My company is buying a new field vehicle and it looks like it will be a Tacoma or Ranger 4x4 CC. This will be a company vehicle-not my own personal vehicle-so I am not going to sell my SD.

However it will be used a lot less because I can operate the work truck for free and keep the miles low on my truck.

I won't have to pay for gas, maintanence, insurance...etc

Is there a recommended timeframe on how often I should start/drive my truck?
Any recommendations for long term parking and storage?

I am going to miss driving that thing everyday!

 

All i know is that adding a fuel additive to arrest algae growth in the fuel is very important.
MAybe a trickle charger on the batteries too.

 

Been there, seen it with aircraft and my own vehicles. At the very least drive your truck once a week unless you're willing to jack it up and store it on blocks.

Yeah, I know, most of our rigs sat at the dealerships for extended periods, but most dealerships do have a lot rotation and they do get started at least once a week to charge idle batteries and roll the tires. Radials aren't as susceptible as bias ply tires but they will stretch cords in the sidewalls and flatspot the tread. Transmission fluids can actually chemically separate over time. Your differential is not full of lubricant. If you've got limited slip, that portion of the clutches that sits high and dry will change grip charicteristics. Those of you in So. Cal. don't use'm much, but I really hate it when my wipers sit on one side for an extended period. Here in Washington, we figure our windshield wipers are something more usefull than an ornament. Diesel fuel will last for more than six months in your tank, still better to ad a treatment to it no matter what the ambient temperature. I dunno how long fuel filters will last, but I'd bet not as long as if they were bing used. I've read it in several different manuals, oil does have life... change every 7500 miles or 6 months. What ever comes first... I change more often than that, but you get what I mean.

I'm pretty sure that AAA has a list of things to do when you store a vehicle for an extended period. But I doubt you're going that far, else, why keep it. So, if you're home in the evening and forgot to get the milk and cookies when you drove the work truck home, then by all means, fire up the SD for the run to the corner market.

Storing for extremely extended periods is not a good idea. I once tore down a Ford 289 with solid lifters that was rebuilt shortly before it was stored for 20 years. It actually needed nearly a complete rebuild. Condensate had gathered at the bottoms of the lifters thus the cam lobes rusted. First time fired up there were several flat lobes. The rod and main bearings had all but dripped dry. The piston rings had actually lost spring and the same condensate had assisted in piston corrosion at the ring lands. Some of the springs were slightly rusted to the cylinder walls. Coating the cylinders prior to storage with oil might have helped. The valve springs,,,Well, six of them were shot. They'd developed memory since they were compressed for so long. The clutch throwout bearing was shot. Dunno why, it was new twenty years before. And the clutch itself had deteriorated.

 

My truck sits in the garage most of the time because I inherited a very low mileage fuel efficient car that I drive to work. So now that hunting season is over I try to drive the truck a least once a week for the reasons stated by others in this thread. Sure is fun to drive after driving the boring car all week!