Trip Checklist

[the_experience03]

Ok, I'm supposed to be taking the bus on a trip to a wedding in MEdora, North Dakota in which I am the best man and am going over in my head all the checks that need to be made beforehand, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything before this 1200 mile roundtrip through some pretty desolate country.

Check oil
Check tranny fluid
Check power steering fluid (it pukes a little)
Check coolant level and protection range
Check tire pressure
Check all lights for functionality
Check battery electrolyte levels
Check slack adjusters
Lube driveshafts, steering, and S-cams
Wash windows (really...I need to do it)
Check air brakes (normal pretrip build time, etc)
Wash fluid (I don't even know if the pump works)
Check for fuel leaks (always nervous with the WVO system in place)
Check differential fluid level

Spare stuff to bring:
1 gallon of oil
half a gallon of diesel (for filter changes)
pair o' fuel filters
gallon of premixed coolant
diesel treatment and a small jug of 2 stroke oil (to overcome ULSD in my old motor)
ATF
power steering fluid
lots of paper towels
WD-40
SMALL assortment of commonly used tools
jumper cables
common spare bulbs (1157 if I recall correctly)
fuse assortment
gojo



Am I missing anything essential here? I'm not too worried and this isn't my first trip, but I'd like to have a checklist I can go over before we leave just to be safe.

[wmah]

Duck tape and/or electric tape for a temporary fix of a hose if needed. Remember to leave cap loose when doing this.

I like to take a whole extra 5 gallons of diesel with me just in case you are running low and can't make it to the next station, or in my case while going through south dakota with a 35 gallon tank I made it to the next station and they were out.

I bring a 5 gallon jug of drinking water with me on top of the fresh water tank which could be used for a over heating motor if needed.

[the_experience03]

Done, done, and done. Thanks.

[waywardfool]

multimeter
electrical wire (on my Jeep, I carry about 10' each of 16ga, 12ga, 10ga - it's come in handy many times)
electrical crimp connectors - various
baling wire

[lapeer20m]

a flashlight/headlamp can be pretty handy too!

not sure if i saw flares/triangles in the list either.

I'm getting ready to leave in a few days for a 5K mile road trip from michigan to nevada and back.

[waywardfool]

tarp to throw down on roadside/parking lot if you have to crawl up underneath

[the_experience03]

These are all VERY good suggestions and stuff I normally have, but I need to check my stock and organize it all.

I do have the tarps (old "Welcome Fisherman" bar banners, actually....great little things), bailing wire, zipties and bailing wire, various wire and crimpers which live in the bus along with some electrical tape for quick repairs, a Streamlight Twin Task flashlight, a Crapsman LED trouble light, and a 12v magnetic light.

I DO need to check my batteries in my light up triangle along with my flares (they get old) and replace the battery in my cheapo multimeter since it's acting funny. I did check all my fluids today along with the brakes. I still need to grease it up good, put a fresh propane tank in there, yada yada yada...so much to do, so little time.

Keep the ideas coming! It would be good to establish a common list we could put in the FAQ's.

[wmah]

I'll second that about bringing wire along. I do bring extra wire along myself just incase I want to wire something up. Last april I had my driveshaft clamps fall off while going down the road and to get the bus back home the 10 miles I wired it up with a piece of cable tv cord and it worked pretty good.

Since headlights was brought up. Last winter I was talking to another school/charter driver in the area and he told me he just leaves the highbeams on the bus all the time and it is very rare that anyone ever flashes him because of it. Since then I had been doing the same and the same result so far no one has flashed me for it. I guess the bus lights really are piss poor headlights since no one seems to notice.

[waywardfool]

here is a thread from last year where you may pick up something else needed:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1421&hilit=

[Elliot Naess]

Miner's Lamp. That's a "flashlight" that straps onto your head so you can see what you are doing when you have to fix something at night. Any sporting goods store.