3 foot roof raise in Northern Arizona

[Tango]

Sweeeeet! Let us see it when installed.

[Mash]

That is so nice.

[Mash]

That is so nice

[zoomy]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DDRzCpUbhsc

Finally got away from my school work for a day.

[jake_blue]

Originally Posted by Tango

Gotta wonder if any math gurus here could run some side loading numbers on that tall a unit. It's not the distance between the wheels front to rear that would concern be...but side to side. There must be a way to calculate how much wind load it would take to topple a rig that tall. And given the number of tractor/trailer rigs I have seen flipped over...I'm guessing it really doesn't take all that much.

As far as lateral wind load, I think the only math is the square footage of the side of the vehicle. As long as all the heavy stuff is kept low in the vehicle, IE no water tanks on the roof for gravity-fed convenience and no roof racks like RAGBRAI buses, then my uninformed opinion is it'll be stable enough but a little more susceptible to swaying and dog-legging in a strong cross wind situation. Unlike tractor trailer vans which have all their weight riding high (4 feet and up), RVs and skoolies should have a pretty low center of gravity because the weighty stuff is below floor level and the upper areas are empty headroom in the cabin. Obviously in parts of this great country it is unsafe for any high profile vehicle to try to navigate 50+ mph winds so if you're looking to build a storm chaser any bus is a bad idea!

[Elliot Naess]

Impressive. Very impressive, Sir.

Regarding height, wind, and handling....

I drove 18-wheelers for 27 years, mostly pulling 53-foot vans, and I was mighty close to blowing over a couple times on I-80 in Wyoming when I had very lightweight Kellogg's cereal loads. But the worst was one time in Oklahoma with the trailer empty -- pretty sure I had daylight under the left trailer tires for a moment.

Millicent, with her two-foot roof raise, has not been in anything like such winds, but I feel I still understand the basics of driving her. And the fundamental concept is that a bus is no more a car than an 18-wheeler is. You simply must drive a bus as if you are your own grandma. Slow waaaayyyy down for any curve. Never change lanes if you can help it. If a dog runs out in front of you... simply drive right thru it -- don't even twitch a finger on that steering wheel.

By driving Millicent pretty much the way I drove 18-wheelers, I do not expect any difficulty -- even if I raise the roof another foot or so, which I am considering doing. And at the current height we have put 56,950 miles on her so far.

Last year I loaded her past the axle ratings, and the weight was fairly high in the rear cargo compartment. Basically, I had Stuff made of steel stacked to the ceiling. And the living quarters were piled almost as severely -- I had to climb on top of tool chests, lumber, and much else heavy stuff to get to the bathroom midships.

This made for noticeably trickier handling, especially leaning in curves. I drove accordingly -- like great-great-grandma this time.

I don't think I can possibly emphasize enough the importance of driving appropriately for the vehicle and load.

At the trucking company I sometimes trained new drivers, and some of them scared me severely. They had not yet understood what they were driving, and they flew into curves as if they were in a sports car. With a fleet of 200 - 250 trucks, and a severe shortage of experienced drivers, we had one laid over on an exit ramp or other curve about once a month.

I appreciate mathematics. It gets "fun" with wind having increasing leverage for each unit of vehicle-height, and also the diminishing angle to the opposite side tires (as referred to earlier), which increases the tipping force even more. Studying this would no doubt be educational. But what the driver of a tall bus really needs is the realization that he must use both his gut and his brain every second the bus is in motion.

That concludes the sermon. Please help yourself to cookies and tea in the vestibule.

[zoomy]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Impressive. Very impressive, Sir.

Regarding height, wind, and handling....

I drove 18-wheelers for 27 years, mostly pulling 53-foot vans, and I was mighty close to blowing over a couple times on I-80 in Wyoming when I had very lightweight Kellogg's cereal loads. But the worst was one time in Oklahoma with the trailer empty -- pretty sure I had daylight under the left trailer tires for a moment.

Millicent, with her two-foot roof raise, has not been in anything like such winds, but I feel I still understand the basics of driving her. And the fundamental concept is that a bus is no more a car than an 18-wheeler is. You simply must drive a bus as if you are your own grandma. Slow waaaayyyy down for any curve. Never change lanes if you can help it. If a dog runs out in front of you... simply drive right thru it -- don't even twitch a finger on that steering wheel.

By driving Millicent pretty much the way I drove 18-wheelers, I do not expect any difficulty -- even if I raise the roof another foot or so, which I am considering doing. And at the current height we have put 56,950 miles on her so far.

Last year I loaded her past the axle ratings, and the weight was fairly high in the rear cargo compartment. Basically, I had Stuff made of steel stacked to the ceiling. And the living quarters were piled almost as severely -- I had to climb on top of tool chests, lumber, and much else heavy stuff to get to the bathroom midships.

This made for noticeably trickier handling, especially leaning in curves. I drove accordingly -- like great-great-grandma this time.

I don't think I can possibly emphasize enough the importance of driving appropriately for the vehicle and load.

At the trucking company I sometimes trained new drivers, and some of them scared me severely. They had not yet understood what they were driving, and they flew into curves as if they were in a sports car. With a fleet of 200 - 250 trucks, and a severe shortage of experienced drivers, we had one laid over on an exit ramp or other curve about once a month.

I appreciate mathematics. It gets "fun" with wind having increasing leverage for each unit of vehicle-height, and also the diminishing angle to the opposite side tires (as referred to earlier), which increases the tipping force even more. Studying this would no doubt be educational. But what the driver of a tall bus really needs is the realization that he must use both his gut and his brain every second the bus is in motion.

That concludes the sermon. Please help yourself to cookies and tea in the vestibule.

Thank you sir, ive been following Millicent sence this bus was an ich on the back of my head, so it is an honor to get your input. I'm definitely planing on driving like a grandma, that was one thing I liked driving it back from pheonix was just going my speed and not worring about being "that slow guy". Going 25 in a 65 up Black Canyon was almost therapeutic in geting rid of my old "must keep up with traffic" driving style.
If it was your light loads that nearly fliped then i should probably drive with a full fresh water tank? Or atleast if im expecting wind? I have a 100 gallon tank in the under storage and thats where i will put the batterys as well.

[Mash]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

That concludes the sermon. Please help yourself to cookies and tea in the vestibule.

Perfect conclusion.

[Elliot Naess]

A gallon of water weighs something like eight pounds, and of course 800 pounds below the floor is a good thing in this regard. But it is not very much in a vehicle that weighs 20,000-30,000.

I try not to strive for perfection. Those last ten percent from "quite acceptable" to "perfect" tend to cost me too much sleep.

[zoomy]

I'mmmmmm Bbaaaccckkkk!!!!!!! Sorry the semester was a bit heave but its over now and im back on the bus. Durring spring break i had some free time but i played hooky on the bus with making a smoker

The materials i started with

Welding it together

Finished enough for first smoke

Cleaning out all the drumbs

The maiden smoke 16 hours on mesquite, my best brisket yet.

End result. Sorry know its not a foody form but hoped some of you would appreciate the creativity that went in to the smoker


The mini dairy goats had babys and the second to last week of the semester i got to have my son for a while...but cant accomplish much but enjoy the kids when i have them both

My kids with the baby goats

So that put me behind and when their mom pick them both up I put in a 120 hour week to get caught up and finish 2 final projects for school
That was near the end of my second 40 hour day. Aparently one of the finals is already off the school server but here is the other http://courseweb.yc.edu/csa144/jzumma01/tiny.html only half the pages got content put in but the codeing is there and got an a

[opus]

Who cares about the bus, lets change this into a smoking forum!!!

[aaronsb]

That is a really badass smoker! I want to build one now!

Other than just building some stuff from what I see in pictures and playing with it, do you have any specific advice on what not to do building smoker? I think in the pacific northwet I might have more challenges with rust.

Enjoy the time with the kids (both kinds) they don't stay small for long.

Originally Posted by zoomy

I'mmmmmm Bbaaaccckkkk!!!!!!! Sorry the semester was a bit heave but its over now and im back on the bus. Durring spring break i had some free time but i played hooky on the bus with making a smoker

The materials i started with

Welding it together

Finished enough for first smoke

Cleaning out all the drumbs

The maiden smoke 16 hours on mesquite, my best brisket yet.

End result. Sorry know its not a foody form but hoped some of you would appreciate the creativity that went in to the smoker


The mini dairy goats had babys and the second to last week of the semester i got to have my son for a while...but cant accomplish much but enjoy the kids when i have them both

My kids with the baby goats

So that put me behind and when their mom pick them both up I put in a 120 hour week to get caught up and finish 2 final projects for school
That was near the end of my second 40 hour day. Aparently one of the finals is already off the school server but here is the other Jon's Site: Tiny Home only half the pages got content put in but the codeing is there and got an a

[cadillackid]

hey if the code is there thats all that matters! well at least in my book anyway
-Christopher

[rober]

Zoomy,

Not trying to be an a__, but you better recheck your math about the weight of the water. Are you figuring it at 1lb/gal? Check it out and I think you'll find that it weighs 1lb/pint or 64lbs/gal.

Like I said, I'm not trying to be a wise-ass, I'm just trying to save you what might be a major problem,

Rober

[opus]

A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.

[rober]

My mistake, Sorry

Rober

[aaronsb]

Even deuterium oxide (2H2O - "Heavy Water") doesn't weigh 64 lbs per gallon.

Try 8.34 lbs per gallon at 62 degrees F. (density changes with temperature)

Originally Posted by rober

Zoomy,

Not trying to be an a__, but you better recheck your math about the weight of the water. Are you figuring it at 1lb/gal? Check it out and I think you'll find that it weighs 1lb/pint or 64lbs/gal.

Like I said, I'm not trying to be a wise-ass, I'm just trying to save you what might be a major problem,

Rober

[aaronsb]

It's ok. How did you come up with 64 lbs anyway?

Originally Posted by rober

My mistake, Sorry

Rober

[Whiskeyjr]

Originally Posted by aaronsb

It's ok. How did you come up with 64 lbs anyway?

Well, I would suppose he miscalculated the number of pints in a pound, since he did have the weight of a pint correct.

"A pint is a pound the world around," and all.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Robin97396]

This thread is going to give me an anyurism.

Yep, I'd better balance my water tanks better.