Car care while on a thru-hike

[Coffee]

While it’s best to drive a car at least every couple weeks, I’ve gone a month or longer between driving a wheelchair adapted van to help family members. The van is used infrequently, only for medical transportation.

[TexasBob]

While it’s best to drive a car at least every couple weeks, I’ve gone a month or longer between driving a wheelchair adapted van to help family members. The van is used infrequently, only for medical transportation.

Good advice.
I remember listening to the old "Click and Clack" radio show when they said it is best to drive the car every 2-3 weeks until it reaches operating temperature. That way the tires don't get flat spots, all the internal parts and seals of the drive train get lubricated and the battery gets recharged. They said that just starting the car and letting it idle instead of driving it wasn't a good alternative.

[Wolf - 23000]

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions. Ideal it would be best to leave it with someone to watch over it and start it up from time to time. My experience has been you really have to trust the people to leave your vehicle with because it does not always happen. Right now, I don't see that as an option.I have left it behind for shorter hikes, such as the Colorado Trail, without any issues. A few weeks is different than a few months. I figure I could blow up the tires and get my oil changed after I return, but the rest of the car is a different story.

4eyedbuzzard had some great points about:

Beyond just battery maintenance and those potential problems, I would be more concerned about the rest of the vehicle. Cars are designed to run - not sit. Engines, transmissions, tires, brakes, etc., do not weather well when they sit for long periods without being run and moved. Tires lose a pound or two of pressure every month, and they tend to develop cracks more easily when not put in motion (flexing the sidewalls) regularly. Brakes often suffer from rusting of rotors and freezing up of calipers. Engines and transmissions suffer from having the oil film drain away and also from sludge forming in places where oil collects, and also from not being run and brought up to temperature to evaporate off water that condenses inside (and on those surfaces where the oil film has gone away). If at all possible, get someone to start it once a week or every other week and take it for a 20 to 30 minute drive - long enough to heat up the engine and exhaust system and also keep the fluid circulating and all the moving parts moving.

I had not even considered some of the issues he mentioned. It sounds like even if I did get someone to watch my vehicle, I should still add in some type of treatment to evaporate the water and have the car professional serviced before any major driving.

Wolf

[4eyedbuzzard]

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions. Ideal it would be best to leave it with someone to watch over it and start it up from time to time. My experience has been you really have to trust the people to leave your vehicle with because it does not always happen. Right now, I don't see that as an option.I have left it behind for shorter hikes, such as the Colorado Trail, without any issues. A few weeks is different than a few months. I figure I could blow up the tires and get my oil changed after I return, but the rest of the car is a different story.

4eyedbuzzard had some great points about:


I had not even considered some of the issues he mentioned. It sounds like even if I did get someone to watch my vehicle, I should still add in some type of treatment to evaporate the water and have the car professional serviced before any major driving.

Wolf

Is it covered or out in the open? Obviously covered and on a dry floor (reduces condensation under the body/chassis from ground water vapor) is the best option. If you can't have somebody start and move it periodically, it would be better for the tires if you could put it up on jack stands, and add some fuel stabilizer and disconnect the battery (prevents the battery from discharging due to parasitic drain from the car's electronics). Also, leave the parking brake OFF so if it does freeze up, it won't be stuck on. The good thing is that you'll be doing this in summer - leaving vehicles sitting in winter (especially outside) is far worse. I think you'll likely be okay, just expect some brake rust and maybe a little squealing when you get back and be prepared to jump start it if necessary and change the oil.

[Coffee]

I forgot to mention one step I took to address condensation under the car when I stored my '65 Mustang for winters. I put a large tarp on the concrete garage floor to act as a moisture barrier before putting the car up on blocks. This is something a lot of people with older cars did for storage. It also prevented the occasional fluid leak from hitting the concrete floor. One problem I did have during the 4-5 months of winter storage for the mustang was that the gasket/seal for the oil pan would sometimes fail resulting in oil leaking on the floor. That's probably not an issue for modern cars.

[Slow Trek]

Lots of good ideas,but some are overkill. Not today,but pre Covid it was not unusual for new cars to sit in lots for 6 months or more waiting for the right buyer. You can be sure they were not on jackstands. Permanent tire damage was a problem for bias ply tires 40 years ago. Not so much for modern radial tires. To be sure,modern cars have lots of modules and one or more computers always drawing voltage,so a battery tender is a good idea. You can disconnect the battery,but you can lose radio presets and some parameters the computer has stored. Better to just use a battery tender. Mice are likely the biggest hazard,have fixed lots of wiring that they chew off. Mothballs spread on the floor around the car seems to help repel them. Have a good hike!

[Seatbelt]

Mice are likely the biggest hazard,have fixed lots of wiring that they chew off. Mothballs spread on the floor around the car seems to help repel them. Have a good hike!

Another good idea to repel mice [other than a good cat] is to place a roofing shingle under each tire. This will keep the mice from entering vehicle from floor, but they might have access overhead??

[rhjanes]

Lots of good ideas,but some are overkill. Not today,but pre Covid it was not unusual for new cars to sit in lots for 6 months or more waiting for the right buyer. You can be sure they were not on jackstands. Permanent tire damage was a problem for bias ply tires 40 years ago. Not so much for modern radial tires. To be sure,modern cars have lots of modules and one or more computers always drawing voltage,so a battery tender is a good idea. You can disconnect the battery,but you can lose radio presets and some parameters the computer has stored. Better to just use a battery tender. Mice are likely the biggest hazard,have fixed lots of wiring that they chew off. Mothballs spread on the floor around the car seems to help repel them. Have a good hike!

Good advice. But also, large dealerships (Ford, Mazda, Toyota, GM etc) all also rotate the cars around. People are test driving them but they also get the sales people out to flip cars around every few weeks. So when someone drives by, "Hey! They got NEW (car model name) in!" Well, maybe. Maybe they just moved the trucks over to the north side of the lot, the X model to the south, the used cars are still on that lot but the used sedans are up front with the trucks in the back, except for that custom truck which they just put up on some elevated ramp, which used to have that high dollar luxury sedan on it.....

[gravityman]

You won't have any problems with tires. Do disconnect the battery and add fuel stabilizer (easy). The prius battery is a main concern, but sounds like nothing you can do about that. I wouldn't worry much for would I do anything special upon return. No need for major service. We left our mazda for 9 months with just those 2 precautions and it worked right away upon return and ran for many more years (it was already an old car when left).