Finally pulled the trigger! Please help me get her home - Page 2

DeanyOscar · 01-30-2019, 03:51 PM

I've driven across the country twice in school busses, and all up and down both coasts, and have never once been pulled over. I've even driven around 500+ miles without license plates. You are pretty much invisible in a school bus, I wouldn't worry about getting pulled over.

Dirtdoctor · 01-31-2019, 10:21 AM

Great find! Do not go anywhere with out insurance the gvw will determine if you need a commercial license- you don’t want to get impounded. Don’t forget Arizona will pull you over if you pass a weigh station- then they will extract their $90 fee for using their roads. When you get pulled over Do NOT volunteer any information. Just answer their questions- the one thing to say is your converting it to an RV.
Temporary tag- do not buy one day to day tag but get it from one destination to the other - let’s say you have a delay and now your three day trip
Pass is expired. So go from one destination to the other. Just because it’s a school bus doesn’t mean you can drive it without neglecting -pre trip/airbrakes/hours of service log books.

Cheers

PNW_Steve · 01-31-2019, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirtdoctor

Great find! Do not go anywhere with out insurance the gvw will determine if you need a commercial license- you don’t want to get impounded. Don’t forget Arizona will pull you over if you pass a weigh station- then they will extract their $90 fee for using their roads. When you get pulled over Do NOT volunteer any information. Just answer their questions- the one thing to say is your converting it to an RV.
Temporary tag- do not buy one day to day tag but get it from one destination to the other - let’s say you have a delay and now your three day trip
Pass is expired. So go from one destination to the other. Just because it’s a school bus doesn’t mean you can drive it without neglecting -pre trip/airbrakes/hours of service log books.

Cheers

When did AZ start that?

I lived there many years and drove my bus all over the state and was not required to stop at weigh stations.

Drew Bru · 01-31-2019, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

When did AZ start that?

I lived there many years and drove my bus all over the state and was not required to stop at weigh stations.

Also curious about this. Does this apply to bus conversions, or just buses that haven't been converted and are yellow with full seating?

PNW_Steve · 01-31-2019, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

Also curious about this. Does this apply to bus conversions, or just buses that haven't been converted and are yellow with full seating?

Seated, gutted and fully converted.

I suspect that is something that has come into effect since I drove a bus there last. Hence my question... When did that happen?

DeanyOscar · 01-31-2019, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Seated, gutted and fully converted.

I suspect that is something that has come into effect since I drove a bus there last. Hence my question... When did that happen?

I was in Arizona last winter and passed several weigh stations without stopping, and didn't get pulled over or in trouble. On a related note, it is really easy and cheap to get a 90 day temporary tag in Arizona without needing proof of insurance. Just tell them you have to drive the bus to a different state to get it registered. I believe it was less than $30 for the 90 day temp tag, but definitely less than $50.

AZHippie · 01-31-2019, 05:17 PM

Arizona is a 30 day general use permit. Just did it. $15 paid online, printed and taped in back window.

goodguyneighbor · 01-31-2019, 10:11 PM

So we have the insurance taken care of as well as roadside assistance for the trip to get her from CO to NM but I wasn't aware of the temporary tag issue. From a bit of research they seem to be saying that either the dealer I bought it from (who sells buses) can give me temp tags or that you may drive the vehicle from the place of sale to your home on the day of purchase. Problem is, we purchased the bus last week but are picking it up and moving it this week. Any insight is much appreciated!

AZHippie · 02-01-2019, 07:09 AM

I would think the dealer you bought it from would have those answers. If they sell buses this can't be the first time they've done it. I know each state is different but I almost bought a different bus from a dealer in phoenix. They told me I have 14 days from date of purchase and also said they would print a temporary plate. Don't know if that's good enough to cross state lines.

EastCoastCB · 02-01-2019, 07:15 AM

Having bought a bus in Colorado I can tell you 100% the state won't issue you a temp tag. The dealer is the only way for an out of state resident. I called their dmv and they said their law is that you drive it without plates. Mine rolled home 1800+ miles without em.
If its a dealer selling you the bus they should be able to give you a temp tag.

goodguyneighbor · 02-01-2019, 04:33 PM

I talked to the dealer, I think I've got everything I need.

Insurance

Roadside Assistance

Temp tags from dealer

Chains

Title/Bill of Sale

We're heading to CO break of dawn, only thing that'll stop us is freak weather or unforeseen breakdown. Wish us luck!

I should have some photos of the bus in its new home by this weekend

AZHippie · 02-01-2019, 04:45 PM

Best of luck!

firebuild · 02-01-2019, 11:07 PM

Have a great trip!

Bus ted1 · 02-02-2019, 01:50 PM

Being a retired professional driver from the West and also A Port of Entry Inspector from Idaho, I can tell you each State has their own laws governing use of their highways. One use permit won't cover multiple States as they don't have recip. agreements to share the money. That being said I don't know any that want a bus in a weigh station! Side note; Colorado has always had the most quirky vehicle laws and truckers always hate going through the State.

goodguyneighbor · 02-03-2019, 10:45 AM

Well, I got her home, and let's just say the start to my adventure was an adventure! This is gonna be a long one, and TLDRs are for Reddit.

Best laid plans being what they are, we started out first light of day, had a pretty uneventful drive to CO, getting to the bus around 12:30MST.

Though the dealer wasn't there (it being Saturday), the bus was plugged in and warmed up and started fine. We immediately got on the road and I was psyched as it seems like the engine was more powerful than I was expecting, pushing to the limited RPM/speed very easily and holding her own at 65 on the slight grades out of Monument, CO.

About 90 min in (on a relatively flat bit), I felt an odd behavior in the engine, which I still struggle to describe accurately. It doesn't feel like the throttle is cut off (like I took my foot off the gas) it almost feels like I imagine an engine brake would, a slight pulling back, very quick and jerky. I write it up to new bus jitters and my relative lack of familiarity with diesels, and especially THIS diesel. There is also a definite whine noise (sounds like the turbo winding down unexpectedly) associated with it. About 5 minutes later it does it again, then again, and again and again with increasing frequency. Then I hit my first real hill and it starts doing the above referenced cutting in and out thing about every second and the engine starts to feel really rough and shaky.

So I pull off, pow-wow with the wife, have her call Good Sam to make sure we got our failsafe in place; they give us the thumbs up, and we decide to push further ahead hoping maybe it is just old gas or a bit of crud that just needs to work it's way out of the system after having sat for months. No such luck, I hit a couple more substantial hills, and now I'm down to 35 or less with a very rattly engine that is cutting in and out pretty substantially.

I pull off again, resigned to a tow to a shop to leave the bus in CO for a while (none are open) and start making phone calls. First to Good Sam, where they kindly inform me that the policy that we bought to cover the initial transport will not cover any of their services. My wife tells them how she explained the situation about us picking up the bus on this trip and the agent understood and said it was covered. A supervisor goes back, listens to the original sales conversation, and tells us that in her "opinion", the salesperson didn't understand my wife, and that she wasn't clear enough, and so we're up $#!+ creek, "sorry, we can refer you to a towing company." I won't bore you with the details of my rage, but Good Sam left us stranded on the side of the road faster than they took our initial money (which they never offered to refund either), needless to say, I am vigorously not recommending them their services anymore.

I track down a mobile mechanic and explain the situation. We decide I will try and limp back to Pueblo where he can take a look. So I drive back 36 miles to Pueblo. The bus has sat for an hour or so during this period and cooled off (it being in the 30s outside). On the drive back it actually handles fairly well, the intermittent power thing not exhibiting itself at all, of course there were no substantial hills on the way back.

I park the bus in a parking lot, the mechanic comes out, looks everything over, and says he's not sure what this issue is. The engine and transmission didn't throw a code, and the engine sounds fine at idle. He says it might be bad o-rings in the fuel injectors, but that's not something he can fix in an hour on the side of the road. All fluids are good, the air filter is a little dirty, so he pulls the external one and says to drive home on just the internal, and that he doesn't think I'll do anything that will actually damage the engine with the behavior that I described if I just try and power though.

I'm wary, but I don't have a lot of good options at this point, so we decide to go ahead with the trip, fingers crossed we don't do any lasting damage. We drive on. Every substantial hill is awful.... shuddering, intermittent power, speeds as low as 20mph. The pass going through La Veta is pretty grim and I start second guessing my decision as it sounds like the engine is just going to drop out of the beast, but we make it though, and that is the worst if it.

She actually handles reasonably well as long as I'm not going up a serious hill, though it does occasionally do the power thing on flats, and many hours later we pull her in front of the house at 2AM, I'm sure my neighbors appreciated the backup beeps.

So, I got her home. At this point, it's not a quick drive to the nearest mechanic, and part of this whole thing was for me to figure out how to work on this engine myself, so I'm going to google a bit about what that issue may be, any ideas on where to start debugging from the more experienced mechanics here?

Incidentally, I also hit a pole at a gas station and bent my light housings on one side, and when jumping a curb at home, I seem to have damaged an air line (as the low air pressure indicator kicked on, and now the system has issues staying at pressure). Those things are pretty trivial in light of the engine issue though.

What a day! We knew this was going to be the start of a great adventure and our first hours with the bus did not disappoint!

goodguyneighbor · 02-03-2019, 03:33 PM

based on some googling, I'm going to start with replacing the fuel filter(s), air filter, and water separator. We'll see what impact that has on the issue. Thankfully, I have a nice test hill 10 min from my house.

Dirtdoctor · 02-03-2019, 05:31 PM

a couple things- filters/ diesel additives to clean everything then change fuel filters again. Some fuel pumps have small internal filters (Navistar’s rockfilter) don’t think that the dealer knows where to find them... my dealer “forgot” about tit for 15 yrs- another story for later.Pulling hills and loosing power- motor mounts have a little “give” a lot if one is broken, that twisting can pull the air pipe from the Air to Air cooler, causing the sounds and feelings you experienced. A simple cracked rubber 4” inlet tube can cause a world of expensive repair thoughts. In a pinch duct tape will seal the crack. So. Filters first- then check all the intake air hoses- the attac could also be cracked but it would consistently cause a low power feeling.
Keep us tuned in-
Dirtdoctor

brokedown · 02-03-2019, 07:05 PM

I had the fuel filter lack of power problem on my last trip. Replaced them both, night and day difference. Hopefully your problem is as easily solved as mine was.

firebuild · 02-06-2019, 09:38 PM

The good news is, you got home. I'm not going to speculate on the cause of the problem because I'm still at "Idiot's Guide" level, but these fine folks will have many great suggestions and strong opinions.

I will weigh in on another part of your trip because I, too, have had many issues with Good Sam, most recently being left on the side of the road in 3 degree weather for 5 hours. I knew what was wrong, I just needed extra hands to help me prime. It's a two person job in my old bus. Neither of the two mobile mechanic service providers they claimed to be sending showed up, so after 3 hours I said forget it, just tow me. They said I couldn't get a tow because I'd already been approved for a mobile mechanic! Despite their not being able to find me one! The worst part was the attitude I got from the supervisor - apparently you are not allowed to be upset no matter how many screw ups they make. I ended up calling the cops, who got me a tow truck, and I just submitted the tow receipt along with a note from the police saying they insisted I be towed because it was not safe to be out there in that cold (my diesel air heater is still not installed). Let's see what Good Sam does with it.

Unfortunately for me I've needed their services a lot due to my diesel trunk drinking gasoline, and every single call has been fraught with one drama or another. I also have AAA RV coverage but my home state doesn't sell RV, so even though they will honor my CA policy if I twist the right arm, sometimes it's hard to find out which arm that is.

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