Winter storage in a carport?

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I've been debating in my head whether I want to pickup a winter beater and store my car, making it a spring/summer/fall car only. The only thing I have access to is a metal carport (where I currently park). I can pretty much seal up the ends with heavy duty tarp. The metal panels are ribbed, leaving a series of ~1 sq in. gaps between the frame and the panels. The floor is made up of concrete patio blocks, with a foot or so of dirt and/or gravel between the edges of the blocks and the bottom of the frame.

I've never stored a vehicle before. Is this a workable option or is it going to allow too much moisture to sit on the car?
 
the real trouble isn't moisture, the moisture is bad enough, but for storage the problem is Rodents finding a home in your car. plugging the exhaust, chewing up the wiring, and chewing up the seat foam/ insulation for nesting material.
also their droppings can carry nasty diseases
to keep them out, you need to plug any openings bigger than a dime.
crafty little buggers they are.

last winter my brother rented a storage unit for his Challenger. cost him about $80/month.
 
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Originally Posted By: OCDriver

I've never stored a vehicle before. Is this a workable option or is it going to allow too much moisture to sit on the car?



Moisture won't be the problem. You will need to protect against rodents and bugs, as someone else mentioned. These are problems even in garages -- possibly worse because animals are looking for shelter during inclement weather and a garage is quiet and warm.
 
It needs to be up on four metal jackstands...
1) keeps rodents out
2) keeps tires off the ground
 
When we lived in an apartment, my cav had a carport spot.

In my case, I just kept it out of the salt. If we got some rain to wash away the salt, the car moved around some to keep animals and stuff out of it. Car stayed safe when it needed to, but never sat for too long of a period of time.

Mine did just fine....
 
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Can you buy one of those bags you drive it into?


Go on...
 
I'm not sure if they have a specific name - but there are car tent bag things that you drive your car into for storage. Keeps the rain and moisture out.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
It needs to be up on four metal jackstands...
1) keeps rodents out
2) keeps tires off the ground


That won't keep mice out. And leaving the suspension uncompressed is not good for the rubber bushings. If you put the jack stands under the suspension that would be fine. When I store my car for the winter I use an old set of steel wheels with junk tires. That way I can bring my tires/wheels inside the house and the car/suspension is in a natural state.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
It needs to be up on four metal jackstands...
1) keeps rodents out
2) keeps tires off the ground



No it doesn't. Rodents can still get in, and the suspension is not designed to be hanging like that for an extended period. Tire flat-spotting is not going to be an issue unless the car is sitting for years.
 
Buy a car cover for extra protection. For mice buy dryer sheets and put them in trunk, under the hood and inside the car.
 
Originally Posted By: OCDriver
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Can you buy one of those bags you drive it into?


Go on...


Please...
 
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Buy a car cover for extra protection. For mice buy dryer sheets and put them in trunk, under the hood and inside the car.


D-Con rat poison around the car works nicely.

After pack rat damage to my vehicles at the ranch it is a full on war...take no prisoners.
 
An old boss of mine battled the rodents for years. Tried everything from dryer sheets to bars of soap, poison, cats, moth balls. There is even a product called "mouse blocker" that you wire it to 12v source and it emits some kind of noise that rodents are supposed to hate...

Still had problems after all that. He ended up getting smooth sheet metal panels and cutting them into 8' long strips about 18-20" wide. Riveted the ends together until they were long enough to encompass the perimeter of the vehicle when stood up like a little wall. Bolted the ends together and stored his vehicles like that.

That was the final solution. Rodents can't climb smooth metal surfaces. He stole the idea from a fancy tropical resort he visited once. They had sheet metal collars about 20" wide wrapped around palm tree trunks to keep the rodents from climbing them.

That's my cool story for the day
 
https://www.extremevehicleprotection.com/

Was going to say, jacking your car, won't help with rodents...ask any boat owner that tried that during the winter months. I've had good luck with those rat pills that dry them out from the inside....just have to clean them up when you find them or get a cat.
 
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Can you buy one of those bags you drive it into?

Those are interesting!
 
You should do a cost analysis to estimate how much the beater car (which may turn into multiple beater cars if you do it for enough years) will cost against the expected added life to the warm weather daily driver factoring in insurance costs of course.

As one who drove a number of beaters as a daily driver to economize, they often aren't that cheap to keep on the road in a drivable condition without fussing with the nice to have things that also break (gas gauges for one, automatic door locks, etc.)
 
When I was a kid, I had a supercharged thunderbird in New York that I bought down in Texas.

I would rent an interior parking ramp space from a local apartment complex every year and just park it there under a cover.

Never had a problem.
 
Thanks for all the replies and helpful info, everyone. I've been under the weather and haven't really looked at this thread until now.

So, to expand a little bit... I have taken my car (Infiniti G35 coupe) through a couple winters and it survives with a few minor issues. But, it just had a paint job, and being a black car that shows every single imperfection, I feel it's going to be a huge undertaking to keep it properly clean in winter without gathering a bunch of nasty marks in the paint.

Winters are harsh and stupidly cold where I live (think northern midwestern US climate). Bugs are a complete non-issue, they simply do not exist in this weather. The sheet metal solution for rodents sounds interesting.

I looked at those drive-in bags. They seem less "drive in" and more "wrap around." Definitely going to scratch the clearcoat. Same goes for car covers, maybe with the exception of an uber-expensive cover with a plush microfiber inner lining.

I have a set of winter tires that I would put on for storage, so my good summer tires don't sit in the cold or get flat spots.
 
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