storage help...

Having a problem with garage space and need to store my wagon outside. I'm in the snow belt(Upstate NY) so we can get 2" to 2 feet when is snows. Its a running, driving car so moving isn't a issue. My car sits really low and worse is that the only place to put it is next to my garage. Next to my garage is dirt/mud and next to that is wild growth. It will need to be out there at least until summer and I'm worried about the moisture from the ground and the animals. What's the best way to keep it outside?

 

Make yourself a simple parking pad next to the garage. Get a roll of heavy roofing felt and overlap it by half until you have slightly longer and wider than the car. Then put 4 inches of crushed rock on top of the felt. For best results, do it when the ground is dry.

 

Thanks Oldfox, I'll start on that tomorrow. Now what can I do about mice building a nest in my car?

 

Yikes...having to store it outside... I've heard a few folks talk about month balls and dryer sheets inside the car to help keep the small animals away.
On the ground are you able to put a layer of plastic on the ground to drive the car onto. How about one of those car shelters???


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wFbIrRn-Mg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF7dgjzocWU

 

I like that idea Fannie and makes the car still accessible to work on simply by rolling up the front flap. If you were to say wrap the car in plastic or sheeting you have to undo all of it if you decide to work on it or move it. If it has to be outside I think this is the cheapest and best option by far.

 

Spread sheets of regular Bounce in the car and under the hood.

I store 2 wagons over the winter in a breezy barn where criters get in easy. Don't know why but mice/rats just don't like the stuff and stay away from the cars. A old timer told me this a couple years back and it works.

I'd also recommend as I store cars outside also at home, run it now and then, if you have snow, keep a heater in it. you don't need to have it running all the time but every now and then warm the car up to melt it off. open the doors on a nice day to let it breath. My climate is very damp in the winter, I have a couple chepo house fans I keep in the cars and place news papers in them also. The news paper seams to act like a spong for any damp, every once in awhile tos out the old and put a fresh one in every nice day I open the doors while the fan is blowing. Your climate I'm sure is different from mine, I'm mainly after preventing mold witch in my wet winter can destroy a car in no time. many a discussion has been and is going on rite now about mold... You don't just wipe it away, if you see it there is a heck of a lot more than you can't see.


Edit, cedar chips spread under/around he car work good also for insects,mice. I used to use that also in the barn.... don't know how it would work with a car that is out side though. and most important IMO, if you tarp the car don't just forget about it, still open it up etc as I suggested.

 

I like the newspaper idea too Tedy. The key would be to toss out the old paper regularly and replacing it as you say Tedy. His NY climate would be alot like ours. Really mild, sunny or rainy some days then very cold and snowy other days. This fluctuating temperatures can really cause some condensation inside the car. If the car was covered, would leaving the windows open a crack help?

 

Your climate is different, so I can't 100% comment on that. Where I live it's rain, rain, RAIN with the od period of snow. I don't tarp mine in the drive way because I want to see what is happening, The cars in the barn are tarped with a crack in the windows but are loose tarped, not tied up tite ( barn bird sh** factor). either or, I still open the ones in the barn and move them also now and then......

 

Maybe mothballs are a bad idea.


DON'T USE MOTHBALLS IN YOUR CAR!

 

Has anyone figured out how mice get into a car? I hide my keys.

 

Well that only works if the car has doors.

 

Mice and rats invented brake and entering!

 

I've heard a potato in the tail pipe is a good idea, too. And stop up the intake on the filter housing.

 

Car shelter if you have room to park it outside you can put a shelter up.

I used one for mine for 4 years no problems i put landscaping fabric down first if you are on a windy area or not sheltered by trees you would need to secure it good

 

I would think a spud in the end of the pipe would be inviting mice/rats. It's food, they will sniff it out.