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Old 11-27-2008, 12:34 AM   #1
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 193
Year: 1991
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: GMC
Engine: 6.2 liter diesel
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Re: My first bus

Wow!! What a bus!! Welcome aboard!!!

-Ray

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Old 11-28-2008, 10:03 AM   #2
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Location: Columbus, Ohio
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Year: 1961
Coachwork: GMC
Chassis: SDM 4501
Engine: 6V71
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Re: My first bus

Welcome aboard, John. What a great looking bus!!
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Old 11-28-2008, 12:57 PM   #3
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: My first bus


Welcome to the skoolie forum, King John! Step right up and take your seat on the throne, for with that bus you are for sure the King Of The Hill!

Now you just have to replace that noisy "Screamin' Demon" two-stroke engine with a grunty modern four-stroke, such as a Series 60, and you'll be Emperor Of The World.

I'm surprised at the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 37.400 lbs. This would easily make the axles heavier than legal, and the tires heavier than their rating (also illegal, of course, but more importantly unsafe). The maximum weight on one axle is 20.000. (With four tires, this is safely within the limit of the tires.) So let's assume you have 20.000 on the rear axle. That puts 17.400 on the front axle. Most vehicles, like the 18-wheelers I drive, are limited to 12.500 on the front axle. There are exceptions, and buses and/or RVs may be exempt, I have not looked into it. But at 17.400, the two tires would likely be grossly overloaded. A pair of the common 295/75x22.5 can carry something like 12.350. So your bus would have to have much bigger tires. I rode on a Grayhound a couple of years ago, and noticed that it had monstrous tires -- something like maybe 335/75x24.5. I'd have to look that up also.
So you might want to take a close look at the tag with the weights and tire sizes. And the numbers on the tire sidewall. And please tell up what you find.

Easy air tank drains can be installed on any bus. You just replace the old drain valves with spring loaded ones with a long cord to pull on. Costs maybe five bucks each. I replaced all four of mine with these.

Now... WHAT DID YOU PAY FOR IT?????
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Old 11-28-2008, 10:58 PM   #4
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: My first bus


That's one "heck'a" bus! Must not be many around, because I was not even aware of that model. And if yours is in good condition and you paid "a lot less" than five grand, then you probably got a good deal on it.

That data plate shows a GAWR of 23.000 on the rear and 14.400 on the front. Assuming the "high profile" 12R tires are rated for at least 7.200 each, this makes sense -- In the sense that the factory appears to have listed what the bus can mechanically carry, safely for the bus. Thus, if a state, or town, or foreign country, or wherever the bus winds up, allows those weights on their roads, the bus is ready. But most places in the USA have the 20.000 limit for a single axle, and lower for steering axle (single tire) to protect the pavement and the roadbed from excessive wear. Of course, as private RVs, our skoolies may never be weighed.

I'm curious to hear what sort of retarder it has.

Now -- what do you mean -- my ilk used to pillage East Anglia? I have it on my calendar for next week!
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Old 12-09-2008, 08:43 PM   #5
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adirondack Mountains NY
Posts: 1,101
Re: My first bus

Very nice bus! I have to say I'm jealous.
Quote:
(Most radio stations in that part of California are either Espanol, or born-again fundy, or hard rock that only mullet-heads like, or some mind-bending combinations thereof.)
Gotta love the Born-Again Spanish hard rock! (Actually, some of it is pretty good.)

I've stayed several times in Lynchburg, VA for training, and joked there are only three kinds of radio stations in that area:
Country, Gospel, and Country-Gospel. Being a bit eclectic, I can enjoy about 2 hours of each.
(If you get a top-floor hotel room, you might receive some college radio out of Charlottesville for a change of pace.)
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