Extended parking with low miles?

[Deleted member 1634]

I hear ya man. I bought my truck because I wanted a truck to do truck things with. And yet last weekend I finished up a home improvement project, which meant hauling a load of old flooring to the dump, and I was super careful not to scratch/ding the bed. I kept trying to tell myself "it's a truck bed, it's supposed to get banged up a bit," but just couldn't bring myself to allow anything to happen.

Just gotta do that first bit of damage to get it over with, then it's a free for all and nothing matters anymore. haha The morning after I picked mine up, I was loading a water jug in the bed for our camping trip. I set it down and slid it forward and boom, scratch in the bed paint from a plastic water jug less than 12 hours after I bought it. haha Luckily I had a spray-on liner put in a couple weeks later so it didn't really matter. But I do already have a few other nicks and scrapes other places. Of course I've used it for everything I wanted it for already: towing multiple different trailers, hauling many loads of junk, highway trips, off-roading, etc. So with 17k+ miles on it in 7 months, I'd say I'm getting my moneys worth.

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[Mach-1]

I hear ya man!! I'm babying mine too. I have my old danger Ranger to drive in the salt & crap. Besides, it's already pre-rusted!! I let my new Ranger sit in the garage, which is fine because I have some thing else to drive. I drive it when the roads dry up.

Nothing wrong with saving what you can.

 

[jsphlynch]

Just gotta do that first bit of damage to get it over with, then it's a free for all and nothing matters anymore. haha The morning after I picked mine up, I was loading a water jug in the bed for our camping trip. I set it down and slid it forward and boom, scratch in the bed paint from a plastic water jug less than 12 hours after I bought it. haha Luckily I had a spray-on liner put in a couple weeks later so it didn't really matter. But I do already have a few other nicks and scrapes other places. Of course I've used it for everything I wanted it for already: towing multiple different trailers, hauling many loads of junk, highway trips, off-roading, etc. So with 17k+ miles on it in 7 months, I'd say I'm getting my moneys worth.

I'm going to be getting it LineX'd at some point (had LineX on my old Ranger and loved it), which just adds to the logical side of my brain saying "Dude, any scratches you get now don't matter. They're just going to get covered up!" Yet I can't help myself being extra protective.

The first vehicle that my Dad ever bought brand new was Dodge Dakota (I believe an '88). A couple weeks into owning it, he was helping someone move a woodstove and ended up putting a big dent in the front of the box. As mad as he was at the time, it really made absolutely no difference over the life of the truck, other than making every additional ding easier to accept. A couple years after he traded it in, I saw a similar-looking truck in a parking lot. Took a peak in the bed, and sure enough, there was that dent!

 

[THLONE]

Sitting will not hurt it a bit, but all that hard earned money that you saved to buy it is flying away via depreciation and the loss of the enjoyment of driving it. Since I got mine I have a hard time NOT driving it although I have two older trucks that need driving. You really should use it as much as you can while the warranty is good so as to find out if anything isnt right.

 

[ausable]

We're out and about, mostly gulf south, this winter. Decided at the last minute to take the F-150. Meanwhile, the Ranger is parked comfortably in the garage. The nephew lives down the road and checks on things, when he's not shooting his guns or re-qualifying with his side arm.

None of this is a problem. As Floyd said early on, cars can sit on a dealer lot, untouched, for months. Ditto for excess inventory lots and lease return lots. I don't blame you a bit for babying your new Ranger. Lots of guys of sports cars tucked away until the weather is nice. This is a common practice in salt spreading states. Don't worry about a thing. Your weather will be peachy come mid to late March. Not that very far away. View attachment 31510 View attachment 31510

 

[DMK45]

Hey guys and gals! I’m back with another dumb question!


My new Ranger has 359 miles on it. It’s the only clean/nice vehicle I have. It’s also the first new vehicle I have owned. I would like to keep it as clean as possible.


As of right now, we’ve had rain almost every day, and now with snow in the forecast they’ve salted the roads. I drive on some pretty rough stuff for work everyday and so I leave my 2019 Ranger parked.


I would like to start driving it when it warms up outside so I can wash it. I don’t really have anywhere to clean the truck without freezing my butt off.



My question is, will leaving the truck parked until about March or April damage anything? I know if I start it and let it idle I’ll have condensation in the oil.


Any input from you guys?

Enjoy it. Wash it once per wk at robo or spray wash. Change oil w/ SN+ full synthetic oil only & motorcraft filters every time ur golden.

 

[Arch Stanton]

A lot of people park Miatas all winter with no issues. A few weeks of parking your truck should cause no problems.

Yep, that's where my 2006 Miata is at this very moment!!

 

[Msfitoy]

Same with my 2003 MINI...getting a face tan...

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