Cold Storage or Heated Storage?
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 19,974
Likes: 6,773
From: Bonneville Salt Flats
All my vehicles have been stored in the cold all my life, no matter where I lived... guess what, none ever turned to ice and shattered. They are machines; treat them however is recommended for in your geo area and go on. 
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,025
Likes: 2,716
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Last winter I stored the car in an underground car storage for 5 months, they don't trickle charge the battery, they said they disconnected it, if they did or not I don't know. It's a place where a lot of dust settles on the cars and they told me to keep the window down under the cover against mold and I had to clean the entire cabin which had a thin layer of dust everywhere. Anyway this year I have made room in the garage where I kept the car during summer months and now I'm wondering if I should leave it stored at my house (-10 to -30 C) or pay about 200$/month. approx. 1000$ for the winter plus maybe a new 200$ battery at the facility?
I also have to reserve 2 weeks in advance to store it and reserve 2 weeks in advance to get it out. That means I might be bringing it dirty from slush or snow and won't be able to put a cover on it or miss out 2-3 weeks of driving if I bring it in early...
If I store it at home some days where it gets a little warmer I notice everything that's metal inside the garage gets wet from condensation. From what I read about cold storage from other threads winters aren't as cold south of the border and I wonder if it will get more rust leaving at home? I don't have room for a car bubble and heating the garage would cost more than the storage place.
What would you guys do?
I also have to reserve 2 weeks in advance to store it and reserve 2 weeks in advance to get it out. That means I might be bringing it dirty from slush or snow and won't be able to put a cover on it or miss out 2-3 weeks of driving if I bring it in early...
If I store it at home some days where it gets a little warmer I notice everything that's metal inside the garage gets wet from condensation. From what I read about cold storage from other threads winters aren't as cold south of the border and I wonder if it will get more rust leaving at home? I don't have room for a car bubble and heating the garage would cost more than the storage place.
What would you guys do?
Usually it's a combination of the car getting (relatively) cold, and then warmer but more humid air moves into the area. The car parts haven't warmed up yet and they condense the moisture out of the air like outside a glass of cold water on a warm summer day. After a day or so, the car slowly warms up and/or the local air becomes dryer and the condensation disappears
The glass & plastic parts of your car don't care about moisture. The painted aluminum parts should be ok. The bare aluminum will eventually tarnish or speckle some, but it's only an appearance issue and much better than driving on the salted roads like many people do.
I don't know how good or bad the price is on your previous place, but the quality certainly sucks.
I'd wash your car cover thoroughly, leave the windows open an inch or two, and follow whatever you think best about the other suggestions.
Use a battery tender and look at it every few days to make sure the connection in the trunk is still good, sometimes they come loose for no reason.
See you in the Spring!
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 569
Likes: 252
From: Canada
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
We live near Chicago with an unheated garage, and I've noticed the condensation thing occasionally.
Usually it's a combination of the car getting (relatively) cold, and then warmer but more humid air moves into the area. The car parts haven't warmed up yet and they condense the moisture out of the air like outside a glass of cold water on a warm summer day. After a day or so, the car slowly warms up and/or the local air becomes dryer and the condensation disappears
The glass & plastic parts of your car don't care about moisture. The painted aluminum parts should be ok. The bare aluminum will eventually tarnish or speckle some, but it's only an appearance issue and much better than driving on the salted roads like many people do.
I don't know how good or bad the price is on your previous place, but the quality certainly sucks.
I'd wash your car cover thoroughly, leave the windows open an inch or two, and follow whatever you think best about the other suggestions.
Use a battery tender and look at it every few days to make sure the connection in the trunk is still good, sometimes they come loose for no reason.
See you in the Spring!
Usually it's a combination of the car getting (relatively) cold, and then warmer but more humid air moves into the area. The car parts haven't warmed up yet and they condense the moisture out of the air like outside a glass of cold water on a warm summer day. After a day or so, the car slowly warms up and/or the local air becomes dryer and the condensation disappears
The glass & plastic parts of your car don't care about moisture. The painted aluminum parts should be ok. The bare aluminum will eventually tarnish or speckle some, but it's only an appearance issue and much better than driving on the salted roads like many people do.
I don't know how good or bad the price is on your previous place, but the quality certainly sucks.
I'd wash your car cover thoroughly, leave the windows open an inch or two, and follow whatever you think best about the other suggestions.
Use a battery tender and look at it every few days to make sure the connection in the trunk is still good, sometimes they come loose for no reason.
See you in the Spring!
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 569
Likes: 252
From: Canada
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
I am so glad I live in south Texas - so many reasons plus now this!
I had hip replaced before Christmas and could not drive anything let alone the really hard to get into and out of c7. I had some one start it and run for 10minutes to get things flowing and warmed once a week. I figured my house generator runs once a week on Tuesday morning at 10am automatically and so the vette, Mustang and truck could be handled the same. I would be more of a nut case than I am if I had to not drive these things every winter for months at a time?
I am back driving but still no easy task getting in or out of vette or Mustang? Damn hip!
good luck to all those up north
I had hip replaced before Christmas and could not drive anything let alone the really hard to get into and out of c7. I had some one start it and run for 10minutes to get things flowing and warmed once a week. I figured my house generator runs once a week on Tuesday morning at 10am automatically and so the vette, Mustang and truck could be handled the same. I would be more of a nut case than I am if I had to not drive these things every winter for months at a time?
I am back driving but still no easy task getting in or out of vette or Mustang? Damn hip!
good luck to all those up north
If it's any consolation check this out, If you can get in great!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,025
Likes: 2,716
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
There's only one heated place, I saw a few ferraris and luxury cars in there, the price this year was bumped to 170/month+13%. They don't really care it's the only place and it is filled up every year. The other places in the area are all outside in the snow with the dump trucks and boats. NO WAY! There is another storage far away but I would need a towing to bring it there and towing equals a high risk the operator doesn't care and damages something. When I bought the car and had it brought here they knew what they were picking up and there were very muddy boot prints. You can never have exemplary services, never. I'll have a tough choice which car to bring to storage and keep the other in my cold garage when I purchase the Huracan.
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St. Jude Donor '11-'17, '21
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From: South Dakota
No need to remove the battery if you keep a battery tender connected. Mine is typically in storage around 4 months. I change the oil before I put it away, fill it with fuel and add Sta-bil, cover it up and its good to go. Don't wrap it up so tight that there is no ventilation