The Roach Motel

[sdwarf36]

Ahhh-a bus in the woods.
On my trip into the woods last weekend, I too tried pumping up my tires-it says on the doortag 80 rear 65 front. I went up from the 65 i used to have in the rear--and you coud feel it-sure didn't help ride quality.
I'm jealous of 13mpg.

[roach711]

Originally Posted by sdwarf36

Ahhh-a bus in the woods.
On my trip into the woods last weekend, I too tried pumping up my tires-it says on the doortag 80 rear 65 front. I went up from the 65 i used to have in the rear--and you coud feel it-sure didn't help ride quality.
I'm jealous of 13mpg.

When I first picked up this bus I inflated the tires to 80 lbs which is the number on the sidewall. At that time I didn't know that truck tires should be inflated to match the load on the tires. At 80 lbs with the interior all stripped out the ride was BRUTAL. A little while later I saw a thread on one of the RV forums about tire pressure and dropped down to 70 all around which helped a lot. Once I got the interior done I could finally get it weighed and adjust the pressure for actual vehicle weight. Fully loaded, 70 lbs doesn't feel too bad but I'm looking forward to trying out 60 lbs.

13 mpg is probably as good as it gets for this rig. I drafted everything in sight and we had a slight tail wind coming home. Of course, when you're going south it's all downhill.

[Tango]

Hey Roach ---watch your inflation numbers closely. As you correctly noted they should match your GVAW (gross load) but there are also the issues of mpg,tire wear & handling. Higher pressure will yield the best mpg as it reduces friction but also produces the roughest ride. Lower pressure will soften the ride, but at the expense of mpg so it is always a compromise. Get too low and the flexing of the tires will cause overheating and a very short tread life as well as some dangerously squishy handling. Sounds like you are going about it the right way (cautiously) just don't let a cushy ride be the only consideration. I'm planning on removing a few leafs from my springs to compensate for the much lighter load and will add air bags if I can figure out a place to mount them. That way I can balance the tire pressure for the best handling & mpg while still keeping my dentures in place. Rock on!

[roach711]

Good points there Tango.

According to the Michelin RV tire inflation tables, 60 lbs is the correct pressure for my axle loads, but I'll try 65 lbs and see if it's a good compromise in ride and MPG. At 70 lbs the handling is very good; better than my van in fact. Very little body roll on freeway exit ramps, but I assume that the wide dually axle is responsible for most of that.

Here's the Michelin RV inflation tables. Keep in mind that the weights listed are for 1/2 of the total front or rear axle load.

http://www.michelinrvtires.com/michelin ... tables.jsp

[Tango]

Hey Roach --- I can't even begin to recall how many bus folks I've encountered who've battled the "empty bus" ride effect. The max gross is what the spring rates were based on for earlier vehicles so they are really hard and bouncy at reduced (i.e., "empty") weights. Later units with adjustable air bags are easy to dial in. With older, leaf spring units, about all you can do to take it down is to eliminate a few leafs then add decent, preferably progressive, shocks or air bags and possibly something for better roll control like a sway bar. Once you get the spring rate balanced to the actual load, the tire pressure is easy to calibrate.

BTW...my shorty has a set of rear leafs that could probably handle a battle ready Abrams Tank so I've got a lot of work ahead of me in the ride department.

Onward!

[bansil]

Tango,
That's cool,mount the abrams and ride in TC spot.....they ride like a brand new 1978 caddy......did you even feel the parking curb dad?

[Gyrkin]

Originally Posted by roach711

Anyone know what this thingy does. Looks like it's heater related.

Did you ever figure out what that is? It's a controller for a Webasto heater. It warms engine coolant so it will start easier and the engine will warm up quicker in cold weather. They are very handy if they work.

[roach711]

Here's my Saturday project. Big job. BIG JOB. Maybe 15 minutes start to finish including hauling out and putting back the ladder. This thingy covers the roof vent so we can use the vent fan in the rain. Easy to install and easy to remove for cleaning. The rain came down just after I got the thing buttoned up and it works great. After the Fantastic vent people sent me so much free stuff I felt duty bound to actually BUY something from them.

Now I have a nice white vent cover on my nasty, filthy roof. A bus bath may be tomorrows big project.

[Diesel Dan]

Nice install of the Fantastic Vent. Do you have a 23" or 24" opening in your bus? I'm just wondering if I could easily install the Fantastic Vents in my emergency roof exits as well...

[lornaschinske]

Vent covers were one of the best things we had on the class C. It allowed us to leave the vents open 24/7 (even with the roof air on we left the vent cracked to allow the hot air built up on the ceiling to escape). And I never had to worry again that a rain storm would dump gallons of water inside while no one was home. Wonderful things vent covers. If you have vents, you should get covers for them.

[lornaschinske]

Speaking of Vent covers.... If anyone is near Silver City NM or passing thru.... 2 used Maxxair Vent Covers - $25 (Silver City)

[roach711]

Gyrkin - I did finally figure out what it was when I got around to pulling the heater off so I could hang my grey tank in that space. I've still got the heater and controller laying around if anyone's interested in them.

Diesel Dan - My Fantastic vent takes a 14 x 14 opening. If memory serves, my emergency exit opening was much larger than that. Maybe swipe one of your neighborhood stop signs to cover your existing exit hole and cut the vent into that.

Lorna - The vent cover installed literally in minutes and will save my butt since I often forget to close the vent. It also allows us to keep the vent open when the rain comes down while we're driving. OT, Is Das Mel related to you? Her signature says she's Lorna's brat. Just wondering whether you're the Lorna in question.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by roach711

... Lorna - The vent cover installed literally in minutes and will save my butt since I often forget to close the vent. It also allows us to keep the vent open when the rain comes down while we're driving. OT, Is Das Mel related to you? Her signature says she's Lorna's brat. Just wondering whether you're the Lorna in question.

Gee, Do you really forget? I would never forget! After a few south GA "bucket dump" storms, I decided enough was enough (good thing we had an all-n-one wet bath because it most certainly was wet). We had one on one of the two vents but the bathroom vent didn't. My 2nd vent was a freebie, sorta. Met up with some folks passing thru a town 30 miles away. Had lunch with them and got the free vent. Took minutes and best thing we did. Can't really stand being shut up. Although I'm making an exception for the horrible NM heat.

Mel is mine. We call her 'Tace. Neither her, nor her sister could pronounce "S" when they were little. It just stuck and it irritates her a bit. What's a parent for if not to bug their children.

[Das Mel]

Were it not for the vent covers I'd be a thoroughly dried out little husk. I keep 'em open during the uber-rare rainstorms out here in the Sahara. It's just dreadful. Have decided to see what I can do about salvaging them for my Bus.

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

Yup, I think Mum's the only Lorna around these here parts. I sure as heck haven't met any others (I have a Leona for a customer, but she's a Grumpy McGrumpenpants so I leave her alone).

Mum irritates me, I irritate Mum, it's a win-win-stab-with-a-fork kinda thing.

[roach711]

Originally Posted by Das Mel

Mum irritates me, I irritate Mum, it's a win-win-stab-with-a-fork kinda thing.

Yeah, my family can be a mixed blessing at times, but we're always there for each other.

I must say, you're both very entertaining in your own ways. Lorna's been there, done that and you have an interesting way of turning a phrase. It's good to have you both here.

[Gyrkin]

Originally Posted by roach711

Gyrkin - I did finally figure out what it was when I got around to pulling the heater off so I could hang my grey tank in that space. I've still got the heater and controller laying around if anyone's interested in them.

PM sent.

[Das Mel]

What can I say, we strive for entertainment. Ya gotta either laugh or cry and it feels better to laugh.

[roach711]

Originally Posted by Das Mel

What can I say, we strive for entertainment. Ya gotta either laugh or cry and it feels better to laugh.

Roger that Mel!

My nephew's kids want to come camping with us so I had to come up with a way to make our hybrid dinette into a bed. The problem is that there is only one dinette bench so I had to find a way to support the side of the table away from the bench. I considered building a box to support the table top but I wanted something easy to store and light weight. Finally I came up with a simple support built out of 3/8" plywood and a pair of hinges. It folds up nice and compact for storage.

I'd also like to recommend the Patrick Table Support. It's cheap, holds the table securely to the wall and makes the table real easy to remove.







Now I need to make another cushion to go over the captain's chair and cooler.

[roach711]

Last week I started working on the bus body. The funky rubber fender flares had to go but when I got them off I found the drivers side fender was rusted through. I know that many of you would have whipped out the welder and patched the thing but since I don't have one I opted for a new fender. Fortunately, ford van fenders are an easy replacement. My rattle can paint job came out OK; certainly good enough for a ratty old bus.

Before



After



I also repaired my broken battery box by slathering on some BondoGlass, sanding hell out of it then painting.

[Shadoll]

I think the fender looks marvelous. And I need to figure a battery box. Guy at work suggested cutting a hole in the inside of the bus floor and sliding the batteries down into a cage box sort of thing underneath so that I won't have to cut into the outside of the bus side. (He is a wonderful welder but when I first bought it and asked if he would be interested in some work, he said he was too busy... but he always has a long conversation for me about 'what he would do' and 'I'll come look at it someday'. )