Bays smell of diesel

[adamdegraff]

Hello again. Thanks for the notes of welcome. What a great forum!

Here is a question that I was not able to find through searching historical posts. (Unless I missed something.)

My bays all have a slight to moderate smell of diesel. It is bad enough that whatever I store in the bays comes out smelling like diesel. There are no obvious leaks, stains, etc. It seems to be strongest in the bays near the generator... maybe? Hard to smell... I mean tell. The smell does not permeate into the living area. But with any of the bays open, you can smell it from 10 feet away. No need to stick your head in the bay. The smell is not as harsh as raw diesel, but could maybe be described as old diesel. Doesn't really smell like exhaust, but then again, I have never smelled diesel exhaust in a confined space. When shopping for Prevosts, I noticed this in many (or maybe even all) of the rigs I looked at. Any idea where this comes from? Is it normal? Anything I can do? Certainly not something I would spend thousands of dollars to fix.

Thanks,

Adam

[rfoster]

Welcome to the Forum, glad to have new folks and especially ones with talent. Beautiful bus, look forward to seeing it and you some day. I checked your schedule and I sure hope you or the bus do not get sick, as your gonna be a busy man.

Suggestions for the diesel ordor. A little raw diesel goes a long way in stinking up the place. Kinda reminds me of the taco tour with JDUB and Mango. A little taco makes a big stink. Back to the diesel. Notice at your fill neck if the compartment drain maybe clogged that allows any spillage at the fill neck to accumlate just inside the fill neck area. If you have a diesel residue there you need to blow out that hose with compressed air to allow it to drain. Also feel around your generator filters and webasto filters looking for a diesel leak. If your filters have a dirty exterior and they are damp that is a good indication of stinking diesel. If filters or fuel line connections are damp or dripping - that is your problem. Let us know if we need to go further.

Good Luck.

[tdelorme]

Adam, at some point in time your coach had a diesel leak that hopefully has been fixed. Truthfully, it is one of the hardest smells to get rid of. I once ended up throwing away a pair of jeans and sneakers that got soaked in diesel. Jan wouldn't let me back in the coach until I took a shower and changed clothes. I smelled like diesel for several days. Even after washing the jeans three times the smell was there.
So, if you want to totally eliminate the odor, I'm afraid that you are going to have to rip out and replace at least some on the carpet material in your bays. I would start with the worst bay and go from there. Home Depot has a cheap grey indoor/outdoor carpet that is a suitable replacement. Save the old pieces for patterns, and I would wash down the floor of the bay with OdorBan or some such product.
I'm glad you didn't get drenched in diesel like I did. As bad or worse than a skunk. Say, the cure for skunk spray is baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Might be worth a try on diesel smell.

[adamdegraff]

Yes, I think Arm & Hammer baking soda should start making big fat bay deodorization biscuits that neatly hang inside each bay... much like the ones we use in our fridge. Seriously though, I will double check for leaks as Roger has suggested. The smell isn't so bad that I would go to the trouble of replacing carpet. Many people with lesser noses might not even notice it. But I am cursed with an exceptional olfactory ability. Jealous? I was hoping that there was some typical weak point in the fuel line that always goes bad, that everybody and their uncle knows about, and that it could be fixed with a 20 cent part from Lowes:-) Maybe next time. Thanks for your help!

Adam