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 09-23-2016, 01:04 PM   #381
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Ya...2-300 RPM can make quite a difference in MPG.

Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2016, 01:43 PM   #382
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,757
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
Ya...2-300 RPM can make quite a difference in MPG.

im sure my MPG numbers arent entirely fair as I did lower the speed and thus the wind resistance.. so my numbers may be a little more dramatic than would be achieived by simply dropping the RPM..

I suppose a more fair test would be running the bus in 'D3' and reaching its max speed.. then run the bus at the same speed in D4 and measure the difference... thus removing wind resistance from the equation..

-Christopher
cadillackid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2016, 10:19 AM   #383
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
First, not terribly exciting I know but after a fire truck slipped its parking brake at the shop and smashed out my rear door upper window, dented the center and nearly smashed out the lower window I had to install this treated plywood in order to seal her back up again after pounding out the dent. Then I installed a hidden shackle lock for security.

The good news is that since my design calls for skinning over the entire rear anyway and adding a truck tailgate for access to the garage it really doesn't impact me at all. The shop was really apologetic so I declined the offer to repair the door and told them to just forgive the $325 diagnostic fee instead, to which the readily agreed.




Otherwise I decided to postpone the roof raise until the spring. With the divorce pending there is just too much chaos right now which will only worsen as the untangling gets underway.

Instead I will continue to learn the systems, do the engine and chassis maintenance, continue collecting build-out materials and work on the design, especially the electrical where I'm weakest.

Sorry to disappoint you doods who really wanted to see another roof raise happening but what can I say, life does happen sometimes!
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2016, 10:21 AM   #384
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Market for windows?

One question I have right now is whether or not there is a market for the stock windows I'll be removing. Does anybody buy these things?
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2016, 10:30 AM   #385
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Quick update on the roof raise that I am now postponing until the Spring. I finished the farm jack raising jigs ala Millicent (THANKS again dood!) that I thought you might find interesting.

This is the top-most fitting that will attach to the ribs. My welds are getting better. Note the crisp edge penetration and flatter dimes on the beads. They're a little crooked I know, more than usual, I think because these are two pieces of 2" tube steel joined at the rounded edges. I put in a small filler bead first and then came back over it with these two wider beads.



The four complete assemblies:



Top-most fitting attached to the vertical lifting 2" tube steel:



Here is the top of the assembled jig (might be kind of hard to make out with everything in the background, sorry). I did it a little differently than Millicent. I used 2"x1/4" angle to connect it to the top of the jack (vs the two pieces of tube steel that he used), using the same bolt and hole that came on the jack when I bought them.



The one concern I have is how good the top connection at the ribs will be. As you can see I drilled out the top flange of the top fitting twice and plan to use a two sheet metal screws on each side to connect it to the ribs, for a total of four at each of the four locations. Will that be strong enough?

I studied Millicent's closely and just can't quite tell exactly how he made this top connection at the rib. I could weld it and screw it but since I am doing a two level raise (with the rear ~6"-12" lower than the front) I will do it in two stages, meaning I will have to reuse each jack and rig so I don't want to attach it in such a way on the first raise that I'll ruin it when taking it off for the second raise.

Thoughts?
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2016, 12:01 PM   #386
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Should be fine. Much more elaborate than when I raised my 40' BB. Remember to stabilize everything above the cut line before cutting. Bolting or tacking something like 1" square tube from side to side will prevent the roof from torquing out of shape. It has a fair amount of stress built in and can often be really difficult to re-align if allowed to move when cut.
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2016, 12:08 PM   #387
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Right and thanks, I will do that and will also put in some ratchet strapping from corner to corner to keep her really square...
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2016, 10:50 AM   #388
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Hey guys,

I'm having another non-start issue. When hitting the key to start her there is a voltage drop and so far that's all I know. Yesterday I noticed the top right warning light was on, but no others. I tried starting it again and no dice. I had my daughter stand outside and watch it and when I pressed and held down the warning light switch it would turn off. When I released it the light would slowly come back on and then stay lit. I disconnected the positive cable to the crank batteries and left it for now.

Do you think it's just a matter of the switch going bad? Since I won't need these lights in the future can I just unplug them at the switch and leave them until I gut all of the unnecessary wiring later?

This is the inside and outside of the switch:



Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-30-2016, 05:00 PM   #389
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Darrington, Wa.
Posts: 304
Year: 1994
Coachwork: Genesis/Am-Tran Tall Roof
Chassis: International, 643 transmission
Engine: DT 466ci 250hp, International
Rated Cap: 86 screaming Monsters
Quote:
Originally Posted by JA Savage View Post
Ya we all leave out first steps. I found elbows with 1 barbed end and a threaded end at a local hardware store, it may have been ace or another chain I don't remember exactly, but they are out there. I can't help you with getting them out of the way into to the cabinet because I am not sure yet whether I will put a chair or something else to cover it up, so it is still poking out a bit. If I do not cover it with something else then I think there is enough slack to push it under the cabinet and seal it off if I wanted to. I hope this helps.
I know this is late to the forum here but if you just slide under the bus and take the hose coming down from the front bus heater core and cut it to length you can just put it on the out put fitting for the rear heater and its completely disconnected with no extra hoses to ever fail. the coolant will drain in to a five gallon bucket and its the two clamps and cut the one hose shorter. just look under it and follow the hoses you 'll see the flow route. but its the one coming down from the front bus heater core. I'll try and post some pictures of mine its very simple.
Geo Jeff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2017, 06:22 PM   #390
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Hey Doods,

Been away for a bit and just got back to my non-starting issue.

A couple of months ago I had a large voltage drop (down to 11v) and preventing me from starting. I replaced the batteries, which were old and low and in need of replacing, and no-go.

I turned to the starter, jumped it and found it suspect so I replaced it. Now after replacing it she still won't start.

The voltage doesn't drop nearly as low (stays at 13v) but it won't turn over. I'm not sure what to test next. ANY input is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 06:35 PM   #391
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 157
If the starter is new, batteries are new and charged, then I would look at wires and relays.
There should be a small wire going to the stater solenoid. Have someone try to start it and check for 12-14V at that wire. If you get no power, then you have a bad wire or relay between the switch and the solenoid. Or a bad switch.
Then it's just a matter of following it back to the switch and finding the bad part.
Oldmopars is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2017, 04:28 PM   #392
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Hey thanks a lot Oldmopars. That's exactly what I'm doing next. I also suspect the battery connection to the starter may not be optimal. It came with to sets of washers and nuts installed. I left one set on and bolted the positive cable to it and away from the body of the solenoid. Maybe I should have removed the second set and bolted it directly?
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2017, 10:34 PM   #393
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Greater Houston, Tx.
Posts: 589
That reminds me of a "Tip" I posted on face book. Quote....It's that time of year, so everyone needs to set their clocks forward and reverse the cables on you vehicle batteries, so that the a/c will come on instead of the heater. Also great time to check the level of blinker fluid.

Sorry to "High Jax" this thread (-:
1olfart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 03:03 PM   #394
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Newman skoolie is back on line!

Hey doods,

After nearly TWO YEARS on pause due to divorce this project it's FINALLY back on track!

She has a home at my new house, thanks to expanding the driveway 25' (six yards of gravel, expanded retaining walls, etc.). During that time starter cables were replaced and I got an entirely new brake system bumper-to-bumper.

Next I will empty it of all the materials previously stored inside and then prep for the ROOF RAISE!

Stay tuned for updates!
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 04:24 PM   #395
Bus Nut
 
johnbloem1974's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Montana/Texas
Posts: 682
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Crown by Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: 230 HP DT 466e/MT 643!
Rated Cap: 16
Woohoo!! Welcome back!

John
johnbloem1974 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2018, 01:01 PM   #396
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnbloem1974 View Post
Woohoo!! Welcome back!

John
Thanks John!
Jman6631 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2018, 01:04 PM   #397
Skoolie
 
Jman6631's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 193
First Video

Hey folks,

Now that we're back underway with the Hobo Hotel I'm going to video a LOT more and this is the first installment. It's not at all the best narration but it's a start and hopefully I'll get better (doh!). Not a lot of action yet but stop back for more!

https://youtu.be/WhiXIbuEVP0
Jman6631 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


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:47 PM.


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