Can a CT be realistically kept outside?

[Crissa]

Acid is actually what you use to remove rust and oxidizers from steel. tho ^-^. It's exactly the car you want under acid rain.

-Crissa

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[Jyak]

Model 3 uses the garage. Cybertruck will be outside at all times. Even if the garage was big enough, it isn't heated and won't be appreciably warmer than outside when it is zero. Unless it cares about wind-chill.

 

[TI4Dan]

I live in Montana and planned on parking it outside mostly. I have a good sized shop but opening the 12 ft doors are a pain in the arse. The only serious problem we have here is the pack-rats, if you leave a vehicle outside for a few days the engine hood needs to be propped up to prevent pack-rats from moving in and chewing on electrical wires and insulation. If they manage to nest in the motor bay, the next time the engine is started the stench is awful while rat debris is burnt-off. Makes me think not to park outside.

 

[CyberMoose]

I live in Montana and planned on parking it outside mostly. I have a good sized shop but opening the 12 ft doors are a pain in the arse. The only serious problem we have here is the pack-rats, if you leave a vehicle outside for a few days the engine hood needs to be propped up to prevent pack-rats from moving in and chewing on electrical wires and insulation. If they manage to nest in the motor bay, the next time the engine is started the stench is awful while rat debris is burnt-off. Makes me think not to park outside.

That won't be a problem with the Cybertruck. Under the truck is a flat layer that protects the battery. As far as I can tell, there won't be anywhere for a rat to crawl into from the outside.

Also if you open the hood. that's just the front truck.

 

[TI4Dan]

That won't be a problem with the Cybertruck. Under the truck is a flat layer that protects the battery. As far as I can tell, there won't be anywhere for a rat to crawl into from the outside.

Also if you open the hood. that's just the front truck.

I haven't the privilege of a close-up viewing of CT but with the Idea that CT truck may float, it certainly raise the security bar.
Yes CT no engine bay....I have repaired so many rodent problems it is a definite concern for me. It would surprise folks to find out what a rodent can get into. Thanks for the thought.

 

[SparkChaser]

 

[SparkChaser]

 

[SparkChaser]

I live in Montana and planned on parking it outside mostly. I have a good sized shop but opening the 12 ft doors are a pain in the arse. The only serious problem we have here is the pack-rats, if you leave a vehicle outside for a few days the engine hood needs to be propped up to prevent pack-rats from moving in and chewing on electrical wires and insulation. If they manage to nest in the motor bay, the next time the engine is started the stench is awful while rat debris is burnt-off. Makes me think not to park outside.

uses some chicken wire to close off areas that they could get into. I would think brush guards will do most of this.

 

[ldjessee]

Mice can squeeze through a dime sized (17.91 mm) hole, even pregnant ones.
Rats can squeeze through a quarter sided (24.26 mm) hole.

 

[TI4Dan]

Mice can squeeze through a dime sized (17.91 mm) hole, even pregnant ones.
Rats can squeeze through a quarter sided (24.26 mm) hole.

You are quite right, Sounds like you may have experience in this area. I could not respond to the chicken wire recommendation.
For me clearing my property of wood piles and other home like ideals for pack-rats ( not big like a regular rat ) is my best solution beside using traps and baits. I hope the rest of the Cybertruck members don't have this problem, just wish I knew
what openings it could have underneath. I know a few time I drove my truck from home, the rodents would bail out on the road.

 

[Crissa]

Hardware cloth comes in very small sizes. I have some that's designed to block insects, even, for use around vents.

Usually half inch hardware cloth will work for rodents. It's used to make cages, it folds well.

-Crissa

 

[Garabaldi]

I live "next" to the Atlantic Fooking ocean. Right now because the AC is not running and the windows are open I can tell you the seas are probably 2ft because I hear a steady static from that direction.
I have had 3 new cars kept outside for the last 32 years.
A 1988 Mitsubishi colt which I used and took to my Ocean Lifeguard job so it got it about as much "Salt spray" as any car could. After 10 years it had a light sheen of rust forming inside the top roof panel of the hatchback when I traded it in for a
1998 Nissan pick-up which never went inside, and 11 years later had rust only where I scratched the paint off of it from misjudging my ability to lift a sofa over the edge, and even then the scratch had been there for 8 years, and I never washed the truck more than once a year. it was white...nothing cosmetic even.
2008 Dodge Pick-up Still driving, no rust at all. It's sitting in the driveway. I did spray in Linex as soon as I bought it, but just because I did not like anything about any pop-in bedliner.
So what the hell? How far apart can two minds be? I'd never even answer a poll about, "Can a CT be realistically kept outside?"

2008 dodge pickup with no rust? My 2010 is a rust bucket.

 

[MexiTruck]

You guys are silly.

The only reason you would ever need to take your CT inside is in extreme cold, to preserve driving range.

The ONLY non-silly reason to wrap a CT is advertising. End of discussion.

I currently live in a very mild climate. In July and August the average high is 23° C. In January the average low is -1 ° C. I don’t have to worry about extreme cold. I don’t even have a garage. (I do have problems with my brakes rusting if I don’t use a vehicle for several weeks as I’m about 500 metres from the ocean.)

But my plan for a CyberTruck is oceanside at 17° N latitude where I own a house. The salt air is horrendous on almost anything metallic. I have left a bit in a multi socket driver for a few weeks and never gotten it out because of the rust. I gave up on owning stereo receivers after circuit boards rotted out every 12-18 months. My CDs (remember them?) would last about a year before the salt air got underneath the plastic and pitted the lower surface. The paint stripped off the roof of my Ford Ranger from the exposure to sun.

I don’t think that cold is the only risk.

I don’t plan to risk my planned CyberTruck to those elements. I am planning now to build a garage and to have PPF on the CyberTruck.

 

[Crissa]

I've lived on the beach and had issues...

...But modern materials are pretty good about it. Chroming (used on many tools) is just not sufficient for salt air.

The Cybertruck is not being chromed. It doesn't have exposed circuit boards.

-Crissa

 

[Luke42]

I've lived on the beach and had issues...

...But modern materials are pretty good about it. Chroming (used on many tools) is just not sufficient for salt air.

The Cybertruck is not being chromed. It doesn't have exposed circuit boards.

But we've established that stainless steel is resistant to most things, but that pool chemicals and salt water are two things which can cause it to corrode.

But there are some common household items made from stainless steel that we could use as a gauge.

I don’t plan to risk my planned CyberTruck to those elements. I am planning now to build a garage and to have PPF on the CyberTruck.

My kitchen knives are made of stainless steel, as are some of the kitchen/grilling utensils I use.

Do these things last if left outside at your house?

For comparison, I accidentally dropped a stainless steel kitchen knife in my compost bin, and didn't find it for several years. It was exposed to moisture and earth for several years and it was basically unscathed. This particular knife is back in service after a thorough washing, sanitizing, and sharpening.

Would something like this happen at your house? Or would it corrode?

Do grilling utensils corrode?