Winter storage

[onlybayinthevillage]

Any advice for storage over the winter? Unfortunately i do not have access to a garage or barn so i am using a breathable cover. Should i leave the hand brake off, disconnect the battery etc.
Is it better to start her up every now and then?

 

[user 14475]

I'd recommend disconnecting the battery and getting it on a trickle charger. I tried to start my bus on Friday after it had been in storage for a month and the battery was flat as a pancake. It was new in May!

I tend to remove anything perishable (curtains, food etc) and set up some moisture traps. It won't take long for the damp to get in.

I also remove hubcaps, but you could argue that I go a bit far. As to whether the handbrake should be on or off, I personally haven't had any issues with leaving it on.

Matt

 

[dave]

If brakes likly to get damp , handbrake off, chocked wheels and in gear. i also remve all food etc but leave battery connected and start every 3 to 4 weeks and take for a run if dry / salt free!!
Even been known to just go and sit in it with a cuppa for a bit of peace!! LOL

 

[Doris]

Hth,this what I'll be doing..I Need to leave my battery on for the alarm,but will give it a trickle charge every week.start up and run to full temp every 6 weeks ish.

Someone who has a caravan suggested to me bowls of rice inside to absorb moisture....Will give it a go.

Hand brake off for me,the less cable stretch...the longer it will last I reckon.

Hub caps off,spray of oil them stored in the garage & wheel clamp on.

Wash & good wax for the winter then cover her up.

It'll soon be spring
:mrgreen:

 

[Valentine Won]

Deffo leave the handbrake off mines in a garage and still managed to freeze the back brakes on

cheers shaun

anyone tell me why the hubcaps off :?:

 

[Jimbly]

If you can, jack it up onto axle stands to remove the weight off the tyres - they can distort if they're stood for too long. If not, roll the bus forward and backward a few inches periodically so they don't sit in the same place for months. Best solution is remove them, pump to around 10psi above normal pressure and stand up on end, not stacked up.

Also, make sure you cover the tyres as well, as sunlight (next to seaside air) is the biggest damaging factor for tyres.

 

[john the horse]

take it for a good blast to the pub on a sunday...

as for the rice thing yeah thats what we do . super cheap and does work.

 

[Humphrey]

...do you cook the rice first?















:lol:

 

[68_early_bay]

anyone tell me why the hubcaps off :?:

I was thinking the same :?

Only thing I can think of is to save the chrome by keeping them somewhere warm?? :?

Shaun

 

[user 14475]

I take my hubcaps off in a perhaps misguided attempt to save the chrome. Whether it works or not, I don't know - but it's just a habit that I've got into over the last couple of winters. Probably doesn't make the blindest bit of difference, though I do have an anally retentive streak when it comes to my bus

I like the idea of using rice to absorb moisture. I've been using those moisture traps which turn into solid lumps of nastiness.

Matt

 

[K@rlos]

Personally I run mine all year, if the underneath is well protected and you steam it off regularly there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[KevH]

Mine will sit outside on the drive all winter, under a cover but otherwise open to the cold and damp.

Would anybody advise for or against maintaining an ambient heat in their van over winter, say using an electric skirting or greenhouse heater on a low setting?

 

[onlybayinthevillage]

Thanks all for the great advice. I like the rice one - and i will NOT be cooking mine first!!
Also heard that instead of removing the hub caps you can grease them with Vaseline, that can be washed off with hot water in the spring. Stops rust spots.

 

[issy]

when I used to have two campers one would be outside my mum's house with a Jk cover...

I always found I had problems despite leaving handbrake off and in neutral.... Something would still cease!!? was is calipers or something... In fact my van still does that even after a wet weekend and I have to 'force' it forward to release the wheel issue.. was a big hassle if I didn't leave enough room for bus to 'jerk' (am Iallowed to say that English word?) forward so wheel woud, release itself.

Another annoying issue... this was mainly with the splitscreen for some reason... The accursed pedal would simply seize after a few weeks.... Press foot down and then the hingey thing would have too much pressure and bend to one side... So I think the accelrator cable had seized a bit in the conduits, not wanting to move, and putting dorce on hingey weldey thing under pedal..... Twice that blydi happened!!

Deflate tyres a bit? (No idea why!) and move van a bit every now and then