Extended parking with low miles?

AtillaTheHung

Well-Known Member
First Name
Zachary
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Threads
27
Messages
156
Reaction score
257
Location
Knoxville, TN
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger - 2010 Ford Ranger
Occupation
Systems Administrator
Vehicle Showcase
1
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?
Sponsored

 

DHare

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dennis
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
448
Reaction score
394
Location
Missouri
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger Lariat - Saber; 2020 Ford Edge - Rapid Red
Occupation
Retired
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?
Drive it. It's a truck and intended to be driven in all kinds of weather. Take it to a car wash to clean it and be sure to spray off the area inside the wheelwells to get rid of accumulated salt.
 
OP
OP
AtillaTheHung

AtillaTheHung

Well-Known Member
First Name
Zachary
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Threads
27
Messages
156
Reaction score
257
Location
Knoxville, TN
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger - 2010 Ford Ranger
Occupation
Systems Administrator
Vehicle Showcase
1
Drive it. It's a truck and intended to be driven in all kinds of weather. Take it to a car wash to clean it and be sure to spray off the area inside the wheelwells to get rid of accumulated salt.

While it’s a truck. Your response doesn’t even begin to answer the question I asked.

I said I want to keep it clean. Again, it’s my first new vehicle.

The question was whether or not leaving it parked for extended periods of time will damage the engine.
 

olgzr

Active Member
First Name
Keith
Joined
May 22, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
26
Reaction score
27
Location
Denton, TX
Vehicle(s)
Honda Ridgeline
While it’s a truck. Your response doesn’t even begin to answer the question I asked.

I said I want to keep it clean. Again, it’s my first new vehicle.

The question was whether or not leaving it parked for extended periods of time will damage the engine.
A lot of people park Miatas all winter with no issues. A few weeks of parking your truck should cause no problems.
 


AzScorpion

Moderator
First Name
Dave
Joined
Jul 25, 2019
Threads
280
Messages
21,289
Reaction score
101,269
Location
Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2023 Ford Ranger Tremor
Occupation
CEO of DeeZee
You'll be fine letting it sit for that long. After 14 days the truck will go into a deep sleep mode to conserve battery power,you'll get a notification on your FordPass app. You could/might want to go out and start it every couple weeks or just put a trickle charger on it.
 

Floyd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Threads
38
Messages
2,064
Reaction score
3,113
Location
illinois
Vehicle(s)
'19 Ranger SCab,'16 Connect,'95 MustangGT,'50 Ford
My Mustang gets less than a thousand miles per year and sits all winter.
When we leave for 5-6 weeks towing our Travel trailer our other cars sit at home in the garage.
 

Msfitoy

Well-Known Member
First Name
Sid
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Threads
60
Messages
7,702
Reaction score
22,448
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger, 2003 MINI Cooper S, 2021 Honda CT125
Occupation
Automotive, Industrial Designer
Vehicle Showcase
1
I have two other summer toys that I rarely drive and keep them trickle charged...I'm sure there are millions of classic garage queens that sit longer still and they're fine...
 

Toytec

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
856
Reaction score
2,155
Location
Central NC
Vehicle(s)
2019 XLT 302a S/cab 4X4 w/diff lock MG
Occupation
Automotive technician, Retired.
Vehicle Showcase
1
Short answer is no. No problems will result from sitting and not being driven. Just take it out on the nice days and give it a run to fully warm up. And with that being said, the first couple thousand miles was my "test drive" to see if there was any warranty issues that may be lurking in there.
And by sitting still, how will you ever know with the warranty clock ticking away.
Like you, I hate to see my new Ranger getting all dirty from nasty weather, but it's going to happen. Nothing you can do about it but try to keep it clean. Have a really good paint protection applied while you're at it.
You and I are lucky where we live compared to the salt regions. So far this winter's been mild. So I drive the heck out of mine and love the damn thing more and more.
 

Jon Olivier

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jon
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
213
Reaction score
896
Location
Bishop, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 XLT 4x4 - Hot Pepper Red, 302A, Sport Appearance, FX4, Tow Package,
Occupation
IT Specialist - CA Dept of Transportation
Your truck will be fine parked in the garage. I kept mine clean for the first couple weeks while I was still in San Diego, CA. Since I've moved to Bishop, CA, she has an almost permanent layer of dirt.
 

joeb427

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Threads
45
Messages
1,111
Reaction score
1,631
Location
Fort Mill/Indian Land area South Carolina
Vehicle(s)
'19 Lariat Sport and 19 Lincoln MKC Reserve
Occupation
Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
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?
Just add a Battery Tender trickle charger which will maintain the battery power even though the Ranger has a 14 day sleep mode. My truck sits a lot and that's what I do.
Start up and running for a while is something I don't do.Not good.
A procedure I used on a show car '69 Corvette I had for many years. I did some other things because it would sit 7 months when I lived in NJ.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
AtillaTheHung

AtillaTheHung

Well-Known Member
First Name
Zachary
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Threads
27
Messages
156
Reaction score
257
Location
Knoxville, TN
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger - 2010 Ford Ranger
Occupation
Systems Administrator
Vehicle Showcase
1
Short answer is no. No problems will result from sitting and not being driven. Just take it out on the nice days and give it a run to fully warm up. And with that being said, the first couple thousand miles was my "test drive" to see if there was any warranty issues that may be lurking in there.
And by sitting still, how will you ever know with the warranty clock ticking away.
Like you, I hate to see my new Ranger getting all dirty from nasty weather, but it's going to happen. Nothing you can do about it but try to keep it clean. Have a really good paint protection applied while you're at it.
You and I are lucky where we live compared to the salt regions. So far this winter's been mild. So I drive the heck out of mine and love the damn thing more and more.

I hate letting her sit. My profile says I am from Knoxville TN, but I live about 45 minutes north of Knoxville. If it gives you any indication where I live, I can get to Norris Lake in about 10 minutes off of Highway 33.

As far as keeping it clean. I am hoping to keep my 2019 Ranger as a weekend warrior. I know it's just a truck, but I have worked my tail off to buy the thing. I told myself I would buy one way back when they announced they were coming back to NA and have been saving every penny ever since.

I just want to keep it as clean as I can. Probably a useless post, but the new Ranger will not be my workhorse - weekend warrior she will stay.
 

jsphlynch

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Threads
11
Messages
907
Reaction score
2,436
Location
WV
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger XL
I know it's just a truck, but...
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.
 

Floyd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Threads
38
Messages
2,064
Reaction score
3,113
Location
illinois
Vehicle(s)
'19 Ranger SCab,'16 Connect,'95 MustangGT,'50 Ford
Just add a Battery Tender trickle charger which will maintain the battery power even though the Ranger has a 14 day sleep mode. My truck sits a lot and that's what I do.
Start up and running for a while is something I don't do.Not good.
A procedure I used on a show car '69 Corvette I had for many years. I did some other things because it would sit 7 months when I lived in NJ.
remember that the Ranger has a glassmat battery,so any charger must be compatible.
 

joeb427

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Threads
45
Messages
1,111
Reaction score
1,631
Location
Fort Mill/Indian Land area South Carolina
Vehicle(s)
'19 Lariat Sport and 19 Lincoln MKC Reserve
Occupation
Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
remember that the Ranger has a glassmat battery,so any charger must be compatible.

From what I've read, a Deltran Battery Tender Plus is fine for the AGM battery. Been using that model for 7+ months and it charges from red light to full charge at green light.


Product description

"Battery Tender Plus 12V - 1.25A. The Battery Tender Plus is a 1.25-amp battery charger designed to fully charge a battery and maintain it at proper storage voltage without the damaging effects caused by trickle chargers. Included is a quick connect harness for hard to reach areas. Temperature compensated to ensure optimum charge voltage according to ambient temperature. Automatically switches from full charge to float charging mode. Battery Tender at 1.25-amp will charge as fast or faster than any 3-amp charger available. Reverse Polarity Protection to ensure user safety. Red & Green Lights Alternately Flash in this condition. Complete 4-step charging program (Initialization, Bulk Charge, Absorption Mode, Float Mode). 10 year warranty. Perfect for all lead-acid, flooded or sealed maintenance free batteries (AGM and gel cell)"
Sponsored

 
 



Top