I’m going away in November for a 2 to 3 month business trip. Being New England, that will mean I will be gone for a lot of the snowy winter (yeah!, and South America, YEAH!).
I don’t have a garage, so my car will be sitting outside for all of it. Which isn’t good if we get a lot of snow and it is allowed to pile up on it.
So, what do I do? My friends that have garages aren’t an option (full garages, or too far away). I could have a friend clean the car off once a week and maybe take it for a drive.
Let the snow pile up on it, it’ll be okay and I’ll bet it’ll start up just fine in spring. If you really want to, pull the battery and keep it in your house.
If you’re going to have someone take it for a drive, they need to go take it out for like an hour. Just taking it around the block once a week is going to do a lot more damage then good, especially in winter when everything is really cold.
You are correct about the drive part and needing it to get up to temperature.
My concern with the snow is that we have had some pretty bad winters of late. If we get two feet of snow, I really don’t want that load on the suspension and tires for too long.
Don’t worry about it too much. Maybe have the oil changed beforehand in have the tires inflated to the recommended pressures. Also change the antifreeze if it hasn’t been done in, say, 4 years or so. Top up the windshield washer fluid with something designed for winter temps.
As far as the weight of the snow, don’t sweat it. As Click & Clack would probably say, it’s only 3 mother-in-laws worth of weight. If you wax the car beforehand, the snow might just slide off faster.
I would consider taking the battery out and storing it somewhere warm. Just don’t put the battery directly on a concrete floor. There’s an old mechanics tale about that discharging the battery.
Snow piling up on your car really isn’t a problem, your suspension handles much more than that when the car is full of people and cargo. If you are parking in your driveway just make sure the oil and tire pressure is good before you leave. If the battery is in good shape I wouldn’t even bother taking it out - 2-3 months just isn’t that long.
It might be nice to have someone come by in the middle of your trip and drive the car for 30 minutes or so just to keep the battery charged and fluids circulating.
I’d mostly be worried about leaving it on the street that long. If it’s in your driveway, I don’t think there’s much risk. You could pay a kid to clean the snow off your car and shovel your walks so the house looks lived in.
A cold battery will not be capable of max discharge… that’s it. Letting a battery get cold (as long as it doesn’t freeze) will actually preserve its operational life. Putting it somewhere cold (like a concrete floor), then popping it into a car and expecting it to have full charge and full cranking amps is just ignorant. Any mechanics out there that don’t understand this grain of truth in the maxim that “concrete floors suck out battery charge” should be stripped of their ASME patches.
If you store the battery indoors, a moderately warm place (which, for NE, is 40-50) would be good; assuming it will need an overnight trickle charge and warming up to 50 or so before the car is started will save frustration.
Me, I’d just disconnect the ground cable and let the car sit. Sitting for a few months in NE winter is no harder on it than driving in in same.
Everywhere I’ve lived there are places where you can rent out car storage units. Disconnect the battery and put some fuel stabilizer in your tank and you should be good to go.
This. If the fuel has any alcohol in it the alcohol will separate out and significantly reduce the octane rating of the fuel. My local fuel supplier recommends filling the tank of a car that will sit for over two months with straight gasoline. No alcohol. If this is impossible he said to use a fuel stabilizer.
The reason for disconnecting the battery is that almost all cars have some minor drain on the battery. If it has a digital radio that remembers your settings, it will have a small draw. If it sits for over one month, you will probably have a dead battery. Dead batteries have a higher likelihood of freezing the acid. This is a death sentence for the battery. Your other option is to put the battery on a battery tender, NOT a battery charger.
To recap, Full tank of fuel with stabilizer, recent oil change, disconnect the battery, and fill the fluids. This includes tires and radiator.
