Alright so in 2 months my family and myself will be relocating to Arizona and I would like some opinions. In RI we are going to have a very brutal and snowy winter and I REFUSE to let my Jeep even have a speck of rust on it when I get to Phoenix.

I already know these things to do: SUV Cover, Full Gas Tank, Gas Stabilizer, Trickle Charger, and to to stuff rags into any pipes. Can anyone think of anything I might have missed?

Thanks Again,
Thomas

 

i think id just take the battery out if you have somewhere indoors you can store it. than once you put it back in let it sit for about a half an hour before you start it. on my 98 i hooked it back up and started it right away and it ran rough for several minutes but did clear itself. i am an over the road truck driver and truck regularly sits for several months but i live in florida and its in a garage i now use a trickle charger but the reason i mentioned taking it out was all that cold weather will likely kill the batterys life. or you could just plan on replaceing it when you get ready to move.
man i dont envy you phoenix weather sucks unless you are an iguana 115 degree days and 95 degree nights, no thanks you can keep it. floridas bad enough. you are definatly in for culture shock

so how do you have 17 yr old RI jeep that dosent have any rust already? or did you mean ADDITIONAL rust, have you pulled the carpets and looked underneath, or gotten under it and really looked at the floor pans?

 

I used to store my Cutlass all winter long and never needed a charger for the battery, because i just pulled it and put it on my closet shelf.

Also I'd recommend not using a car cover if you're leaving it outside, they trap moisture and can actually be WORSE for your paint/body that not having one at all. Just think, the first time that cloth car cover gets wet in the rain, it'll be holding all that wetness against your paint, as opposed to NOT having one where the paint has time to air dry.

Wax it really good, like, several coats. Get a couple cans of WD40 and spray down the undercarriage. WD40 is not a penetrating oil like people think, it's a lube. Water Displacement - WD. Spray down the undercarriage and it'll help prevent rust.

Again, 2 months is not that long so you PROBABLY won't have a rust issue anyway.

If you're being extra cautious, air up your tires to max pressure to prevent flat spots.

Moisture from the ground or concrete is your biggest enemy, even cars stored inside garages for years can rust out from the underside.

Tennis ***** under your wiper arms will keep your wiper blades from deforming.

Dryer sheets (the anti-static things you put in with your laundry) have a nice smell and also keep rodents away, so use those as opposed to moth *****.

I'll say one more time, 2 months really isn't a long time and you most likely could just park it and leave it and it would be totally fine when you came back... but i don't blame you for taking precautions.

 

2 months isn't so bad. To add to what these guys said, I think there is a specific type of cover that is breatheable. Will not build up moisture like a totally non-porous type and protects from debris, etc, which is what I assume you're after.

I'd look into fogging the engine if you're going to leave it around for a while. Ol' straight six is a pile of cast iron just waiting for an opportunity to rust. Also I wouldn't actually fill the gas tank in case it needs to be drained for some reason.

 

My 2000 T&C owners manual recommends that if you are going to store the vehicle for two weeks, or more, to run the air conditioning system for about five minutes on high blower setting. This will insure adequate sysem lubrication to minimize the possibility of compressor damage when the system is started again.

Worth the effort I guess.

 

To the first poster: I got my Jeep back back in March from CA. It was an original CA Jeep it's whole life. I Ivd owned the thing almost 11 years.

Again thank you everyone for the input. Wouldn't have thought oc the tennis ***** for the wiper arms!!!

 

He's gonna need that AC in Arizona!!

 

Its not going to rust just sitting outside for two months.... Salt is what starts that process. Just park it somewhere, put the battery in a cool dry area, and forget about it. It will be fine.