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Old 09-30-2017, 10:30 AM   #301
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A most excellent adventure! Thanks for sharing.

One quick question from a Southern boy...I'm familiar with Crappie, but do folks eat Pike or is it a "sport" fish.

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Old 09-30-2017, 11:34 AM   #302
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Well our new friend Homer was catching and releasing but the pike is an eating fish for sure. We are fishing again tomorrow with some friends in Michigan so maybe we will find a pike? We will see!

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Old 09-30-2017, 02:00 PM   #303
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Tell Hillary to throw that crappie back. In the Carolinas they've put an 8 inch size limit on em

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Old 09-30-2017, 02:21 PM   #304
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Tell Hillary to throw that crappie back. In the Carolinas they've put an 8 inch size limit on em

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We didn't keep anything smaller than 11 or so inches. They had no minimus in the state but I'm not into taking small fish. Even at 11 inch they didn't have much meat per fish...

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Old 11-06-2017, 08:30 AM   #305
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Long time since my last post!

We're doing good. We visited a friend and intended to stay a week, and that turned into a month.

it started out that we were there just in time for fall, and it had been a while since we really had a fall, so we were really enjoying it. Then, out of nowhere, it became winter... And that brought in soe new challenges.

My glow plug relay I just put on of course had already died. What a piece of junk! Do not buy the NAPA GPR109! So with the T444E, the "wait to start" light is just on a timer and has nothing to do with how long the glow system is on... It can keep them on for several minutes, for various reasons other than just starting. This means you really need a relay rated for continuous duty, capable of delivering 100A. The typical relay found on a "normal" truck isn't up to that task. I found a site that had a comparable unit to what my bus had on it for a great price with next day delivery (I thought they were lying about that but sure as can be I had it the next morning!) so I'm plugging them here: 120-107112 - White Rodgers 120-107112 - Solenoid w/ Continuous Duty, Normally Open Continuous Contact Rating 100 Amps (14 VDC Isolated Coil) Having an isolated coil means the trigger mechanism is separate from the high current connection, and the high current connection is literally a thick piece of metal that gets moved to connect the IN to the OUT.

I'm still pretty sure my thermostat is stuck open, but I haven't done anything about it. I've resorted to the tried and true method of covering part of the radiator with cardboard to allow it to build up some heat. This works well enough.

I started looking at ways to do wood heat. Our little Buddy propane heater is having some issues, and propane heat sucks for many reasons. iI saw an interesting guide on building a "rocket" stove out of a .50 cal ammo can, so I bought most of the parts to build that and just need a place to do it. It's a pretty simple design and very efficient, although I don't know how many BTU I can expect from it. Either way, I consider it a first draft at worst, and not a lot of investment. Harbor Freight sells the ammo cans and they're regularly on sale for about $14, and compare well to the actual surplus cans.

We're in Ohio today. Christopher, let's meet up in Florida, it sucks up here right now!

We've been gone for so long and covered so much ground, it's time to start thinking about 2018. I've thought a lot about our options for the future but no decisions have been made. We could revise the Sport Bus with lessons learned, we could get a bigger bus (with highway gears!), we could get a box truck/van, we could live on our boat for a while... A lot to think about!

Be well everybody!
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Old 11-06-2017, 08:43 AM   #306
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wow!! you came through here at a bad time! yesterday was 74 and partly sunny in columbus.. then we had tornados and hail and high winds overnight now its rainy, windy and 40s!.. ugh.. I am here in Columbus for at least the first part of the week if you need to recharge batteries, chill out or work on anything, good knowledge on the glowplug relay.. the timer must be related to engine temperature.. I notice my light stays on longer in colder weather and that my relay stays engage sometimes a minute or more after starting on an ice cold day.. my guess is that is what helps with there being no smoke from these things even on a cold start...

I do know there is no in-cylinder temp sensor and doesnt appear to be a current Xformer or shunt in the glowplug circuit.. so you are right the ECM has no way of knowing if the plugs are actually on or not..

wonder if any of the extra thermostats i have laying around here would fit your engine?
I did have one t-stat stick open.. and on a 40 degree day even on the highway the best I got was about 130 degrees.... I sort of had heat if I thought about it hard enough..

-Christopher
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Old 11-06-2017, 01:59 PM   #307
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I've seen a few pictures of those ammo can heaters, but not so much info. (other than it uses small chunks of wood, and needs "regular" feeding) Let use know how yours work for you. You're familiar with the picture requirements, right(-:
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Old 11-06-2017, 02:08 PM   #308
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could always just go to florida in winter and camp up north in summer no woodstove required..
maybe a webasto if its only an occasional couple nights or so..
-Christopher
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Old 11-08-2017, 01:14 PM   #309
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Oops this happened too!

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Old 11-18-2017, 11:39 AM   #310
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Honestly they are fairly rare... I got mine out of Miami and it was the only one they had. The 3800 series is way more popular. I don't take have anything negative to say about it other than the van style engine setup is a bit less mechanic friendly and it's harder to find info on it due to the being fewer.

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For those looking for Thomas buses, check NC school surplus buses. Saw some as low as $570 not a typo.

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Old 11-18-2017, 11:41 AM   #311
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My lower AC compressor, the one that cools the front of the bus, has become kaput. Finding a replacement that can ship fast enough to get to me before I have moved along is a challenge! It's a 4663 compressor, which send to be commonly used, but hard to find.

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Fleetpride or stone heavy vehicle may stock it.

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Old 11-18-2017, 11:43 AM   #312
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a trick ive used when travelling and needed a part or item , was to ship to a UPS store in a town I was going to be in.. or if an address was required, you can provide about any near you, then get o nthe shipper website, like UPOS or FEDEX and redirect to be held at a store.. ie UOS store, or FEDEX Office location.. or sometimes you can even hold stuff at the depot to get it quicker..

be careful not to over-charge those or get air in the system.. that will wipe out a compressor... sounds like yours just wore out..
-Christopher
Also replace the dryer along with the compressor.

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Old 11-18-2017, 11:51 AM   #313
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I used this wall mount kit: http://amzn.to/2onlubb

It's really solid and has no problem with my 39" TV. If I had to give a negative it would be that it came with excess hardware trying to be universal, and I ended up with a bunch of extra bolts and such that I didn't need.
Harbor freight has some cheap flat panel mounts anyone know where to get a 12 volt old school converter box I have a nice Sharp color set but it's not DTV. I thought about pulling the cover and measuring the output from the AC power supply. If it's 12 DC I could install a Jack and run both off the TV. Also a 12 volt DVD player would be nice LoL. I only have a couple hundred crates of movies.

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Old 11-18-2017, 04:29 PM   #314
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For those looking for Thomas buses, check NC school surplus buses. Saw some as low as $570 not a typo.

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The 45mph top speed and general crappy condition of NC buses is the reason the prices are so low.
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Old 11-26-2017, 06:03 AM   #315
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Sport bus ran into Jolene on Thanksgiving and shared a meal of diesel fuel! Their owners shared a meal of Waffle House, a holiday tradition for us.

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Old 11-26-2017, 06:09 AM   #316
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How cool!!! Waffle House on thanksgiving!! Doesn't make me feel so crazy for my tradition of Waffle House on Christmas morning.
Christopher
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Old 11-26-2017, 06:18 AM   #317
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Is that Ed?
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Old 11-26-2017, 06:35 AM   #318
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Waffle House has been our tradition for years!

And yes that is Ed, we had a chance to catch up some but they had to get back to Florida.

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Old 11-26-2017, 06:37 AM   #319
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Waffle House has been our tradition for years!

And yes that is Ed, we had a chance to catch up some but they had to get back to Florida.

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Man, I've gotta get their number or something, we really hope to run into them again some day and wanted to invite them out next time we get together with some bus folks.
You meet such nice folks in school buses.
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Old 11-26-2017, 06:41 AM   #320
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When is the next Florida skoolies meet up? We should be back in town before long.

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