When you're gone for 3+ weeks.....

[Steelers0854]

Up until now DW and I have only taken at most about 12 days for a vacation. We just booked our Diamond Princess cruise in Australia and after its all said and done we will be gone right around 3 weeks.

 

Having never been gone for this length of time got me thinking, first and foremost about cars and if the battery will deplete itself over that length of time? If it does is there anything you do to prepare for or resolve the issue when you return?

 

If anyone else has any tips, learnings, or questions for longer duration cruises we would love to hear them.

 

Thanks!

[CineGraphic]

You'll do more laundry, and your plants at home will need to be watered, other than that, I can't think of any problems. The car battery will be fine.

[Sacto Rick]

I turn off the water to the toilets and to the fridge. I have seen too many busted fittings flood homes.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Sacto Rick

[paul929207]

We have been gone as much as 7 1/2 weeks and had no problem with the cars.

 

Princess has self-service laundry rooms on nearly all decks with passenger cabins. I think they are about $3 per load to wash and the same amount to dry a load. Detergent is a dollar or two, or you can bring your own. Princess also offers a laundry service If you prefer.

[Kartgv]

We've been gone over a month several times and usually the car batteries make it OK. One time we had a dead battery in a hotel parking lot, but the hotel had someone walk out with a portable charger and wouldn't even accept any payment. When we're leaving cars at home, we back them into the garage so that if one does need charging, we can call AAA and they have easy access.

 

Other things to think about for long stays (besides the obvious like pet care) include:

 

Make sure to set your heat or air conditioning to maintain a safe temperature in your home while you're gone. We came home to melted candles one time!

 

Either stop all deliveries or recruit a trusted neighbor to take care of everything and check your home daily.

 

Make sure to clean our your refrigerator, empty trash, and run your garbage disposal right before leaving. There's nothing worse than coming home to a smelly mess!

 

Financial stuff - Set up bills for prepayment or automatic payment while you're gone, and notify your credit/debit card holders when and where you'll be travelling.

[4x4bob]

I turn off the water to the toilets and to the fridge. I have seen too many busted fittings flood homes.

 

Also, do not forget the water line to the Washing Machine. We came home after one long trip and hit the button to open the garage door. The water marks inside the garage were 18 inches deep and the water came flooding out at us.:eek:

We found that the rubber hose connecting to the washing machine had split causing the flood.

 

Bob

[truckmaker]

Some oth things we would suggest:

 

Cover the soil in your plant with plastic - thins helps,to conserve moisture

 

At the point of walking out the door put toilet cleaner in the bowls. This helps to keep things smelling fresh.

 

Car batteries aren't a problem is everything is in reasonable shape.

 

Stop the mail at the post office so that you don't have to rely on others to keep the mail picked up.

 

Set HVAC to appropriate temps.

 

Don't forget to lock all the doors -we didn't once and were gone for 2weeks with no problems. Clean living sometimes pays ...

 

Prepare to enjoy yourself and the cruise.

[tailspintom]

Just a couple more things to add to the good suggestions that have already been sent.

Shut down the washing machine hoses and lower your water heater to its lowest setting. Shut every single valve that you have leading to an appliance. If you have any device that holds water, such as a Keurig, empty the water. Take out the garbage. Shut the valves to the gas fireplace if you have one. Make sure that your gutters are clear. Change the batteries to your fire and smoke alarms. Contact your local police to take a ride around occasionally.

Finally, take the time to write all of the relevant suggestions down and cross them off as you do them.

Consider spending some more time in Australia, it is a beautiful continent with some of the warmest people in the world. After all, you have gone through all this effort to bundle up the house, enjoy the Vatican to the fullest.

[joeyancho]

We hire a house sitter. Your battery should not wear down. You can buy a dash mounted solar charger that will keep it charged. It will not charge a dead battery but will keep one charged. It hooks to the lighter socket. Here is an example.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-68692.html

[jasmith52]

You could put a "trickle" charger on the battery. I have one made by Black and Decker I used to use on a seldom driven car.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Decker-BM3B-Battery-Charger-Maintainer/dp/B0051D3MP6

 

They call it a "Battery Maintainer" now instead of a trickle charger

[mattie00]

Check your home insurance policy. Some require that you have someone check your house every 48 to 72 hours if you are gone for an extended period.

[CruisenOne]

Since the PO Mail Stop is only good for 30 days,

I fill out two cards.

 

One card for 3 weeks; the other card for the remaining time that I am gone.

 

Then, I give to my Mail Carrier personally and explain what I am doing.

 

Have done this three times; no problems

[KYBOB]

We have been told by the police not to post anything on Facebook about leaving or when you are leaving or while you are gone. Never know who is seeing your posts or who might be tempted. IE a friend of a friend that you do not know. Save your post until you get back. Yes sad times we live in.

 

We have been gone for over 5 weeks and cars are fine. But I wonder if my nephew took them out for a spin:):).....NAH

[shredie]

Any pets? You will miss them. :):)

[bigenna]

Check your home insurance. Our insurer told us we need to have someone visibly check our home every two or three days. Helpful so that a small leak does not become major damage.

Also, to protect electronics against possible power surges, unplug them all.

Have a neighbor pick up any newspapers, fliers, etc that might be left outside to alert possible break in criminals.

[elliair]

Up until now DW and I have only taken at most about 12 days for a vacation. We just booked our Diamond Princess cruise in Australia and after its all said and done we will be gone right around 3 weeks.

 

Having never been gone for this length of time got me thinking, first and foremost about cars and if the battery will deplete itself over that length of time? If it does is there anything you do to prepare for or resolve the issue when you return?

 

If anyone else has any tips, learnings, or questions for longer duration cruises we would love to hear them.

 

Thanks!

 

On our upcoming cruise, we are renting a car and dropping it off at the airport. We're leaving out of San Francisco but returning to a different airport. We're renting a car at the home airport. For us, this was the only option, less expensive, and the possibility of being stranded. We're also traveling 3 days ahead of time JIC.

 

Also, call your local sheriff. Most sheriff departments have a volunteer program called S.T.A.R.S. They will do drive bys while you are gone. Just give them a donation when you return. My neighbor is a S.T.A.R.S.volunteer. Problem is, she's going to be gone on a cruise same time as we are. We have battery operated timers for our watering. We will change all the batteries before we leave. I do all my bills by setting them up to be automatically paid when they come in. I also contact our CC companies. We purchase the prepaid CC like Visa and use those instead of our regular CC to prevent fraud.

Edited August 18, 2016 by elliair

[skynight]

A lot depends on where you live and the time of year you are leaving your home. We live up north and cruise during winter months. It is important here to protect your home from freezing in case of power failures. One important thing we do is turn off the water main. We have prepared a check list on the PC. The last thing we do before we leave the house is to always go through each item on the check list.

We also have to arrange for someone to pick up mail, but if you are leaving for three weeks our post office will hold deliveries. They hold up to a month. Since we are gone for around 8 weeks we pay to have someone check the house and provide them with emergency numbers in case of some issue.

[VibeGuy]

Modern cars actually can have pretty substantial parasitic drain; for anything over two weeks, I use a charger/maintainer. I hate reprogramming seat positions and radio presets if I forget. ;0)

[Gwendy]

Great suggestions. On the credit card, contact your provider and let them know where you are travelling, some will block your transactions if it seems abnormal from your usual dealings. You can generally do this on the website.

I have found that after 6 weeks car still started, but I do live in a warmer climate. (No idea if this makes a difference).

I take all the care when travelling away for long periods bu last Christmas I stayed away for ONE night and came home to a flooded bathroom and bedroom from a burst pipe. Sometimes you just can't win.

Enjoy your cruise and don't worry about home. The Diamond is a lovely ship and I highly recommend the Izumi bath house.

[johnmik1]

Check your home insurance policy. Some require that you have someone check your house every 48 to 72 hours if you are gone for an extended period.

That must be a Canandian insurance thing as I have sold homeowners insurance over 40 years,in 15 US states, and have never heard of such a thing.

[Steelers0854]

Thank you all for the great suggestions. Such a wealth of knowledge on this board. We do a lot of the stuff already mentioned but there were some new ideas for us to think about. Appreciate the feedback on the vehicles.

[coo359a2]

We turn the water off at the street just in case there is a water line break underground which lets the water continue to flow in the yard. Our son had 3 water line breaks and didn't notice it until he received the outrageous water bills.

 

Also, 1 cup of Purex in your toilet and then cover the bowl with saran wrap will give you a nice clean toilet to come home to.:)

 

We do all of the above suggestions too.

[OCruisers]

Happily, we have neighbors who check on things for us. We do the same for them.

[pris993]

Up until now DW and I have only taken at most about 12 days for a vacation. We just booked our Diamond Princess cruise in Australia and after its all said and done we will be gone right around 3 weeks.

 

Having never been gone for this length of time got me thinking, first and foremost about cars and if the battery will deplete itself over that length of time? If it does is there anything you do to prepare for or resolve the issue when you return?

 

If anyone else has any tips, learnings, or questions for longer duration cruises we would love to hear them.

 

Thanks!

 

We have been taking one month vacations for years.

 

We disconnect the car battery. When we return we simply reconnect it and go.

 

We pay all bills that will come due in advance.

 

We advise those who need to know we will be gone, hold mail, stop newspapers etc.

 

I usually work it out so I have a week after coming home to do laundry, banking, mail, shopping before returning to work.

 

The first one month vacation I took was back in l982. With a month off, I found I could really relax, told my self this is the way to live and continued to so the same ever sense.

 

I work hard one before and one month after but it is worth it. :D

[mmckm]

If you car is fairly new it should battery drain protection. If the battery voltage drops it should shut down all drains to the battery, clock, ect and leave enough voltage to start the car.