Long term Storage

[Rawlings]

Hi, we kept our Crown Bus parked on my parents property last year Between December and March. This year my father mentioned maybe we should put it on jack stands to take pressure off the tires for being parked for long time, is this valid? We did spend almost 3200 bucks on brand new tires lat year and we want to get long life out of them, he mentioned keeping a vehicle parked for long periods without wheels moving is bad for tires, idk the validity to this, I mean but how easy and what sort of jacks would I need to lift some weight off the tires and what rating? I think my 78 crown coach has a gwvr of 36,000 pounds but is empty at the moment other than the back half that we have already built out. I think Empty weight its like 18,20k lbs

[MacC]

Another Missourian. Cool!

[somewhereinusa]

Dad is right. 6 ton, each one, should be more than enough. If on dirt or gravel you need to put a big enough pad of some kind under them or they will sink into the ground.

[o1marc]

Tires will flat spot after setting for a long period and cause vibration when driving.

[Danjo]

Cover them too. UV rots the sidewalls

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Cover them too. UV rots the sidewalls

what he ^ said

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

Dad is right. 6 ton, each one, should be more than enough. If on dirt or gravel you need to put a big enough pad of some kind under them or they will sink into the ground.

Can anyone share a good jack to lift the bus and a good set of jack stands that will lift it, also how high should I lift? Just enough to keep tires barely touching the ground?

[Danjo]

I would venture that a 20 ton bottle jack would do it, but I’ve never jacked a vehicle as big as that. I see 6 ton stands mentioned. You can get those at most auto parts stores. I would keep it as close to the ground as possible. And you’ll want some 2x10 or 2x12 lumber under them. A vehicle on 4 stands is not super stable, but if it’s kept low with the wheels on and no one goes under it while it’s on the stands it should be good. Use extreme caution when setting the stands. I’d use a pole or a shovel handle to place them so as to avoid going under it.

[Booyah45828]

Biggest thing for storing tires is having them covered to prevent uv degredation. Next is parking on a surface that doesn't hold moisture or oil like dirt and asphalt.

I would park it on cheap concrete pavers or treated 2x12 wood and then cover them with a tire cover.

I've never had an issue with flat spotting from being parked due to the weight, but if you're concerned, they make a product you can park on that eliminates that. https://www.cokertire.com/blog/say-g...spots-forever/

If you're not wanting to spend that much, jack each corner up using a 10 ton bottle jack and place the axle on some cribbing made from old rail road ties. Those can usually be found for cheap at menards/lowes/hd. Cut them into sections and you should be able good.

[PNW_Steve]

I remember dealing with flat spots on bias ply tires from sitting too long. I have not noticed it being a problem since we went to radials.

Coincidence or are radials less affected?

[Danjo]

I’d get it on stands. If you have a valve stem or bead leak and a tire goes flat for months while you’re away, it’s likely to damage the tire.

[Booyah45828]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I remember dealing with flat spots on bias ply tires from sitting too long. I have not noticed it being a problem since we went to radials.

Coincidence or are radials less affected?

Nope, no coincidence there. The design of a radial tire makes it more difficult to flat spot from sitting. However, if one does somehow flat spot a radial, they usually aren't fixed by driving a mile or two like the bias ply tires would.

[GWRider]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

Hi, we kept our Crown Bus parked on my parents property last year Between December and March. This year my father mentioned maybe we should put it on jack stands to take pressure off the tires for being parked for long time, is this valid? We did spend almost 3200 bucks on brand new tires lat year and we want to get long life out of them, he mentioned keeping a vehicle parked for long periods without wheels moving is bad for tires, idk the validity to this, I mean but how easy and what sort of jacks would I need to lift some weight off the tires and what rating? I think my 78 crown coach has a gwvr of 36,000 pounds but is empty at the moment other than the back half that we have already built out. I think Empty weight its like 18,20k lbs

My Crown is currently on 4 jack stands I got from Northern Supply. Each are rated 12 ton. I used 4-6x6x15 posts as cribbing under the rear stands in order to reach the frame.

[Ronnie]

As a railroad person I would not use old railroad ties. Here is why, first cutting them eats up chainsaw chains very fast do to embedded gravel and dirt. Also they are normally rotten, after all that is why we get rid of them. So their weight holding capability is really in question. If you can get what are called re-lays then you can find ones good enough to support weight. Re-lays have been taken out of the main line, but still have life in them and are often used on branch lines or sidings. Landscape ties are no longer usable for weight bearing loads, and we do not use them for cribbing, that is like jack stands.

[EastCoastCB]

In all my days of taking leftover railroad ties I've only ever found one GOOD one.
A new looking one had rolled down a drainage ditch fifteen feet or so and no one seemed to want to get it. After a few days I finally went down after it. Man those suckers are heavy when they're new and still fresh. Must be close to 200 lbs! I carried it up a steep embankment single handed. By the time I got it in the truck I was beat!

you're totally correct as usual. They're not good for using as cribbage.

[Booyah45828]

I mean, of course you don't want to use rotten ones, but the last ones I got from menards were still in pretty good shape yet and weren't. No idea why the RR got rid of them but they're working ok.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Booyah45828

I mean, of course you don't want to use rotten ones, but the last ones I got from menards were still in pretty good shape yet and weren't. No idea why the RR got rid of them but they're working ok.

I bought 200 from a gent down the road from me. They appeared to be used but we're all in good shape.

I have no idea why they were surplused.

They made an excellent retaining wall.

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by GWRider

My Crown is currently on 4 jack stands I got from Northern Supply. Each are rated 12 ton. I used 4-6x6x15 posts as cribbing under the rear stands in order to reach the frame.

Okay let me get this straight haha I have no experience, so get 6-10 ton jacks (4 of them for each wheel) what I'm confused about is lifting each side is it okay to use just one jack ...lift that wheel, put the jack stand, move on to the other wheels? Or should I have 4 Jack's and lift each wheel little by little and place jack stands, sounds like a lot of money to have to buy several jacks on top of the 4 jack stands... However I guess the safer the better ? Also the lumber mentioned I place the lumber underneath the jack stands to help them be higher and reach the frame? If anyone has pictures of their bus jacked up for storage I saw someone mentioned they have their crown bus jacked up

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

Okay let me get this straight haha I have no experience, so get 6-10 ton jacks (4 of them for each wheel) what I'm confused about is lifting each side is it okay to use just one jack ...lift that wheel, put the jack stand, move on to the other wheels? Or should I have 4 Jack's and lift each wheel little by little and place jack stands, sounds like a lot of money to have to buy several jacks on top of the 4 jack stands... However I guess the safer the better ? Also the lumber mentioned I place the lumber underneath the jack stands to help them be higher and reach the frame? If anyone has pictures of their bus jacked up for storage I saw someone mentioned they have their crown bus jacked up

You can jack and stand one wheel at a time. The wood under is to prevent the stands from sinking into the softer ground.

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by o1marc

You can jack and stand one wheel at a time. The wood under is to prevent the stands from sinking into the softer ground.

Okay great, what if the floor underneath is concrete driveway?

So what rating Jack should I get? And my dad said there's some that are like a bottle or cylinder shape??

Jack stands 6 ton each?