, I "over-inflate" them, plus park on RaceRamp Flatstoppers.

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