How many miles per year is enough to prevent storage death on an MCI bus???

[gdavis1955]

I have been told never to purchase a bus that has been "in storage" for years. The nightmare scenario goes something like this: The tires dry rot from the inside out, the seals in the engine and transmission dry up and shrink, the grease in the chassis fittings all runs to the bottom, the fluids all turn to gelatinous goo....and on and on. Can anyone tell me what they thinks if good "nominal" mileage to keep this from happening on an MCI9 bus for example? Or is this all a crock of you know what? What I am really looking for is, if I own a bus and I only want to run it the bare minimum of miles to ensure maximum lifespan of the various systems, what would that minimum mileage BE (per month/per year) Please advise.

[msheldon]

I can't give you any numbers, but I can tell you that storage issues are not a "crock". But there certainly are a number of issues, climate, temperature, stored under cover or not, etc.

In very dry conditions, rubber and plastic will deteriorate. Strong sunlight will greatly accelerate that. In moist conditions, biological growth can be an issue as well as corrosion.

I'm in month 8 of returning a bus to operating condition that had been sitting unused for 5 years in the desert. The tires and air lines were so dry and hardened they would literally shatter in some cases.

[grantgoold]

I purchased a bus that had been in San Diego weather  for almost two years with only a start every two months or so. We had to change the oil, radiator fluid, drain the air tanks, check the tires for weather check and give the engine a good/great washing. Two years later, no issues besides those normally found in a twenty plus year old bus.

Good luck! If you can get it road worthy, it pays to have a bus expert take a look at all the systems. Negotiate that cost into the purchase price.

Grant
Sacramento

[buswarrior]

Hello

If you take the coach out for a 100 mile/2 hour drive once a month, it will return your attentions with love and affection.

Moisture gets into everywhere. 2 hours out on the road gives the engine, transmission and axles the opportunity to get warmed right up and get the moisture out. Fluids are moved all around and seals are kept moist. Also, your familairity stays high, and you notice and chase down the little things that distract from a proper trip.

Best advice out there is to try very hard to keep the coach road worthy during as much of the conversion as possible, and get out and drive it. That way, you can use it to keep your spirits and interest high. (and the family's, which might be more important!) Once up on blocks, and unused, you have a depressing hangar queen on your hands and you are at high risk to abandon the project.

[belfert]

Is a two hour drive really necessary?  It seems to me that everything comes up to temps in 15 to 20 minutes for the most part, at least in the summer.  Wouldn't one hour be enough?  Fuel prices are pretty high to drive unnecessary miles.

My plan has been to drive up to a monthly event that I have that is 40 minutes each way.

Of course, the ideal is to go camping or some sort of trip every month so you don't have to worry about a monthly drive just to exercise the bus.

[jjrbus]

 I have been fulltiming with my bus since 2000. Except for the almost annual north south trip. The bus gets little movement, approximately 1 to 2 hours a month to empty holding tank ect. The most it has sat for without starting is 6 months.
The only problem I have had in seven years and I am not sure that is related to lack of use is algee in the fuel. The algee is a real PIA so I now use BioGuard available from West Marine on a regular basis.
The magic elixers and snake oils are not algeecides, I dont care what it says on the lable.
I am not a DD mechanic or a bus fleet owner, this has been my experience. Your milage may vary.
                            HTH Jim

[lostagain]

Mine is parked every winter for 6 months with no ill effects.

[buswarrior]

All things are relative.

Do what makes you feel good.

As long as the coach starts, releases the brakes, runs and stops as it should, you do some preventive maintenance, then job is done.

Pull the battery switch when parked for extended periods, put a charger on them, whatever.

As long as the rust forming inside the cylinders that are open to the air through the exhaust valves doesn't catch up with us before we pass on to the bus garage in the better place, we'll be fine.

Seriously, as long whatever we do doesn't wreck it until we're done with it, don't sweat the details.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Hobie]

"rust forming inside the cylinders that are open to the air through the exhaust valves "

Got me thinking.  Has anyone actually tried putting a plug into the tailpipe to slow the moisture?  It would help cut down on the rust in the muffler as well.  I know the biggest problem will be remembering to pull it out!

Ok.  go ahead start with the jokes 

[niles500]

Fred - good ?? - if you ran the mill to temp, stuck a potato (huge idaho) into the exhaust after killing the engine, I suspect the potato would be sucked further into the tailpipe upon cooling, and as you say "seal" the engine and the 'open' exhaust valves from moisture, don't know if you'd have to "remember to pull it out" or end up with a very powerful potato cannon - who will be the first to try it out and report their findings?

[pvcces]

Hey, guys, this is why they fog outboards that are put up at the end of the season. If you're serious about reducing the moisture in the exhaust, you could put a pound or two of silica gel up the pipe before the potato, couldn't you?

While I haven't tried it, I would think that fogging the old Detroit in the fall would probably work fine. I think the idea is just to make sure there is no bare steel to rust during shutdown.

I don't think that less than an hour of running will drive all the moisture out of everything, so I would try for more each outing and not start the engine between drives. The improvement in our coach on the second day of a trip tells me that these things need to run awhile.

For what it's worth.

Tom Caffrey