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01-04-2008, 06:54 PM
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#1
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Almost There
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO
Posts: 94
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: Chevrolet
Engine: 8.2L Detroit Diesel
Rated Cap: 54
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Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
I have an '88 Chevy Bus with a Carpenter body. Recently I learned about faulty welds on the roof structures of buses built in the Mitchell, Indiana plant from 1986-1995. This raises some concern to me, so I was wondering if anyone else with a Carpenter has heard about this issue. It seems like it might only cause problems in the event of a rollover, which hopefully will never happen to anyone. Ok thanks.
-Adam
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01-05-2008, 10:46 AM
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#3
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Almost There
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO
Posts: 94
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: Chevrolet
Engine: 8.2L Detroit Diesel
Rated Cap: 54
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
Thanks for the info. I see it's a commonly-known problem. I'm no welder, so fixing the problem by myself, (if it needed to be done) is out of the question. Besides, I've already completed my insulation on the ceiling and put all my pine boards up, so I'm not going to remove all that now. Do you think that bad welds could cause problems with normal use - meaning occasional trips to the campgrounds? I'm also thinking about building a deck on the top once I've completed the interior. I want the deck to be about 8 feet long, so only about a third of the length of the bus. Would this be too much stress on the structure?
-Adam
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01-05-2008, 11:05 AM
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#4
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 382
Year: 1981
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: Crown
Engine: 671 DD
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
Quote:
Originally Posted by arfisher83
Thanks for the info. I see it's a commonly-known problem. I'm no welder, so fixing the problem by myself, (if it needed to be done) is out of the question. Besides, I've already completed my insulation on the ceiling and put all my pine boards up, so I'm not going to remove all that now. Do you think that bad welds could cause problems with normal use - meaning occasional trips to the campgrounds? I'm also thinking about building a deck on the top once I've completed the interior. I want the deck to be about 8 feet long, so only about a third of the length of the bus. Would this be too much stress on the structure?
-Adam
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Sorry Adam, but you're asking the wrong person. I remember seeing the posts throughout the years and thought I'd guide you to them.
In the last link, NTSB recommended for schools recommended for schools to take buses out of service, if they can. But, they also stated that if there was no other alternative, to keep the buses rolling. I suspect that most of the weld problems were an issue of safety, during roll overs, because the NTSB recommended that buses be used for low speed routes.
The only thing I can recommend is to inspect the welds before installing a deck. Maybe someone else that has a Carpenter bus can chime in.
Sorry, this is all I've sgot.
Robert
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01-05-2008, 11:32 AM
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#5
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: near flint michigan
Posts: 2,657
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
i'd be willing to bet a carpenter with bad welds is still safer than most any motorhome.
__________________
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes (who will watch the watchmen?)
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01-05-2008, 02:02 PM
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#6
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Edmond, OK
Posts: 529
Year: 1993
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International
Engine: 7.3 International diesel
Rated Cap: 60
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
I have a 1993 Carpenter. When I bought my bus, it had a salvage title because of this problem. I am also an amateur welder and have yet to see ANY faulty welds on my bus. They played it safe and gave all the Carpenter's salvage titles. To get the salvage status removed, I had to show some sort of repair bill. It was a real PITA since my bus didn't need any repairs. I explained the situation and even showed them the bus, but they said it needed some sort of repair bill or a receipt for parts to fix it. Finally, I went to Home Depot, bought a roll of welding wire for $8 for my welder, and took the receipt to the tag agency and that worked! No more salvage status for my bus. But I've had all of the ceiling panels and side panels off in my bus. I didn't see one weld that I felt was faulty. I was looking too. So, I'm sure there were some buses with bad welds, but not all of them. I really wouldn't worry about it. There was an incident a few years ago where a Carpenter rolled over and the roof partially collapsed. I don't think anybody was seriously injured. But they found that the cause was faulty welds on the roof of that particular bus. I guess they found a couple more buses with bad welds and just condemned them all! The way I figure it, is that there was one lazy piece of crap welder at the Carpenter factory back in the day. He couldn't have welded every single Carpenter together out there.
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01-05-2008, 07:37 PM
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#7
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Skoolie
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 226
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
I second lapeer!
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01-05-2008, 07:55 PM
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#8
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Skoolie
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 119
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All American RE
Engine: Cummins 8.3
Rated Cap: 84
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
There is info about the problem in an article on this page:
http://www.schoolbusinfo.org/press.htm
It actually looks like something that should be fixed if found - the roof collapsed in the rollover shown in that article. It's still probably safer than a commercial RV, but it's pretty easy to fix I think...
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01-05-2008, 08:42 PM
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#9
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Almost There
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO
Posts: 94
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: Chevrolet
Engine: 8.2L Detroit Diesel
Rated Cap: 54
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
Alright, thanks for the advice. I guess as long as I don't roll my bus over bad welds shouldn't be a concern.
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01-05-2008, 09:40 PM
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#10
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,511
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
The Carpenter in question.
There were no children on board at the time.
I have found one reference to the driver, which reports that the driver was injured but expected to recover. http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/forum/...ida,crash,roof
__________________
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01-06-2008, 12:44 AM
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#11
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Edmond, OK
Posts: 529
Year: 1993
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International
Engine: 7.3 International diesel
Rated Cap: 60
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Re: Faulty welds on Carpenter buses
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