Hey folks, we are parking our bus for 6-12 months in Alburquerque while we travel overseas, wondering if there are any steps I should take to shut it down for this long. Iv'e been told I should put moth balls on the ground around the coach to prevent pack rats eating the wiring, I was going to fill the fuel tank, empty my water tanks, blow out the lines. Not sure if there are other things I haven't considered. Thanks, Craig
Plug the exhaust and intake. If it is going to freeze, winterize the plumbing. Drain the water heater. Turn the bypass valves to bypass the heater. Pump plumbing antifreeze to fill all the plumbing. Don't forget the toilet. Leave the batteries in the bus or remove them, but charge them once in a while. I like to block up the body. But it is mostly so I can roll under with a creeper. I am probably forgetting things...
JC
i guess if you are filling the tank, i would lock the fill..
i would not fill it.
Here's free advice. Don't let any bus sit.
Put carpet under your tires if you have no way of taking the weight off
If you've ever heard of a dog walking or kennel service, I am thinking of starting a similar service for busses.
Just give me money for food(fuel) and vet(state inspection and registration) fees, and I will watch your bus. I will make sure he(or she) gets regular exercise, gets to play and gets regular checkups until you return from your trip. Plus you get the comfort of knowing that your bus won't run away or get lonely while you are gone. If you want, he can go to playtime with other busses at the bus park in Arcadia.
Just a thought! ;D ;D :D
Steve Toomey
PAbusnut
Clifford, why the carpet under the tires?
JC
JC just a old practice that has been used and saw for years to keep tires from flat spotting and drying out lol I think Boomer and I are the only ones left around that still practice it but we are old
Craig,
We have left our bus for months at a time without too much drama. Our new bus is sitting all alone in the back 23 acres of the spot you and the shanks stayed at with us a couple summers ago in michigan. My worst fears are chewers. Mice, squirrels etc. I'm telling you, moth balls just never really worked for us. do you have a power source? The only effective way to keep pack rats from chewing their way through your bank account is to hang light bulbs in your engine bay...that's what my grandma and grandpa did in Tucson after pack rats destroyed both of their car electrical systems. To this day they hang light bulbs in their engine compartments and years later they haven't had a problem since
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Throw a bunch of dryer sheets around inside and in all bays and engine bay. Keeps the kritters out. Don t leave any print ink cartriges in there.
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I love the layers of wisdom here, some of these have cracked me up but I believe that they work. Thats the beauty of first hand knowledge. I'll let my wife pick out the carpet color. Always a new adventure with these buses. Thanks for all your advise. Craig
You have a secure place to park in Albuquerque ? that is the most important part in 6 months you could just have a shell when you return I have a lot of friends there with buses that may could help
Thanks Cliff, I was offered a place for free out of town but was a bit worried about the pack rats. I'm leaning to putting it into a storage facility, found one with good rates, I bought one way tickets and not exactly sure when I'll be back so didn't want it to be in someones way. Craig
Mice love dryer sheets - nice and soft and easy to shred and keeps their nests smelling nice and sweet.
I saturate the immediate area with large caches of rat baits to try and decimate the local population and keep it down. Mothballs near wiring and on the tops of each tyre. Glue traps and regular snap traps inside just in case any get inside.
Fuel tank full and tyres pumped up to maximum sidewall pressure if sitting on the wheels. If the bus has jacks and airbags, then can block under jacks and then dump the air so all the weight is off the wheels but the jacks aren't extended. In that case can reduced tyre pressure to 20 % of normal
We have found that batteries stay charged better if they are completely disconnected. Charge them up and take the terminals off.
Don and Cary