As many of you will know due to whatever circumstances for storage of our hobby toys we face together it might just be worth considering some of the possible problems that we also face ........ Simply that many mechanical items UNDERNEATH the buses will by now be showing signs of WEATHER ATTACK ..... called RUST because they sit for days / weeks / months / out in the open with little or no chance of proper underbody inspections taking place regularly as was the case when in service and inspected with use of 'pits ' !!

I have recently seen a photograph of one such piece of quite an important part of a system === a well rusted AIR TANK and connecting pipework assembly, the valve assy seems ok BUT IS LEAKING profucely [ ?? spelling ] on the other hand the pipe connections might benefit from some attention as its very obvious that PTFE TAPE has been used, no probs with that, but the rust is present on the connections and pipes..

Perhaps now that our buses have been outside for some years it might be well considering an underbody inspection OF YOUR OWN to see if anything does indeed require what might be simple attention rather than drastic remedial attention..

Just a thought after some 4 years lovingly kept outside with summer alledgely approaching to have a look see for yourself and ASK if you see something that might be worth further investigation .... remember some servicing facilities will only do just that - service WE assume correctly don't we !! - but beyond that we should all know the underside condition just for our own piece of mind if nothing else .

Over to you ...

Someone told me a while ago that it was a bad thing to keep vehicles standing on soil or others surfaces from which damp can rise - obvious really and it did depress me a bit. I've painted my tanks and most pipes with anti-rust paint (some pipes haven't been painted because they are stainless and I guess this is a particularly worthwhile thing to replace with if possible (?). I've also got a product called "Fertan" (rust converter) which I've been intending to try out and wonder if anyone has any experience of this sort of thing? Obviously as Al says it is vital to inspect underneath as regularly as possible because even quite major things like missing lengths of exhaust pipe can go undetected.