Parking on Gravel

[rdockery_3]

I didn't really know what forum to to put this in so I just put it in here. I've always heard that parking in grass or dirt will cause a car to rust, but what about a gravel driveway? The house I live in now doesn't have a paved driveway and I'm forced to park in gravels. I know plenty of people with gravel driveways that have never had a problem but with my challenger I don't want to take any chances. Is there any chance of rust from parking in a gravel?

[Flash Gordon]

Never heard of this. Are you sure someone wasn't greening you?

Keep the car washed frequently and clean the wheel wells while your at it

[rdockery_3]

I wash it once a week and try to keep wax on it all the time.

[Setec Astronomy]

The problem with parking on grass or dirt is the high moisture level. I'm sure gravel is better than dirt, but not as good as asphalt or concrete. Not so much of a problem with modern cars. Take an antique and park it on your grass for a few years and you're asking for trouble. I know a guy who inherited a 40's car that had been sitting in his grandma's old barn/garage with a wood floor IIRC, and he had intended to restore it, but it turned out to be a total loss from rust.

PS We're talking about chassis/floorpan rust here, not on the top!

[rdockery_3]

I guess a lot of the reason an antique parked in grass will go down quick like that is because its just sitting there. I guess if you're driving it everyday its not as big of a problem.

[FUNX650]

I didn't really know what forum to to put this in so I just put it in here. I've always heard that parking in grass or dirt will cause a car to rust, but what about a gravel driveway? The house I live in now doesn't have a paved driveway and I'm forced to park in gravels. I know plenty of people with gravel driveways that have never had a problem but with my challenger I don't want to take any chances. Is there any chance of rust from parking in a gravel?

I would imagine it will depend on how long it's parked. If it's a DD there won't be as much risk as: If it was a "Gravel Queen", for instance.

Or....As Neil Young said so eloquently:

"Rust Never Sleeps" :)

Bob

[oldmodman]

Just drive slowly on the gravel since it can get lodged in the treads of your tires and get kicked out and chip the paint behind the front and rear wheels.
I drive slow for the first block or so after hitting a road after a gravel driveway or parking lot to let the gravel get spit out.

[Flash Gordon]

I would imagine it will depend on how long it's parked. If it's a DD there won't be as much risk as: If it was a "Gravel Queen", for instance.

Or....As Neil Young said so eloquently:

"Rust Never Sleeps" :)

Bob

Gravel Queen!!! LOL :props:

[TLMitchell]

Never heard of this. Are you sure someone wasn't greening you?

Keep the car washed frequently and clean the wheel wells while your at it

Fact, as someone pointed out, the constant moisture underneath isn't good. Worse on something that sits. A friend had a van that she parked in the grass because it was seldom driven. After about 5 years the frame was rusted through. So she picked up another van and didn't drive it much either. Sat on a gravel parking lot year round in a winter climate. This time it took almost 8 years for the frame to rust through.

I had a rude awakening when I read about heated garages in a winter climate. The prevailing wisdom is you'd be better off parking outside in the freezing weather because all the winter crud melts off inside and leaves perpetual moisture underneath. I wash an insane amount in the winter and keep the undercarriage sprayed off to rinse off salt crud. The vehicle was 7 years old and otherwise pristine. I hadn't been underneath it in a while so after reading this bit of wisdom about heated garages I wandered out to the garage for a look-see. I was aghast as the entire undercarriage was a solid mass of corrosion! :eek: Nothing was on the verge of rusting through but it wasn't good.

I swapped shortly thereafter for a variety of reasons. This one is getting POR15 underneath from end to end.

TL

[truckbutt]

Gravel Queen!!! LOL :props:
Isn't that a CCR song?

[FUNX650]

Isn't that a CCR song?

Might have been, but, "Gravel Queen" was also the nickname I had for a high school sweetie when we were out on a country backroad listening to John Anderson's rendition of: "Steamy Windows"


OOOPS...my mistake. The OP said parking on gravel, not sparking on gravel !!!

:D

Bob

[mrnextel]

I didn't really know what forum to to put this in so I just put it in here. I've always heard that parking in grass or dirt will cause a car to rust, but what about a gravel driveway? The house I live in now doesn't have a paved driveway and I'm forced to park in gravels. I know plenty of people with gravel driveways that have never had a problem but with my challenger I don't want to take any chances. Is there any chance of rust from parking in a gravel?

Parking on Gravel vs Concrete or Asphalt will make any car rust. The gravel acts as a mulch and holds the moisture in the ground, which permeates under the vehicle. Look under the car in the early morning. It will be soaking wet.

I personally have rusted out 4 vehicles parking on gravel.

[MPBGT]

The problem with parking on grass or dirt is the high moisture level. I'm sure gravel is better than dirt, but not as good as asphalt or concrete. Not so much of a problem with modern cars. Take an antique and park it on your grass for a few years and you're asking for trouble. I know a guy who inherited a 40's car that had been sitting in his grandma's old barn/garage with a wood floor IIRC, and he had intended to restore it, but it turned out to be a total loss from rust.

PS We're talking about chassis/floorpan rust here, not on the top!

Agree, I think it's worse if your not driving it, but either way concrete or blacktop it much better. I've looked at plenty of classics here in the Midwest where the owners were "saving" them by parking them in the grass or gravel and covering them with a tarp. Talk about worse case scenario your everyday tarp will trap all the moisture under the tarp and rust everything.