Seasonal Cleaning

Okay, so this won't be a very exciting post, but it's how I spent a weekend. After pulling off the winter car-cover, I couldn't help but notice just how dirty Hapy got over the winter. You'd think, with a cover, he would look pretty much the way he was when the cover went on, but that's just not how it works.

Winter Plan
Moisture gets under that cover. To keep the inside of the bus healthy all winter, I pull the cushions out of the pop top and lay them on top of the seats. This prevents moisture from getting trapped between the cushions and the poptop, or between the cushions and the bed floor. I will usually pull out the extra foam bed mattress and thick blanket from the back deck too, and stow them inside the house. Then, the thin original pad gets partially stood up. Again, this is to keep moisture from getting trapped.

Last, I have a set of rechargeable desiccants I rotate in every couple of weeks. These Eva Dry things (I got a 4-pack of E-500's a few years ago) are pretty clever. You plug them in, and the moisture they collect steams out, turning the little dots from a purple color through pink to blue. It usually takes a few days for it to completely turn, but once that happens, I swap it out with one inside the bus, which I put in the center of the bus, on top of the seat-back of the middle row seat. If I rotate the driers often enough, and if I did the cushions correctly, everything inside is ready for a new season without a big mold effort first.

Spring to Action
The uncover effort starts with little ceremony. I simply wait until it looks like the rainy season is over and pull it off. It takes all of about 5 minutes to go from covering the bus to stowed in it's stuff bag. Next, I'll pop the top up, and check for leaks. Assuming I don't find any, I'll inspect the cushions looking for mildew or mold. As I clear the cushion, it goes back to it's designated spot. Once the inside is in order, I'll put the deep cycle battery on the charger overnight. This year, I was charging the battery while swapping out tires.

With the battery full, it's time for cleaning. As I've said before, television shows about cars do not do the amount of cleaning justice. Seriously. For every few minutes of wrenching time there are hours of cleaning. Otherwise, you're taking a dirty part off another dirty part and then sticking either that same dirty part back on, or installing a new one... on top of that grime. That's silly. So, you clean the parts before you disassemble, clean them when they're apart and then clean them again after they're put together. That's a LOT of cleaning. That only accounts for those parts. At some point, you need to do the typical car owner cleaning. With a bus that has a fiberglass top, "typical" cleaning isn't exactly typical.

Scrub -a- Dub

Every Spring, I clean the pop top outside. I'm not very tall, so I need a 6' ladder on top of the garden hose, a scrubby sponge and a tub of fiberglass shower cleanser. Yeah, that's right: bathroom cleanser. It is gel-coated fiberglass just like your fiberglass shower, so it's the best stuff for getting it clean on the first try. I simply hose off the top with the most powerful setting to get stuck-on stuff off of it. Then, I'll apply cleanser (I use Soft Scrub w/bleach) and scrub with the itchy side of the sponge. I'll work sections that can be easily and safely reached from the ladder. Then, hose that off, hose another section wet, move the ladder and repeat.

With the top cleaned, I switch to more standard car cleanser in a bucket with a car-wash sponge. Then, I wash the pop top again, but this time with the car wash. I think this helps the gel-coat, and it helps to carry away any leftover residue from the bathroom cleanser. Once the top is done, I raise it and then I work my way around the rest of the bus, getting him clean top to bottom. This way, I get the tin-top between the bellows and the drip-rail that is covered by the pop-top when it is down.

Now, with Hapy freshly cleaned, with new tires, and safe brakes as well as all the other fixes since last June's ignition fire debacle, he is ready for a Summer of travel and adventure. We start very soon with a trip to Eugene, followed by our annual trip to 4Peaks. Additionally, we have a camp at Honeyman State Park in August and a return to Eugene for String Cheese in September. We have some home repair plans for July, but I'm hoping we get a weekend away in there somewhere as well. Regardless, there will be many road reports and friends met along the way. Thanks, as always, for following along, and I hope our paths cross in person somewhere along the way.