R129 Storage Advice

[Y15HAL]

Good Morning All,

I bought an R129 a few weeks ago, and want to store it away for the winter months.....

I'm in the process of looking for garage to rent to be able to store the car as i don't have a garage attached to my property.

Chances are that it won't have power in the garage, so i won't be able to set the car to trickle charge.

Considering that they suggest that you don't jump start the car, i don't want to let the battery run flat, was thinking of starting the car every 2 weeks or month and getting the car upto running temperature.

Also, was going to keep the car covered.

Does this sound OK?

Thanks,
Vish

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

Good morning,

Not sure of your circumstances but I guess that it lives on your drive at the moment then ?.
Should you not find a decent garage, why not keep it on the road, use it on the many nice days that we’ll have over winter.
It would be cheaper than renting a garage at £50 pm ?.
It will be “with you” so can keep on top of looking after it and you still get to drive it.

If the garage is a little to far away you won’t visit as much as you intend to do, speaking from experience here, damp, mice, worry of vandalism.

Just my two penneth.


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[Y15HAL]

Yes, currently on my driveway, even bought an outdoor cover for it, but not keen on leaving it out due to the dampness which can rise from underneath....

Also, it would mean having two cars on the driveway, and then having to find a space for our 'runaround' on the road somewhere - near impossible to find space

The garage wouldn't be heated so would be damp in there too, but i've heard that having carpet on the floor can help reduce this.....But at least it would be out of the way of the weather....

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

Carpet is an idea. You could also have a look at solar powered chargers connected to the battery to keep it going.
I would still be inclined to keep it on the road, not sorn, and give it a run out as opposed to just starting and warming it up.

Our 129 will be squeezed onto our drive this year, the garage owner wanted it back and I have yet to find another.



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[Athey]

Mines in the garage for the winter and I make sure I go and start it up for 5-10 mins every other Friday. I also have a spare battery that I’m gonna charge up next week when I get a battery conditioner and put that on for a while as the current battery is brand new. I’ve also put a weatherstrip on the bottom of the garage door, but left a gap either side to let some air in. Am thinking rather than buy a cover, I may put a very thin sheet of plastic over the car and leave it for 2 weeks to see if any condensation develops.

 

[Y15HAL]

Carpet is an idea. You could also have a look at solar powered chargers connected to the battery to keep it going.
I would still be inclined to keep it on the road, not sorn, and give it a run out as opposed to just starting and warming it up.

Our 129 will be squeezed onto our drive this year, the garage owner wanted it back and I have yet to find another.

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Was thinking of a solar charger......Wonder if a trickle charger would work with one of them......

 

[MD5]

I've had my 96 SL500 for 16 years now (possibly to the week!), although I haven't used it much at all over the last few years (currently 157k miles), and I sorn it for the winter. If your garage has power then these CTEK chargers are popular with those that use them, and I have a couple that I use on other cars. There is no power available for the 129 though, and I just disconnect the battery for the duration and leave it under a cover in the garage. When I reconnect, I always turn the engine over a few times to allow the oil to circulate first, which is tricky, as it fires up almost instantly. Should I ever need to jump start the car, I use a battery booster (never car to car), and have done over the years without issues, but I've found that the current battery holds its charge even up to 6 months after being disconnected . When I take the car out of hibernation it takes a mile or so for the systems to reset themselves and for the ABS and ESP warning lights to go out.

If you are going to start the car over the winter months, you are better off taking it for a good 20-30 mile drive on a dry day to allow the car to get good and hot to evaporate any condensation or damp that will build up otherwise. I've found mine to be a reliable and sturdy car which I've always had serviced properly, and I'd take it on any journey tomorrow, but I wouldn't treat my later R230 the same way as there are far more electrics to upset.

 

[robparker]

As above. If it's just for winter storage there is no need to keep starting it, you'll probably do more harm than good. If you can't charge it just remove the negative cable from the battery. When you come to start it again you can remove the fuel relay to build up some oil pressure. She'll fire up no problems though after 6 months

 

[Y15HAL]

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have electric in the garage.....

Just went for a test fit, and it just about fits!! Mirrors do not fold which is a right pain!

 

[94mattda]

Does anyone know of a good place to buy a fitted indoor cover for the R129? I keep mine in the garage and use a Fortwo for a daily driver but the SL gets dusty as the garage is a communal garage under our block

 

[GP801]

Try theultimatefinish.co.uk . They have supplied a couple of tailored outdoor covers for our cars which were great.

 

[Vintage Racer]

I use 'classicadditions.com' for my tailored covers,

IMG_0597 by Glynn Hobbs, on Flickr

 

[BTB 500]

Covercraft do great quality indoor and outdoor covers:

The Best Auto Covers from Covercraft Europe

I used a 'Noah' one on my R129 when it lived outdoors.

For indoor use a fully fitted cover isn't 100% necessary IMHO - it isn't going to flap about in the wind and mark the paintwork, which is the risk with cheaper ones outdoors. I use a fairly basic white cotton cover now, and that does the job fine.

 

[94mattda]

I use 'classicadditions.com' for my tailored covers,

IMG_0597 by Glynn Hobbs, on Flickr

 

[94mattda]

Thank you for the reply, I really like the fitted look, even nicer with the emblem on the front

 

[Deleted member 150136]

I used to keep my old r230 garaged over winter(save 6 months tax).
Started it regular, trickle charge, under cover, all the right things.
Come spring when I got it out there was always something, snapped spring, leaky pipe or other.
In the end it worked out cheaper and easier to keep it on the road and use it.

 

[alabbasi]

Leaving it on the road with a cover is probably not wise advice as they salt roads in the UK and that stuff just gets in the air (try living near a beach and see what happens to your electronics).

If you can find a garage, away from the street , great. Either use a solar charger or remove the battery, take it home and put it on a charger there. if you can jack the car up and put it on stands, it will prevent your tires from getting flat spots

 

[Y15HAL]

Just a bit of an update on this one......Due to being busy with work commitments, i stored the car in the garage, and popped back every couple of weeks to get her up to running temp etc.....

The last few weeks have been mega busy and i left the car for 3-4 weeks, and went back the other day, and when turning over, all the lights on the dash light up, and all i can hear is a fast clicking sound - assume the battery has drained

Assume i just pop in, unlock the car, disconnect the battery, and then just charge the battery up indoors? Thinking of buying a trickle charger, so can leave it on (if the battery is in good condition), and then connect back up to the car in the spring time once things warm up again.

Does this sound OK?

Has anyone used a solar powered charger, and can recommend one?

Thanks

 

[Flyinspanner]

Good idea to rig up a solar panel charger.

That could keep it topped up, - maybe have to lengthen the lead from the panel, mount it in the roof, or a sunny wall.

Trickle chargers like a ctek would be good, but they ‘switch off’ if there is any interruption to the power supply.

 

[Y15HAL]

I think i will just buy a C-TEK and remove the battery, and keep it on trickle at home.