Question about parking Carriers

[Phil Waterman]

While I don't have a Carrier I do have a question. That has to do with the best way to park a Carrier so as to preserve the tracks and wheels? I assume that after all the work to restore one most are parked indoors on a concrete floor which helps prevent moisture from the ground causing rust in the tracks and frozen pins, correct?

What started me thinking about this was looking at pictures of the armor at Aberdeen Proving Ground which for years were just parked on the grass. Result they slowly sank into the ground.

Cheers Phil

[maple_leaf_eh]

The issue is migration of moisture from the soil. In my backyard (the only longterm test laboratory at my disposal), the "tin" garden shed used to be resting on the topsoil. There was a sill made of galvanized folded sheet metal that crumbled and rotted. As soon as I placed the shed on a barrier layer, all I had to worry about was moisture from the atmosphere.

When discussing how to prepare my Jeep for long term placement (notice I didn't imply storage), the collective wisdom recommended putting a barrier floor on the shelter. The tires would not rest on gravel. The floor is in fact a couple layers of Corplast sheet material. After every Canadian election, there are various sizes free for the salvage. The laws require signage to be removed promptly after the election, so many hands make light work.

So, park your steel tracked vehicle on something that is a positive barrier to moisture. I would not be too confident about concrete. Any cardboard box stored on the floor of my father's garage has rotted through. We get around that by resting everything on a sacrificial layer of wood or pallet.

[ron]

Hello Phil,
In amswer to your question regarding parking up a carrier for a length of time, what I always do is jack up the hull and place it on blocks,then break the track and run off the top run of track to take the weight of the track off the roller and the front idler wheel,and make sure that the track on the floor does not have the weight of the wheels and suspension wheels bearing onto it, the idea behind this is if you have good rubber or new rubber on your wheels over a length of time the weight of the hull will press the tracks into the rubber,this will spoil the look of good wheels and also shorten the life of them,and take the weight off the suspension springs, its not a big job really and if you have a track winch fitting the track back on is easy,then just jack up the carrier a couple more inches remove the blocks lower the carrier back to the floor,I have a concrete floor start her up and let the fun begin,
Well this works for me. Regards Ron