Sojourner

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by JA Savage

Hey Cadillack what are those fans and where did you get them? We need some fans like those but we will proly use them for a different purpose like venting the area above our cooktop stove.

the fans on those A/C condensors are standard SPAL fans.. there are less expensive versions.. but they are generaslly electric radiator fans..

https://webstore.spalusa.com/en-us/p...fans+-+12.aspx

summit racing sells SPAL and other brands.. generics are cheaper of course..

https://www.summitracing.com/search/.../fans-electric



you can see on both their websites that there are hundreds of fans.. these fans are *NOT* quiet.. so using them for ventilation when sleeping will make a lot of noise.. they do move alot of air though. and are typically weatherproof to some extent as they are designed for automotive use. they are most often 12 volt.

-Christopher

[JA Savage]

Thanks so much that is what I needed to know. Not really worried about the sound they make right now. Thanks again.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by sojourner

OK gang, this is just plain cool!! A VERY WELL executed Skoolie!! Now my wife wants ceiling like this!!

Repost but still a goodie.

[Dixie Bushcraft]

Originally Posted by Accordion

Here is scary.

Helpful RULE from a truck driver....

If you pull over, park ON THE PAVEMENT ONLY.
NEVER EVER get on the grass.

With all the rain that grass will sink you in a heartbeat.
I have seem MANY 18 wheelers laying on their side from pulling off into the grass like the above picture shows.

[Dixie Bushcraft]

Originally Posted by sojourner

I've got this crazy idea. While going over this bus and looking at things I want to change. One of the things we've come to consider is using Semi truck doors and install them on each side of what will become the cab. I'm thinking it will be much easier to enter and exit the cab without having to crawl over the engine cover. Has anyone here done anything like that? Any ideas? I'm thinking of trying to purchase a Peterbilt cab and salvage the doors and sides and integrate them into the bus cab. I'm also wanting to replace the totally lame dash cluster with a more complete Semi truck style with a greater compliment of gauges to monitor the mechanics of the bus.

Nope.

The doors to a Semi are only about 3 feet tall.

You would have to add onto the bottom of the one on passenger side, and cut steps into the driver side so you don't have to jump up or down.

No room for external steps wider than the bus.

[cadillackid]

Iwatched a pull out recently.. got stuck for 45 miniutes oin a freeway ramp where 3. THREE! big rig tow trucks and about 6 monster size cables were used to pull a sleeper ring ond a 53 footer that had parked for the night (this was AM) with his right wheels on the soft shoulder.. and it rained like crazy... he didnt turn over but had to be sitting at cxlose to a 10-15 degree angle .. cant imagine what that bill was but they got him out with all 18 wheels on the ground..
-Christopher

[Dixie Bushcraft]

At least $1700.
And you said TWO wreckers.... so it was likely DOUBLE that.

I had a bill in 1998 that was $185 to pull me (bobtail) about 800 yards on paved roadway to a parking lot.

[tobeamiss]

Originally Posted by Dixie Bushcraft

Helpful RULE from a truck driver....

If you pull over, park ON THE PAVEMENT ONLY.
NEVER EVER get on the grass.

With all the rain that grass will sink you in a heartbeat.
I have seem MANY 18 wheelers laying on their side from pulling off into the grass like the above picture shows.

Great advice! If I broke down I wouldn't have thought of that trying to be considerate of other drivers. My common sense doesn't always kick in when I'm nervous. That being said though, a few months ago I picked up these awsome LED flashing triangles at HF. I hope I never have to use them.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[cadillackid]

the other thing to is if you are on a 2 lane road and you drop a wheel off the right side into the gravel, DONT PANIC!!! and DONT OVER-CORRECT..

it can be scary but keep it steady and coast down in speed and slowly ease it back up..

-Christopher

[chev49]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the other thing to is if you are on a 2 lane road and you drop a wheel off the right side into the gravel, DONT PANIC!!! and DONT OVER-CORRECT..

it can be scary but keep it steady and coast down in speed and slowly ease it back up..

-Christopher

just panic when your rr driver goes down in the ditch.... also when ur rr trailer axles ....

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the other thing to is if you are on a 2 lane road and you drop a wheel off the right side into the gravel, DONT PANIC!!! and DONT OVER-CORRECT..

it can be scary but keep it steady and coast down in speed and slowly ease it back up..

-Christopher

Same goes for cars, especially if there is a lip to the pavement where it drops off. That generally keeps you straight but if you are going fast enough and yank hard enough, you'll get to see what your vehicle looks like when the shiny side is NOT up.

[sojourner]

Finally back in South Carolina. Excited about doing something even if it's something small on Gimel. Just thinking out loud. Saw the radiator damage on muddaearths first road trip (check his YouTube channel) and I'm wondering if eliminating the belt driven fan and going with an electric might be a good idea. Might even save some fuel.
Any thought anyone?

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by sojourner

I'm wondering if eliminating the belt driven fan and going with an electric might be a good idea. Might even save some fuel.
Any thought anyone?

An inspection of the fan plastic wouldn't be a bad idea at the very least. I dunno if you can find one big enough for a bus in electric. Car peeps do it all the time tho.

Measure the radiator, distance between the pulley and the radiator and do some digging. With an FE bus, you'll want a pull fan instead of push.

[Tango]

If you are considering going electric...make sure to go with one of the newer brushless motors. They move much more air on a lot less juice.

[sojourner]

I know it's been a L-O-N-G time since I posted anything on my project. One reason is, I spent 8 months working away from home and couldn't make any kind of progress being over 500 miles away. I have been running the bus regularly after returning home and had an issue with the primer pump diaphragm cracked and causing an airlock in the fuel system. I tried to no avail to find an aftermarket fit so I decided to replace it with one modified to fit. The fuel primer on my engine is nothing more than a displacer. The check valves to make it a pump are in the fuel filter housing. Fortunately, the threads in the fuel filter body for the displacer are generic 1/4" FNPT so making an adapter to fit a primer off another engine is pretty easy.
First, I ordered a basic and generic primer pump used on too many engines to list here.





The threads on this unit are M16 x 1.50. I then ordered a brass 3/8" FNPT x 1/4" MNPT adapter:



The plan was to cut new threads into this adapter to allow the primer to thread into it. As it turns out, the primer threaded into the adapter, albeit too loose for my liking. There are a few ways to address this problem:

1. Helicoil the adapter with a M16 x 1.5 Helicoil insert.

2. Sweat in a 3/8" x 1/4" NPT bushing, drill and tap to M16 x 1.5 threads.

3. Mix up some JB Weld, put it on the threads of the primer body, snug it together and let the epoxy set up and seal things.

4. Since pipe threads are tapered, trim off the top of the adapter until I get a tight fit on the threads farther down the bore to get the strength to get a good crush on the copper washer to seal things off.

Since I have a lathe I chose option #4 with #3 as a backup plan.

I trimmed off 1/8" of the adapter and test fit the primer with the copper crush ring off. It fit much tighter but didn't allow the primer to fully seat. The fix for this was to run a 3/8" NPT tap in a bit until I got the primer to barely seat hand tight. Then to take it apart, install the copper crush washer, put it together and tighten it down. Worked like a champ with the ability to tighten down very securely in a vise. I then leak checked the whole assembly. Held beautifully with no leak down.

Here's the finished assembly next to the old diaphragm unit:




Here's the unit installed:



I will say, this modification is a HUGE IMPROVEMENT over the stock unit!! It will prime the system in a much shorter time than the OEM one that came on my engine (which took forever).
Hopefully this will help others out there!!

[family wagon]

That's some great creativity to take off-the-shelf threads that almost work, and with only a little conversion, create a part that has a different sealing mechanism and does the job wonderfully. Nice!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by sojourner

It will prime the system in a much shorter time than the OEM one that came on my engine (which took forever).
Hopefully this will help others out there!!

My time is spent waiting for the glow plugs (I think) and that is less than 10 sec (?). I've not had a cold day to really tax it.

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

My time is spent waiting for the glow plugs (I think) and that is less than 10 sec (?). I've not had a cold day to really tax it.

I think you're misunderstanding the post. The fuel primer on engines such as mine (DTA408 inline/no glow plugs) are to purge the air from the system on a fuel filter change or work on the fuel tank or line to the engine. It doesn't function on startup or running of the engine.

[cadillackid]

so i wonder if thats my intermittent issue on my DT360, seems it loses prime occasionally.. esp in hot weather soak.. I'll start it.. runs for about 30 seconds and dies.. then I go pump the primer 10X or so.. I can feel when it turns from air to fuel.. start it up and drive it all day no issues..
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by sojourner

I think you're misunderstanding the post. The fuel primer on engines such as mine (DTA408 inline/no glow plugs) are to purge the air from the system on a fuel filter change or work on the fuel tank or line to the engine. It doesn't function on startup or running of the engine.

Ah ok. Can't say I've had that problem. I've not changed anything including the oil yet.