When do you start the engin...in winter

[JIM KELLER]

Now thats the way to enjoy the Bus without getting it dirty !

[Romano Faffard]

Thanks you all for your infos...
I understand to run the engine with out reaching the normal temperature is not good. I would love to drive it 50 miles per month, but here, all the dirty snow and the salty roads, I cant do this to my Romano. I will pre eat the oil with the block eater, and take it out on a nice day just a peak and run the wobasto and the generator. For the air system, my secondary air pump run every day.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jacques,

If I had plans for long term storage I would be careful about a couple of things. I would not run the engine. In fact I would put the coach "to sleep". I would raise it fully via the ai bags and place supports under the body support points. I would then dump air bag air so the chassis is supported and little weight is on the tires. I might even go further and raise the tires a few CM off the floor. This is the best way to store tires which otherwise benefit from frequent flexing.

I would shut off all master switches, but if I suspected any phantom loads not disconnected with the master switches I would disconnect all battery grounds after the batteries were fully charged. I would monitor the batteries periodically and recharge as necessary. (Maybe once a month for example). I would not use the aux compressor to maintain air pressure (which reaches the aux system only) because it will introduce moisture to the system unless special steps are taken to remove moisture.

Our coaches are designed to be driven considerable distances regularly. Storage is not good, but when necessary steps need to be take to minimize the negative effects. I would attempt to rotate the wheels (assuming they have been clear of the floor) a few revolutions just to keep some oil around the seals. I would be vigilant about an over the road compressor seal (behind the clutch on the compressor) but would not agonize over leaving the compressor undisturbed.

All of this presumes the coach is stored in dry conditions or conditions in which temperatures are reasonably constant. Varying storage temperatures are sure to create condensation on the various metal parts like wheels, fittings, etc and will encourage rust and corrosion.

[Romano Faffard]

Thank jon.
Sorry about my english, we live in Quebec where we don't often use the shakespeare language.
Maybe i forgot to mention that we live periodicaly in the bus.
So the bus has to stay alive. we are fully plug-in in a environment that is keep at 68'F.

[BoaterAl]

I still can't get over how clean the roof is. Must be a Canada thing.

[Coloradobus]

Jacque and Sylvie,
We start our coach about every three weeks. I always look underneath the coach with a flashlight to look at the inside sidewalls of the tires looking for oil streaks. I run the horn, Level Low, the generator, the webasto, I exercise everything.
This time, last Wednesday, I spotted oil seeping down the inside sidewall of the curbside inner dual.
Called Colorado Charter, and for $200.00, parts included and 2 hours of my time, they can replace the seal.

[Romano Faffard]

To day i called the Prevost people 150 miles from here at St Nicolas near Quebec city. I talked to the service department, I asked the questions??? and.....
i was surprised... They said nothing, like... do nothing! dont start the engine or the generator or the wobasto, don't play with the suspension, don't need to jack it to, and they even add that a lot of owners leave their bus stand for long periods and they don't seem to have more problems than others. i even asked are your certain about this??? Yop!!! So now I am more puzzle !!!!

[travelite]

Jacques,

I think Prevost is right on. Most owners do more harm than good when they try to exercise their buses while stored in a facility. The only way to truly exercise the bus it to get in it and drive it for 50 miles (80 Km). If you can't do that, you probably are better off doing nothing. Periodically starting the engine with little more than and idle will lead to all the problems I described earlier. Trying to exercise the suspension with anything other than dry air is going to cause problems. Running an on board 120V air compressor will inject moisture into your air system. Probably the best you can do is dump the oil before storage and fill with fresh. Run the engine as described in the DD S60 manual for 30 day storage. Then leave it alone. The same with the generator. Keep it plugged in and keep your chargers on. I make this part of my annual service. Prior to parking for the winter I do my annual fluid/filters/chassis lube. Makes it easy remembering what I did and when. In Spring time I'm ready to hit the road.

[Pete]

Jacques, if the storage facility belongs to you, you may want to consider installing an exhaust hose that can be attached to your exhaust tip that will evacuate the fumes to the exterior of the building.
I did this and it worked great..it allows you to run the engine whenever you want. That is until I bought a bus with a flat exhaust tip. My previous coach had an 8v92, and the present one has a S60. I have not been able to find a hose attachment that will fit the flat exhaust tip. I have intentions of converting my flat tip to a round one so I can use the hose again. (just another option for you)

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Jacques, I am envious of your heated garage floor.

Just a caution here, don't take David's advise too literally, check out what you have for a chassis battery charger before you turn it on and leave it on. Many coaches have a charger that will "cook" your batteries if left "on" unattended. I am sure he meant the house battery chargers.

JIM