The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

[wmah]

About the most I've ever done to a 5.9 is put a powerpuck on one but that was on a 98.5 model with a ISB engine.

[Elliot Naess]

Or maybe today!

I may have said this before, but... if you are anything like me, then everything takes much longer than projected.

That 17 item list quickly grew to 30 before I prioritized it and tore off the bottom... most of it.

I’m feeling a bit flustered, because I’m such an idiot as to put stuff off to the last minute.

Here are examples of Very Time Consuming Stuff.




This is the mounting point of one of the cables that counterweighs the tail gate. I found that the lifting force was a bit too much, and the tail gate would rise off the ground a few inches by itself. That’s a serious hazard, so I had to fabricate and weld on a new pair of plates and move a cable so it has less leverage. I also tried installing a weaker spring, but the mechanism would over-stretch it. So, to fine-tune the tail gate to where it drops gently and stays on the ground so we don’t trip, took Many Hours.


Next example:



That’s the fuse block for the trailer wiring. Still not done. (Don't worry about the extra-long connection strip -- it's just un-needed parts that came with the panel.)


Here’s the other end of the trailer outlet:



The bumper is one of the many things that were scratched off the list. So the outlet goes right here for now. The wiring is somewhat my own system, because the school bus has separate stop lights and turn signals, and I need the trailer to be wired so other vehicles also can tow it -- with combined stop-turn lights. So I’m using dual tail lights on both the bus and the trailer, and on the bus one tail light on each side has the stop light, and the other tail lights have the turns. Then, when the trailer is towed by a “normal” vehicle, one pair of tail lights have both stop and turn, and the other pair of tail lights are tail lights only.

I need to grab breakfast and get out there!

[paul iossi]

the trailer/hitch store should have a generic diode pack that converts your seperate stop turn signals to a combined stop/turn setup like on the trailer, the trailer rental places had to do something when the foriegn cars brought their amber turn signals to the world. I would imagine that the truck store has a HD version available for permanent install/commercial use.

[paul iossi]

fyi, the 1992 b cummins 5.9 was available from the factory @ 300 hp in marine trim/tune mostly an injection pump setup with possably an intercooler.
I put an aftermarket air filter(low restriction)and cutom mandrel bent 4" mufflerless exhaust on my 92 dodge dually and can feel the difference in pulling power, I'm sure that their is a lot to be gained by adjusting the fuel setting on the pump, but I'm to spineless (cheap) to test the factory 727 torqueflite transmission's torque limit.
Research your pump on the net, their is power available with external adjustments, I would add fuel and adjust the smoke to minimize excess smoke, personally I wouldn't turn up the governor/rpm as that can get expensive in a hurry when the oilpan fails to contain the rotating parts at speed. 300+ reliable hp is realistic without expensive modifications to the engine, 950+hp is available if your pockets are deep enuf

[trx]

Have you considered a torsion spring setup for your rear door? I'm guessing you have yours working well enough that you don't want to spend any more time with a different solution. I use a torsion spring, pully & cable setup on my rear door. Torsion springs allow flexibility on tension adjustment (if the spring isn't too small or too large). My initial setup was a hand crank boat winch (too much work!)

I agree with Paul, you just need to buy a trailer light converter for hooking up the trailer wiring. Walmart (Super Centers?) might even carry them.

Chad

[Elliot Naess]

Wow... The Millicent Chronicles are at 20 pages! Hopefully, I can destill it to five pages when I clean it up!

Thanks, guys! Yes, I can buy an electronic gizmo that will sort out those lights. But I would rather do it MY WAY. I'm just happier with mechanical solutions than electronic ones. Gotta be me!

The tail gate springs work fine -- it's just a matter of finetuning the tension and leverage -- same as one would have to do with any kind of spring, I imagine.

Oh yes, I have been reading the Dodge-Cummins Forum! My engine already has an intercooler, and 190 HP. I'll probably tinker with the "plate" once I get my tach and EGT gauge installed. And the "star wheel" to avoid tip-in smoke. Of course, being an old trucker, I don't need to generate tip-in smoke no matter what -- I was taught how to feed the fuel in gradually with my foot!

I also discovered that the foot feed cable / linkage is not opening the pump all the way. So there is more power to be had just repairing that, and was impressed with what I had driving it home at 2/3 power. Of course, that was compared with the dying gasser in my first bus!

Oh, Paul, your 1992 Dodge may have the rotary injection pump. I have the inline pump! Yes, I found a lot of good news when I brought Millicent home!

[Elliot Naess]

.
etc
Today is, once again, a good occasion to utter the phrase "WOO-HOO!"

Millicent just made the trip to the CHP for her VIN verification, and then on to the DMV to pickup her PLP (Pair of License Plates). 50 miles round trip; ran like a top.

The original school bus windows must have rattled a lot, because it seemed impressively quiet in there now.

Had her up to 60 MPH, and the roof did NOT blow off.



Yeah, Buddy, we're definitely driving Millicent to Burning Man -- even if we have to sleep on the floor.
etc, etc!

[wmah]

Floor can't be too bad to sleep on as long as you have either air beds or a mattress to sleep on. I'd bet most of us that bought a bus from a couple states away slept on the floor or across the seats while bringing them home. I was one that slept on air beds on the floor. the first night coming home. My second night coming home was spent in dyersville iowa at the super 8, this was a planned stop slong the way for us and some day I'd like to go back when the corn fields are green.

[Elliot Naess]

.

Having put up with me this long, you are beginning to want to ask: “What was the hardest part of the Millicent Project?”

No, Millicent is not done yet. Nowhere near. But we are at a Major Step. So....

Well, having put up with me this long, you are also familiar with Kinetic Sculpture Racing -- that Gloriously Silly hobby where we ride pedal-vehicles cross country for the shear fun of it.

So... (I’m getting to it!) ... There is this famous quote. A Kinetic racer had just crossed the finish line after pedaling a 500+ pound vehicle some 40-odd miles, when a reporter asked him: “What was the hardest part of the race?”

And the racer answered: “The seat”.

And that’s the answer to... “What was the hardest part of the Millicent Project?”

The seat. Actually, seats -- plural. And tables, and bunks. And bathroom. And kitchen.

The floor plan. Raising the roof was the easiest. Deciding on the floor plan was the hardest. Nothing has been changed so many times. Nothing has been moved around so much as the furniture. With so little space available, and such grandiose desires for comforts and utility....

It’s all laid out now. It’s getting dark out. In the morning we screw the stuff down.




Unless we change it first.

[paul iossi]

92 dodge rotary pump @ 165 hp, 92 5.9 B cummins marine @ 300 hp = p pump
floorplan? furniture? I wish you well
why not E track and logistic posts with lots of rachet straps? or how about velcro lined interior and matching vests or coveralls for everyone? maybe, superglue, naw that's to permanent anthow good luck and have a good time @ burningman.

[pete c]

so are you going with the ranch layout or perhaps a colonial or atleast split level? Gawd knows, you got the vertical for a 2 story layout, for midgets anyway, uhhhh, I mean dwarves.

That gives me an idea. What would be a bigger hit at burningman than a monster bus with a crew of a coupla dozen midgets? Millicent could probably be made into a midget 3 family, or atleast a duplex.

[Elliot Naess]

Paul and Pete:
Midgets in velcro suits inside a bus. You may have invented a new sport!

Most of the work is done on the first two bunks -- one lower and one upper. Both hinged. Too hot out to work now. Should finish those bunks tonight -- after the blazing sun goes down. There are strictly speaking only two of us who plan to sleep in Millicent -- any additional people can sleep on the floor.

Shower stall is mounted, but the water will come out of a jug and run into a bucket. Which is what I did a couple of times last year in the first bus -- worked fine.

[Elliot Naess]

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...ranch layout or perhaps a colonial or at least split level?

I've been trying to think of a clever wisecrack all day. Best I can come up with is...
Millicent's interior architectural style is best described as "Ferris Beuller's Personal Activity Bus."

A day and a half until Millicent leaves for Burning Man. And the trailer is not done either.

[fwchiro]

Nah, something more like Rube Goldbergian Neoeclectic fits Millie better...
Stop reading this e-mail and get back to work Elliot!

[pete c]

millicent has roughly the same interior cubic footage as the hindenburg....and a big ass door. why in the hell do you need a trailer?

[fwchiro]

It's been my experience that if you have to ask why, you probably wouldn't understand the answer anyways

[Elliot Naess]

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Rube Goldbergian Neoeclectic

We have a winner! Eclectic is putting it mildly, and Rube Goldberg is our patron saint!

Let's see... My "Pear County Chopper", Peter's "Kinetic Choo-Choo", Peter's "Bounce For Glory", Laura's "Crash Test Dummies", Many of Peter's "Whymcycles", a dozen of my bicycles, assorted camping gear and tools and barrels of water and....

So my "Henry Ford Goes Surfing" (avatar) goes on the trailer. Probably most of my bicycles too. And I have no doubt forgotten to mention something.

Hey, it's 7 AM -- time to get to work!

[Elliot Naess]

.

It's because bicycles are THE mode of transportation in Black Rock City. Yes, we refer to it as a "city", even though it is technically a camp site. Sure you can walk, but this is a BIG place! So practically everybody rides a bicycle. But not everyone owns a bicycle -- at least not one that can be "safely" exposed to the rough life in the desert, with corrosive dust and whatnot. So some of us bring extra bicycles for our camp-mates to use. Last year, I brought seven or eight, and we did not always have enough.

I lent one bike out to a stranger just hours after I arrived. She needed to search for her camp mates. I told her to bring it back when she was done with it -- even keep it all week if she needed it. After a couple of days, I figured I would never see that bike again. A week later, she brought it back, good as new, and thanked me very politely. I asked her to marry me, but....

So I'm bringing LOTS of bikes. Thrift store specials, of course, but I make sure they work OK.

[lapeer20m]

most bikes i bring with me belong to people who are going to burningman but don't have a good method to transport their bike. It's difficult to take yoru bike on an airplane. the event is 2,500 miles from here, so driving is not an option for everyone. Time is a big factor...the event lasts for a week, and it takes a couple days to drive there and a couple more days to drive back.

One thing i notice in the bus is that slow and steady at 60 mph we get passed by the same cars (it's easy to recognize other "burners") sometimes 8 or 10 times on the trip. They drive 80 mph, but stop often. We try to keep our stops few and far between. And we can drive 24 hours per day, because we have multiple drivers which allows us to drive 'round the clock.

[Elliot Naess]

Millicent has returned from Burning Man. We are guardedly optimistic of finding survivors.

This is AFTER my two travel mates have offloaded all their gear.


Unfinished interior served adequately. For showers, we had water in the plastic barrel (barely visible in lower right corner) and poured it over ourselves manually. A smaller barrel under the bus caught the gray water.






Some cleanup and maintenance of bicycles will be needed. We repaired something like 200 bikes for fellow burners and received many of those bikes as gifts at the end of the event -- for use as parts or otherwise next year.

Don’t worry -- I plan to come back to the actual BM event in due time. Need to find photos first.