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How long to let truck sit without driving it?

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dm6

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It does seem like such a waste to have this nice truck just sitting unused in the garage but that's how it is. I don't have to commute and will use this mostly during the spring to summer months for camping and trips so other than possibly a few trips to the mountains this winter, I likely will only put a few hundred miles on it between now and the spring. Is once a month enough to take it out? Twice a month? And I would imagine I should actually drive it a few miles rather than just start it. What about the gas? Should I put stabil in it? It is completely full right now. Again, this is the Hemi and it is kept in the garage.
 
dm6 said:
It does seem like such a waste to have this nice truck just sitting unused in the garage but that's how it is. I don't have to commute and will use this mostly during the spring to summer months for camping and trips so other than possibly a few trips to the mountains this winter, I likely will only put a few hundred miles on it between now and the spring. Is once a month enough to take it out? Twice a month? And I would imagine I should actually drive it a few miles rather than just start it. What about the gas? Should I put stabil in it? It is completely full right now. Again, this is the Hemi and it is kept in the garage.
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My truck only gets driven about twice a month, took delivery on 1-21-21 and at the moment it has 2700 miles on it. It would have less on it but I had to take it on a 600 mile trip to help out a friend. I keep it with a full tank of mid-grade gas, I know you can run 87, but 89 seems to last longer. When I take it out just to run it I try putting 10-15 miles on it just to keep things moving and keep the brakes clean.
 
Put stabilizer in it and drive it at least every other week. Once a week would be better. And you want to get all the fluids up to temp. So drive it for 30 min or so.
Sitting is the worst thing for seals and such. Ideling does not rotate tranny gears or axles. I'd also put it in 4wd too when driving.
 
My Jeep and Truck sit for long periods of time. By the time I return home from this trip, they'll have sat in my garage for 19 months. I don't really do anything to them other than put jack stands under the axles to keep the tires off the ground, and leave the batteries on maintainers. Haven't had any issues.

Long ago, I was in the car business. It was not uncommon for some vehicles in inventory to celebrate birthdays sitting on the lot sitting outside in the Phoenix heat.
 
TonyT said:
My Jeep and Truck sit for long periods of time. By the time I return home from this trip, they'll have sat in my garage for 19 months. I don't really do anything to them other than put jack stands under the axles to keep the tires off the ground, and leave the batteries on maintainers. Haven't had any issues.

Long ago, I was in the car business. It was not uncommon for some vehicles in inventory to celebrate birthdays sitting on the lot sitting outside in the Phoenix heat.
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I think you have a 2019 CTD? Your truck can sit for 19 months with DEF and Diesel and not have any issues? That is good to know. I was concerned about letting mine sit for a month or so.
 
Will_T said:
I think you have a 2019 CTD? Your truck can sit for 19 months with DEF and Diesel and not have any issues? That is good to know. I was concerned about letting mine sit for a month or so.
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Thats correct. It currently has about 8,000 miles on it.

This is not ideal, but its a lot to ask someone to come by and drive them once in a while.

Its just easier to put them in storage mode, I'll also save about $1500/yr by having it on a storage policy (USAA,) and not registering the truck until I'm back.
 
I make sure to drive mine once a week in between use, I still change the oil every 6 months regardless, just cause I am me and that’s what I do, oil testing be damned ;)
 
Squatch said:
I make sure to drive mine once a week in between use, I still change the oil every 6 months regardless, just cause I am me and that’s what I do, oil testing be damned ;)
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I understand, that's me too. But I often wonder, is there any difference with oil in a bottle on the store shelf for 6 mos vs it being in an idle engine for 6 months?
 
John Jensen said:
I understand, that's me too. But I often wonder, is there any difference with oil in a bottle on the store shelf for 6 mos vs it being in an idle engine for 6 months?
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That was going to be me next question. There is no way I will put 5000 miles on it per year so is once a year for an oil change adequate?
 
dm6 said:
That was going to be me next question. There is no way I will put 5000 miles on it per year so is once a year for an oil change adequate?
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The manual says x miles or once a year. I'm 4000 miles per year, so I do once a year to ensure there's no warranty issues. When my extended warranty is up I'll change to a mileage number something less than the recommended miles.
 
dm6 said:
That was going to be me next question. There is no way I will put 5000 miles on it per year so is once a year for an oil change adequate?
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I would just make sure you aren’t running a filter with paper media, make sure it is synthetic media.
 
Squatch said:
I’ve read it is paper, but haven’t cut one open myself, I figure the wix xp is made for those long change intervals so I use it for even more extra assurance. All about the overkill over here.
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There'a post on another forum where the owner tests his oil at 5 or 6000 mi intervals and doesn't change it until the lab report show deterioration. His last run was about 26,500 miles and never changed the Mopar filter. This run he wants to go for 27,500 miles.
 
dm6 said:
It does seem like such a waste to have this nice truck just sitting unused in the garage but that's how it is. I don't have to commute and will use this mostly during the spring to summer months for camping and trips so other than possibly a few trips to the mountains this winter, I likely will only put a few hundred miles on it between now and the spring. Is once a month enough to take it out? Twice a month? And I would imagine I should actually drive it a few miles rather than just start it. What about the gas? Should I put stabil in it? It is completely full right now. Again, this is the Hemi and it is kept in the garage.
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I agree with @TonyT . If it is going to exceed about 3 weeks I would charge the battery or put it on a battery tender. This is possibly overkill because I think the Vehicles go to sleep now and draw very little from the Battery. So maybe test the voltage once a week to see what your needs are. Below 11.5 volts I would charge it and even that might not be ideal for the battery (so maybe maintain it a little higher if you can). Newer seals are not an issue. Store it as long as you want. Honestly I would read the Owners manual. I think it's in there. The only thing I would suggest is when you do drive it try and warm it up all the way. Use common sense here. For instance I might let my Truck sit 3 weeks and one morning I need to move it. I may just move it and shut it off, knowing I am going to leave on an hour trip that afternoon. But I would NOT just move it a few feet and then leave it for a week sitting. Even doing that is not as big an issue as it was in the past. But I am a creature of habbit........
 
Crusty old shellback said:
Put stabilizer in it and drive it at least every other week. Once a week would be better. And you want to get all the fluids up to temp. So drive it for 30 min or so.
Sitting is the worst thing for seals and such. Ideling does not rotate tranny gears or axles. I'd also put it in 4wd too when driving.
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I may be overthinking this, but I did add stabilizer to a full tank but then just took the truck on an unexpected trip. When it was down to half, I filled it up and now that I just got home, it is at about a half tank again. I don't plan to take it on any more trips for a while so if I fill it up now, is it fine to just add enough stabil for the whole 31 gallons? I would imagine ideally, you would run it to near empty and then fill and treat it but because of the half tank that is in there now, half of it is treated and half isn't. I guess there really is no way to figure it out so if it doesn't hurt to have a little extra, it is probably easiest to just treat the whole thing when I fill it, right?
 
More is better than not enough....that's how I roll.

Sent from my semi-smart telephonic device
 
When I add the EDT I just add the amount that corresponds to how much new fuel I put in. So if your treatment takes 4 oz. for 31 gallons and you put in 1/2 a tank then what I would be doing is putting in 2 oz. I don't worry about putting in a little too much. In fact many of the treatments have a higher "performance" dose which is often double the normal dose. So I imagine you would have to put in a lot to cause any issues.
 
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