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How can Vehicle Storage Units be fully secured?

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John Petter
How can Vehicle Storage Units be fully secured?

Sometimes a motorist does not use his or her vehicle for a long period. For example, some people do not use their car in winter, while others go on business trips or holidays from time to time. During this period, it is advisable to put the car in storage to keep it intact. Think about what you need to do to preserve the car quickly and for a long time. Putting the car in the Vehicle Storage Units. There are two main tasks to solve when mothballing a car. Firstly, you need to protect the metal parts of the car from corrosion, and secondly, you need to prevent the springs from settling and moisture from getting into the engine. To do this, you need to do the following. 

PRESERVE THE BODYWORK:

  1. You should wash your car. Then you should carefully inspect the bodywork of your car and if there are signs of corrosion, clean or at least treat these areas with grease. If you have enough time, you should prime and paint the corroded areas in addition to stripping. Preparing the body for storage 
  2. After cleaning the corroded areas, examine the vehicle floor. If it is wet, dry the moisture and treat all nuts and bolts with grease.
  3. Now turn your attention to the chrome parts of the Vehicle Storage Units. If not taken care of, after only a few months, stains will form on the chrome and it will be difficult to clean them. To treat the chrome parts, the following solution is diluted: Pour unleaded petrol into a half-liter container and dissolve bitumen (100 g) in it; Treat the chrome parts with this mixture. 

MAINTENANCE PROTECTING THE ENGINE AND OTHER PARTS:

  1. The engine must now be protected, as it can absorb moisture through the air duct and exhaust pipe, which is undesirable. Therefore, we plug the indicated places with oiled rags. 
  2. If there is water in the cooling system, it must be drained. It is possible to loosen the belt tension if desired.
  3. Do not place the Vehicle Storage Units on the parking brake as the pads may rust when parked. If possible, operate the brake pedal and turn the engine at least once every 40 days, for example at the pulley nut. The battery should be disconnected from the electrical system, remove the wires from the battery terminals. If the battery is in poor condition, it should be removed entirely from the vehicle and stored in a suitable location. Disconnect the vehicle's electrical system 
  4. If you park the vehicle in a garage, you should leave the boot lid and doors slightly open to protect the rubber seals. 
  5. When storing a car for a long time, remove the lower ends of the shock absorbers and lower the rod into the shock absorber to prevent the rod from rusting. 
  6. Some, the car on storage, remove the wheels from it, and rightly so. If you do not intend to use your car for more than three months, it is best to remove the wheels and place the car on the box. At the same time, do not deflate the tires completely. Otherwise, the devices will become unusable, you can reduce the pressure to 0.6 kg/cm2.
  7. If you do not plan to leave the Vehicle Storage Units for a long time, you can leave the wheels on. Simply lower the tires and place the car on wooden supports to relieve the vehicle's suspension. This should also be done when the car is parked for a long time.
  8. Also, remember to keep the interior tidy. Carefully check all niches, glove boxes, lift mats for food debris, and general cleaning of the interior. It will be very unpleasant to forget a sandwich in the cabin, which will spoil and cause an unpleasant smell in the cabin. Also, try not to have too much moisture in the garage. You can buy a dehumidifier and turn it on from time to time. This rule applies especially to owners of expensive cars.

HOW TO PROPERLY WINTERISE A CAR FOR A LONG PERIOD:

Some Car Hire owners do not use their cars during the winter. What should be done to prevent various types of malfunctions and damage from occurring while the car is in storage for months? Several technical documents contain a comprehensive list of work that supposedly needs to be done before the car can be put into long-term storage. These include covering the seats with special covers, wrapping the drive shaft with oil paper, changing the oil, and some other measures. However, experience shows that most of these measures are not necessary. 

WHAT TO DO BEFORE STORING THE CAR:

 The car will survive storage without any problems if the following measures are followed.

  1. The first step is to thoroughly wash and dry the top and bottom of the car and clean the interior. 
  2. Clean the corrosion spots found, treat them with special agents and paint them. Screws and nuts should be coated with grease to prevent corrosion. It is advisable to treat the bodywork with a preservative. Wipe the chrome parts of the vehicle with a swab soaked in liquid mineral oil.
  3. To relieve the tires and springs when storing the Vehicle Storage Units, raise it on the stands. Some of the air must be let out of the tires, which will reduce the pressure to 0.05 MPa. The fan belt must be loosened and the water must be drained from the cooling system. If you use a liquid with a low freezing point, you do not need to drain it. Do not forget to drain the windscreen washer fluid as it may freeze.
  4. Seal the muffler pipe and the carburetor air pipe with oiled cloth pads. This will prevent corrosion of the internal engine parts. The draught cannot carry corrosive gases from the exhaust into the engine.
  5. Some people recommend pouring oil into the cylinders when the car is parked for a long time in winter, but this is not necessary. The working surface of the cylinders is very resistant to corrosion and therefore hardly rusts. 
  6. The parking brake does not need to be applied. Since the brake pads can rust on the drums in winter, you have to remove and clean them. And that is a very tedious job. 
  7. If the battery is in good condition, you can keep it. It is only necessary to disconnect it from the electrical system. If the battery is old and cannot stand the discharge, it should be removed and stored in a cool room. 
  8. When the vehicle is parked in a garage, the boot lid and doors should be ajar. This will prevent the rubber seals from being crushed. 

PARKING THE Vehicle Storage Units IN AN OPEN AREA:

If the vehicle is parked outdoors, it should be covered. The cover should not come into contact with the surface of the bodywork as this can damage the paintwork, so it is best not to cover it at all. For storing a car, I recommend that you build a frame that does not come into contact with the car and on which there is already a canopy. And it is advisable to sweep the snow off the car more often, otherwise, a thick layer of snow can deform the car roof or bonnet. If you follow these basic rules, you can start your car and drive off in spring without any problems.

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John Petter
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