Driving for Maintenance June 18, 2024, 06:52:42 pm I don’t always get a chance to go camping on a regular basis but, in the past, have tried to drive the LD once a month for excercise. This was especially true with the ‘85 Chevy chassis which had a carburetor. I do run the Onan generator monthly since it has a carburetor but wondering if it’s necessary with the Ford fuel-injected chassis. What do ya’ll do when you can’t drive your rig consistently?
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #1 – June 18, 2024, 07:02:20 pm So far this year I've driven the RV to:(1) Fill it with gas(2) Have new tires installed (via manufacturer recall)(3) State inspectionWe have some trips planned for the fall, but this is going to be a low mileage year for usMost of the time it just sits there. Rich
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #2 – June 18, 2024, 07:41:57 pm I believe there’s 2 schools of thought on this subject. It’s my unproven opinion that it’s beneficial to drive a vehicle (RV) at least occasionally. This lubricates all the moving parts, rotates the tires, and provides a quick assessment from my TPMS, UltraGauge, and dashboard lights. I turn on the water pump, refrigerator, and water heater. I also check the charge on the house batteries. When I’m done and everything seems to be working, I smile. My time frame for exercising our LD in this manner is about every 6 weeks. We have seldom let it sit much longer without traveling somewhere even for a few days. And that’s my unqualified opinion. 3 Likes
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #3 – June 18, 2024, 08:00:43 pm I live in mine so it gets moved enough.However, I try and minimize the moves to help keep expenses down.I have places I can stay that I don't have to move for a few months.Letting it sit doesn't seem to have a negative effect on anything.
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #4 – June 18, 2024, 08:32:51 pm I left my 2017 TK in storage for six months this winter, nothing run at all.Full tank of gas, with a couple cans of SeaFoam, drained everything. Left my batteries at 80%.Had to jump it upon return (my fault- forgot to plug it in) started right up, no ill effects noted in 10,000 miles since.
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #5 – June 18, 2024, 09:33:39 pm One of the reasons we felt more comfortable buying our 2003 in Jan 2022 was the fact that the original owners (who sold it to us) religiously drove it weekly — 18 miles round trip — when not traveling. It was in great mechanical shape and we changed a bunch of stuff preemptively, but nothing was broken. But that’s just anecdotal. Side note: Even though I changed the front tires in Nov. 2023 and the rears (with dually valve install) next Monday, I almost kind of think I didn’t really have to follow the 5 year rule on the tires since they had regular weekly heat cycles with the original owner’s schedule (but…better safe than sorry). I wish I could maintain that same schedule (weekly runs), but we have small kids and we both have jobs. So it gets driven monthly when not on trips with its monthly genny exercise (which also runs great — for now at least).
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #6 – June 18, 2024, 11:23:49 pm Since I live in Alaska but my Lazy Daze MB and also the car it tows have been stored in Arizona for half of each year for the past 15 years. Obviously they can't be driven regularly. In fact, my 4WD truck and Subaru in Alaska are also in storage while I am traveling each year. Many northern residents have vehicles for the winter, and other vehicles for the summer. As a result we have all spent decades storing our vehicles for many months every year, often buried under a snowbank in freezing weather. They are unplugged from electricity, with Stabil in the engines and batteries disconnected, both up North and also in the Southwest. All are outside. I hook up the LD engine battery, then the coach batteries, switch on the solar panels, and fire it up... by myself. Sometimes I must buy new batteries, but that's always been the case, and inevitably there are things to fix every season but that's life, and it's good.Kristin 6 Likes
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #7 – June 19, 2024, 11:19:56 am We plan a local camping weekend every 4 to 5 weeks when nothing else is planned. When we do a long trip we might skip that but start and move it to wash it, etc.
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #8 – June 21, 2024, 10:35:53 pm Thanks for your replies. The Summer months are more difficult for us to use the RV due to Victoria’s gardening activities. I do, at least, put Sta-bil in the tank and run the engine for a half hour or so.
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #9 – June 22, 2024, 12:16:47 pm Quote from: HiLola - June 21, 2024, 10:35:53 pmThanks for your replies. The Summer months are more difficult for us to use the RV due to Victoria’s gardening activities. I do, at least, put Sta-bil in the tank and run the engine for a half hour or so. If by running, you mean idling the engine, that's actually worse than not running it. You want to drive it so all fluids get brought up to temperature otherwise it invites condensation and combustion by-products to accumulate in the various fluids. 3 Likes
Re: Driving for Maintenance Reply #10 – June 23, 2024, 04:22:41 pm Quote from: Michelle C - June 22, 2024, 12:16:47 pmIf by running, you mean idling the engine, that's actually worse than not running it. You want to drive it so all fluids get brought up to temperature otherwise it invites condensation and combustion by-products to accumulate in the various fluids.Thanks, Michelle, good point!
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