Storing the car for a month

[alexandre]

I just booked a last-minute trip for a month in Israel and Jordan after classes end. I found an awesome deal through Vayama and I'll be joining a friend who's already in the area.

How should I prep the ZHP for a month in storage ?

- Gas tank: as empty as possible, half, full ?
- Battery: unplug the negative terminal or leave it on ?
- Battery: should I buy a trickle charger or some other device of the sort, or it's not worth it for a month ?
- Oil: does it need any additive or something ? Running BMW 5W30. It's running close to its change interval, so I might just flush it when I come back.

It'll be in an interior heated garage. I'll need to drive 150 miles immediately when I come back, so I'd like to avoid electrical or engine gremlins lol.

Sadly I won't make it to GruppeFest because of that. I hope to meet all you peeps in the Fall, if there's another mid-year meet :)

[BCS_ZHP]

Fill the tank, the less air in there the less condensation that can form.

Buy a battery tender and plug it in. It reads battery voltage and when it drops to a certain point, the tender charges the battery.

Otherwise, just check tire pressure before & after storage.

Enjoy Israel.

[BavarianZHP]

Also maybe buy a webcam for it, so you two can keep in touch overseas. I know I would! :shifty

[alexandre]

Thanks, Bruce.


Also maybe buy a webcam for it, so you two can keep in touch overseas. I know I would! :shifty

LOL. I'll go through that dashcam thread. Nah, I probably won't even bring my laptop!

[BavarianZHP]

If you're too lazy to purchase a trickle charger, just unplug her. I did it a few months ago and left it for about a month as well. Just disconnect the negative terminal in the trunk (I left my trunk open in my parent's garage, as it was completely secure). Make sure you place the plastic cover back on top of the battery between the wire to ensure the wire doesn't accidently hit the terminal and cause a spark. You'll just have to reset the time and everything once you get back though. Have a safe trip!

[Johal E32]

You will be fine. Full tank of gas, trickle charger if you have one, fill up the tire pressures and you are set.

[Washburn]

perhaps some sta-bil in the gas tank?

[JupiterBMW]

Fill the tank, the less air in there the less condensation that can form.

Buy a battery tender and plug it in. It reads battery voltage and when it drops to a certain point, the tender charges the battery.

Otherwise, just check tire pressure before & after storage.

Enjoy Israel.

Bruce hit the nail on the head. Full to the max tank of gas. A lot of people overinflate the tires to help reduce the chance of flat spots, but it will still happen after a month. The better option is to have your tires evacuated and filled with nitrogen. For whatever reason, tires will not flat spot AT ALL with nitrogen inside. As for the battery, you can buy a tender or unplug it, but if you unplug, you have to reset eveything. Your security system (if you have one) is no longer active at this point either.

I leave my car for 2-3 months every time I go out to sea. This last time within an hour of getting home, I fired her right up and went for a drive. Well right after I installed the new steering wheel of course. :)

Good luck!

[danewilson77]

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?164-Winter-Storage&highlight=Storage

HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA

[orange260z]

Hey Alex, a month of storage isn't a big deal., but if you want to be anal (like many of us here) I would suggest/echo the following:

Full gas tank (prevent condensation)
Battery maintainer (great item to own anyway, I use a CTEK available from Partsource)
Oil - if you need to change anyway, I would do it before you leave than upon your return - IMHO it's always better to let it sit with clean, uncontaminated oil.
Tires - if you want to be REALLY picky, you can over-inflate the tires to 50 or 55 PSI and park it on squares of pink styrofoam from HD.

Just leave yourself a post-it on the IP reminding you that your tires are over-inflated and your car is plugged in. Driving your car away with the plug attached is a BAD THING. Don't ask me how I know.

[alexandre]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll disconnect battery and fill up prior to storage, or maybe buy a battery tender if I have the time. Just wanna make sure I won't have issues when I come back :)