Recently purchased a motorhome since I plan to travel quite a bit in the next 2 years. Since I've only rented RV's in the past, I'm not familiar with all the post burn maintenance they do on those rigs.
Would like to know what kind of special maintenance should be done on my rig once I return from BRC? I was talking to a mechanic at the RV place and he said the alkaline soil really messes with brakes, etc. Just wondering if some sort of thorough maintenance service would do the trick?
Appreciate the input - I've worked hard for this and they are way too expensive to screw up so I want to be proactive in taking care of her since she's mine :-)
Taking your personal RV or Motorhome to the Playa??
Bring an air filter with you and replace it once you are back on hardtop. It will do wonders for your engine on the trip home. Once home, clean the undercarriage as best you can BEFORE any maintenance service. Once you empty and flush the black water tank on the way home, put a little fresh water in it with some of the cleaner/deodorizer/lubricant and leave it in the holding tank - it keeps all the seals lubricated.
We think prep is probably as important as cleaning and lubricating afterwards - Once on playa and parked, cover everything - COVER YOUR AC INTAKE! Be sure there is not a space under your reefer. Seriously - even your woodwork will have permanent playa stuck to it. In bad years the playa will come in despite window seals. We have had great success with blue painter's tape around the windows to keep playa out during the worst dust storms. (Also keeps it off the rubber seals - a good thing)
We think prep is probably as important as cleaning and lubricating afterwards - Once on playa and parked, cover everything - COVER YOUR AC INTAKE! Be sure there is not a space under your reefer. Seriously - even your woodwork will have permanent playa stuck to it. In bad years the playa will come in despite window seals. We have had great success with blue painter's tape around the windows to keep playa out during the worst dust storms. (Also keeps it off the rubber seals - a good thing)
Never thought about that
thanks for the advice. I have this awesome stuff I used on some of my rubber/scooter, bike, etc. when I get back from the playa. It comes in a spray and a wipe and it lubricates but it balances out the ph so it really does a great job neutralizing the dust.
On the AC Intake - do you mean in the motor or the roof or both? As for carpet I plan to throw down the clear plastic stuff so its not totally a mess afterwards.
Great suggestion on the painters tape - will help keep the double blinds clean as well. Those would be next to impossible to clean I would imagine.
Again - thanks for the advice. Don't want a mess down the road.
On the AC Intake - do you mean in the motor or the roof or both? As for carpet I plan to throw down the clear plastic stuff so its not totally a mess afterwards.
Great suggestion on the painters tape - will help keep the double blinds clean as well. Those would be next to impossible to clean I would imagine.
Again - thanks for the advice. Don't want a mess down the road.
Been taking mine for 9 years now. I use K&N air filters, Just cleaned it today.
The biggest and smartest thing you can do is once you hit the dirt/rock road is turn your dash air OFF. it will suck up and blow the dust every where.
Don't over load the rig, and don't use your side awning. The wind storms pop up so fast you don't have time to close them. It's going to get dirty, it's going to get hot, enjoy it and clean it when you get home and then clean it again.
The biggest and smartest thing you can do is once you hit the dirt/rock road is turn your dash air OFF. it will suck up and blow the dust every where.
Don't over load the rig, and don't use your side awning. The wind storms pop up so fast you don't have time to close them. It's going to get dirty, it's going to get hot, enjoy it and clean it when you get home and then clean it again.
I was Born OK the 1st Time....
Don't bring defaultia to Burning Man, take Burning Man to defaultia...... graidawg
Don't bring defaultia to Burning Man, take Burning Man to defaultia...... graidawg
Trailer Life has a good set of rv maintenance books.
I think taping up the air intakes to the heater on any car is a good idea.
You can wash as soon as you hit reno to start with.
I've heard petroleum jelly is good for protecting widow gaskets.
I don't know if it's true.
I think taping up the air intakes to the heater on any car is a good idea.
You can wash as soon as you hit reno to start with.
I've heard petroleum jelly is good for protecting widow gaskets.
I don't know if it's true.
"Everything is more wonderful when you do it with a car, don't you think?"
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
Thanks so much
Really appreciate the advice everyone. As you know these thing don't come cheap and the last thing I want on my hands is tons of rust or prematurely screwed up brakes/components.
My friends told me they give their trailer and their bikes a good spray down with a vinegar and water bath after they rinse it off really good. They let that sit for a little bit and then they wash the heck out of it. I believe that is to neutralize some of the alkaline playa dust. Any thoughts on this?
My friends told me they give their trailer and their bikes a good spray down with a vinegar and water bath after they rinse it off really good. They let that sit for a little bit and then they wash the heck out of it. I believe that is to neutralize some of the alkaline playa dust. Any thoughts on this?
question for ibdave
I'm assuming you use your roof AC while u are out there right?
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unjonharley
- Posts: 10434
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 11:05 am
- Burning Since: 2001
- Camp Name: Elliot's naked bycycel repair
- Location: Salem Or.
Get the plastic floor covering that is used in new homes and new RVs and lay it down on everything before you go. Any given RV supply store will have a stock of it and I've found it saves me *many* hours of clean up if I've covered the floors, couches, chairs, and so on before I get to the playa.
Ron
Ron
I'm with Unjon on this one. I am not a slave to my camper. I use it normally on playa, then blow everything out with a leaf blower when off playa. After that it is a sweep n mop and I'm done. Takes ~ an hour.
Roof AC - Split system. No way for playa to get into the RV through that. Use it and love it. When you get back on the freeway, the 70MPh will clean out your roof AC.
As for vehicle maintenance, the manual has two schedules; one for light driving and a second for heavy driving and dust conditions. Follow the second schedule.
Here are my votes for good advice:
1. Turn off cabin air once you reach Gerlach.
2. Remove shoes before entering RV - This is the single largest contributor to dust in the RV.
Everything else is much ado about nothing. Burners tend to exaggerate a lot about how tough and harsh the playa is and that it will eat your first born. Makes us feel special.
OMFG the playa is corroding my teeth! Been taking the same truck since 2000; original brakes on it, no rust anywhere, never taped anything, never rolled up my windows at BM. Blow it owt with a leaf blower. I wash the truck maybe once a year, in winter after we go mud-wheeling in the Mojave. The corrosive playa is a myth. Sure the PH is more basic than water but so is Windex and I don't see it striping paint. One week in the salted streets of the midwest is way more corrosive than the two months my truck spent on the playa.
Roof AC - Split system. No way for playa to get into the RV through that. Use it and love it. When you get back on the freeway, the 70MPh will clean out your roof AC.
As for vehicle maintenance, the manual has two schedules; one for light driving and a second for heavy driving and dust conditions. Follow the second schedule.
Here are my votes for good advice:
1. Turn off cabin air once you reach Gerlach.
2. Remove shoes before entering RV - This is the single largest contributor to dust in the RV.
Everything else is much ado about nothing. Burners tend to exaggerate a lot about how tough and harsh the playa is and that it will eat your first born. Makes us feel special.
OMFG the playa is corroding my teeth! Been taking the same truck since 2000; original brakes on it, no rust anywhere, never taped anything, never rolled up my windows at BM. Blow it owt with a leaf blower. I wash the truck maybe once a year, in winter after we go mud-wheeling in the Mojave. The corrosive playa is a myth. Sure the PH is more basic than water but so is Windex and I don't see it striping paint. One week in the salted streets of the midwest is way more corrosive than the two months my truck spent on the playa.
Ditto the don't worry bit. Cover things up as best you can beforehand, don't open anything that doesn't need to be opened, and clean it up afterwards. Get a big roll of good 14-day removable masking tape, not the cheap stuff. It will come off easy with no residue. Endust wipes over plastic and metal surfaces will get the playa off real easy. Vacuum carpet and fabric. Get a good exterior wash done, including the undercarriage.
Why spend all that money for something designed to go on trips in and be afraid to go on a trip in it?
I took my new (in 2005) car the last 2 years and haven't had any troubles. Mid-September is the cleanest it gets all year. The only lingering issues are small dents and interior scuffs where I was careless while loading/unloading.
Why spend all that money for something designed to go on trips in and be afraid to go on a trip in it?
I took my new (in 2005) car the last 2 years and haven't had any troubles. Mid-September is the cleanest it gets all year. The only lingering issues are small dents and interior scuffs where I was careless while loading/unloading.
A guy from reno told me he had a pickup he used just for the desert.
The real issue was that steady wind could sandblast your glass and paint, according to him.
Last year was just nice though.
The real issue was that steady wind could sandblast your glass and paint, according to him.
Last year was just nice though.
"Everything is more wonderful when you do it with a car, don't you think?"
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
The oil change place vacuumed the dust out of my car's front seats carpeting for me (back seat's floor had stuff on it), and it seemed to come out okay. I used a cleaning sponge (from a big box of cleaning sponges for cleaning soot off of the walls of fire damaged buildings) on the dashboard just last month, and almost all of the dust came off. (I might have gotten it all off if I hadn't waited so long-- what's left might have reacted with the plastic. I might get the rest if/when I get around to using something like Endust on it.)
Now, the cooler leaking onto the backseat has left a huge, ugly stain....
B.
Now, the cooler leaking onto the backseat has left a huge, ugly stain....
B.
"Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
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Captain Goddammit
- Posts: 8589
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:34 am
- Burning Since: 2000
- Camp Name: First Camp
- Location: Seattle, WA
I have taken all sorts of vehicles and contraptions to the playa. The playa dust IS fairly corrosive. I pressure-wash the living hell outta the top, bottom, and in between of my truck and camper when I get home, then WD-40 the whole engine compartment and underside.
I have a good amount of successful experience keeping a camper interior clean at BM.
Taping: Yes! Use that expensive-but-great blue tape and tape your vents and around all access hatches.
Then, how I keep mine clean is by keeping it shut at all times and running the AC all day. (Side note: you better have a nice quiet generator if you do that!)
Here's my biggest BM camper secret: I bought an old Rainbow vacuum off of Craigslist, that's the round, brown vacuum that you fill with water... it sucks the air through the water and makes the ONLY effective playa dust filter I've ever seen. I just run it inside my rig as an air filter now and then. Works great! Everyone who comes in my rig says it's the cleanest home they've seen on the playa.
I've also been using Honda generators at BM... they really get trashed in the ultra-dusty environment, but as soon as I get home I disassemble them and hose them out and bathe them in WD40 too. They have survived well.
And yes, bring air filters! For your engine, and your generator if your rig has one. I change my generator air filters at BM at least once during the week.
I have a good amount of successful experience keeping a camper interior clean at BM.
Taping: Yes! Use that expensive-but-great blue tape and tape your vents and around all access hatches.
Then, how I keep mine clean is by keeping it shut at all times and running the AC all day. (Side note: you better have a nice quiet generator if you do that!)
Here's my biggest BM camper secret: I bought an old Rainbow vacuum off of Craigslist, that's the round, brown vacuum that you fill with water... it sucks the air through the water and makes the ONLY effective playa dust filter I've ever seen. I just run it inside my rig as an air filter now and then. Works great! Everyone who comes in my rig says it's the cleanest home they've seen on the playa.
I've also been using Honda generators at BM... they really get trashed in the ultra-dusty environment, but as soon as I get home I disassemble them and hose them out and bathe them in WD40 too. They have survived well.
And yes, bring air filters! For your engine, and your generator if your rig has one. I change my generator air filters at BM at least once during the week.
GreyCoyote: "At this rate it wont be long before he is Admiral Fukkit."
Weirdly, when I took my car in for an oil change after Burning Man, I got told how clean the air filter looked. 
(Makes me wonder if there is something wrong in the system, and the air filter is being bypassed somehow...?)
B.
(Makes me wonder if there is something wrong in the system, and the air filter is being bypassed somehow...?)B.
"Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
Thanks for the input
My new rig has an onboard onan that you turn on from inside the coach. Its in a sound absorbing box so noise isn't really an issue. I'm also planning to pick up an exhaust gadget that vents the exhaust up and over the roof since we have a large theme camp and we are lined up end to end. Last year a few people in our camp had some carbon monoxide issues and their alarms kept going off.
As for the clear carpet protector stuff all my friends swear by that stuff too. After they arrived home they pulled it up and all was well.
One last question for all of you. Is it ok to take a rig into a truck stop carwash? There is one on the way back home after the burn and I think it does undercarriage as well. Thinking that would be much easier to get that puppy clean.
Truly appreciate all the advice.
As for the clear carpet protector stuff all my friends swear by that stuff too. After they arrived home they pulled it up and all was well.
One last question for all of you. Is it ok to take a rig into a truck stop carwash? There is one on the way back home after the burn and I think it does undercarriage as well. Thinking that would be much easier to get that puppy clean.
Truly appreciate all the advice.