Storing the LD for 3 months March 31, 2019, 05:13:42 pm We are going to be leaving the LD at an RV park site for over 3 months which is not something we've done. I've been thinking of what I need to do. It will be May through part of August and cold won't be an issue.I'm thinking I should leave it with a full tank of fresh water or would it be best to drain it and then sanitize it when we return?Should we fill the toilet bowl in the hope of keeping the seals wet? Since I replaced the seals last year it actually holds water.As to power, I'm thinking I should flip the battery disconnect switch, unplug it and turn off solar. What do you think? The main reason is I can't check the batteries once a month. I could just leave it on shore power but I would still think the batts should be checked.We will empty the fridge and raise the front end to keep water off the roof.I may be missing something so let me know what you think.Jim
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #1 – March 31, 2019, 05:36:16 pm What part of the country? Shaded at all or fully exposed?
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #2 – March 31, 2019, 05:50:39 pm Quote from: Jim & Gayle - March 31, 2019, 05:13:42 pmI'm thinking I should leave it with a full tank of fresh water or would it be best to drain it and then sanitize it when we return?Should we fill the toilet bowl in the hope of keeping the seals wet? Since I replaced the seals last year it actually holds water.As to power, I'm thinking I should flip the battery disconnect switch, unplug it and turn off solar. What do you think? The main reason is I can't check the batteries once a month. I could just leave it on shore power but I would still think the batts should be checked.Fill the water tank and add a capful of chorine bleach, drain and flush the holding tanks.Leave a full bowl of water. With clean holding tanks, a slight seal leak would not be a problem.If you have vent covers, I would leave two vents open and consider setting one fan's thermostat to turn on when the interior temp reaches 90+ degrees.You might want to buy a pair of trickle chargers, I'm not sure if this is necessary but it shouldn't hurt.Prop the refrigerator's doors open. Shut the blinds, shades and cover the windshield, if you own a shade cover.If you had hydraulics, you would lift it to take the load off the tires. Make sure the tire pressures are correct and cover the tires, if you have covers.Enjoy your trip away from home.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #3 – March 31, 2019, 06:03:46 pm Quote from: pdl2win - March 31, 2019, 05:36:16 pmWhat part of the country? Shaded at all or fully exposed?Aguanga, CA elevation 2,000 no shade.
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #4 – March 31, 2019, 06:13:10 pm "Should we fill the toilet bowl in the hope of keeping the seals wet? Since I replaced the seals last year it actually holds water."One time we were staying in a campground in Tucson for a while and got to know some folks who came around on occasion to look in on a rig they had stored there on a site.They put several pails of water in the rig, and covered the bottom part of the toilet with Saran wrap to discourage evaporation. They said the water in the pails was almost always gone when they came back at whatever interval they used. I don't remember (or even if I ever saw) the size of the pails.They said it had done well to keep the wood from drying out.What is the average humidity in Aguanga during the months you will be gone? How close is that to Tucson's number? Maybe that number is irrelevant anyway! ;-> Virtual hugs, Judie•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• 1 Likes
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #5 – March 31, 2019, 06:56:43 pm Quote from: Judie Ashford - March 31, 2019, 06:13:10 pm"Should we fill the toilet bowl in the hope of keeping the seals wet? Since I replaced the seals last year it actually holds water."One time we were staying in a campground in Tucson for a while and got to know some folks who came around on occasion to look in on a rig they had stored there on a site.They put several pails of water in the rig, and covered the bottom part of the toilet with Saran wrap to discourage evaporation. They said the water in the pails was almost always gone when they came back at whatever interval they used. I don't remember (or even if I ever saw) the size of the pails.They said it had done well to keep the wood from drying out.What is the average humidity in Aguanga during the months you will be gone? How close is that to Tucson's number? Maybe that number is irrelevant anyway! ;-> Virtual hugs, Judie•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• From the following website, it appears that while Tucson may be hotter then Aguanga appears to be dryer. I had thought about the bucket of water and will do it for sure. The Typical Weather Anywhere on Earth - Weather Spark
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #6 – March 31, 2019, 09:13:50 pm I follow this wonderful forum and don't often respond... but here goes. I've talked to dozens of people about how best to do long term storage, but finally settled on this system -- and it's worked for me for the past six years.Every year I store my motor home and towed car in Arizona for six months each summer, and my 4WD truck and Subaru in Alaska for six months each winter. All engines get Stabil treatment when stored, and negative battery terminals disconnected. The motor home in Arizona is naturally subject to heat and incredible dust storms, so no vents can be left open. Propane off, solar panels off, negative coach battery terminal disconnected, windows locked and shades down, windshield covered. Naturally, as Larry said, I drain and clean holding tanks, then add enzyme to black tank along with drain valve lubricant and some water. On every drain inside I put a new zip lock bag half filled with water and sealed, including a bigger one in the toilet bowl. (Buckets of water inside only work if you have - or hire - someone to come in and keep filling them up, which I will never do.)Every year before storage I use Liquid Gold wood preservative or something similar on all interior cabinets, and of course clean fridge/freezer and brace the doors open. I've left both empty and full fresh water tanks and either seems to work okay, but a bit of chlorine couldn't hurt. As mentioned before I leave original Irish Spring soap bars around, surprising how well they keep rodents out.I've been warned to cover everything with old sheets and used to do that, but they never helped... Until I didn't do it last year and, believe it or not, the driver's side power window regulator suicided while the rig was in storage and the window slowly went down for the duration, through numerous dust storms! It was not a cheap fix and required a lot of cleaning later. The old cab curtains were a little help, but not nearly enough.Lazy Daze makes a good solid motor home and I'm always impressed that usually everything still works, and within the first day I'm on the road again. Of course things need regular maintenance and occasional repair, but hey, we're all getting older! I've managed faucet and shower replacements, water heater ignition board, etc. Next weatherstripping...Kristin1997 MB 9 Likes
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months - Long Term Storage Reply #7 – March 31, 2019, 10:54:52 pm Quote from: Kristin Lambert - March 31, 2019, 09:13:50 pmI follow this wonderful forum and don't often respond... but here goes. I've talked to dozens of people about how best to do long term storage, but finally settled on this system -- and it's worked for me for the past six years.Every year I store my motor home and towed car in Arizona for six months each summer, and my 4WD truck and Subaru in Alaska for six months each winter. All engines get Stabil treatment when stored, and negative battery terminals disconnected. The motor home in Arizona is naturally subject to heat and incredible dust storms, so no vents can be left open. Propane off, solar panels off, negative coach battery terminal disconnected, windows locked and shades down, windshield covered. Naturally, as Larry said, I drain and clean holding tanks, then add enzyme to black tank along with drain valve lubricant and some water. On every drain inside I put a new zip lock bag half filled with water and sealed, including a bigger one in the toilet bowl. (Buckets of water inside only work if you have - or hire - someone to come in and keep filling them up, which I will never do.)Every year before storage I use Liquid Gold wood preservative or something similar on all interior cabinets, and of course clean fridge/freezer and brace the doors open. I've left both empty and full fresh water tanks and either seems to work okay, but a bit of chlorine couldn't hurt. As mentioned before I leave original Irish Spring soap bars around, surprising how well they keep rodents out.I've been warned to cover everything with old sheets and used to do that, but they never helped... Until I didn't do it last year and, believe it or not, the driver's side power window regulator suicided while the rig was in storage and the window slowly went down for the duration, through numerous dust storms! It was not a cheap fix and required a lot of cleaning later. The old cab curtains were a little help, but not nearly enough.Lazy Daze makes a good solid motor home and I'm always impressed that usually everything still works, and within the first day I'm on the road again. Of course things need regular maintenance and occasional repair, but hey, we're all getting older! I've managed faucet and shower replacements, water heater ignition board, etc. Next weatherstripping...Kristin1997 MBLots of good tips here, Kristin. Thanks for sharing.Questions: What do the bags of water do if they are sealed? Assuming you don't have covered storage, have you ever used an RV cover? Seems like a good thing in the AZ sun.Chris
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #8 – March 31, 2019, 10:57:55 pm Appreciate everyone's input. I will put the info to good use and hopefully, all will be well on our return. Anytime I park the rig for over 2 months I always use Stabil and forgot to mention that in my list.Still open for tips. The bar never closes.Jim
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #9 – April 01, 2019, 10:11:45 am Quote from: Chris Horst - March 31, 2019, 10:54:52 pmLots of good tips here, Kristin. Thanks for sharing.Questions: What do the bags of water do if they are sealed? Assuming you don't have covered storage, have you ever used an RV cover? Seems like a good thing in the AZ sun.We used to keep a fifth wheel in Arizona during the summer for two or three years and did pretty much what Kristin did (except we had AGM batteries so left them and the solar on).The ziplock bags with water in them and then placed over the drains keep the water in the drains from evaporating. We did not use the ziplock bags in the toilet, though...we filled the bowl about half way with water and then put Saran wrap over the bowl...then closed the lid and put Saran wrap over that (overkill, probably, but the water was still in the bowl when we returned in the fall).
Re: Storing the LD for 3 months Reply #10 – April 01, 2019, 10:45:19 am Quote from: Jim & Gayle - March 31, 2019, 05:13:42 pmWe will empty the fridge and raise the front end to keep water off the roof.Hello Jim & Gayle. We prep the inside for hot weather storage like we would for cold weather storage except for the plumbing system. We remove everything that is edible that is not in a sealed can. We place a heavy quilt between the cab and the rest of the coach. Our Rig is stored in a gravel covered slip so we place heavy boards under all six (6) tires. I've been able to park my Rig so that the afternoon Sun only hits the front of the LD which I think can tolerate the sun/heat better than the sides or rear.Since you'll be parking in the summer sun, I'd suggest an inventory of things in the basement that might melt or otherwise cause damage. Finally, we receive a deep discount from our insurance company when we advise them our Rig is in storage.Hope this helps.
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