T -26

It's officially 26 days until SP and I head off to New Zealand and Australia for 11 weeks. And yes, we are counting it down. Today is T minus 26 days.

I've been working on a todo list of things to finish up before we head off. Today's additions to the list includes figuring out what to do with the truck while we are gone. The truck is almost 10 years old, and though it's in pretty good shape (thanks to SP, not me!) the battery is a little old and it will be sitting there unloved for the entire time we're away.

How to store a car while on Vacation:

1. Get someone to come start it about once a month. 
1. I'm going to ask my mom (AKA SuperMom) for at least the month of December. She's with us in New Zealand for the first 5 weeks, so I can't get her to help out then. 
2. Maybe I can convince J&K to give it a go during October and early November. J is currently off on her own wonderful trip to the UK, so I'll ask her about it later. 
2. Check the car insurance.
1.  I'm pretty sure it expires in November, so we can probably update it to have just storage insurance for those months that we are gone. SP will need to help with that as it's in his name.
3. To remove or not remove the battery?
1. I think we'll leave it in seen as asking SuperMom and J&K to reinsert it would be a little over the top, besides, we're only gone 11 weeks. Hopefully it will keep it's charge.
4. Lastly, change the oil. 
1. From research on the web, ideally you change and top up all the fluids. In this case, I'll ask SP when it was changed maybe it's ready for another go.
5. Other items
1. For future reference, ideally the car is stored under a cover. Also, for longer storage, keep the tank full and add a fuel stabilizer to the tank (run the car for ~ 10 mins after adding). 

Resource of choice: http://www.driving.ca/Tips+storing+your+vehicle+winter/969753/story.html