Retiring my bus to park on my property forever - anything I need to do?

[Beeb2]

We've been traveling in our bus (DT-466, AT545) on and off for 5 years. We just purchased a 40 acre lot where we plan to now start a homestead, and we'll park the bus there and live out of it until we build a house. Probably won't ever drive it again... Probably.

Is there anything I should do to the bus to make it okay to just sit and never drive again? Like... should I drain any fluids so they don't start leaking in the future? Or anything else?

Additionally - is there anything I should do to allow the bus to sit for a long period of time, but maybe still be drivable in over a year or more if our plans suddenly change?

We are using two diesel heaters in the bus, so we're using and replacing the diesel - so it shouldn't go bad. But I don't know if I need to do anything about the diesel that is currently in the bus's fuel lines.

 

[Albatross]

If you want to keep driving it, you'll need to start it and actually run it to keep it road-worthy. And by running it, I mean actually working it; diesels don't like to idle, and they actually want to be worked hard to keep their stuff where it needs to be.



You'll want to lift it up so that the springs can relax, and get the tires off the ground.



You can buy some storage additives, I'm sorry nothing particular is coming to mind, but I used them several times while in the military and going out on deployments as a single dude.



It's also worthwhile to build a roof over the top of it, like a regular carport, but taller and longer. Relocate any solar panels, and extend any chimneys through the top of it.

 

[Dbacks2k4]

I would give it an oil change once you get it parked. The engine should always have oil in it to keep internal parts from rusting so fresh oil with an oil stabilizer would be a good idea I'd think?

I've had issues with air brakes seizing up when parked for too long so maybe insert the chamber bolt as well? Definitely drain your air tanks...


Remove the starter batteries and keep somewhere warm on a tender.



I would also cover the tires to keep them from sun rotting.

 

[Beeb2]

Cool. That's all helpful. Thanks!

 

[nikitis]

You can buy some storage additives, I'm sorry nothing particular is coming to mind, but I used them several times while in the military and going out on deployments as a single dude.

You'll want a good Diesel Biocide. Put it into the fuel tank, and drive it on an hour long trip to get that stuff into the fuel system including fuel filters etc. It'll get there on it's own by driving it for an hour. If there's already growing bacteria in the fuel system it will kill it. Might also want to drop a 1/4 of a bottle of Citane booster at the same time. 1/4 of a bottle is good for a whole tank, it will give your injectors a good cleaning. Expect smoke, lots of smoke. This will be a good smoke though so do not worry. The Citane booster cleans the injectors and gunk will fall off of them when running and then the engine burns it up and comes out as smoke. When you see the smoke you may even notice the engine speeding up just a little. This is also fine as long as it doesn't do it for too long, but if you notice sputtering at random times while running it, it's normal. That's the citane booster burning and cleaning the injectors.

And lastly also you can throw in some Stabil Diesel additive to prolong the life of the fuel that will sit there for a long time.

That takes care of the fuel system.

Next I would change the oil just so there's fresh stuff and not gunked up oil. You want oil to be on the internal parts to keep it from rusting internally.

Every 3-4 months, I would crank it up and let the engine run for an hour at minimum to get things churning again, oil coverage, fuel system moving etc. It's still not the best to never drive it but if it's going to sit, I'd still crank it up about that much every so often.

Battery disconnect. Install it, or just unhook the negative batteries so they last. Batteries can last a couple of years without losing much power if nothing is drawing on them like an ECM etc.

 

[Iceni John]

Every autumn I top off my fuel tank to ensure there's as little air as possible in it during winter storage. This will reduce condensation inside the tank that causes water to accumulate at the bottom; the algae (OK, it's technically not algae, but you know what I mean) exist at the interface between the water and fuel, living in the water but eating the fuel.

Gasoline certainly deteriorates with time because of its additives, but does diesel too? If diesel is kept free of water and particulate matter, what exactly will happen to it over time? Any fuel chemists here who know? I've heard of years- and even decades-old diesel fuel that still runs engines without a problem. Fuel polishing removes any entrapped water, but does it also do anything else?

There's plenty of discussion whether to occasionally idle a diesel engine during long-term storage, or to not start any engine unless it will be brought to full operating temperature. Most wear occurs at start-up and when the engine is cold, so I subscribe to the latter hypothesis: I hate to start my engine if I won't be driving the bus for at least twenty minutes to thoroughly warm up everything, including the transmission and the differential and wheel bearing oils. If you're going to start the engine but not drive the bus, at the very least run it at Fast Idle (900RPM or higher) to reduce vibration and improve oil flow.

John

 

[cadillackid]

if you are planningto park it forever and never drive it then why worry about any of it? unless you were to plan to run it and drive it monthly then its going to develop all kinds of typical "lot-rot" issues over time.. making it noit a good bus to sell after your house is built..



when we rescue old busses that have sat for a few years not being used.. they typically need all kinds of stuff to make them truly road worthy... the batteries are worthless.. tires dry rot from sitting, fuel is old and systems need flushed, air brakes seize up unless they were caged, often we find critters have tried to chew up wiring or such under the hood...



not sure your plan.. if you wanted to be able to sell a turnkey conversion after your house was built, or use the bus as an RV.. but long term parking out in the country will make it where a good amount of work gets done on it before its truly roadworthy... something nearly no one will want to $$$ for when other running driving busses are around...