Need advice on idle truck

mjones12 · 07-01-2014, 07:08 AM

Having recently joined my wife in retirement, I find that our tow vehicle doesn't get as much use as it used to. It's a Silverado 1500 V8. We tool around town in our Prius until it's time to go camping, so the truck may not even be cranked up for two or three weeks at a time.

My question is: Is this harmful to the truck? Should I periodically start it up or drive it a few miles? This is one of many things about retirement that I failed to anticipate.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

**Herk7769** · 07-01-2014, 07:21 AM

Same issue with ours. I have to make an effort to take the truck when I go visit my dad; just to "rotate the tires."

Since ours is a diesel the problems are magnified as we have diesel specific problems "infrequent use" causes. Gummed fuel, clogged EGR valve, clogged exhaust, etc.

In addition I have the "common to all" problems of infrequent use.

Tires - LT/P tires do not have the extra rubber lubricants added to prevent/slow cracking, checking, and dry rot that trailer tires do. They are designed to be used and not sit. Flat spots, leaks, broken belts are common issues to vehicles that sit for long periods, then get spun up to high rpm.

Batteries - Truck batteries that sit do not last as long as trucks that get frequent use. Low/dead truck batteries can freeze or get sulphated to the point of uselessness in just a few years.

Engines - Designed to be used and not sit. Rubber parts (hoses, belts, etc) get dry and have a tendency to fail when used after sitting for long periods.

Exhaust Systems - While not as big an issue with Stainless Steel components, Steel pipes/mufflers rust out rapidly when not used long enough to get hot their entire length. Water with SO2 and CO2 dissolved turns to sulfuric acid and carbonic acid in the pipes and muffler destroying them in a year or so.

I am sure there is more...

FlCummins · 07-01-2014, 07:27 AM

I live in the land of snowbirds in South Florida where millions of cars are left unattended for six months or more at a time. Aside from putting sta-bil in the tank, the vast majority are just parked and suffer no consequence. If you're driving it once a month, you should be fine. However, I would make sure that your battery is fully charged before leaving on an extended trip.

rburns4147 · 07-01-2014, 07:30 AM

My diesel truck sits in the garage most of the winter. About the only time I get it out then is if I need four wheel drive for a bad snow. In the summer it gets used to pull our fifth wheel. I bought a smart trickle charger to keep the battery in good shape over the winter and have had no issues.

comfun1 · 07-01-2014, 07:32 AM

The only time my truck goes anywhere is camping and when I buy something that won't fit in one of our other vehicles. Oh, and to pull the boat which I haven't had out in the last three years.

Capt. Mike · 07-01-2014, 07:46 AM

Sitting two to three weeks at a time between uses will not hurt your truck. I ran fleets of school buses for 35 years and during the summers, many of them sat for 2 months or more before we started and brought them into the garage for service prior to a new school year. And they were mostly diesels, too!

The better question for the OP is, now that you and your DW are both retired, why don't you just go camping more often?

SaskCampers · 07-01-2014, 08:26 AM

What Capt Mike said. Mine sits for 2 weeks at a time all the time as I only use it to haul water right now and then once a year it will haul the trailer for a couple weeks. When I do use it though it gets to warm up good so it can heat the exhaust etc.

mjones12 · 07-01-2014, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt. Mike

Sitting two to three weeks at a time between uses will not hurt your truck. I ran fleets of school buses for 35 years and during the summers, many of them sat for 2 months or more before we started and brought them into the garage for service prior to a new school year. And they were mostly diesels, too!

The better question for the OP is, now that you and your DW are both retired, why don't you just go camping more often?

We went once a month, year-round before retirement, so I'm sure we will try to at least keep up that pace, probably same frequency but with longer trips.
Thanks to all for the good advice, especially Lou, who pretty much hit all the bases.

I will keep an eye on things and make a point to take her out at least once between trips, at least to get the tires and belts moving.

dretired · 07-01-2014, 09:02 AM

Drive the truck once every 2 weeks...warm it up...drive it for 50 miles or more on these trips...getting it up to freeway speeds..keep the fuel tank full

Arefbee · 07-01-2014, 09:11 AM

While my mother-in-law was ill, my father-in-law did not use the truck we now own for quite a few months. One problem was that mice had started to nest in it. No damaged wires
luckily (my wife's Subaru Legacy had a fuel gauge issue for the same problem) but they left a nasty mess under one of the seats. He had a lot of acorns and bird feeders so the mice had a nice place to hide stuff for a while.

keith_h · 07-01-2014, 09:15 AM

Since the wife got a new car I get two cars. My pickup is not large enough for towing and our current driveway configuration means it is blocked in most of the time. This results in me driving the Explorer for most things I need. I do take the truck out once a week for my run to the dump or when I need to haul things for the house. I've found if it sits too long besides the battery charge dropping the oil in the lifters drains out so they can be noisy when starting. By running it at least once a week some oil remains in the upper engine quieting things down and I feel minimizing engine wear.

Fourn3833 · 07-04-2014, 05:33 AM

Our class A (gas) will sit in the driveway for months at a time. I do start it up monthly, start my generator and put both A/Cs on. The motorhome will take a trip around the neighborhood and then back into the driveway. I do use Sta-Bil in the fuel tank. Exercising the equipment will help keep seals etc lubed and everything functioning

Crusadernoob · 07-04-2014, 07:03 AM

I would DEFINATELY put some cab fresh in it, the mice will have a field day with vehicles that don't move much, they seem to love to eat wires, all the hard plastic fuel lines, also some fuel stabilizer, and put a smart charger on the battery, that should be all you need to do. When you do drive it make sure you drive it long enough to actually get it up to temp, condensation in the drivetrain, exhaust needs to be given the opportunity to evaporate out, best of luck!

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