Winter storage

mackemmark said:

As a complete newbie with a 1973 early bay camper, I'd be grateful for any tips on winter storage. It's parked off road but on the driveway as there is no garage. The van is kept covered but would be grateful for any advice on the most 'at risk' areas in winter and whether...

- it's best to take the van 1-2 times a week to keep it ticking over?
- should internal thermal blinds be left up?
- Chassis waxoil treatment?
- if it gets very cold/damp for a long period, is it worth asking around for temporary garaging?

Tips on any other areas would also be appreciated. Thank you!

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andrewblackwell said:

If you can find a garage it will fit into that would be my main focus. Not many rentable ones are big enough for a Bay we found.
Ours barely squeezes into the garage we got which is the common seventies council built size. We purposely have a tin top because more likely to get in a garage without the campers folding roof. Have to back ours in as the up/over door only just clears the windscreen, but will not clear the steeper rear end. I have to get in/out via sliding door/walkthrough as too narrow for cab doors to open wide enough.
I had to lift the doorframe as much as possible and if bus was stock height it would not have fitted, so you might struggle to get a garage big enough.

Mine did ok last winter in a cold but very dry storage unit near me where a few guys keep classics & projects without costing those mental classic car storage prices. Worth looking for indoor storage providers rather than classics/garages.

Wasn’t started between Oct & late Jan. Battery was disconnected during that time to preserve charge, but still needed a hand with a NoCo booster when run up in late Jan just because carb bowls were empty and took long to fill. I now squirt a bit of fuel or starter spray in the carbs to kick it over faster.

This winter I’ll run it up more often anytime it’s dry outside, but not run it on salted roads in the depths of winter.

If your stuck with storing outside it’s not the end of the world. Our 1963 beetle was outdoors all year and our daily driver from 1997>2002. Cavities were internally waxoyled, but I used to coat all the outside edges, gutters and panel bottom edges with any oily spray like wd40, then clean it off once weather improved in spring. Looked awful while being driven but came up lovely after a wash, and defo kept off the worst of the rust.

Is your mackemmark name anything to do with Wearside?

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andrewblackwell said:

Is it better to have the fullest tank of E5 fuel possible left in the tank over winter, with ethanol treatment added, or to run the treated fuel right down so you have an almost empty tank, and less fuel to go bad/ attract moisture?

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andrewblackwell said:

I always run on E5 anyhow, & add the Lucas Safeguard each time which i'd read was the only one to be given any credit against ethanol.
I understand that submerging the steel tanks inner surface with fuel of minimal ethanol content protects it to some extent from moisture.
But then i considered more fuel in there = more potential for it to attract moisture as it stands & separates, as well as more fuel to spoil if unused over winter.
Expensive experiment with a 60 litre tank of Superunleaded costing about £100 presently.

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