Storage outside? Corrosion report … For those considering sheds or covered park

Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005 at 01:45

ThreadID: 121781 Views:4175 Replies:3 FollowUps:1

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Bushtracker

I have had my van next parked outside, and not under cover, in the most corrosive environment of any Bushtracker, up between the ocean and the Marina for going on four years now. I am about thee hundred meters or so from the surf on a peninsula of land, with the salt air blowing onshore most of the time… On the other side of the van, it is about 30 metres from the deep water marina of tidal ocean water. This is probably nearly the most corrosive environment of any stored Bushtracker. Probably worth 2 to 1 on ageing?

This is the van on the cover of our Brochure. Total corrosion after four years? Almost nil… The cabin hooks holding open the cargo doors, are bubbling their chrome off about 10% of the area. The studs on the spare tyres and the studs on the wheels themselves started showing significant rust staining.. At about 2 ½ years I wire brushed them and applied rust killer that turned black. The bumper on the raised outside corners, has light browning of surface rust coming through the two pack paint. It has already been touched up with a spray can about a 1 ½ years ago, and is due again.. One side wall and the roof were damaged by hail, (this has happened to about 8 Bushtrackers over the years), and it was repaired by Insurance… Under the cladding? Perfect… But that is only normal, we have pulled damaged cladding off after 6,7,8 years and the frames are always perfect, that is the beauty of how they are made. Probably more significantly is that on the side facing the sun all the time; that cladding was not replaced, and you cannot tell the difference. The a-frame in the front was sprayed lightly with silver spray pack Duragal paint for the last Show a couple of years ago, suffering a little with stone chips but not much.. The only real rust is showing is on the rock chips on the paint on the wheels… Most of the stone chips on the wheels are brown with rust stain.

All in all, storing outside, there is no significant weathering in going on four years… The Body Armour still shines, the cladding still shines, all the power coating on trim and windows still shines… All the Galvanizing looks good, solar, in fact there is almost nothing suffering… Seems to me there is less than $100 in paint to tidy things up, and this beats having to build a carport or garage to house it like some people contemplate…

Going on four years, the plug is getting a little corroded, but that is to be expected, and a new one is about $15 and 20 minutes…. Will probably do that before selling it as my new updated van is due out in about six weeks… But all in all, nothing much to fuss about as they are built right…. Right from the beginning…

I myself will continue to store my van out in the open and let the Solar system maintain the batteries. Any weathering of the van is far less costly than worrying about garaging or building of a carport… And even if worried about theft, they make a good alarm system, even one that will call you on your mobile phone if you like…

Now many ask me what to do for storage, and for all the dimensions to build storage; so here is my summary analysis based on the last nearly four years in a harsh environment: I am just not sure it pays go to great expense for indoor storage of your Bushtracker, unless you already have it… For those still in planning... Sure it would be nice, but in my opinion not necessarily worth the expense.

Kind regards to all, from the Source….

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Reply By: Noosa Fox - Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005 at 04:39

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005 at 04:39

We keep ours under a carport type structure with white Lasorlite roofing next to the garage that houses the F250 so it is fairly well protected, and even though we have had some large hail (the last lot was last week) it has not received any damage. Our van is about 6ks from the ocean so we don't get a lot of salt air, and have no visible corrosion on the van. In fact last August will in WA we had someone inspecting the van and he thought it was a brand new one.

We rarely have the battery charger connected, and never at home, and the solar still works perfectly though the lasorlite when there is little loading on it.

I think our caravanport cost less than $1500 for materials so we still think it was worthwhile building it, as it does stop the leaves falling on the roof and the flying foxes leaving their bombs on it. It is also much cooler in the van if we want to use it while at home.

Steve, in your costs you forgot the $100 hail damage insurance excess. {smile}

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Follow Up By: Bushtracker - Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005 at 21:08

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005 at 21:08

Thank you Brian,
Yours may be a cost effective alternative...

I added the Posting more for the people that question me on dimensions to build a complete shed or rebuild their garage at a very large expense, because they think it is very important to house the van.
I just wanted them to understand that the weathering potential is possibly not a large enough issue to warrant such expense.

Sort of like in the old days with a beautiful wooden varnished yacht, people had to invest in full boat covers hanging off the rigging. This was very expensive, and with the newer technology yachts it was no longer an issue and not worth the expense. This is how I view the Bushtracker with our construction methods vrs the older style of wooden exterior walls and such... I don't think it is worth building a large shed to house them. The basid idea is that mine lives happily outside, even in the worst environment... But your inexpensive carport sounds like a very good cost effective compromise...

Cheers from the source...

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Reply By: Tellem Bugrem - Friday, Feb 18, 2005 at 16:47

Friday, Feb 18, 2005 at 16:47

Helter Shelter!

Whilst waiting for delivery of our BT in 2002, I found that building a BT shed helped through the BATTS period. Why did I build it?
1. There was no BOG site on which Steve could offer his excellent advice.
2. I felt that I would need to protect my investment.
3. I had the room to build it,
4. I somehow found the money.(sold the boat!), and
5. I enjoyed building it.
It cost $8000, including the 8.4 x 4.2 concrete slab, two barn doors, 3 aluminium sliding windows, a sliding glass access door and Council Fees. It was prefabricated, made by Qld company CSB (Custom Steel Buildings) who have an agent in Newcastle. I erected the whole thing, part-time over three weeks with the only assistance needed to erect the first of four portal frames. It has 2 alcinyte sheets in the 27 degree pitched roof, but unfortunately doesn't get much sun because of a tree. I now have 15amp power connected to the shed so can use the charger when necessary. The van has been used for extra accommodation on several occasions, even to the extent of using shower and toilet.

As with Brian and Margaret's van, ours still looks brand new and has had a total 7 months on the road since pick-up. It is now being prepared for a 3 1/2 month trip starting 20 March. Have just finished adding boxes on A frame for our Giatex Bikes and Lemair washing machine and this meant relocating jerry can holders. Haven't done a ball weight check yet but I don't think it will add much, with the WM weighing only 17 kg and the bikes 13 kgs each. Also built a tray for hoses, elec. leads etc. on the sloping rear end so this will offset the weight a bit.Will post some photos in my album.

Cheers.........Rob and Liz

AnswerID: 565865