winter what do I do?

[farmerSmurf]

Ok im a newbie bus owner, just got the big yellow bird, this will be my first winter. My bus runs currently and id like to keep it that way

Winter is real cold here, northern colorado. I have a dt466 automatic has crappy heat and may have an overheating issue.

So what, should i do to love my bus through the winter? I may need to move it once to the dmv but rest of winter it will sit.

Thank you so much for any advice.

 

[bansil]

make sure block heater works, and it has one

 

[opus-SKO]

Find out why you have crappy heat and/or overheating issues.

 

[jazty]

dt466 automatic has crappy heat and may have an overheating issue.

eh?? Maybe it has no coolant?

I've never heard of someone say that a bus heater is crappy. They are beastly furnaces. The main heater in my bus is rated at 80,000 BTU. Perhaps the heater valves aren't all open. There is usually one down by the driver's left foot as well as a couple in the engine bay. They are typical valves that you would see in household plumbing. Make sure they are all open.

 

[M1031A1]

Run the engine every two or three weeks to keep the oil from coagulating severely. Add some Prolong to the oil before winter. Running the engine with Prolong will coat the parts and make winter starting MUCH easier for the engine and starter. Good luck!

 

[jazty]

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/questions-about-wintering-our-bus-9796.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Askoolie.net+starting+diesel+periodically+in+winter&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=site:skoolie.net+winterizing+

Check out these links. This has been discussed to death on the forums.

 

[farmerSmurf]

Thanks for all the info and links.

To answer some questions, I say may have an overheating problem because the temp guage always reads high at about 230 but I cant be sure that's accurate or even a problem. It drove from Texas just fine.

the heater does in fact blow hot I say it sucks though because driving late night through cold area about froze me out, could be poor insulation in drivers area of pusher bus idk.

 

[jazty]

the heater does in fact blow hot I say it sucks though because driving late night through cold area about froze me out, could be poor insulation in drivers area of pusher bus idk.

I would still guess that it isn't working to its full potential if you were driving in the summer and it wasn't putting out enough heat to keep you unbearable hot... Even in the dead of our Ontario winter (WAY colder than Colorado) the heater in my bus warms my legs up too much on high. I'd still double check that all the valves are fully open and that the heater core isn't clogged.
It's also possible that the overheating is related to the poor performance of the heater. Perhaps the water pump isn't working well.

 

[nat_ster]

Check the flow of your booster pump.

Rear Engine buses use a 12 volt booster pump to get the hot engine coolent through the restriction of the heater system. If it's not pushing enough flow, you wont feel enough heat from the heaters, even with your engine at operating temp.


Nat