longest time your bus sat still...

[Old Heli]

just curious how long some of you have let your bus sit without moving it..regular starting and keeping it aired up..just not moving..thanx all and have a great day...

[buswarrior]

No need to start it or air it up, unless you are going for a drive.

Many busnuts in snow country will leave the coach parked over winter, same as a collector car, the lawnmower and motorcycle.

That being said, a once a month, 100 mile drive, keeps one familiar with the coach, gets everything solidly up to operating temperature to chase out the moisture, and allows for "keeping up" with things that otherwise accumulate into trip delaying repairs.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Dave5Cs]

Ours sits for 3 months at a time' We have to show the manager it can move on its own each 3 months so we are not living here according to the city and county. So we fire it up and drive around 50 to 100 miles ever time we need to and then come back and air down. Still change oil etc when needed. 

[Nova Eona]

I live in the northeast so it sits from November to April some years, no sense starting it up if I'm not taking it out and no sense taking it out if the ground is soft or the roads salty.

So far the only sitting-related ailment I've had was the clutch disc got stuck to the flywheel once, but putting it into 4th and goosing the starter cleared that right up.

[Tedsoldbus]

Lucky to live where I do I guess. Start and run it 60 miles about every 45 days. I think it keeps it happy. Keeps me familiar with all the controls. There is muscle memory involved for me. Only had it 3 years and different than anything I have had. I need practice before I head for Indiana or Florida. I also try to run generator and all the things I can. And if it is going to break, I'd rather it happen close to home.

[windtrader]

Lucky to live where I do I guess. Start and run it 60 miles about every 45 days. I think it keeps it happy. Keeps me familiar with all the controls. There is muscle memory involved for me. Only had it 3 years and different than anything I have had. I need practice before I head for Indiana or Florida. I also try to run generator and all the things I can. And if it is going to break, I'd rather it happen close to home.

summed up very well. not so sure about the last point, always going to be something that jumps out from somewhere.

[CrabbyMilton]

How about this long?
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/old-school-bus-1-john-brueske.html?product=fleece-blanket&blanketType=blanket-coral-50-60

[luvrbus]

Driving one every so often helps keep the rubber compounds active,then you don't get the Flintstone ride with flat spots and cracking tires .If stored right the older 2 strokes can set for years without any problems.

[dtcerrato]

When sent overseas to do construction by the company I worked for our bus sat for almost a year - only cause I couldn't take it with me. It is the reason why I didn't do much work overseas.

[DoubleEagle]

One of the Eagles I bought for parts had been sitting in a storage yard for twelve years (6V92 with 5 spd manual). The tires were a little soft, so I put 100 lbs in all of them to see if they would hold, and they did. Worked on corroded battery cables and priming the fuel, fixed a few lights that were out, and put batteries in. It did not start on the first try, but it did on the second. Put it in first and drove out of the ruts in the blacktop where the tires had sunk in 3-4", drove around the storage yard to see if the brakes were usable, and got up a few gears to see if it would shift, then drove it 70 something miles back home going through downtown Columbus, Ohio past the Capital Building. All of the tires were 15-20 years old, and they are still holding air two years later.

Yes, a bus can sit for a bit and still be usable. I did have to go back and fill the depressions in the pavement with cold patch. I figured the bus had some value for the previous owner to have paid for storage rental for twelve years, which I figured had to be about $7000.

[luvrbus]

Walter those tires may have had a little rubber in the tires being that old and probably not made in China,I sold a 05 to Baker in OK we aired the tires up and replaced one I thought was bad he drove to OK from AZ and only tire that gave problems was the 1 I replaced,It had set for 17 years and fired in 1 round and off he went., he sold the bus to a movie co that was doing the Tammy and George series

[Boomer]

My Silverside sat in the desert for 30 years.  Did have to change the oil due to a damaged oil pan.  All tires still had air in them (the original 19" GHL wheels).  Still had 3/4 tank of fuel, the good stuff.  Got it running and burned all of that fuel, it ran fine. (6L71).  I drove it coast to coast with scary low oil pressure but it only burned one gallon.  6-71's are tough old engines.

[Dreadnought]

Inside- about 3 years- the front left tyre lost pressure and was punctured and the thermostat(s) had seized. I had to get a bit of work done to bring it back to workable condition. The radiator tanks also sprung leaks.

Second time standing was not my fault- that was from 2017 to about 2021, and it was predominantly outside. The refurbishers of the interior hadn't bothered to work on it. The starter motor needed rebuilding and a new alternator was needed. The Generator has stopped working, the front air tanks sprung a leak as did one of the rear airbags. I also had to replace all 4 rear tyres.

It's finally finished now, and I aim to drive it from Indiana to here, out west, so that will be the true further test of what goes wrong.

[Glennman]

I once bought a '53 (if I recall) Kässbohrer (pre-Eagle) that sat on the dirt for about 15 years. We had to dig around the tires to get it out. No floor in about half of it, and otherwise totally gutted. After putting the fire out in the dash after getting it running, we drove it 425 miles all night long with no plates. Things do tend to happen when parked. The lovejoy that drove the radiator fan broke at 3:00 in the morning in Bend Oregon. Had to get an all night welder out of bed to get me on my way. However, it ran all the way home. I try to fire up and drive my '02 MCI at least every other month.

[luvrbus]

I fired up a 6L71 that the mine had purchased at a sale ,a old P&H generator with a aluminum block 6L71, and  was so old the fuel lines were external. I changed the filter bases over to spin on because all the wafers inside the old housings were so bad you could not separate them.Freed 1 stuck HV injector and it fried off it 6 or 7 rounds and had been in mothballs since the 1940's lol it did blow out a few rats nest