Community Forums

tinman 55 · 01-28-2021, 03:04 PM

Im a new Diesel owner and have a question regarding storage. Ive read numerous posts that say to always store with a full tank, and as many, claiming it isn't necessary. My question is this. If I am only storing it for a couple weeks between trips is it necessary to fill it full before parking it? Also, I am in California so the weather doesn't change too drastically especially with indoor storage. If storing it for a couple weeks is okay, should I add a fuel treatment?
Your thoughts?

Ray

Chargerman · 01-28-2021, 03:09 PM

I don’t worry about topping off if it’s only going to sit for a few weeks but more often than not I fill my tank a few miles from home when I’m headed back. It’s one less thing to worry about when we are hitting the road. I don’t use fuel treatment at every fill but I do add it when it’s going to sit for a couple months or more

Chadrock · 01-28-2021, 03:14 PM

What Chargerman wrote is what we do as well. Our Coach frequently sits for longer than a couple of weeks during the season. But when we put it to bed in the Michigan winter, we fill it to the top and put treatment in at the station. We then run the generator all the way home so the treatment gets into everywhere it should.

BTW, we store our Coach in a heated pole barn that sits at 53 degrees all winter long.

tinman 55 · 01-28-2021, 03:23 PM

Chargerman, Chadrock.

Thank you for the quick reply.
I am glad I will be okay with the short term. It allows me the opportunity to get out of California to fuel up rather than buying it here when I return home. I certainly didn't buy the coach expecting it to be cheap, But, it will be quite a substantial savings over the long run buying fuel out of state.

Ray

Outbound · 01-28-2021, 03:31 PM

I agree not necessary to fill tanks for short term stops, I always top off tanks for long term storage.

momdoc · 01-28-2021, 07:10 PM

Short term no problem
Long term we fill the tank

FIRE UP · 01-28-2021, 09:28 PM

Well,
We've owned our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the CAT 330 now for 9 years and, it now has 97,000 miles on it. And I've NEVER worried about a full tank when it's parked for any length of time. And, it's stored inside too. We've left it stored for as long as 3 months with 1/4 tank of fuel and, no issues what so ever. It's a choice thing I guess. I'd not worry too much about even a month or so. Your choice.
Scott

tinman 55 · 01-28-2021, 11:39 PM

Thank you everyone for your input, I appreciate the help. We are taking her out for our maiden voyage next Tuesday for a week so it won't be sitting for long.

Arch Hoagland · 01-29-2021, 12:03 AM

I always fill my fuel tank before putting the coach away for the next trip.

Were you in California for the Loma Prieta earthquake 1989? We lived about 30 miles from that area and had no electricity for about four days. During that time you couldn't buy any fuel at all as the gas stations didn't have power.

So now I am prepared for an earthquake. We go into Los Angles about once a year, I always top off my tank on the Grapevine before entering LA so I have enough fuel to get in there and OUT of there in case of earthquake, providing the roads are still OK.

So I suggest you fill it up while you can.

GypsyR · 01-29-2021, 05:56 AM

Location helps a lot. About twice a year I can go out to my garage and my old motorcycle and other heavy equipment can look like they were just rained on. Like how a glass of iced tea "sweats". Unfortunately big steel fuel tanks can do the same thing and sometimes on the inside. Gas or diesel, you don't want water in your fuel. But I'm on the other end of the country in a marshy state. My understanding that you people in SoCal have no concept of humidity so you probably get a pass.

In the very long term a type of fungus can start to grow in the fuel. I've never quite wrapped my head around how something can live and grow in a petroleum fuel but is can happen and you want NO part of it. Happily there are any number of diesel additives touted to help prevent that. It's cheap enough I like to add some any time I'm parked at home for a while. You never know when life might happen and the coach sits a lot longer then planned.

Well, the preventative stuff is cheap. The biocides you have to buy after you've found algae and are trying to get rid of it costs rather more. Ask how I know more than I want to about this. Fuel filters start getting kind of spendy when you haver to change them four or five times in a row.

bentjm · 01-29-2021, 06:12 AM

The slime actually grows in the layer between the diesel and water in the tank.

Anything less than a year or so and you will be fine. Condensation inside an RV fuel tank is not that much of a problem.

tinman 55 · 01-29-2021, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

I always fill my fuel tank before putting the coach away for the next trip.

Were you in California for the Loma Prieta earthquake 1989? We lived about 30 miles from that area and had no electricity for about four days. During that time you couldn't buy any fuel at all as the gas stations didn't have power.

So now I am prepared for an earthquake. We go into Los Angles about once a year, I always top off my tank on the Grapevine before entering LA so I have enough fuel to get in there and OUT of there in case of earthquake, providing the roads are still OK.

So I suggest you fill it up while you can.

Good point, I was working in Los Angeles the morning of the Northridge quake so it is definitely a good idea to be ready to roll if need be.

tinman 55 · 01-29-2021, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentjm

The slime actually grows in the layer between the diesel and water in the tank.

Anything less than a year or so and you will be fine. Condensation inside an RV fuel tank is not that much of a problem.

Thank you, I don't think there will be more than a month between trips so I should be good. After fueling, I should be able to keep the tank around 3/4 full so I think I will be good.

Winemaker2 · 01-29-2021, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinman 55

Chargerman, Chadrock.

Thank you for the quick reply.
I am glad I will be okay with the short term. It allows me the opportunity to get out of California to fuel up rather than buying it here when I return home. I certainly didn't buy the coach expecting it to be cheap, But, it will be quite a substantial savings over the long run buying fuel out of state.

Ray

Check into the TSD RV fuel card for significant savings.