Originally Posted by TimM

Do not use a "trickle charger". Trickle chargers constantly charge at a low rate and will destroy a battery over time. Buy a Battery Tender/MINDer/maintainer [edit]AKA a "Float" charger[/edit]- they are designed to charge the battery at a low rate, and more importantly, monitor the charge. When the battery is fully charged, they stop charging, when the battery charge drops, they start charging. They "float" the charge and are designed to be plugged in and maintain the battery for extended periods of time - like winter storage. Additionally, some of them, like the Battery MINDer have additional circuitry to "condition" the battery - apply pulses to the battery to reduce/eliminate sulfation which is the main thing that degrades the battery.....

To store the car:

* Change the oil and filter before you store it. The "impurities" in the oil can form acid, and this can degrade the engine's internals. The impurities are caused by the fuel/combustion/dirt/moisture that gets past the the piston rings, seals, and filters. A fresh oil change removes the gunk and gives you clean oil. If you don't change oil yourself, having it done and driving home to part the car will be sufficient.
* Inflate the tires to the maximum pressure on the sidewall. This will reduce any tendencies for the tire to flat spot - although this is not a real problem with modern/radial tires. Don't forget to lower the air pressure in the spring.
* Wash the car. A clean car is always better. A cover helps to keep the dust, etc. off the car.
* DO NOT "jack the car up". Don't store it on jack stands raised off the ground. That is a carry over from ancient times when old bias belted tires would flat spot and go bad. Storing a car with the suspension "drooped" is very bad on the rubber bushings, and will greatly accelerate the degradation of the rubber bushings. Even if flat spotting tires was a problem (it isn't), new tires are much, much cheaper than replacing the bushings in the suspension.
* DO NOT START THE CAR. Starting the car every couple of weeks is bad for the engine. Most of the impurities in the oil happen when you start the car. Running the car for a short time does not warm things up to the point that the impurities will be evaporated. In order to properly warm things up, you would need to take the car on a spirited drive for 30 - 60 minutes. Running it in the garage does no good at all, and is very bad on the engine.
* Add Stabil to the gas - this prevents the gas from going "bad" and/or forming varnish in the tank and fuel system.

Now, all that being said, the reality is that you can most likely just pull the car into the garage, connect up the battery Tender/MINDer/conditioner, and call it good. That's all most people do, and it's more than the typical car gets at a dealer (think about it, the typical car is made in Japan, loaded on a boat, transported for weeks, unloaded at the dock, loaded on a truck to the dealer, and parked - often for months - until it's sold. The someone buys a "brand new" car.

Most years, I simply park the car, connect my Battery MINDer, and call it good. If there's a nice warm day during the storage, I may take the car out for a nice drive - but only if the roads are clear and there is no salt on the road. I've never had a problem with my cars setting out a few months of winter. I usually don't even get around to doing a "special " oil change, unless the car was actually due for one.

Originally Posted by jftjr

If you want to avoid flat spots, just do what the manufacturer does before putting the RL on the slow boat from Japan -- inflate the tires to 40-45 PSI each.

Don't drive on them that way, of course, just pump 'em up and then deflate them to normal pressure when you're ready to drive the car.

How do I know this? Simple -- Both my '05 and '06 RL's came from the dealer with 45 PSI in the tires. When I asked (both times) why it was so high, they told me that's the way they keep tires from flatspotting during shipping.

Of course I never got a good explanation as to why the car was DELIVERED to me that way, but hey.... there it is.

Originally Posted by Treblig

That must have been an interesting ride home.