Alex and Tee
Jacksonville , FL
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Joined: 05/19/2021
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Question for full timers. When staying at a park for an extended stay, say 3 months or longer, any suggestions on maintenance like running your engine every so often, etc.? After our initial 6-7 weeks with our Allegro Open Road we will be settling in Mesa, AZ for 6 months. Seems to me you should run things every now and then to keep things lubricated but, as a newbie, not sure if that is poor form and annoying for the neighbors.
Also, what about refilling propane? Are their trucks that deliver to your site or do you have to unhook and drive somewhere?
Input appreciated.
Alex & Teresa
2022 Allegro Open Road
2021 Colorado 4x4
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Rick Jay
Greater Springfield area, MA
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Joined: 02/02/2003
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Alex and Tee,
It probably wouldn't hurt the engine to run it for a bit every couple of weeks. You want to run it long enough so that any moisture in the exhaust will burn off. However, if your rig is like mine, starting the engine with the hydraulic jacks down will get you a constant beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep warning that the jacks are down. You might want to raise them first. Assuming your site is mostly level, I wouldn't worry about the slides, but if you want run them in and out too, no harm done.
Depending upon how your chassis & coach electrical systems are wired, you might want to put a small trickle charger on the chassis battery to keep it charged up. But if you start the engine once a week or so, it shouldn't be any problem.
The generator should probably be run every once in a while with a moderate load on it. Obviously, only during the times considered as "generator hours" by the campground. I usually try to run mine once a month for a 1/2 hour, but I'll admit to letting that slip to 2 or even three months, especially during the winter if we don't get a "warm spell". So far, no harm done after 17 seasons.
All that said, other than keeping the batteries topped off, I'd probably say if you left it alone you'd be fine too. Probably the most important part of exercising the systems is to help you stay familiar with everything. Being a new rig and all, you'll probably have a lot to learn.
As for propane, there might be a truck which comes by to deliver, or you might have to move the rig to the propane filling station at the campground. Or, perhaps, to a local filling station. I'm sure a quick call to the intended campground will tell you the details. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
Another thing I recommend is to make your tires are aired up to the proper pressure before travelling. If you have a tire pressure monitoring system, so much the better. If you don't, then you might want to consider investing in one. I think improper tire maintenance (operating at proper pressures) is one of the most common mistakes RV owners make. So make sure you have the proper pressure gauge(s) and equipment to keep your tires at the proper pressure. Remember that tire pressure changes with temperature. A properly inflated tire at 90 degrees in the summer may be under-inflated at 40 degrees. So the pressure in your tires might be fine when you arrive at your destination, but, 6 months later, depending upon the seasons, it might need to be adjusted to stay within the tire manufacturer's specs. On the other hand arriving in Fall and leaving in Spring might not matter. Arriving in the summer and leaving in the winter could be a completely different story.
Safe travels!
~Rick
2005 Georgie Boy Cruise Master 3625 DS on a Workhorse W-22
Rick, Gail, 1 girl (26-Angel since 2008), 1 girl (21), 2 boys (22 & 19).
2001 Honda Odyssey, Demco Aluminator tow bar & tow plate, SMI Silent Partner brake controller.
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CA Traveler
The Western States
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Running for a few minutes causes more moisture in the engine due to condensation. Best to drive it for 15+ minutes to get oil etc up to operating temperature and remove all moisture. About every few months. While you are out driving get the propane. Ditto for gen at about half load.
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Bob
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CA Traveler
The Western States
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For us in Chandler the best place for propane is Tractor Supply.
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CA Traveler
The Western States
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And park with full fuel to help reduce tank condensation.
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WinMinnie02
NJ
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Great information my Class C, drive it monthly for 30 minuets and work the generator monthly as well. Annual maintenance and inspection.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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Joined: 08/19/2009
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Most of the snow bird parks will have propane trucks that come thru...just check with the front office.
As others have said, if you start the engine, take it out on the road for at least 15-20min, so it gets fully up to temp and works the entire drivetrain...plus the slides, stabilizers and other items that are unused when just sitting.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV
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Bruce Brown
Northern NY
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I'd park it and enjoy the stay. We park ours in the garage at seasons end (normally mid-September) and fire it back up when the season starts back up again (normally mid-April). We've done it this way since we started this MH deal about 25 years ago and never had an issue.
On my farm tractors it's even a longer downtime (up to 10 months), same deal, never been an issue.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910
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sailor_lou
Connecticut
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Bruce Brown wrote:I'd park it and enjoy the stay. We park ours in the garage at seasons end (normally mid-September) and fire it back up when the season starts back up again (normally mid-April). We've done it this way since we started this MH deal about 25 years ago and never had an issue.
On my farm tractors it's even a longer downtime (up to 10 months), same deal, never been an issue.
Same here with everything we own (RV, boats, classic cars and backhoe).
Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy
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Dutch_12078
Winters south, summers north
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As Bruce Brown mentioned, many RV's and farm equipment often sit for months without being run. It's usually not recommended to run a vehicle engine for short periods if the entire drive line can't be exercised at the same time with a few mile run. The onboard generator should be exercised under load periodically though, per the manufacturers recommendations.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate
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