Which 35'-40' long bus model w/just 8'-10' swingout?

[FreeEnergy4All]

Originally Posted by STS23

(1)What do "crawl to the inside" and "inside encroachment" mean?

(2)I've seen lots of trucks towing tag trailers and sometimes the hitch is only 2' from the back axle (like dump trucks). With a 9' overhang you're going to get lighter on the front wheels with heavy tongue weight (lots of leverage). My trailer with 1k# tongue weight squated my lwb f350 pretty good, and that only had about a 3' overhang. 18 wheelers and all other heavy towing applications have the weight over the back axle.

(3)If bobbing the tail is out of the question then I think you're hunting for a unicorn. All FE buses are going to have a hefty overhang, except maybe the shortest ones. They build these things for navigating neighborhoods, not running combos through the woods.

(4)Another consideration is the effect of vertical pivoting. It is going to be exaggerated with a long swing out like that. The coupling is going to be in the dirt or sky high with even the slightest angle change. Imagine going through a small dip in the road. My camper would drag the tail frequently. Next time you go into parking lot that is more than 2-3' difference in height above/below the road, look at all the scrape marks from tails dragging.

(1)I thought I described it. Didn't I? Yes I did. Ok, I'll repeat myself and add some more details.

The longer the swingout, the better the trailer tracks the motorhome. With a 12' swing out, it nearly walks in line with the bus on a sharp turn.

And that is pretty amazing because most who haul a camper complain that it takes a huge turning radius to turn around with a trailer because it goes to the inside, it cuts the corner.

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Because trailers cut the corner, you have to turn in a much wider turning radius to avoid hitting what is inside the turn. That is what encroaching to the inside means.

This is a fundamental safety precaution that ALL trailer haulers should at least know about. Or they risk causing injury driving a TT like they do a pickup truck and you can't really do that especially when the trailer is 30' long.

(2) Ok. I am not saying my plans are set in stone, and you are giving me a good reason to reconsider. But it sure is a sweet modular setup to have a 30-foot bus pulling a 30-foot trailer for max modularity.

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This lets me get into most all states no problem, and most all state parks which tends to restrict parking spots to fewer spots for longer vehicles. So having a modest sized rig is more accessible to more campsites.

Also, you can disconnect and just use the motorhome by itself, or you can also use them both separately by adding a pickup truck to pull the TT. It took me a very long time to arrive at the design I offered at the beginning of this thread.

About the trucking experience being of limited help. Right on, I realize my trucking experience does not give me swing-out experience, but it does offer some backing and maneuvering experience which is handy when towing a large 30' trailer. That's a ton of living space for just 60 feet of motorcoach and TT combo.

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(3) Bobbing the tale is not out of the question but seems over the top if you are also removing a middle section. If I can't feasibly remove the middle section, then I can't do it and that would mean I would need to remove it from the tale.

You might change my mind! Thanks for the helpful challenging perspective! I might be persuaded to go down to a 7-8 foot swing out instead of 9-10, but not much more than that. I might go down to 6 foot, but I need some sort of sizable swing out to let the 30' trailer track the bus better.

Or do you have a way for me to steer the trailer wheels? I have considered it. LOL "If" I could optionally steer the trailer wheels when going parking lot speed only, then I would not mind a short swing out!

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But steering the trailer seems like a pipe dream compared to having a modestly long swing out.

(4)Right on, and I tend to agree. I might be persuaded to go from 9'-10' swingout to 7'-8', maybe 6 foot, but not less as trailer tracking would be compromised too much.

Thanks again for the thoughtful response!

[FreeEnergy4All]

Originally Posted by STS23

Wow dude. Bet you're a popular guy at all the parties! Good luck with your continued quest for information. If you have all the answers already then why are you here asking questions?

I didn't realize that disagreeing with you meant I can't be a nice or popular person nor should I find helpfulness in this forum. Are you this forum? Are your opinions the world and mine don't really count, because you seem to be judging against me in ways you can't back up.

I mostly just accepted what people said to me without bending it in anyone's favor. If am wrong for doing that, thanks for the warning. Lets please stick to the topic ok.

This is a bus converting forum,, or so I thought. Sounds like a place for malcontents. This should be a place to support one another. That was my intention, to be a help whenever possible.

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That's what I do in life. I am here to help. I have designed excellent alternative energy inventions to bless us all. And I wish to live off the grid as I experiment and put together my inventions.

I stopped watching TV 25 years ago to avoid false propaganda and to seek and honor the truth for myself. One of the best life choices I ever made.

Since then I have been blessed with outstanding discoveries and inventions. I found the answer to prayer in discovering the correct way to understand the bible.

~~~

And I invented outstanding new alternative energy designs to bless mankind. More people should care more about the truth and support the best in alternative energy.

Humanity championing alternative energy is what the world needs the most but we talk about it the least.

Cannabis is the issue of our day because arguably nothing threatens mankind more (other than perhaps nuclear war) than the petrochemical domination and global pollution nightmare that resulted from cannabis prohibition and suppression against the best in alternative energy.

~~~

Anything big oil can do, cannabis hemp can do better. Energy is ultimately important, and so far the corrupt establishment controls it through aging centralized distribution.

I said I won't focus on this issue, but EVERYONE of your lives matters and energy is the most important issue of our day AND I AM HERE TO HELP US ALL WIN. My wind turbine could be 4 times better than the best we have today.

Just please consider one last thing. As Bucky would say, you don't win by fighting against the existing reality, you win by obsoleting their model.

~~~

We win by obsoleting their power base, the energy cartels. We win by championing alternative energy. It's not divided we stand, united we fall for a good reason.

I gave the last half of my adult life in hopes of blessing the world, and I am on track to doing it. Except that I need unusual support because I can't easily patent it and also protect it from patent pirates.

Anyway, it's good to help others. Let's not rush to do the opposite. That seems unreasonable. It's ok to disagree and that should be acceptable.

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If we occasionally get personal, that's the way life tends to be, but let's not dive into personal attacks when we don't really even know each other, and this is a constructive positive forum.

I love what this forum ideally represents.

I have ideas about making bus living better, and I have not had the time to share that yet, but you will see that I am a giver and not just a taker.

[musigenesis]

Nm unsubscribing.

[FreeEnergy4All]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Nm unsubscribing.

After you said "If you have the technical ability to shorten a bus in the middle, seems like also cutting down the back end would be a trivial task." it's not a big loss.

I don't need my bus project trivialized. It's a serious project that deserves helpful constructive responses.

I don't even know if it's feasible to remove a section out of the middle, but removing two sections would be a waste of time, money and energy. I am a normal person not made of cash.

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How much do YOU think that a frame shop would charge to make FOUR cuts into the body and frame to remove TWO sections of the bus, and ALSO weld it all back together with SUFFICIENT structural support? How much, an arm and a leg and a kidney?

[FreeEnergy4All]

For all you naysayers out there, that say you can't feasibly take out a midsection out of the bus and put it back together with sufficient reinforcement.

I saw a guy do it on a youtube video. I hope I can find that video, but he drastically shortened the bus's wheelbase, but maybe he only used that bus on the farm, IDK.

And maybe that guy was sorta rich, IDK, but that much was not clearly conveyed. So it has been done before, and yes, I am sure it's MUCH easier to bob the tale. I totally agree and never wanted to remove a midsection.

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However, so far I believe that removing a midsection is possible although it might be expensive and use heavy reinforcement.

But if it can't be feasibly done by those who are not rich, then I accept it and would need to reflect those changes in the conversion plans.

[FreeEnergy4All]

Ok, so maybe bobbing the tale could work after all! If it could work, this is how it seems to be shaping up.

I need a minimum of a 6-foot swing out or 6 feet from the rear axle to the rear bumper. And the longest swingouts are about 12 feet long. If there are longer ones, please let me know!

So that means I can only remove 6 feet from the rear of a 36' long school bus "if" the rear swingout was 12 feet long.

[FreeEnergy4All]

If the bus was 38' long, I'd have to remove 8 feet, and 12-8 leaves only 4 feet. I could only accept that "IF" I could steer the trailer while parking or while driving slowly.

But it seems to me that having a modestly long swingout is much easier to accomplish than creating a way to steer the wheels of the trailer.

However, I was considering using an old bus body and frame without a powertrain to serve as the basis for the TT. That might leave enough room to install some sort of heavy-duty front steering under the trailer.

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Maybe a cement truck's entire front-end steering and suspension. And then steer it remotely while backing up for example.

But I don't know if such a thing is even possible. I would not use it for highway use, just use it under 15-20 MPH. So I would avoid using it on the road and just use it while slowly offroading.

Any reasonable suggestions to make the trailer steerable? Even just 15-20 degrees each way would probably be good enough.

[FreeEnergy4All]

Oops, busted! I found it! It's possible to shorten the bus in the midsection! This guy did it from a 72-passenger bus to a short bus!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLKawtzP-0g&t=2s

[FreeEnergy4All]

Sorry, this post was not intended to be posted. If you are running this forum, please delete this post or let me learn now to do that myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Crn5J-Elsg

[FreeEnergy4All]

For the skeptical, here's more evidence it's real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Crn5J-Elsg

[STS23]

Yeah, but without an exactly 9’ swingout it must be a bear to drive. I’d recommend a 40’ front engine bus with the first 10’ removed and moved to the rear. Then cut the middle 10’ out and dispose of it in accordance with local regulations. Voila! 30’ bus.

[Drew Bru]

AFAIK nobody on this forum has attempted such a surgery. You're wise to consult someone who's done this kind of operation, why not reach out to the Youtuber who's got experience with this?

[STS23]

Might I also suggest getting two 40’ rear engine buses, cutting the front 25’ off of each and then mating them together? 2 engines, double the towing capacity!

[STS23]

What about 2 buses, one 28’ and the other 40’. Remove 10’ from the 40’ and add 2’ of that removed section to the 28’ and then flip one upside down and put it on top of the other…

[STS23]

I got it… first, take a 15pax van and then add another van to it. Once those two are added together then cut the tops off each and install a boat over the chassis.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by STS23

I got it… first, take a 15pax van and then add another van to it. Once those two are added together then cut the tops off each and install a boat over the chassis.

I gotta say, an amphibus would be pretty badass

[Crown_Guy]

Cannabis...... Gigglesnort. Black lights and Lava lamps too. This one was fun.

[jimmythomas]

Take a look at European freight trucks. They usually are a long wheelbase tandem axle flat front truck with a " wagon" as a trailer - steerable front axle and single rear axle.
I think the idea of slide-outs adds weight and complexity and structural compromises to the Bus body. Why not start with a box truck and build your own Taj Mahal on the back?

[FreeEnergy4All]

Originally Posted by jimmythomas

Take a look at European freight trucks. They usually are a long wheelbase tandem axle flat front truck with a " wagon" as a trailer - steerable front axle and single rear axle.
I think the idea of slide-outs adds weight and complexity and structural compromises to the Bus body. Why not start with a box truck and build your own Taj Mahal on the back?

The large box trucks tend to be 8.5' wide, not 8', maybe they all are, and that's not allowed in many states for RV's. That's why a bus is preferred. I wish to boondock in numerous states, so the RV's need to be only be 8' wide.

[FreeEnergy4All]

Originally Posted by Crown_Guy

Cannabis...... Gigglesnort. Black lights and Lava lamps too. This one was fun.

When people hear what we need the most but talk about the least, and they continue the same fear-based paranoia, this leaves a bad example of less and less hope for humanity. Please stop responding to life's most pressing issues with fear.

Most shallow thinkers believe it's up to us inventors to win the day, but that's not the case. It's up to you the masses to make up your mind to stop boot-licking our mutual oppressors the energy cartels and finally support the best in alternative energy for the win.

I realize that humanity has tons of self-refuting bad habits, like mocking the importance of alternative energy, but you don't need to amplify them and make it worse.

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No need to give up on our best chance at defeating the robber Baron's powerbase, the energy cartels by obsoleting their model, which is the petrochemical domination and global pollution nightmare.

Anything big Oil can do, cannabis hemp can do better. And suppressed alternative energy tech could replace oil. And that's a sure thing, so please stop acting like a sum zero or like you never heard about the most important issue of our day, cannabis.

Cannabis is the only plant that could save the world. See the emperor wears no clothes for more info and a $50,000 challenge to disprove this point which never happened BECAUSE HE'S RIGHT!

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As I keep saying and you all don't seem to believe, anything big oil can do, cannabis hemp can do better.