Curious what people here recommend for maintaining a lightly used 6.7 Power Stroke.

We bought our 2022 F-350 to tow a trailer, but the trailer has been stationary for about 9 months and the truck hasn’t been getting much use. It’s currently at 22,496 miles. The last Ford dealership service was at 18,996 miles in April 2025, so mileage-wise it hasn’t been long, but time-wise it’s been over a year.

I want to ensure we’re doing everything we should to maintain it properly given the low-use pattern. I read another thread on storing a truck for several months and found it helpful. These were my main takeaways:

Battery:
The truck battery died recently, but I was able to charge it successfully with a trickle charger. Based on recommendations from that thread, I’m planning to get a proper battery maintainer / float charger.

Driving:
I’ve been driving it periodically, but I saw recommendations to drive it about every 2 weeks and long enough to reach full operating temperature, roughly 20 miles minimum. My understanding is that cold starts plus short runs are not ideal for diesels. I don’t think I’ve always been driving it that far, so I’m going to pay closer attention to that.

DPF / regen:
I haven’t seen any exhaust filter warning or regen issue come up, but my takeaway was that if the DPF warning does come on, I should plan for roughly 30 miles of sustained highway driving to let the regeneration cycle complete before parking it again.

Fuel and DEF:
I also saw recommendations to keep the diesel tank full to minimize moisture and condensation. I think it’s around 75% full right now, so I’ll fill it when I take it out next. I’ll also check the DEF, keep that full, and make sure the cap is tight. It sounded like DEF can become more of a storage-related issue than the diesel itself.

Is there anything else you’d recommend for a low-use 6.7? Specifically wondering about oil changes based on time rather than mileage, DEF age, fuel additives, battery maintenance, regen considerations, or anything else I should be watching.

Honestly, I’m considering selling the truck since we aren’t using it much and have a friend with a truck we could borrow when we need to move the trailer. For now, I just want to make sure we’re doing right by it and maintaining it well.

 

The oil change light should come on every year. Use an additive with anti gel in the diesel, the regular standyne blue label stuff works for me around here down into the teens.

3,500 miles a year isnt bad. Like mentioned try to put 20 or so miles on it whenever you drive it or just do a longer trip like that occasionally.

If it isnt driven much I wouldnt top off the def. At 3500 miles a year just add one jug a year?

At 4 years your batteries are closer to end of life. Maybe consider a trickle charger.

Is it an XL, King Ranch, etc? Someone on here may be looking.

 

Sounds like you already have a handle on it.
Oil changes would be the only slight issue, need to be done at least once a year if not making the mileage.

 

This, add brake fluid flush, and maybe grease the caliper pins. Most don’t bother but it is important as brake fluid, especially the newer versions, is hydroscopic.

Bob

 

I keep mine on a tender, change the oil every 5k and if it takes two years to get that much, that’s ok. I keep it at least 75% full on fuel and DEF if I know it’s going to sit for a few months. That’s about it. Mine is garaged kept so that helps. I bought mine in November of 2019 and I have about 28k miles on it. One 10 day trip was over 6k miles so it does not get out much as I have other vehicles for daily use. Mainly used for travel and pulling dump trailer these days.

 

I would argue to do the once a year oil change, and diesel fuel additive too. If your truck sits outside, you may get brake rotor rust without regular use... I never tried it but wonder if wheel covers like they make for camper wheels could help this.

 

A lot of solid advice already here. I'd probably also keep an eye on moisture related stuff if it sits a lot. Brake rotor surface rust can build up pretty quickly in that kind of climate, especially with short or infrequent drives.

Also worth just occasionally moving it enough to get some heat into the brakes and tires, not just idle time.

Other than that, most of the main points have already been covered.