Road Salt NM > NY February

[natepelton]

Hello-
This is my first post. I am in the process of purchasing a 1983 Prevost XL. I plan to fly out and drive it back to NY from NM. Question is: What can I do to minimize the damage from the salt? I don't plan to ever drive the bus in salt after this initial journey. Should I visit every truck wash I see? Is there some type of preventative treatment I could get in Albuquerque or Santa Fe that anyone recommends?
Thanks-
-Nate

[Seville]

Hi Nate,
Are you from the city or upstate? Im outta Brooklyn and would love to meet another busnut from the city.
I drive my bus in the winter and don't have any rust. Thank goodness! I do have it washed often.

Hope you have a safe uneventful trip back home ! Enjoy your new Prevost!

[bottomacher]

Maybe hold off on the trip for a few days, check the weather report often. There's been a lot of rain here and there to wash the salt away.

[luvrbus]

Better get someone to check the bus that model of Prevost is prone to  rust with the best,some great bus nuts in Albuquerque Larry,Jim,Eddie,Melbo and others Jim owns Smith's Ultimate Lining there and a Eagle owner so he knows a little about rust lol

good luck

[rv_safetyman]

Nate, welcome to the forum and our crazy hobby.

I did quite a bit of searching on how to prevent salt damage a few years ago when heading to Bonneville.  The general consensus was to use this product:

http://www.saltx.com/

Most use the SaltX product ahead of time and then after they are off the salt for the last time.  I took our little PT Cruiser out on the salt a few years ago and used the product.  I see absolutely no sign of problem.  Previous trips to the salt left my other vehicles with lots of signs.  I had my old Yamaha trail bike on the salt several years and it was a mess.

With a bus, you could use the bus air and a cheap spray gun to shoot the front and rear suspension parts.  Would be a big job, but I am pretty sure it would work.  Certainly after the trip it would help stop further damage.

That said, these buses were made to run over all kinds of roads/conditions for years.  They will not fall apart after one trip.  Some buses fared better than others.  The other part of the picture is that your bus may have lived part of its life in salt anyway.

Jim

[natepelton]

I am in North Creek, NY which is about 4-5 hours north of NYC and about 2-3 south of Montreal. I have asked a ton of questions, received many photos and videos of the bus, and have a deposit down. I am flying to check out the bus in person in two weeks and if all is well, begin the journey back to NY. I have owned a 1987 Coachman Crusader Class C motorhome and lived full-time for 5 years in a 1991 Monaco Dynasty Class A diesel pusher (Cummins). For my whitewater rafting business I own a 1980 International Bus (Gas), and a 1999 Orion V Transit Bus (Detroit Series 50). I do have some experience owning and driving larger vehicles, but this Prevost will be the largest. I plan to use it for a mobile base of operations for whitewater trips away from my headquarters in North Creek. In other words, it's a motorhome that is a business expense! - a dream come true.

[natepelton]

Thank you - this is the type of info I was looking for. I know these buses are built to last, but it just seems after 2000 miles, the salt would get into places you can't see and never come out.

[rv_safetyman]

Nate, I got to thinking about how I applied the SaltX.  I used a undercoating spray gun like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/AES-Industries-627-UNDER-COATING-SPRAY/dp/B001KW1LS2

That gun is a wonderful tool.  I attach a hose and dip it into all kinds of containers with all kinds of liquids.  I use it a lot for spraying solvent and or soapy water to clean parts/engine/etc.

It shoots a long stream so you can be a bit remote from the area you are spraying.

The thread that I started about the subject on a Bonneville forum is here:

http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,5708.0.html

Even though the manufacturer seems to present the product as an after-the-fact product, you will see that many of us use it as a bit of a preventative.  It is not all the expensive and it seems to go a long way.


Jim

[opus]

After your trip just take it for a ride down the highway on a rainy day.  No better way to get it clean underneath than that.

[buswarrior]

Same as all the rust prevention systems like Krown or RustCheck:

Spray it with oil?

Or, do nothing and once home, get out the hose and give it a rinse.

Your auto hasn't disintegrated, the coach won't either.

happy coaching!
buswarrior