Bus down by the river

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

check this out - it;s what I'll be using the next time I have to gravel a place with soft ground - they use the same idea to create parking lots for large trucks on ground that the truck would disappear in otherwise

Someone else had mentioned something similar. I found some "armor lay" on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/ArmorLay-Comm...0792C8CZ9?th=1
that should cover my wheel base for only $50. They don't recommend driving directly on it, though, so I'd have to cover with gravel or something to allow for driving and parking, but it looks like a reasonable consideration. It wouldn't look as pretty as the "green grass driveway", but it's an item for consideration.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by inhof009

I've been reading up some more on the posts of people who got stuck and came across your story about the "brand new" tractor you "borrowed" for the job. Luckily, I never had to go that far (this time)!

I was shocked myself.

I called with the intention of paying their service rate to have someone to come pull me out.

I instead they handed me the keys to a brand new $200k John Deere tractor and sent me down the road.

Unexpected generosity and trust.

[inhof009]

Safe and sound in the backyard, parked on some 2x10s on top of gravel to keep it from sinking. It's much more comfortable than the original parking on pallets, so I'm happy:


I'm scheduled to take it for inspection next Wednesday, so I'll level everything off while it's at inspection.

Of note, I heard the air leaking while walking around checking the planks. Looks like the tank itself is leaking from some rust around the bracket holding it on the bus. It'll discharge overnight but it'll hold pressure while driving. Might not fail inspection, but I'm debating having them replace it versus pulling one from a junkyard. Anyone have any experience with replacing the tank themselves?

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by inhof009

Of note, I heard the air leaking while walking around checking the planks. Looks like the tank itself is leaking from some rust around the bracket holding it on the bus. It'll discharge overnight but it'll hold pressure while driving. Might not fail inspection, but I'm debating having them replace it versus pulling one from a junkyard. Anyone have any experience with replacing the tank themselves?

Probably not the tank itself, more likely one of the hose connections. Slow leak (overnight discharge), not a problem. Fast leak (more than 2-3 PSI per minute) is the DOT threshold. I'd leave it for now if it were me, but if you insist on replacing it, DIY will be cheaper. It's not so much "hard" as it is simply time consuming.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

Probably not the tank itself, more likely one of the hose connections. Slow leak (overnight discharge), not a problem. Fast leak (more than 2-3 PSI per minute) is the DOT threshold. I'd leave it for now if it were me, but if you insist on replacing it, DIY will be cheaper. It's not so much "hard" as it is simply time consuming.

I'm quite confident it's from the tank. I crawled under, saw something weird where the tank meets the bracket holding it up, and when I put my hand over it the sound of the leak muffled. Looks like the bracket on the tank caused some rust or something.

I'll drop it this weekend and take a look, then maybe replace it if I feel the need to.

When you say "time consuming", is it more than simply disconnecting, dropping, and putting in the new one? Or do those steps take a lot of time?

[Ronnie]

If the air tank itself is leaking that can be a real safety problem. Although rare they can explode. Not trying to scare anyone but it is something to be taken seriously, not let go for another day.

In the railroad industry we hydro test air tanks every two years on the locomotives. Any leaks and the tank is condemned, and replaced.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

If the air tank itself is leaking that can be a real safety problem. Although rare they can explode. Not trying to scare anyone but it is something to be taken seriously, not let go for another day.

In the railroad industry we hydro test air tanks every two years on the locomotives. Any leaks and the tank is condemned, and replaced.

I mean, it's definitely got a hole in it. While that doesn't mean the hole will expand, I've never heard of it "mysteriously disappearing". I'm going to drop the tank and look at it this weekend, see what I'm working with, and replace it if need be. I've been looking on manuals but haven't found one yet on how to properly drop the tank. Is it as simple as draining the system, unhooking the tank, and dropping it down?

Also, if I were to buy new versus junkyard, how do I find out what a good replacement is? This seems to look right, and isn't ridiculously expensive:
https://nickstruckparts.com/products...2002d-air-tank

[Ronnie]

It is a straight forward project. Nothing hidden, just be sure you look all around the tank to be sure all air lines are disconnected before dropping it.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

It is a straight forward project. Nothing hidden, just be sure you look all around the tank to be sure all air lines are disconnected before dropping it.

I went to check after work yesterday and found that of the three drain spouts (I have a 3-in-1 type tank), the wet and primary tanks had completely depressurized and the secondary tank maintained pressure. With that in mind, I decided this was bad news and decided to drop the tank to inspect. I had to cut the straps since they just spun when I tried to turn the nuts. After dropping the tank, it's obvious that the former owners decided "I have an air dryer, so why empty the tanks ever?" which caused the wet tank to rust into the primary, then rust to the outside:

Bad news bears, and since it's obvious that wet and primary tank are no longer separated, I'm going to the junkyard tomorrow to try to find a new tank (and new straps).

Had some sunlight left in the day, so we decided to get after the floor some more. Took up the rest of the puke mat and half of the plywood:

Some light rust around the bolts, no surprises, but the major rust is around the wheels:


Might have to cut out that section of floor along the back of the wheels and replace it, but we'll see when we finish pulling up the plywood and clean up the surface rust to reveal what's truly underneath.

[inhof009]

Edit: the hole in the tank was not originally there. When we pulled it off there was obvious spot where it was leaking, and I was able to gently push a screwdriver into the spot, making that hole.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by inhof009

Edit: the hole in the tank was not originally there. When we pulled it off there was obvious spot where it was leaking, and I was able to gently push a screwdriver into the spot, making that hole.

it's a good thing you checked that out

[dgorila1]

Good to find that tank issue now and not when you're cruising down the road on a trip. Seems like a fairly straightforward repair.....just replace the bad parts with new or good used and you'll be back up and running.

[musigenesis]

Hey, where can I find the valve for releasing water from the air tanks? I just had my air dryer cartridge replaced, but I don't want to be like the previous owner you're describing.

[Native]

Looks like you are now a bonafied member of the Skoolie Rust Remediation Team!

[Brad_SwiftFur]

In my opinion, air tanks are air tanks. Short and fat or long and skinny, they have one job to do and that is to hold compressed air. Which you use is up to you, and more to the point, the space you have available. Yes, yes, I know, we could get into long, technical discussions about air reserves and depletion rates, but for our purposes here let's just say to try to maintain at least as much capacity as you previously had, or as close as you can. And yes, you'll want to retain the three tank/compartment separation.


You can put in auto drain valves (and I personally endorse this route) but the manual ones do almost as well - *If you actually use them!*


While I'm at it, now would be a good time to add a port for an air hose to inflate tires and run air tools, but be sure to use D.O.T. rated plumbing as you don't want a rupture while going down the road. You can install a valve (that stays shut while driving) for an extra measure of safety, and downstream of that it becomes less critical what you use for plumbing.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by dgorila1

Good to find that tank issue now and not when you're cruising down the road on a trip. Seems like a fairly straightforward repair.....just replace the bad parts with new or good used and you'll be back up and running.

My thoughts exactly. Fortunately, air tank exploding on the road just means an abrupt stop, instead of hydraulic failure. But if I can keep from having an air tank go explode-y on me, I'll be happier.

Spent the weekend searching, and I can honestly say I haven't found an equivalent air tank, new or used. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I cannot find one for the life of me. I've got a "used vehicle inspection" on Wednesday, so I'll chat with the guys there to see where I can get one and price it out. That is, if I can figure out how to get the bus there...

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Hey, where can I find the valve for releasing water from the air tanks? I just had my air dryer cartridge replaced, but I don't want to be like the previous owner you're describing.

If you've got the same bus (2003 International), you'll find the bleed valve at the bottom of your air tank, which for me was just in front of the left rear wheel, near the muffler. If you can't find it, just follow some air lines from your dryer, and you'll find a big tank.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

In my opinion, air tanks are air tanks. Short and fat or long and skinny, they have one job to do and that is to hold compressed air. Which you use is up to you, and more to the point, the space you have available. Yes, yes, I know, we could get into long, technical discussions about air reserves and depletion rates, but for our purposes here let's just say to try to maintain at least as much capacity as you previously had, or as close as you can. And yes, you'll want to retain the three tank/compartment separation.


You can put in auto drain valves (and I personally endorse this route) but the manual ones do almost as well - *If you actually use them!*


While I'm at it, now would be a good time to add a port for an air hose to inflate tires and run air tools, but be sure to use D.O.T. rated plumbing as you don't want a rupture while going down the road. You can install a valve (that stays shut while driving) for an extra measure of safety, and downstream of that it becomes less critical what you use for plumbing.

I've been having a really hard time trying to find a compartmentalized tank that even has similar plumbing to what I've got on my bus currently. Do you have any suggestions of where to look to find new/used tank for my bus? I'm hoping to not have to re-plumb, but at the end of the day, any tank is better than no tank.

If I get a new or used tank without attachments, I'm going to get cord pull valves, and actually use them. I will also add a port for air hose attachment. Being able to inflate tires on the road will be very useful in a pinch.

[dgorila1]

Search “Truck air tanks for sale” on Google. Just did a quick search and a bunch showed up in the results.

[inhof009]

Updates, a lot of good things have happened!

As for the air tank, the dealer was pricing stuff around $500-700, yikes. Fortunately, a local junkyard finally got back to me and said "we have buses, but no idea if they have the tank you need". First bus I looked at in their yard had the tank I need. Grabbed the tank and brackets for $75, and it's holding pressure really well!

Took it to the mechanic over the week because I didn't want to drop several thousands of dollars into the interior if I needed to replace something expensive in the engine/transmission. Mechanics said it's in good condition, which is good to hear! It did fail the state inspection due to the holes in the floor by the wheel well, but it's likely going to remain in the backyard until it's fully built at this time.

We finally finished pulling out the floor and scraped off the rust with a wire brush cup attachment on my grinder. Put down some converter and painted the primer today. This is how it looks now:


And after we pulled the floor all of the way up:



We also clipped off the top of the wheel wells. We've got about 9" of clearance as it is, but the stops are at 2". So we're shaving it down to 3" to give our interior more room and keep the clearance. Going to remove the interior panels this upcoming week/weekend, and use those to build metal boxes to close in the wheel wells with square corners and less space wasted, and we'll use the other panels to patch the rust holes, which are surprisingly few!

I'm considering going back to the junk yard to grab an air ride seat that we can install to be my wife's captain's chair, but if we're going to do that we're going to need to add a swivel. A sure would like a swivel on my seat as well, if it stays locked while driving...