I am deploying to Afghanistan again and have to leave my car parked in my Garage for approx. 9 months. I plan on getting a battery charger, car cover, Styrofoam/cardboard under overinflated tires, and I have a heated and cooled garage...but here is my question.
Do I need to leave the windows down, cracked, or all the way up? Although I plan on placing a car cover on it which usually allows the car to breathe, I'm afraid if I close the windows all the way, it will smell or become mildew and moldy...or does the cars a/c vents allow air to circulate and I'm just over thinking this. Any thoughts would be helpful...P.S: I am still looking for an OEM battery charger for around $60 shipped to NC...
Jeffrey

 

I'd leave windows closed...

It's a temperature controlled garage so you should be fine but you can get a couple of small containers of damp rid to keep things dry. A cup of baking soda works well for absorbing smells also.

Be safe!

 

My biggest fear would be damage from mice. I must kill one every couple of days in my garage. I would also stick a rag in the exhaust outlets.

As someone said stay safe!

 

Leave at least one window cracked even though your garage is climate controlled. I place at least 1/4 bar of Irish Spring bar soap at the top of each tire to ward off rodents and place 1 container of Rodent Killer in the corner of the garage. Hyper in flate as you noted with wheels on cardboard or wood. I use a Battery Tender with adaptive cord to plug into Vette Rear outlet. ( don't use any other outlet as this will accept charge 24/7,others will not) Interior light when door is opened will stay on approx 10 min.-pay no mind). Cover not a bad idea. Add a fuel stabilizer for ethanol. Tank no longer needs to go to capacity. Obviously change oil and filter before setup and you are good to go. Have done this to my collector cars many a time and never a problem.
Be safe. Thank you for your service!

 

It used to be people would leave the doors, windows cracked so they weren't putting pressure on the weatherstrip. Weatherstrips seemed to go bad quite frequently on Vettes built in the 80s and earlier and keeping them lubricated and not closing the doors tightly during storage helped give them longer life times. Hopefully, weatherstrips have gotten tougher over the last 30 years. However, it might still be a good idea to put some silicone lube on them to help preserve them.

No matter where you live mice are always a potential problem even on regularly used vehicles. They love wiring insulation, carpet, foam and anything else that can be chewed on and built into a nest. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went out in our 2015 Terrain and when she put the passenger seat belt on there was a bunch of chewed up material attached to the belt that got all over clothes. Not sure if it was a mouse that made a home in the B Pillar belt storage area but it sure looked like it. The dealer told me there was no material in there that could have been chewed up by the retractor. The material had to come from some place else in the car. Still trying to find where it came from and how a mouse got into the car.

I used to put mothballs in my boat when I stored it for the winter. The mothballs kept the mice out of the boat but it took weeks before the smell disappeared after I took it out of storage.

Bill

 

A few years back I read on the Forum about putting those Bounty dryer sheets around the car to ward off the mice. So..........I have been doing it for the last few years. I put one on top of each tire, one at the base of each tire, 3-4 in the engine bay (and leave a note on the driver's seat as to how many I left there), 2-4 around the front and sides of the car, and I cover the exhaust pipes with that landscaping black weed preventer material---and place a dryer sheet on top of that as well. Some people said they put a few sheets in the car, but I never did this as I found the odor to be quite strong.

How well does it work---i have no idea. Never had mice issues before doing this in the unheated garage, and haven't had any since I started doing this............

 

get a car capsule you leave the windows open half way for ventilation from the included fan. I had rodent problems before but not after. I have one for my car and one that I store 3 motorcycles in. Cheap insurance if you are gone for a long period. Sorry that my first post is to plug a business and I hope it is OK with the mods as this is a good product and I have no connection with them whatsoever.
http://carcapsule.com/

 

All information sounds like solid advice. Luckily my wife will still be there and can modify, change, and check on the car often. Ideally, I would like to get it set, covered, and ready prior to leaving and only have her uncover everything and check on it about the halfway mark (i.e. month 4-5). Although it is easy to have her complete anything needed, I just want this to be one less task she will have to accomplish while I am gone...