In Winter Storage, Should I Run Engine?

[rowekmr]

The MH is currently sitting at RV campgrounds with both battery disconnects on. I was told by previous owner he would start his occasionally during storage. I thought this isn't good unless you drive it also. Should I just let it sit or periodically start or drive it?

[rowekmr]

Thanks
I did wonder is it better to extend the jacks. I notice in the winter that some places store heavy equipment with the hydraulic rams extended.

What is bad about the tire/ground contact patch?

J-Rooster wrote:
Joe, you asked a great question! When I’m not in the Southwest for the winner, I store my motorhome along side my stick built house and my RV is plugged into my 50 amp plug in. This is just what I do Joe because it works for me! I change oil in my coach so the crankcase is sitting in fresh oil. I have a solar trickle charger that charges my coach batteries (two batteries) My engine compartment battery does not have a trickle charge so I start it once a week. I drive my coach 20-30 miles the purpose for this is to have the engine oil circulating thru the engine, and the water system circulating. And it warms up the oil in the rear differential and transmission. Anywhere, else I might not go thru all this, but in Western Washington State it rains a lot the humidity is around 88% so everything is just damp! So I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m anti condensation! Also, Joe while in storage I leave my leveling jacks down to take weight off the tires and I use wood, rubber or plastic between the tires and the ground. Good Luck to you on whatever you choose to do! I also use a dehumidifier to keep moisture off my front windshield, If I don’t do this then water will drip down on to my inside windshield bracket holder and rust it out. Drier climates this is not necessary. Rooster

[Passin_Thru]

There is a need to run any motor you have once a month. They build up moisture in the crankcase and need to be run long enough to boil any condensation that has formed. Aviation engines have a this recommendation and so did the older CATs (90s)

[J-Rooster]

Joe, you asked a great question! When I’m not in the Southwest for the winner, I store my motorhome along side my stick built house and my RV is plugged into my 50 amp plug in. This is just what I do Joe because it works for me! I change oil in my coach so the crankcase is sitting in fresh oil. I have a solar trickle charger that charges my coach batteries (two batteries) My engine compartment battery does not have a trickle charge so I start it once a week. I drive my coach 20-30 miles the purpose for this is to have the engine oil circulating thru the engine, and the water system circulating. And it warms up the oil in the rear differential and transmission. Anywhere, else I might not go thru all this, but in Western Washington State it rains a lot the humidity is around 88% so everything is just damp! So I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m anti condensation! Also, Joe while in storage I leave my leveling jacks down to take weight off the tires and I use wood, rubber or plastic between the tires and the ground. Good Luck to you on whatever you choose to do! I also use a dehumidifier to keep moisture off my front windshield, If I don’t do this then water will drip down on to my inside windshield bracket holder and rust it out. Drier climates this is not necessary. Rooster

[rowekmr]

I considered that but need to learn how to wire up the coach batteries first.

wvabeer wrote:
I removed my batteries in November to keep them above freezing and on a trickle charger. If I remember the owners manual suggests it. I'll reinstall them sometime in April.

[wvabeer]

I removed my batteries in November to keep them above freezing and on a trickle charger. If I remember the owners manual suggests it. I'll reinstall them sometime in April.

[rowekmr]

Well there was a break in the weather with temps hovering around freezing but the ground was dry (no salt spray) and because of recent temps ground was firm (won't get stuck) so I felt today was a good day.

I held down the generator button and after a loooong wait it did start. The main engine started next after long crank time also.

First thing I learned is it doesn't take too much ground sinking to make D useless in getting out of the rut. The trans doesn't shift fast enough to rock out so I recalled R usually is a steeper gear than 1st so reversed out.

I let the engine idle until all dash gauges were in the normal range (except coolant temp) then took a slow drive through RV park then took it out on the streets for a quick trip to Gas Station where I topped off the diesel then drove back and parked prolly a total of 30-40 minutes of run time.

The coach batteries weren't fully charged by generator by the time I got back. Also the generator cut out 2 times for unknown reasons but started back up easily both times.

I forgot there was still summer blend diesel in tanks so will bring the Diesel Kleen with me next time to prevent gelling. Is there anything to add beyond DK to stabilize diesel or does it not need anything else?

Do these commercial tires develop flat spots? I recall when I first got it after sitting for years there was a thumping noise for miles that lessened but thought it was something else.

[Sam_Spade]

10forty2 wrote:
One more opinion to NOT start it and let it just idle.

NOBODY has said to start it and just let it run for "a few minutes".

I said let it run until it gets up to operating temperature......both the chassis engine and the generator.

You are the second person who has said that idling is bad......without specifying how or why.

In fact, I think "don't touch it" is a fully acceptable option.
So is running until hot; engine speed while doing that is inconsequential.

Running for just a few minutes likely won't even recover the battery energy used to start it......and there are other undesirable effects too. That's why nobody is suggesting that.

[Jim]

DrewE wrote:
If it's generally cold, you can safely charge the batteries fully through whatever means is convenient and disconnect them entirely and they will easily survive the winter without self-discharging overly much. If they are dead in the spring, they were already on their last legs.

This is not a good idea if the temperatures are warm. The rate of self-discharge is quite temperature dependent; a few weeks at 90° is worse than several months at 10°.

X2.

Lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for 3 winters and 2 of them all I did was disconnect the ground cables. The 3rd winter, had a float charger on them. The disconnected batts didn't need much service in the spring other than just reconnect the grounds, plug the RV into 120 Volt and let them charge up overnight. The batts on the float charger though, they needed some water. Not much though.

As far as running the engine goes? Don't bother unless you can drive it.

[10forty2]

One more opinion to NOT start it and let it just idle. If you can take it out on the road for 15-20 miles to get it up to normal operating temperature, then yes, by all means do it. But to just let it idle for a short period of time may do more harm than good, for all the reasons stated earlier...moisture, cold start and not enough load to fully circulate lubricants, etc, etc., etc. I used to crank my Harley in the winter and let it run for a while until I rebuilt the engine and saw some piston and head damage that might have been attributed to doing just that.

As far as winter storage and battery conditioning, I store mine under a shed at a storage lot with no shore power. I winterize with the pink antifreeze, park it, put down the stabilizers and level it, turn off and open the fridge door, crack the roof vents, shut/lock the door and bins, and turn off the two battery switches under the hood. Three months later, I reverse everything, start her up and bring her home for a good wash/cleaning before re-packing and heading out.

[DrewE]

If it's generally cold, you can safely charge the batteries fully through whatever means is convenient and disconnect them entirely and they will easily survive the winter without self-discharging overly much. If they are dead in the spring, they were already on their last legs.

This is not a good idea if the temperatures are warm. The rate of self-discharge is quite temperature dependent; a few weeks at 90° is worse than several months at 10°.

[Sam_Spade]

Mile High wrote:
and hold the voltage right about 14V.

That's too high for long term "float" voltage.

If it really is 13.8 or above all the time, that might indicate that the batteries are never really getting fully charged.....and might not be fully healthy.

[Mile_High]

rowekmr wrote:
My storage lot has no electricity.

Ah, I didn't understand that. I didn't have electricity last year, but lucked out because the owner installed it for the asking. Without it, I would have taken it for a run at least monthly to avoid harming the batteries.

[rowekmr]

My storage lot has no electricity. My parents told me I should have parked it on my driveway and plugged it up to my 50amp service. I didn’t want it taking up all the space now regretting that. I just replaced the coach batteries ($$$) so don’t want to ruin them. I’ll go out a dayvthe ground is frozen but air is warm and start it then drive and as others stated top off tank (not sure if it’s full) and put in some type of Stabil for the fuel. I’ll prolly have to jump/parallel the house and chassis batteries to get it to start or maybe even use my car battery to jump the chassis battery if the house is dead. I wonder if getting the generator running first would help with charging the batteries? I think I read somewhere it charges the house batteries first then when they are full it goes into the chassis.

[Mile_High]

I'm a fan of leaving things alone when it gets cold. I think it does more trauma forcing mechanical things to move at 0 degrees than any benefit. If it's reasonably warm and the roads are clear, I love to take it out for an hour run, then refuel it and put it away. That is more therapeutic for me than the RV 🙂

My chassis batteries did fine, but my coach batteries did not survive the winter going months with no medigation, so I'm trying a couple of BatteryMinders this winter. So far so good, they adjust for temperature, desulfate, and hold the voltage right about 14V. I have one for the AGM 6 battery bank and a separate one for the chassis batts. I just leave everything hooked up with the master switches off.