Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 10-01-2014, 01:51 PM   #1
Bus Crazy
 
turf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,356
Year: 1993
Coachwork: bluebird
Engine: 5.9 Cummins, Allison AT1545
Rated Cap: 2
75mph cruising? is it worth it?

like the title says....

my bus will do 65, 67 downhill with a tail wind. is it worth it to try and get 10 mph out of it?

how fast do you cruise?

whats the most cost effective way?

__________________
.
Turfmobile Build Thread
turf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2014, 02:12 PM   #2
Skoolie
 
schoolmarm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Western Tennessee
Posts: 102
Year: 1985
Coachwork: Wayne Chaperone
Chassis: chevy
Engine: 350
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Being retired and in no hurry I travel between 55 and 65 MPH.
schoolmarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2014, 02:17 PM   #3
r_w
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 163
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

There are times the being able to keep up with traffic is a lot more comfortable on the nerves, but it will cost you in mpg.
r_w is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2014, 04:52 PM   #4
Bus Crazy
 
opus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Montana
Posts: 1,626
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All-American R/E
Engine: 8.3 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

I dont drive 75 in anything! 62-65 is plenty fast in a school bus. Keep it in the power band of your engine. 1800 rpm is the optimal for a B or C series Cummins.
opus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2014, 05:16 PM   #5
Bus Crazy
 
sdwarf36's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Moodus, Ct.
Posts: 1,062
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Champion
Chassis: Ford e-450
Engine: 7.3 Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 14
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

With the gearing I have, 65 is 2500 rpm. If I slow it down to 63 its 2400. Just that little bit gets me another 1 mpg.
__________________
Don't make a fuss-just get on the bus!

my bus build https://www.skoolie.net/gallery/Skoolies/Sped
sdwarf36 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2014, 05:43 PM   #6
Bus Geek
 
bansil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

I am ultra safe....I cruise at 45mph average we stay on backroads

during recent trip we had to do I85 and I40 for a couple 20 mile stints...no worries....turn all heater fans on high, have wife open all windows and secure curtains and put the 545 slip-O-matic into 4th and go...drive by convertor out temp and 3 water temp gages (factory plus 2 aftermarket) convertor out stayed about 205* and radiator in was 195* and radiator out was 185*
.
.
.
.
oh and I had on shorts....and that's it....no shoes...nuthin', kinda like cruisin' Hades

wife had a 20inch box fan turned on
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
bansil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2014, 06:04 PM   #7
Bus Geek
 
lornaschinske's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Roswell, NM
Posts: 3,588
Year: 1986
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: 40 ft All American FE
Engine: 8.2LTA Fuel Pincher DD V8
Rated Cap: 89
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

We try to avoid interstates. We like running the US Highway system. It's slower paced, less nerve-racking, more scenic and we make just as good time compared to interstates when we have been able to compare (mostly Cordele GA to Franklin NC via US441/129 thru Athens and Cordele to Chattanooga on the west side of Atlanta thru Columbus and Rome US280/27) which involved running a little bit on I75. We run the same speed in the bus as a heavily loaded semi truck. Do we worry about it? Nope. Do I expect the bus to run the same speeds as I do in my Jeep? Nope. I don't think it would be a good idea for something as heavy as the bus to be running 80 to 90mph. I don't think it would be a good idea to run 75. That's a lot of stopping distance.

When we head back east, we will be running along the coast as much as possible. We will end up on the interstate from San Antonio to Corpus Christi and a leg from Houston to AL although I am still debating on whether or not to drop off the interstate in LA and run US90 into New Orleans for a look. Still tweaking the route. It will not be like when we came out here... Interstates all the way until we had to pull of at Midland/Odessa TX due to the high road temps. Yep, we learned our lesson on that one. No more traveling thru TX in July!
__________________
This post is my opinion. It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Fulltime since 2006
The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. Zeno (335BC-264BC)
https://lorndavi.wordpress.com/blog/
https://i570.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps0340a6ff.jpg
lornaschinske is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-02-2014, 08:17 AM   #8
Site Team
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: southwest lowsyana
Posts: 542
Year: 1988
Coachwork: ward
Chassis: international
Engine: dt360a
Rated Cap: 65
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bansil
I am ultra safe....I cruise at 45mph average we stay on backroads

during recent trip we had to do I85 and I40 for a couple 20 mile stints...no worries....turn all heater fans on high, have wife open all windows and secure curtains and put the 545 slip-O-matic into 4th and go...drive by convertor out temp and 3 water temp gages (factory plus 2 aftermarket) convertor out stayed about 205* and radiator in was 195* and radiator out was 185*
.
.
.
.
oh and I had on shorts....and that's it....no shoes...nuthin', kinda like cruisin' Hades

wife had a 20inch box fan turned on
where did you install the temp gauge for the converter out? thanks
claydbal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-02-2014, 08:33 AM   #9
Bus Geek
 
bansil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by claydbal
Quote:
Originally Posted by bansil
I am ultra safe....I cruise at 45mph average we stay on backroads

during recent trip we had to do I85 and I40 for a couple 20 mile stints...no worries....turn all heater fans on high, have wife open all windows and secure curtains and put the 545 slip-O-matic into 4th and go...drive by convertor out temp and 3 water temp gages (factory plus 2 aftermarket) convertor out stayed about 205* and radiator in was 195* and radiator out was 185*
.
.
.
.
oh and I had on shorts....and that's it....no shoes...nuthin', kinda like cruisin' Hades

wife had a 20inch box fan turned on
where did you install the temp gauge for the converter out? thanks
This was installed by Allison per the Operators manual, it moves quickly up and down, unlike traditional tranny temp gages which the fluid temp (stabilized) is slower to react

It looks like an other gage, when I first got it I thought it was faulty because how much it moved up and down, so I inquired at Allison dealer about tranny temp gage replacement, they showed me and explained how it works.
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
bansil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-02-2014, 08:42 AM   #10
Bus Geek
 
bansil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

here is pdf

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...76477589,d.aWw

I use factory engine temp gage to judge the overall tranny temp (rely on coolant heat exchange as bases)
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
bansil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-02-2014, 03:11 PM   #11
Bus Crazy
 
turf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,356
Year: 1993
Coachwork: bluebird
Engine: 5.9 Cummins, Allison AT1545
Rated Cap: 2
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

cool beans bansil.... thanks....

i looked, its right there in black and white. p18. downhill instructions

NOTE: Transmissions that do not have a lockup clutch (AT 540,
AT 542, AT 545) provide less engine braking than units which have a
lockup clutch. Downhill speed control for non-lockup units without a
retarder must rely on the service brakes.



found that out the hard way

lol


ok, ok, i can have patience on the highway..... 65 is ok by me.

re gearing the rear end is too much money.....
__________________
.
Turfmobile Build Thread
turf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2014, 12:02 AM   #12
Bus Nut
 
gmarvel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Danville, California
Posts: 345
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: Supercoach
Engine: DD6-71T
Rated Cap: 78
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Our 36' Crown has a Detroit Diesel 6-71 with a turbo and an Allison Auto. It can do about 75 mph maxed out on the flats. Too fast for me in a large bus. My 40' tandem Crown with its Cummins 855 turbo (equivalent to a 14L engine) can do 70 mph going up hills. That is saying something for a vehicle with a GVWR of almost 50,000 lbs. That is plenty fast for me. My recent trip from Southern California to Northern California's Bay Area on Interstate 5 I kept the tandem at 65 mph. I was still passing all the trucks on the freeway and at 65 was getting optimal fuel mileage. These big guys don't stop in the same distance as a car. We all have to keep this in mind when interacting with all those small cars on the road that always seem to not see us.
__________________
______________________
Greg and Donna Marvel

Danville, California
https://www.transtraks.com
gmarvel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2014, 08:04 AM   #13
Site Team
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: southwest lowsyana
Posts: 542
Year: 1988
Coachwork: ward
Chassis: international
Engine: dt360a
Rated Cap: 65
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bansil
here is pdf

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...76477589,d.aWw

I use factory engine temp gage to judge the overall tranny temp (rely on coolant heat exchange as bases)
thanks bansil. good stuff!
claydbal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2014, 12:20 PM   #14
Bus Geek
 
bansil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by claydbal
Quote:
Originally Posted by bansil
here is pdf

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...76477589,d.aWw

I use factory engine temp gage to judge the overall tranny temp (rely on coolant heat exchange as bases)
thanks bansil. good stuff!
your welcome
go to http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtop...untain#p102419 it's my battle when starting out...might help
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
bansil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2014, 10:45 PM   #15
Bus Crazy
 
roach711's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Farmington Hills, Mi (Detroit area)
Posts: 1,968
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Eldorado Aerotech 24'
Chassis: Ford E-450 Cutaway Bus
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 19
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

You save a lot by keeping it at the minimum speed on the interstates. Wind resistance goes up by the square of your speed, which means that to double your speed you need to quadruple your power and since we're basically driving a small building down the road, high speed really sucks the fuel. I'm retired now (and cheap) so I cruise with the 18-wheelers these days. I'd much rather spend my money on toys than fuel.
__________________
The Roach Motel
roach711 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2014, 11:53 AM   #16
Skoolie
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Monrovia California
Posts: 151
Year: 1984
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Engine: 3208 turbo Cat
Rated Cap: 78
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

Hey guys, would it be a good Idea to hook up one of the heaters that I removed from inside and set it up inline outside for the purpose of extra cooling for the motor?
juliol is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-29-2014, 03:51 PM   #17
Bus Geek
 
lapeer20m's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: near flint michigan
Posts: 2,657
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

with the exception of pulling grades in the mountains in the summer, i've never had a diesel inline 6 bus engine that had any trouble keeping itself cool.

In the event that your engine is making more heat than the system is able to dissipate, turning on the heaters inside the bus will aid in removing heat from the engine.
__________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes (who will watch the watchmen?)
lapeer20m is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2014, 11:57 AM   #18
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?


I'll join the chorus here. When Peter drives Millicent he gets 11 MPG -- going 53-54 mph. I generally get around 10 or 9.5, going 57 or so. When I feel pressed for time and go top speed of 63-65, fuel mileage drops like a stampeding herd of rocks.

Engines generally get better fuel mileage at lower RPMs, when all other factors are the same. This is a simple matter of fewer combustion cycles per mile covered. So this suggests that changing to longer-legged gearing would improve fuel mileage at all speeds. But note that I said "generally", because...

...Engines run most efficiently at a certain RPM, determined by factors from bore/stroke ratio to cam-lobe profiles and timing to turbo-charger specs. So it is possible to get worse MPG at lower RPM. Some truckers learned this when the national double-nickle speed limit was imposed back in the day. The smarter ones corrected this by driving in 12th gear instead of 13th, bringing the engine back into the efficient operating range.
It is also possible that your engine will not have enough power at the lower RPM to keep the bus moving at the intended speed. Then you would be driving back to the shop in 3rd gear to have the old ratio re-installed, since you don't have a 12th gear.

Regardless of the details, more speed will always burn much more fuel, because of the "square of speed" that was mentioned above. Ask any Bonneville racer who makes run after run at, say, 240 in a vain pursuit of a 241 record. That last click might require an extra 50 HP.

And I have personal experience with Millicent: Every September I drive down I-80 from Donner Summit to the Sacramento valley -- a stretch notorious for fiery truck crashes in the old days. There are two or three stretches where it is vital to manage braking-capacity and speed, to avoid overheating the brakes. To maintain a legal 55 I must use the brakes quite a bit, and they overheat. But I can stay off the brakes almost entirely by letting her roll up to 65. At 65 I can practically feel the brick wall of air holding her back.
This matches what I learned from 27 years of trucking cross-country.

But wow, yeah.... (Caution. Trucking anecdote follows.) There were times when I was in a royal hurry to get from California to Colorado for an important delivery appointment, and I would set the truck on 76 MPH pretty much from the moment I entered Nevada, and just steer and grin until I turned off at Laramie, Wy. The computer tracks of those trips were automatically red-flagged in the office, but nobody ever said a word. Sometime fuel is cheap. I doubt that happens much with skoolies, though, or we would be driving Prevosts instead.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2014, 10:20 AM   #19
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 584
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: I.H.
Engine: DT360
Re: 75mph cruising? is it worth it?

As a newbie with a 12 window buebird and dt360 at545, I can say only a little so far.
I picked mine up last weekend near Pensacola and drove 10 east to 75 south and then the turnpike to Orlando. With my foot to the floor, I had the windows open and did a top speed of 62 with luck and no headwind. Uphill, it was more like 55 and downhill was 65. I got passed by everything but didn't care. I stayed in the right lane. The previous owner recently installed 11r22.5 all around. All seats are still in at this time.
HolyBus is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What's it worth? Smrobertsfamily Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 8 08-19-2014 12:30 PM
Cruising distance? heathnlaura Conversion General Discussions 17 11-26-2013 05:35 AM
What's it worth? '90 All American raisingmn Everything Else | General Skoolie Discussions 9 05-07-2008 03:56 PM
What's it worth?? pervy2u Conversion General Discussions 4 12-12-2006 11:41 PM
whats it worth? batchlor BusMan Conversion General Discussions 0 03-10-2004 05:59 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:24 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.