Class A in the Future

[SWharton]

We are considering a Class A Gas in a few years.

 

Question: When parked for several months how often do you need to pack up and give the engine a good run or do you put Stabil into the gas prior to settling in for a few months? Also, do you carry boards to put under each tire when camping for a few months.

 

So you know where we are coming from we currently have a 40' th wheel and an Intl. MDT tow vehicle.

[skp51443]

Stabil or one of the other stabilizers and leave it parked until you are ready to use it, dry starts are hard.

 

I liked to keep my tires on a well drained, non-concrete surface, damp or concrete I put either boards or old plastic cutting boards under them.

[Kirk W]

We owned our gas chassis for 14 years, nearly 12 as fulltimers. We spent much of our time as resident volunteers staying in one place for periods from one to four months at a time. Shortly before we started I contacted the chassis hotline to ask just how I should deal with this issue. I was told to make sure that I had clean engine oil and just before parking, fill the tank completely full while adding a fuel stabilizer such as Stabil or SeaFoam, making the tank as free of air space as possible. He said that we should then drive the motorhome for about 20 minutes before parking for the stay. He cautioned that the "dry start" where all engine oil has run down is the hardest thing on a modern engine so that I should not state the engine until time to get ready for travel again. He suggested that it be started and test run a few days prior to leaving but not at all for the entire stay. I did exactly that for the entire time we owned it and not only was it still running well when we stopped, the new owner is still traveling with it.

 

I did start and run the generator set once each month but never the chassis engine.

[Clay L]

Regarding your question about tires.

I don't know whether or not it really matters, but Michelin recommends a barrier. When planning to park for more than a few days I drove onto thin flexible cutting boards. Wrinkle when parked on gravel but still last for years. Walmart and I am sure others have them.

[Kirk W]

Regarding your question about tires.

I don't know whether or not it really matters, but Michelin recommends a barrier. When planning to park for more than a few days I drove onto thin flexible cutting boards.

I forgot that part, but can say that Good Year makes that same suggestion. I haven't always done this but usually did make sure that the tires were so that the area around them was well drained. I also used tire covers to keep direct sun off of them but am not sure how important that really is.

[skp51443]

Ikea has the thin ones cheap and usually in pretty colors so you don't forget one and drive off.

[LFDR3116]

We have a class A and park 4-6 mo at a time. We use stabil in the gas for the engine and the generator. The only time we run the motorhome is to leave and refill the onboard propane tank. Hopefully it won't get cold enough that we have to do that this year. We had to fill 2X last winter but could not find any propane companies in this area that would come to the campground and fill rvs. There were about 10 of us that would have like to fill on our site, no luck though.

[SWharton]

thanks for all the input