Davo's G30

[Davoarts]

I hooked up the inverter and installed a tv I just bought on sale this weekend. We had an extra dvd player so that was dedicated to the bus as well. With the speakers and the two 10" stereo subwoofers it sounds better than my home entertainment system!

[Davoarts]

I spent the day tracking down and fixing the issues causing the SES light to come on, since the bus is OBDI or ALDL or whatever I just jumpered the test ports with a wire and read the codes from the flashing SES light sequence (Thank you internet!). My EGR valve was reading as bad and also the knock sensor was faulty. I replaced those and went ahead and replaced the tensioner pulley and serpentine belt as they were starting to make a tiny fuss. Codes cleared, success!

The ABS light was also constantly on so I spent a few hours checking out the wheel sensors and wiring, then figured out you could read the ABS codes as well so I did that and it came out that my front left wheel sensor circuit was open. I crawled underneath and sure enough, right behind the snap connector bolted to the frame the wiring to the sensor was detached. 10 minutes with a soldering iron and I fixed that up and all lights are cleared!

I took a victory lap around a small area of the city and closed up shop for the day. I still need to fix the leaking washer fluid line and get new tires, but other than that the beast is ready for some more long distance runs!

Ooh, also, It turns out that the stop arm is definitely vacuum controlled, I found out that there is a tapped fitting on the intake manifold to supply vacuum to the air tank underneath the bus which then feeds the stop arm actuator and stop arm itself. Right at the manifold there is a springed valve to keep vacuum from dissipating back to the manifold when the engine is turned off I disconnected the air lines and blocked off the fitting.

[uhlhazard]

Good job fixing those issues! Lucky on that abs too. I chased 2 wheel speed sensors on my Jimmy over a few weeks.

Finally when it was working properly the unit gave a bad abs unit code haha!

As a tip for your spark plug wires. I recommend some high temp split loom (3/8") and cover all of your spark plug wires with it.

It will keep the wires from chafing and causing misfires your obd system will be unable to easily diagnose.

The General does this from the factory but only on certain sections. Easier to knock the whole thing out at once imo.

If you get high temp it will usually have a white stripe running the length of it. The cheap stuff melts.

[sproutroot]

If it weren't for the damn bi-fold doors, these things would make the coolest vans of all time. Love what you're doing with your bus, man.

[Davoarts]

I ended up getting a brand new set of tires, I went with the Toyo Open Country H/T mostly because that was what was on there before and at 10 years old they still held air and rode great. Unfortunately, the new shoes cost me half as much as I paid for the entire bus! I decided to take a trip to Dallas to visit the family, but first I took a few days to go kayaking/fishing at lake Texoma, which is about halfway between home and the family. Luckily, I had a strong tailwind going south on my way there, and the wind shifted to help me on my way back home!

Sadly, I didn't plan ahead as far as entertainment at night, I only hooked up the dvd audio to the stereo system which is powered when the bus is running, but I didn't have audio cords to hook directly up to the tv so I could listen to the movies when plugged into camp power. I ended up streaming netflix on my phone instead.

The bus did great, I averaged about 70mph and calculated an average of 11.8 mpg gas-wise, which is a lot better than the 9 I got when there were some check engine lights and the engine was running in limp mode when I first bought it.

I have most of the kinks worked out now, I replaced the second oil cooler line that was leaking, and I also re-sealed the oil cooler fitting that was leaking oil which then was spraying onto the radiator.

[cowlitzcoach]

I hope those tires will work for you.

Most operators of cut-away chassis buses use highway tread in all positions because of the way in which traction tires on the rear can cause some wobbly action when going down the road. It becomes particularly noticeable when the bus is fully loaded or when subjected to side winds.

The tread blocks actual wiggle a little bit and for some reason it is exaggerated in little buses.

I think perhaps the wiggle is felt mostly because there is so little truck in comparison to how big the bus is.

[Davoarts]

Oh for sure they are all Highway Tread with a 10ply rating, not AT's. They ride really well, although my neighbor, who used to drive this type of bus for work, says that it can get a little squirrely on the highway when the bus is not loaded, which I found to be true. I piled a bunch of weight in the back and took another test drive and it calmed down a lot, but then again, this was without the kayak on top and without the 30mph winds we had on my way back home

[Tango]

Unless your build out is roughly equal to a full load of kids...lightening the springs is a good idea. Very often that is as simple as removing a leaf or two. These rigs are designed for their max GVAW and ride like a tank at anything less. I cut my rear spring rate in half with new springs from Eaton Detroit and added shocks (it had none originally).

[sproutroot]

where'd you get the #skoolie stickers? they make a great addition.

[Davoarts]

I just had them made by a decal maker I found on ebay, there are a few out there that will make custom decals with your font and size and color. Worked great for a custom sailboat name I had made once!

[flamedeep]

Love the bus, I have a P30 I just bought so slightly different looking, I like the paint color you chose, looks more like an expedition vehicle! I would LOVE to find a G30 in 4 wheel drive with wheelchair lift.

[Davoarts]

I was out cruising the other day and one of my friends caught me!

Yesterday I also added some curtains that I sewed up using old panels I had from my house when I bought it, and I used metal conduit and conduit brackets to attach to the sheet metal using self-drilling screws.

[LtBattleBadger]

Originally Posted by Davoarts

I was out cruising the other day and one of my friends caught me!

Yesterday I also added some curtains that I sewed up using old panels I had from my house when I bought it, and I used metal conduit and conduit brackets to attach to the sheet metal using self-drilling screws.

Hey!

Do you mind grabbing some close up shots of your curtain system? The I read what you used, but I am a more visual person. Just wanted to see the conduit, brackets, and where you screwed it all in!

Thanks!


quick shot of my very similar looking bus!

[Robin97396]

Nice job. I've got the same lumber rack but it still has long legs. I like the way you reuse things.

[EastCoastCB]

Awesome G30-ness!

[Davoarts]

Here is what it is, it's pretty simple, just the conduit and the conduit brackets!

[LtBattleBadger]

Originally Posted by Davoarts

Here is what it is, it's pretty simple, just the conduit and the conduit brackets!

Thanks! I ended up using the same stuff, except the copper version! Pipe and hardware

[Davoarts]

Okay, I'm happy to report we made the bachelor party trip and the bus did great!

We loaded up 6 of us and our luggage and made the 12 hour drive from Tulsa to Louisville last Thursday. I wasn't totally attuned to the loaded bus on a long trip so I was easy on everything and only kept our speed at about 65-70mph the whole way and we got 11.5mpg. The guys watched a few movies on the tv and we listened to the radio the rest of the time and it sounded great even with the road noise.

While we were there we had the hotel valet park the bus in their lot and we really just walked everywhere since we were downtown, except we had our tour bus driver pick us up and drive us to the distilleries Friday and Saturday. Saturday night we all (13 of us) loaded up into my bus and drove a short way to a nearby casino and the bus did fine fully loaded.

For the way back we had two extra guys who originally flew in to meet us there, so that's 7 grown men with our gear. I was more confident in the bus and also we were ready to be home after a week of partying so I pushed the bus to about 75-80mph the entire way home. It did perfect, although we found out that loaded and going that speed knocked gas mileage down to around 8mpg. Luckily we split the gas between us all so it wasn't a big deal, plus shaving a whole hour off of the trip was nice.


this is a few of my buddies right after we pulled up to the embassy suites in downtown Louisville


The valet pulling away in the bus


a stop on the way back

I'll post more pics as I gather them from all of the guys!

[Tango]

Sounds like you found an excellent unit and congrats on surviving the bachelor party!

[uhlhazard]

What's in the bus's future? Now that her mission is accomplished.