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Old 10-03-2011, 08:12 AM   #1
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Re: california route 5 vs 101

My bus also gets hot on long grades. Some people have set up misting systems to spray water on the radiator on occasions where the engine is getting too hot. I will probably do this. If you search this forum you'll probably find some info on that.

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Old 10-03-2011, 11:15 AM   #2
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Re: california route 5 vs 101

Building a mist system for your radiator is pretty easy. We built one for our bus when we brought it out from NC. Had to have the radiator rebuilt by East Texas Radiator in Longview. Great folks. But the 100F+ temps were still causing the bus to overheat on the interstate. Luckily we were moving and we had almost all the parts to build a misting system in the bus. We sat in the parking lot at the Lowes in Odessa/Midland (not sure which or if there is only one). The ladies in the garden dept were kind enough to let us fill our tanks with their potable water.

We used...
>a drip irrigation system for a garden (I had two sets still in the boxes. I had bought them two years earlier at a Home Depot where they were on clearance sale for fall.. SEE! I had a use for them!)
>12vDC Shurflo 2088 water pump (too much pressure... kept blowing the misters little heads off) That pump is now being used inside the Class C... or the Food Cart... I had two extra pumps and don't remember which is which
> 30 gallon fresh water tank (this is now the fresh tank for the bus)
>electrical zip ties to attach the tubing to the grill of the bus (gotta love those zip ties!) and a couple of hose clamps

From Lowes, we bought a 12vDC toggle switch (to turn the pump on as needed) and some more mister heads since we kept blowing them apart. Did well to keep the temps down. Getting off the interstate helped too. We took primary roads from Odessa/Midland into NM (found a NICE bus friendly public park in Hobbs thanks to Don Wright's Free & Cheap Campgrounds - Western Edition directory and wallydocked at Sam's Club in Roswell (members but Wal-Mart next door allows parking as well) where they have diesel at their pumps and you CAN get a 40 ft bus towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee into the only diesel pump!)then on to Socorro. Crossed the Valley of Fire with no problems (did not stop to check out the campground. Whenever the temp gauge on the bus started to climb, David hit the toggle switch and it cooled right down.

The temporary mister system that we built has since been dismantled. I have a different plan for our misting system...

Instead of using misters, I'm using a (1/4" punched soaker tubing) that has tiny pin holes in it. You could use a non punched tubing and simply poke holes in it where needed with a crafter's "t" pin or quilters pin. They are thicker pins and would make a little bigger hole but not too big. that way you only need to buy one type of hose and won't need to splice in any different hoses. You can also attach the hose and THEN poke your little holes in it. But my hose is already punched and I have almost 50 ft of it leftover from the drip kit.

I will secure the tubing onto the back side of the grill over the radiator with elastometic adhesive/roof patch (It's clear but not silicone). I will have a drain on the end of the tubing so that I can drain the water out in the winter. The supply water will come from our fresh tank (that has been filled with softened, filtered water). We have a tiny very low flow 1gpm 12vDC water pump that will supply the water (this is the one we have). It will have a toggle switch next to the driver on the switch panel to turn the little pump on/off as needed. I will have a shut off valve on the line to the pump so that it can be shut down. The mister pump (and our "house" water pump) will set inside the same insulated box the fresh tank is in because it will be heated in the winter time.

WHY "softened, filtered" water? Because we filter all our water straight from the hose (sediment plus a .5 micron filter to filter out the nasty "bugs") before it ever sees the interior of our RV... that includes fresh holding tanks. I want a softener because the water we have run into is full of minerals. The lime scale we have built up since moving out west is terrible. I even flushed our Class C's 6 gallon water heater with a couple gallons of white vinegar... and then had to remove all the faucet screens to get the limescale debris out of the water lines (I ran the water so that the vinegar was in the water lines then let it set for several hours... a long hot vinegar scented shower was all it took to flush the water heater... plus stripped shampoo/conditioner film out of my hair). The minerals in the water here is so bad, I am concerned that it will clog up the misters. The tubing stuff only requires a straight needle to unclog or to make a bigger hole if needed.

This is NOT my idea. I originally ran across this over on Ian's Bus (Coach) BBS. Eagle Buses (what we had), and some other coaches, have their radiators on the sides of the bus.They have a nasty tendency to overheat when climbing (slowly) up a hill or while sitting in traffic. This is what those guys were doing and it is a tried and true system. I figure if it is good enough for a bus shell that costs $30K and up, then it was good enough for my $1400 skoolie shell.
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Old 10-03-2011, 12:39 PM   #3
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Re: california route 5 vs 101

Filters are:
First inline from the hose...
Sediment Filter that we found at a yard sale or tailgate flea market for $5. This is only for sand, pebbles and leaves. It is a permanent mesh and you just flush it out by opening the valve on the bottom. You generally find them over with the well pumps. This makes my other filter last much longer by prevent it from filling up with sand. Picture is of one that is almost identical. Mine doesn't have the ball valve on it... but it will!



Whirlpool Under Sink Drop-In Water Filtration System Model #: WHKF-DUF with a Whirlpool Drop In Replacement Filter Model #: WHKF-DB2. We use either the DB2 or a similar type (0.5 micron removes Giardia, Entamoeba, Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium cysts.. these have been found in many municipal water systems and in private campground water systems). So far I have used 3 different brands (Whirlpool, Culligan and ACE brand) in the filter housing. That was why we bought that particular filter housing. Plus we can change the level of filtering with different cartridges and the cartridges that will fit are available at so many places. What the DB2 (and similar) does not remove will take an RO system.


This system knocks the water flow down pretty low. That is why we are going to plumb the filters in under the bathroom sink and the water will be filtered then softened before flowing into the fresh holding tank. All our water will be pumped from the fresh tank. I still need to order the water softener. It's kinda tall (22") and uses table salt. It's the smallest softener I have found that folks say good things about. For us, it's pricey but will last a long time. I did have a used one "bought" for $125 including shipping but the folks discovered a crack on the bottom and refunded my money... they think it froze over the winter... darn! If we decide to get a tankless water heater (still undecided but leaning strongly towards it), we have decided we pretty much have to have a water softener. We have met too many folks here that say the local water is deadly to regular and tankless water heaters.

Mark 8000


NOTE: the Flow Pure site also has water filters in case you are interested. I would suggest a drop in filter and housing for any filter you may buy. It gives you more flexibility in where you buy and the price you pay. You will be changing a filter out every 3 or 6 months depending on the rating.

We originally got the Whirlpool filter housing and the DB2 because we were staying in an agricultural area with porous sand and high fertilizer/pesticide use. The local potable water smelled like the same stuff they used on the fields. The DB2 will get rid of SOME fertilizer/pesticide. Also I can travel 100 miles and get sick off the water (David doesn't). Not a problem with the .5 micron filters. Because the filters are easily changed out, we could run a different filter when we were staying at my parents place in NC or none at all since the water didn't make me sick there. I grew up on it so was used to the "bugs" in it. We ran a "taste" filter since we used a standard water hose for our water (100 ft run in a garden hose makes a yukky tasting water). Another thing about the filters. We can use pretty much any hose we want as opposed to a more expensive "drinking water " hose. What we are currently using is a thicker walled blue "wash" hose that we bought out of the auto care section at Wal-Mart. Better hose connections as well. Rated for potable water and the fittings are lead free. You have to watch that on hoses. Some garden hoses have lead in the fittings. Easy solution is to replace the original fitting with plastic "hose mender" fittings. Some will say lead free, others don't bother. So you never really know. We have several "garden" hoses that are very long. They will get cut down to a couple of different sizes and get new ends. I need to build a "winter hose" for the bus since I will be leaving the current winterized blue hose with the Class C (I'm taking my filters with me... daughter can buy her own!). I like the idea of using our heavy, thick walled hoses with the heat tape. I haven't had a drinking water hose fail due to heat tape, but I do like the idea of the thicker hose. The filters will take out any "hose" taste. My fresh tanks are black ABS and we haven't had a taste issue with them. I already have one in the Class C and didn't have a taste issue even when the water in the tanks got hot. Our filters/softener will be mounted in the bathroom sink vanity and the sediment filter will have a hose to the exterior so that I can turn the ball valve and flush out the debris that accumulates in it.
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Old 10-07-2011, 07:45 PM   #4
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Re: california route 5 vs 101

If you have lots of time I can say that highway 1 along the coast is a nice drive with good scenery. I have no experience with either 101 or 5.

I say lots of time so you can stop every so often to take pictures.
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Old 10-08-2011, 12:05 PM   #5
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Re: california route 5 vs 101

US 101 is freeway all the way from SF to LA with very few grades, nothing like the Grapevine, and it's a beautiful trip, much better than going down the central valley...travel safe
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