The Murder Bus...

[gs1949]

@o1marc, yeah, I know, thanks, but I have a now 18 month old Staffordshire X Pit, who acts like the big puppy he is and tears up most anything he can get a hold of and work at when he's bored. So that open bottom seam was just an invitation to him to tear more. He does seem to be growing out of this behavior, but it can still happen when he is really bored.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by gs1949

@o1marc, yeah, I know, thanks, but I have a now 18 month old Staffordshire X Pit, who acts like the big puppy he is and tears up most anything he can get a hold of and work at when he's bored. So that open bottom seam was just an invitation to him to tear more. He does seem to be growing out of this behavior, but it can still happen when he is really bored.

How does your homeowners insurance like your dog?

[gs1949]

He doesn't do that to people. He just chews up stuff, and only when he is bored. With people he's quite friendly, so far. He has only met one person in his entire life that he took an instant dislike to, and so did I. But fortunately I had no trouble convincing that [multiple expletives deleted] to stay away from my dog.

As far as I know the insurance has no idea that he exists, and I work at keeping it that way. And the insurance is still in my late father's name. My dog and I are just cartetakers until the place sells.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by gs1949

He doesn't do that to people. He just chews up stuff, and only when he is bored. With people he's quite friendly, so far. He has only met one person in his entire life that he took an instant dislike to, and so did I. But fortunately I had no trouble convincing that [multiple expletives deleted] to stay away from my dog.

As far as I know the insurance has no idea that he exists, and I work at keeping it that way. And the insurance is still in my late father's name. My dog and I are just cartetakers until the place sells.

I love pits, have known some real sweet hearts. But I don't care what anyone says, that breed is more likely to cause damage/death to humans than any other breed of dog. Too many cases of "He was such a sweet heart, raised with my infant children and protected them", till something irked the dog and he snapped and ripped the kids face off.

I was amazed to learn why insurance comps hate them. While a Chihuahua may attack and bite more often than many other breeds, they don't incur major medical bills. 1 in 1000 Pits cause a human death, that's not a number I'm comfortable with. There are twice as many Pit breeds than any other breed of dog.

[gs1949]

Yes, I agree pits definitely have the potential of doing severe damage if sufficiently provoked. A responsible owner constantly works to prevent that. I learned the benefits of acting responsibily several decades ago.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by gs1949

Yes, I agree pits definitely have the potential of doing severe damage if sufficiently provoked. A responsible owner constantly works to prevent that. I learned the benefits of acting responsibily several decades ago.

Unfortunately you can't work to take instincts out of the dog. Many cases of death and damage from responsible owners.

[gs1949]

Well, I see pits as being no different than any other rat catching breed, except they have been bred to be larger.

I think a minature pinscher, for example, is far more likely to bite than a pit. And min pins bark a lot more too. Same with chihuahuas too, but as far as I know chihuahuas did not originate as rat catchers, but rather as a human food source that also disposed of garbage.

[banman]

Originally Posted by gs1949

@banman, my door is powered by compressed air, but the compressed air is electrically controlled and doesn't work when the main switch on the positive battery lead is disconnected. I wish I had one of the old style handles that just gets pulled and doesn't need air pressure or electricity to operate.

And about the seat backs, I gave one of them to my dog for a bed in the garage, but I had cut the upholstery a bit so I could get at the frame to cut it up, and he just kept working at it until he had shredded the whole thing. Then I gave him one of the bulkheads from in front of the front seats. I did not have to cut the upholstery material on that so he still has it.

Pretty sure mines just electric -- no air pump -- I would think I'd hear an air pump sounding different than just an electric motor.

LOVE the idea for an industrial doggy bed in the shop and garage! That's good for two of them. Cold concrete floors are not ideal for an old dog...

The Thomas seats are stapled into a 1" square piece of wood that's also stapled to the metal back rest. I've just been 'un-zipping' them with a knife... Most of my seats have an additional back-rest cover -- heavy upholstery cloth like the originals but super easy to harvest and easy to store.

The seat frames are so well welded together I'm not sure it will be worth harvesting the metal out of them after-all. I cut one apart today for the legs to make a free-standing bench. It's really good DOM tubing but it's a hassle for sure.

Cheapest diesel near me is $2.89/gal. I won't be investing in a full tank anytime soon...

[gs1949]

Mine runs off the air tanks, not a pump by the door. So it does not work without air pressure in the tanks AND the switch by the batteries being turned on. The control looks pretty much like the parking brake control. It's black and mounted on the panel below the driver's window.

And I burnt a few seatbacks and a few more seat bottoms, just added some on top of a slash pile we were burning. So I found out there is a layer of fiberglass cloth in that upholstery material that will not burn and needed to be picked out before the ashes could be spread around.

I also found out that burning bus upholstery made some of the blackest smoke I have ever seen. I was surprised the neighbors did not complain.

I would have complained, so I've quit burning bus upholstery.

[banman]

Originally Posted by gs1949

Mine runs off the air tanks, not a pump by the door. So it does not work without air pressure in the tanks AND the switch by the batteries being turned on. The control looks pretty much like the parking brake. It's black and mounted on the panel below the driver's window.

Right -- I've got hydraulic brakes. No air-tanks...

[gs1949]

That must be interesting in a bus that size. The summer I was 17 I had a job hauling hay, working alone, with a 1941 Diamond T 10 ton with hydraulic brakes, 2 non-syncromesh transmissions, and a 2-speed rear end. I was working for a retired drill sargeant. That was an interesting summer. Especially since it was my probation officer who found me the job. I was on probation for being a Minor In Possession of Alcohol by Consumption.

[banman]

Originally Posted by gs1949

Mine runs off the air tanks, not a pump by the door. So it does not work without air pressure in the tanks AND the switch by the batteries being turned on. The control looks pretty much like the parking brake control. It's black and mounted on the panel below the driver's window.

And I burnt a few seatbacks and a few more seat bottoms, just added some on top of a slash pile we were burning. So I found out there is a layer of fiberglass cloth in that upholstery material that will not burn and needed to be picked out before the ashes could be spread around.

I also found out that burning bus upholstery made some of the blackest smoke I have ever seen. I was surprised the neighbors did not complain.

I would have complained, so I've quit burning bus upholstery.

I'm sorry to hear you were burning this crap -- there's Styrofoam in the seat backs as well and burning that forms PAH's (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) which cause nerve damage and cancer -- the usual sh!t...

[gs1949]

Yeah, I know I shouldn't burn that, that's why I stopped after I saw the smoke, but all that crap is going somewhere.

When I was a kid around here everyone had a burning barrel and only took to the dump what would not burn. It is a good thing that has stopped because now there are a lot more people now and the per capita production of garbage has gone way up since the 1950s, and the number of people has tripled.

That sounds like a no win situation to me. We need to relearn how to make things that last longer.

[Native]

Originally Posted by banman

And boom! just like that I've got insurance through USAA/Progressive.
Insured to Ohio's legal minimums Commercial vehicle for personal use for only $189/year!
The agent did ask if it was a school bus; I said there's no seats in it except for a driver. Was also asked if I was converting/modifying it to an RV; I said no, just hauling stuff. The agent did say RV insurance would be less, but she couldn't tell me how much less in my case...

We went the USAA/Progressive "commercial vehicleforpersonal use" route at first, but we paid 10 times as much for liability only.

[banman]

Originally Posted by Native

We went the USAA/Progressive "commercial vehicleforpersonal use" route at first, but we paid 10 times as much for liability only.

I like the cheap price...
Ohio's minimum is $25k per accident and I'm realizing my bus has the potential to 'total' whatever I hit -- half the new vehicles are more than that which could be very expensive for me if I was at fault...
I may well wanna find out how much more higher coverage would cost me...

How much less was changing to RV ins?

[Native]

Originally Posted by banman

I like the cheap price...
Ohio's minimum is $25k per accident and I'm realizing my bus has the potential to 'total' whatever I hit -- half the new vehicles are more than that which could be very expensive for me if I was at fault...
I may well wanna find out how much more higher coverage would cost me...

How much less was changing to RV ins?

USAA/Progressive said they will not insure the convertion. We went with Allstate. It is just about $350.00/year for liability only ... to the same coverrage as I have with USAA for my other vehicles. That is WAY more than the minimums. I was qoted at a little over $1,100.00year for comprehensive.

[banman]

Getting a little back on track -- Seon, Zonar, Genesis -- I was feeling like I was in a bad 90's sci-fi adventure as I was stripping out all these weird "add-on" features...
This pic is just a starter kit of things within reach of the driver that had to go!



It's really disturbing to me how some of this crap was "professionally" wired in:
bare wire shoved into the fuse panel,
Plastic wire taps that cut into the oem wiring, doing the oem wiring permanent damage,
some wires just twisted together and wrapped with tape.

I'm sure I just reduced the parasitic drain some, but more importantly I've prevented a future electrical fire... and it's that much easier to see and follow the remaining wiring...


The seats all bunched up and waiting to go -- I think we'll be keeping 4 to use in the bus -- the rest need to go...

Native: RE: the DTNA -- the online process basically gets back to you with a "we'll do it but... it would really be better to have your local Freightliner shop do it; they'll be faster..."
My local shop is trying to do it -- seems challenging for them -- trying to get the Warranty rep to change the ownership of the bus to me in the database so the parts manager can set up my account -- I think they'll figure it out but I'm sure I should've pursued the online process as being faster/less painful...

Anyone with a 3126 engine in a Thomas FS65 with the deep oil pan have a useful opinion on how much oil I will need for an oil change?
My bus has a replacement oil dipstick -- it only has one scratch mark on it indicating who knows what really...
I'd like to calibrate the stick but that also requires knowing how much oil it should actually have... The Freightliner shop said 32qts!
CAT says 28 to 29...
There's a note in paint pen on my radiator hose that says "eng oil 27qts".
The oil filter I got will hold 2qts -- I'm sure smaller filters would fit so that could explain the 1qt difference with some sources...

[Native]

Originally Posted by banman

Native: RE: the DTNA -- the online process basically gets back to you with a "we'll do it but... it would really be better to have your local Freightliner shop do it; they'll be faster..."
My local shop is trying to do it -- seems challenging for them -- trying to get the Warranty rep to change the ownership of the bus to me in the database so the parts manager can set up my account -- I think they'll figure it out but I'm sure I should've pursued the online process as being faster/less painful...

Have your shop call my shop! Better yet, call Freightliner Custom Cassis in Gaffney, SC directly @ 800-385-4357 ... ask them what your local shop has to do or even better yet have them set you up. They can also answer the question you pose below. Have the last 6 of your VIN available.

Originally Posted by banman

Anyone with a 3126 engine in a Thomas FS65 with the deep oil pan have a useful opinion on how much oil I will need for an oil change?
My bus has a replacement oil dipstick -- it only has one scratch mark on it indicating who knows what really...
I'd like to calibrate the stick but that also requires knowing how much oil it should actually have... The Freightliner shop said 32qts!
CAT says 28 to 29...
There's a note in paint pen on my radiator hose that says "eng oil 27qts".
The oil filter I got will hold 2qts -- I'm sure smaller filters would fit so that could explain the 1qt difference with some sources...

For what it's worth, I have a 21 litre (5.38 gallon) front sump oil pan on our FS-65. What I do not know is if it includes the oil filter. Six gallons should be enough for a change. No telling what that mark on the dipstick might mean. I have a note on my aftercooler housing that reads "23 quarts" ... no clue as to what volume that might be indicating. Perhaps it is the oil needed for a change to include the filter.

[EastCoastCB]

This has me thinking- I need to change my oil. It was fresh when I got the bus and it didn't use much if any coming home from Ga. But its been 18 months and oil is cheap.
Gonna do that this weekend.
6 gallons eh?

[banman]

Originally Posted by Native

Have your shop call my shop! Better yet, call Freightliner Custom Cassis in Gaffney, SC directly @ 800-385-4357 ... ask them what your local shop has to do or even better yet have them set you up. They can also answer the question you pose below. Have the last 6 of your VIN available.



For what it's worth, I have a 21 litre (5.38 gallon) front sump oil pan on our FS-65. What I do not know is if it includes the oil filter. Six gallons should be enough for a change. No telling what that mark on the dipstick might mean. I have a note on my aftercooler housing that reads "23 quarts" ... no clue as to what volume that might be indicating. Perhaps it is the oil needed for a change to include the filter.

Thanks for the contact for a shop that knows what's up!
I'll give my local guys a couple more daze...
As I understand it I need the DTNA (registry update) before I can get the TBB access as well...
It's not like I'm in a huge rush...

Yeah, weird about the oil fill. But depending on application it makes sense there's a couple different oil pans and oil filters for space constraints. And then if you have an oil-cooler...

Perhaps I will all my local CAT dealer with my specific engine serial # and see what that answer is...

It will be a hassle adding oil ONE qt at a time (after the first 5gal) and waiting, waiting, waiting to see where the mark on the stick is/should be/will be as I add more marks...

ECCB I don't consider 6 to 8 gal of any oil cheap...
At least not any oil I'd put in my engine...