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Old 02-29-2004, 08:36 PM   #1
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Cruise Control

Ok, you guys with gas engines can sit this one out; even I can get a cruise control working on a gasoline rig. What I'd like to know is if there are any special considerations when trying to install a cruise control on a diesel bus? Anyone done this?

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Old 02-29-2004, 10:03 PM   #2
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I hate to spend money! I've taken some flack over my cruise control idea because of the obvious safety concerns.



I plan to use a hand throttle. It was designed for use on a fire truck to control the speed of the engine thus governing the amt of pressure the pump puts on the hoseline.



The throttle can be closed two different ways. it's threaded, so it can be turned a few rounds back to idle. There is also a big red button in the center of the hand throttle, when pushed, it returns the engine to idle.



I know this is not the safest method for cruise control, but it seems realatively safe. If it got stuck or developed a problem, one could always turn off the engine. My brakes have more clamping power than the engine does pulling power, so the bus would stop if some unforseen problem arose. Although it would take significantly longer to stop the bus if the engine is turning a lot of rpm's.



Unless i run across a simple cheap diesel cruise control kit, I think the hand throttle is the direction i'm going to take.
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Old 03-01-2004, 08:06 AM   #3
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Hi LaPeer,



My bus already has one of the hand throttles installed; guess that was original equipment. It will hold a continuous rpm but it won't hold a continuous speed. Even in only slightly rolling hill country the weight of the bus slows it down very quickly on uphills and gains speeed quickly on downhills. In those conditions the hand throttle was more tiring than just staying on the foot throttle.



I hadn't thought much about cruise control when I bought the bus, which was really silly since I love it so much in my car. After the first 1500 mile trip I was definitely thinking about it for the bus!
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Old 03-01-2004, 09:06 AM   #4
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you must have a bit more engine in your bus than i have in mine. When driving on the e-way, I drive with the accelerator all the way to the floor. My skoolie is not capable of getting a speeding ticket ! 57-60 mph is about all she'll do on flat ground. I keep the gas pedal (diesel pedal lol) all the way to the floor when i take her out on a trip.
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Old 03-03-2004, 05:11 AM   #5
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Re: Cruise Control

Quote:
Originally Posted by Les Lampman
Ok, you guys with gas engines can sit this one out; even I can get a cruise control working on a gasoline rig. What I'd like to know is if there are any special considerations when trying to install a cruise control on a diesel bus? Anyone done this?


I know that the cruise that I had on a old diesel powered Chevy Caprice wagon, had a vacuum motor on it to supply the vacuum for the cruise control and there is cruise control on my '82 'Bird that works quite well with a 3208 Cat engine, but I have never looked at it that close yet to see just how it works. I'm sure there is a cruise control unit that can be adapted to your engine, it is just how deep your pockets are, that makes the difference.
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Old 03-03-2004, 08:34 AM   #6
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Hi LaPeer,



Well, if I have more engine, I certainly don't have much more speed than you have. Just over 60 (if I hold my breath) is it and I usually drive about 55. The bus will hold 55 up anything I've tried so far (I only found one 1-1/2 mile stretch at the top of Lookout Pass (I-90 at the Montana/Idaho border)) that slowed it down to around 50.



What we do have though is mountains; given that the bus will top almost every peak at 55 it gathers speed downhill very quickly. Also in the mountains I can't always hold a constant speed for corners and such; I really want to be able to kick-off and reset a cruise just like in the car.



I had this is my Freightliner semi-tractor but that was all controlled electronically; it sure was nice though!
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