Starting while in storage

Trickle charge it and leave it unless you're gonna actually drive it.....

Yesterday I read about someone that took this to a whole new level, starting a pickup sitting outside daily.

And to make it even worse, a diesel pickup.

I keep mine on a battery tender with gas stabilizer in the tank (I always add it then fill up and run the engine for a bit). This time I used the Amsoil stuff but I normally use Seafoam. I avoid starting it unless necessary. I always prime the engine now before I start it. Hold down the gas with the brake when starting it. It'll allow the engine to start getting oil to move without turning over.

I also leave the oil in it over the winter and change it before I take it out for the season. Some people aren't fans of that since the oil is essentially in my engine for a year but getting less than 5k miles on it I'm not super concerned. I'm actually hoping I can send out an oil sample to Blackstone this year to find out how the oil is holding up while in the car to see if I should be changing it before storage.

I do the opposite, I change oil in the Fall but I dont in the Spring.

I am just praying for a good day in January so I can get my car over to the dealership for its required 6-month oil change. I emailed Dodge Cares and they are telling me even though my car is in winter storage I still need to do my 6 month required change to keep my 84 months extended warranty intact. What a bunch of crap...

I'm also very curious, when you guys have these cars in storage are you not switching from full coverage to comp only? I do that and I save a TON of money during the winter when I'm not driving it anyway.

Use a winch to get it into an enclosed trailer, let the highly skilled techs push it up on the rack, then back into the trailer.

Oh, and ask them to keep the "old" oil for you.

Dextar said:

I'm also very curious, when you guys have these cars in storage are you not switching from full coverage to comp only? I do that and I save a TON of money during the winter when I'm not driving it anyway.

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I do not have that option with Hagerty

Jimmy N. said:

Use a winch to get it into an enclosed trailer, let the highly skilled techs push it up on the rack, then back into the trailer.

Oh, and ask them to keep the "old" oil for you.

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Right?? I could take it home and have like a 5 year supply for my lawn mower and pressure washer!

Dextar said:

I'm also very curious, when you guys have these cars in storage are you not switching from full coverage to comp only? I do that and I save a TON of money during the winter when I'm not driving it anyway.

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Yes Comprehensive when storing.

Dextar said:

I'm also very curious, when you guys have these cars in storage are you not switching from full coverage to comp only? I do that and I save a TON of money during the winter when I'm not driving it anyway.

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I remove my collision, but keep my comp until I drive it again

First i change the oil before storage, then i have a battery tender on.
When spring come and i am ready to start, i press the accelerator hard to to the floor.
The engine will not fire, but run on starter only so the oil pump will prime the engine first.
It´s a crime not to prime

HellcatNorway said:

First i change the oil before storage, then i have a battery tender on.
When spring come and i am ready to start, i press the accelerator hard to to the floor.
The engine will not fire, but run on starter only so the oil pump will prime the engine first.
It´s a crime not to prime

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GREAT article man! Thank you for posting!

Now this is directly in your article from Dodge:

"If your baby has been hibernating for a while, without a start, then the oil might gradually concede to gravity and slide down to low spots or into the oil pan. That leaves some high-stress surfaces that are metal on metal. "

I don't know man, MXS67454 is pretty smart, smarter than Dodge I'm sure and he says this doesn't happen. LOL. SARCASM ALERT!

Again, thank you posting this great tip.

HellcatNorway said:

First i change the oil before storage, then i have a battery tender on.
When spring come and i am ready to start, i press the accelerator hard to to the floor.
The engine will not fire, but run on starter only so the oil pump will prime the engine first.
It´s a crime not to prime

Click to expand...

Rookie question here....after you floor it, is it as easy as just letting off of the accelerator quickly or do I need to push the button to stop the starter and then proceed to start normally? I'm afraid if I let go of the accelerator the engine will start up at a high rpm at first.

Jimmy N. said:

Yesterday I read about someone that took this to a whole new level, starting a pickup sitting outside daily.

And to make it even worse, a diesel pickup.

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I know somebody who leaves their diesel pickup plugged in all winter, and starts it weekly... pretty much never drives it, just has it ready "just in case it snows too much"... 🤦‍♂️

Hellsprinter said:

Rookie question here....after you floor it, is it as easy as just letting off of the accelerator quickly or do I need to push the button to stop the starter and then proceed to start normally? I'm afraid if I let go of the accelerator the engine will start up at a high rpm at first.

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Push the button to stop the starter?? The starter will stop when you lift your finger off of it. When you are done priming, stop holding or pushing the start button, take your foot off the gas and start normally.

B5Blue6M said:

GREAT article man! Thank you for posting!

Now this is directly in your article from Dodge:

"If your baby has been hibernating for a while, without a start, then the oil might gradually concede to gravity and slide down to low spots or into the oil pan. That leaves some high-stress surfaces that are metal on metal. "

I don't know man, MXS67454 is pretty smart, smarter than Dodge I'm sure and he says this doesn't happen. LOL. SARCASM ALERT!

Again, thank you posting this great tip.

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I posted that the first page of this discussion……

post #10

Reaperhwk said:

I posted that the first page of this discussion……

post #10

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Yup you sure did, sorry I didnt notice it then. I would have quoted it earlier when MX was running his mouth.

Here ya go: https://www.dodgegarage.com/assets/audio/challenger-srt-hellcat-ringtone.mp3

Download and set as your ringtone. Now every time you get a call, it'll be like your cat reminding you spring is coming.

Hellsprinter said:

Rookie question here....after you floor it, is it as easy as just letting off of the accelerator quickly or do I need to push the button to stop the starter and then proceed to start normally? I'm afraid if I let go of the accelerator the engine will start up at a high rpm at first.

Click to expand...

Press and hold the pedal, the cranking will stop after 8-10 seconds