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Like Rob mentioned, what do you guys/girls do for rodent prevention? I have a detached 50x30 garage(not heated yet) and always worry about mice. Most of my other cars get used along with my toys, but my Harley, rat rod and GT3 sit during the winter for a couple months. The Harley and Rat really don't have any closed areas for nesting, so most of my care/worry is directed at the GT3. After watching those videos of Matt's(obsessed garage) old GT3 getting the main harness eaten up by mice I've been worried.
I have found that the only things that really work for me are barn cats OR poison + traps. I’ve found most of the rest to be hocus pocus. I lost the wiring harness in my previous Tundra before figuring it out, now radio silence.
I've looked into these and it seems they don't really make a difference, can anyone provide feedback?
All you need to do is over-inflate your tires. 50 or more is great. Modern tires just don't flatspot like old tires from 15-20 years ago. Any residual flat spotting is purely temporary, and will smooth out in the spring with the first heat cycle. If you want to get nutty, the first Saturday of each month of hibernation, hand roll the car 2 feet. Then back the next month. You certainly don’t need $200-400 tire cradles.
Would you still put in stabilizer and inflate tyres if you were to run the car every 4-6 weeks?
Thanks in advance!
Fuel stabilizer depends on how long fuel will stay in the tank, not how often you drive. So, if you drive it monthly but not far enough to need to refill with fuel (at least half a tank), then good idea to add some...
Like Rob mentioned, what do you guys/girls do for rodent prevention? I have a detached 50x30 garage(not heated yet) and always worry about mice. Most of my other cars get used along with my toys, but my Harley, rat rod and GT3 sit during the winter for a couple months. The Harley and Rat really don't have any closed areas for nesting, so most of my care/worry is directed at the GT3. After watching those videos of Matt's(obsessed garage) old GT3 getting the main harness eaten up by mice I've been worried.
I do 3 things:
1. Glue traps under the car. I have probably 10 of them.
2. Electonic devices that supposedly they don’t like.
3. I never leave the car parked for more than 2 weeks.
I bet I'm not that far from you. This is what I do in this order:
1. change the oil (as I would rather have clean oil sitting in the engine). change brake fluid.
2. wash the car inside and out.
3. go fill up with Shell premium gas and add stabil at half the rate it says. (I figure it's only sitting 2-3 months, probably overkill.)
4. drive back home having a little fun (so all fluids get hot, I have happy memories, and fresh gas/stabil runs through fuel system).
5. hook up battery tender via clips to battery.
6. fill tires to +/- 40psi the next day or so. lock the car.
7. relax...
8. get it back out whenever the S*&% is off the road and the temp is above 40F, making sure that the car/fluids come up to hot temperature slowly before giving it hell again.
9. smile again. relax.
I've never had any issues
One word Jimmy: Mice. You leave a car that long without movement and you are asking for trouble. Maybe get a bubble? Idk, but creatures like to setup shop when they see something has not moved in a while. Also, what would cutting insurance do? Would they still cover this damage?
Found this yesterday.
No problem with Mice.
I have a Cat that likes to hunt in garage an hour a day while it is closed.
Don't start.
Full gas tank, non ethanol fuel, stabil
Add extra air to tires, I do 5 or so psi over recommended but below max.
Battery tender
I use flatstoppers on my 997.2, last year I used pink styrofoam insulation boards under my GT350 tires, worked well. This year I'm trying cheap thick natural fibre doormats with rubber backing on my GT3 ($9 each).
May stuff exhaust pipes with steel wool. Bought some, haven't done it and haven't in the past. No signs of mice in garage or house.
Reduce insurance to fire, theft etc. Basically removing collision. Means I can't drive it which works just fine.
I've looked into these and it seems they don't really make a difference, can anyone provide feedback?
Had flat spots after first year of storage with my 997.2. Second year with flatstoppers, no issue. You can use other things too that are far cheaper, see my other post.
i crack the passenger window a tad and run the tender wire through it
No need, works just fine through door. Doesn't pinch with issue. I did window first year in 2012. Door since. I don't want spiders and whatever else crawling into the car. Yes I know vents allow
that but to me a cracked window is simpler path.
Just drive it. Pretty rare that I can't get out for a nice extended run on clean roads every 2-3 weeks, even living in Boston. Upside: less traffic - cops, cars, cyclists, runners - on your favorite roads and more endorphins.
Park it. Maybe wash it first. Battery tender straight to battery. Frunk NEVER shut tight.
Next is optional. Come home from work and go directly into garage. Open a beer from garage fridge and walk around and sometimes talk to the cars. They do listen. Finish beer and sometimes consider/drink another, go into house and greet wifey.
I'm like Jimmy- haven't overinflated the tires yet. Car has been sitting for a month already.
Insurance: Drop it down to comprehensive only- this covers you for everything but driving. My insurance is only $100 annually for this, vs $1200- so I save a few bucks a month.
Keep in mind while dropping the insurance to just basic coverage (fire, theft, vandalism) saves you a few bucks over a few months, however usually insurance companies want you to surrender your plates and send them a DMV receipt of such. Then in spring you have to register the car anew. Depending on the State's registration fees (each is different), it may very well wipe out any insurance 'savings' for the 3 months or so the car is in storage. Think especially those that have vanity plates and will likely not be allowed to chose the same one again (as it takes a while for it to be recycled and approved anew), and registration for vanity plates is higher.
No, my insurance company encourages you to do this and doesn't ask for you to drop registration.
Originally Posted by LexVan
It's just one easy phone call. "Hello, State Farm, this is Rick here, oh, I'm great 'thank you', please turn back on the coverage for the GT3. Thank you. Bye."
Like Rob mentioned, what do you guys/girls do for rodent prevention? I have a detached 50x30 garage(not heated yet) and always worry about mice. Most of my other cars get used along with my toys, but my Harley, rat rod and GT3 sit during the winter for a couple months. The Harley and Rat really don't have any closed areas for nesting, so most of my care/worry is directed at the GT3. After watching those videos of Matt's(obsessed garage) old GT3 getting the main harness eaten up by mice I've been worried.
Our storage season is a little longer here in Canada (5m), so I do a few extra things not already mentioned...
I've been winter storing cars for over 30 yrs and have never had rodent problems.
I have a large piece of heavy gauge plastic completely under the car that gets tucked into the wheel wells closed in the doors, hood & trunk;
then the car cover is pulled on and overlaps.
This keeps moisture from condensing under the car as the season goes through warm/freeze cycles.
- Before wrapping it up like this I open a bag of kitty litter under the car for additional moisture protection.
- open a couple of boxes of clothes dryer sheets. (seems to deter mice)
- & plug the tail pipes
01-10-2019, 06:58 PM
