Storing a car in a storage unit

[Travisnd]

Well, my house will be officially "on the market" this week. In an effort to make the house more eye candy appealing, I will be storing one of my Camaro's in a storage unit, more specifically, my 1992 RS convertible.

For those who have stored cars in storage units before, any tips? Disconnect the battery? Fabric softner sheets in car? Car cover on? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

 

[astroracer]

Pull the battery right out, use a cheap cover if you have to but it's not necessary. Put the car on stands if it's going to be a while before you move it.
Mark

 

[rsanter]

For how long is it going to be stored?
I agree with pull the battery and put a basic cloth cover on it. Does not even have to be a car cover, just some old bed sheets will be fine.
Crack the side windows only slightly. I would also put some sticky traps on the storage floor near any place that a mouse could get it like at the corners of the door or any place that has ant kind of gap

Bob

 

[Tim37]

Put some stabilizer in your fuel also use non ethanol gas if you can find it. I used to store one my toy in a storage unit they did ask me to disconnect the battery. I never had any problems with wild life.

 

[Stuart in MN]

If you're storing it for six months or less, I wouldn't worry much about it. Just pull it in, disconnect the battery, and leave it.

 

[mldittmer]

If it's going to be stored for a long period of time, you might look at a product called the "Car Bag". I've used one for the past several years for a vehicle that I only drive in the summer, results are fantastic.

 

[Nor'Easter]

Find a place that controls the humidity...

 

[RAYJAY]

make sure you add some additive to the gas.

the e10 go's bad really fast

http://www.fuel-testers.com/ethanol_engine_precautions.html

 

[Flat-rate]

Mice control!! Sticky traps on the floors and some Decon pellets in the box under the hood. Humidity control is a plus but very expensive.

I have tool boxes in storage, since last November when I was fired as a tech. I had my uniforms, winter coat, and shoes in there. Went to check on it and the ****** rodents started to nest in the clothing.

 

[CJM8515]

Mothballs under the hood in a sock or pantyhose sock. Will keep the critters out.

 

[Lx460]

Put some silica desiccant packs inside to control humidity. Also make sure the storage facilties insurance covers auto storage. A lot of self storage places specifically exempt vehicle storage from coverage. Would **** if something ever happened, plus they'd hold you liable if it was traced back to your vehicle starting it.

 

[ratdoggy]

Bucket of death. Just google it

 

[Aspen RT]

What everybody else has said and most importantly.....make sure the storage is secure!

 

[Stuart in MN]

Mothballs, dryer sheets, or soap won't deter mice.

 

[Jlbc212]

Mothballs, dryer sheets, or soap won't deter mice.

But the smell of mint, like peppermint, will. You can buy fresh mint at many health food stores.

I've stored vehicles in storage units. Removed the batteries, added fuel saver to a fresh full tank of gas and never had a problem with rodents.

 

[Flat-rate]

Mothballs ****! your car will reak of them for months. Ever smell an old lady's fur coat? OMG!

Decon works great. The little bastards will take a mouthfull and bring it back to the nest. Kills the whole family.

 

[toplessHO]

If it's going to be stored for a long period of time, you might look at a product called the "Car Bag". I've used one for the past several years for a vehicle that I only drive in the summer, results are fantastic.

this with a couple of desiccant bags and its like a time capsule

 

[mikegt4]

Well, my house will be officially "on the market" this week. In an effort to make the house more eye candy appealing, I will be storing one of my Camaro's in a storage unit, more specifically, my 1992 RS convertible.

I would think that a highly polished classic car in the garage would be eye candy. Of course that is if you were a gearhead male buyer.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Remember to pay the storage bills. We would hate to see some scumbag get it for $25 on one of these storage wars shows that are on now. If you are not going to pay for the storage let us know when it comes up for auction-- some of use would like to be there.

 

[JOHN 86GT]

Find a body shop to to repaint something on the car and pay in full up front , that way they will be in no hurry to finish it and you will have free storage .

If you do put it in the humid furnace , keep the windows up and put a lot of decon around.

 

[HMCFab9]

Depending on the weather in your location, a storage building may get wet in the spring due to condensation on the floor.
(I know... I have a 92 Z/28 heritage edition stored right now)
If you have very cold weather followed by very warm weather in spring, it can get wet in there. Put something under it that's waterproof (big tarp or plastic sheeting)
If it's going to be longer term, put it up on stands, put stabilizer in the fuel, cover it with a good car cover (NOT a cheap one, they do more damage than good) or 100% cotton sheets if it will be in a dusty area. (it gets in through vents in the building) & disconnect the battery.
If it's short term, don't worry about it. They can survive a while without much prep.

 

[boiler7904]

Check with the storage facility if cars are allowed to be stored to start with. When I used one for a couple of months in 2013, they didn't allow storage of flammable chemicals in units and had special requirements for storage of cars. Cameras and their other onsite business kept people somewhat honest in our case.

Other thing to confirm is your insurance coverage for a storage unit for stuff other than the car (since I'm assuming it's already got coverage). While we owned a house, any of our belongings in an off-site storage unit were covered under our State Farm homeowner's policy. For the 7 weeks between owning houses, we had to get a renters policy to cover our belongings. I want to say that we paid less than $100 for the coverage but piece of mind is invaluable when everything else in your world is up in the air.

If your unit has room for other stuff, get some wood pallets and store everything off the ground to make sure nothing is in puddles of water in a storm. Our unit was always dry but the unit next to us had runoff from a downspout that went under the door.

 

[ratdoggy]

Remember to pay the storage bills. We would hate to see some scumbag get it for $25 on one of these storage wars shows that are on now. If you are not going to pay for the storage let us know when it comes up for auction-- some of use would like to be there.

Give them a back-up credit card also. Make sure your info is all correct because I almost lost an heirloom china cabinet because they had an expired credit card and a phone number for me that they had transposed the numbers in it. Luckily I went there fairly often.

 

[Travisnd]

Thanks all for the info. The storage facility knows there's a car in the unit as they asked for a copy of the registration to prove ownership. I do have storage unit insurance! The car will probably only be in storage for a few months, but it could be longer.