Missy Conversion - 1998 MCI 102

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

"It's simply a matter of weight ratios..." Only in this case you need to factor in density and velocity. Which is more deadly; a frozen turkey at 600 knots or a tortoise at 150 knots.

I'm guessing the jet testing used frozen turkeys just so they could launch them from their air cannons without turning them into turkey soup before leaving the barrel. Most geese strikes be it jet or prop don't involve a frozen goose.

No, but at over 200mph does it really matter if it's frozen or not? I haven't seen many flying turtles though, let alone a tortoise.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by o1marc

No, but at over 200mph does it really matter if it's frozen or not? I haven't seen many flying turtles though, let alone a tortoise.

I'm sure some engineer figured out what the difference in impact energy was between thawed and frozen. Right after they souped the first turkey.


Tortoises have more torque than turtles? Further testing is needed.

[Brewerbob]

Turtles in the news.

[JDOnTheGo]

Missy is currently in the shop getting serviced. I asked them to search for the elusive vibration that has been driving me nuts.

Got a call last night that the front passenger shock was installed without a bushing. Not sure that is the vibration issue but it is the second 'poor workmanship' issue found from the work performed by Royal Tire in St. Cloud, MN. (the first was this brake pad issue). Obviously, I'm stating their name and telling folks to steer clear....

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

Not sure that is the vibration issue but it is the second 'poor workmanship' issue found from the work performed by Royal Tire in St. Cloud, MN. (the first was this brake pad issue). Obviously, I'm stating their name and telling folks to steer clear....

I remember that. Obviously not as well as you. Still think you oughta slap a 12,000lb winch on the front of that jeep.

Missy is currently in the shop getting serviced. I asked them to search for the elusive vibration that has been driving me nuts.

Got a call last night that the front passenger shock was installed without a bushing.

Constant rattle? Even on smooth roads? If so, I doubt it. I would think that would be more of a "thunk" when hitting something.


Good luck finding whatever it is.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

So why is it you don't RV? Without a job or with a remote job like you guys, I'd be like JD here; parked halfway up some unnamed mountain on a dirt road. I need a decent cell signal. Wi-Fi would be better but that's asking a lot. Comparing buses I can probably get further down the same dirt road he's on.



You;ve got the shorty so you can get further down than both of us. Slap some 4x4 action on Charlies lifted shortie and he can live on the cul-de-sac!!

part of it is that im more of a city boy.. my "hiking" and exploring are city streets.. bicycling on metro bike paths.. walking downtowns of cities.. for example im at a convention in cinci this week.. with a lot of downtime from convention activities.. so ive been walking many many streets, trying out all kinds of coffee shops, taking in a museum or two here and there.. architecture, walking across the river on all the bridges, take in a baseball game,



the 2500 mile trip from salem to columbus in the Superior told me that I just dont dig wilderness..



RVing Opens up the wilderness to people who enjoy it but also want to feel somewhat civilized at times..

if I enjoyed climbing mountains, kayaking rivers, mountain biking for more than just a short stint here and there then I could totally get into the full travelling lifestyle.. but in City exploring even parking a short bus for more than a day or so is often a pain.. for example i couldnt bring even my red bus down here.. even though some of the conventioners wanted to go for a ride and see the outskirts of town..

-Christopher

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

Missy is currently in the shop getting serviced. I asked them to search for the elusive vibration that has been driving me nuts.

Got a call last night that the front passenger shock was installed without a bushing. Not sure that is the vibration issue but it is the second 'poor workmanship' issue found from the work performed by Royal Tire in St. Cloud, MN. (the first was this brake pad issue). Obviously, I'm stating their name and telling folks to steer clear....

sounds like Les Schwab in portland oregon.. Grrr.. they jacked me around with a bit of a tire debacle.. I still had a vibration even with new tires.. and they said "its your suspension.. your steering is too loose and causing it".. turns out they used the wrong Lugnuts and didnt properly Seat the Stud pilot rim... they used Hub pilot Nuts on a Stud pilot rim... I coulda lost a wheel..
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

part of it is that im more of a city boy.. my "hiking" and exploring are city streets.. bicycling on metro bike paths.. walking downtowns of cities.. for example im at a convention in cinci this week.. with a lot of downtime from convention activities.. so ive been walking many many streets, trying out all kinds of coffee shops, taking in a museum or two here and there.. architecture, walking across the river on all the bridges, take in a baseball game,



the 2500 mile trip from salem to columbus in the Superior told me that I just dont dig wilderness..



RVing Opens up the wilderness to people who enjoy it but also want to feel somewhat civilized at times..

if I enjoyed climbing mountains, kayaking rivers, mountain biking for more than just a short stint here and there then I could totally get into the full travelling lifestyle.. but in City exploring even parking a short bus for more than a day or so is often a pain.. for example i couldnt bring even my red bus down here.. even though some of the conventioners wanted to go for a ride and see the outskirts of town..

-Christopher

Ah, fair enough. But for teh record, that ain't hiking!!

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Ah, fair enough. But for teh record, that ain't hiking!!

OK then whatever you call 10 miles on the sneaks a day is.. i do it

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

OK then whatever you call 10 miles on the sneaks a day is.. i do it

Lol. A park bench and a squirrel doesn't count even in the glamping world!!! I'd call that walking not hiking.


It's all good. I don't mind wandering a city either (if it's not too hot). Nothing worse than being in a new town and "stuck" in a hotel. Did that on a business trip to Monterrey (sp), Mexico. The company was out by the airport which was 20 miles out of town. The dudes I was with didn't want to leave the hotel. 4 million people in town so I didn't want to be the only white boy wandering around. Probably would have been fine but I didn't go. I was PISSED at those guys. Two or 3 nights (don't remember) and they never left the hotel/company/airport campus area.

[JDOnTheGo]

I got Missy back from the shop.

Fixing the shock helped what was a clunking sound that I had barely noticed. Now that it is gone, I realize that it is was there!

They didn't find anything that might be causing the vibration so they took her for a drive. They agree that is coming from the back but feel that it is tire/wheel related. Of course, the tire/wheel people think it is something else. So, I'll continue to enjoy it.

I was again reminded that I am a horrible communicator. I started emailing the shop more than a month ago. I worked out an EXACT date (Tuesday) for them to work on her and gave them an EXACT list of things to work on. When I dropped her off, they said they hoped to get to her sometime that WEEK! I happened to know the mechanic and he didn't receive ANY of the information that I provided (things to work on and specifics about each item). I got one call during the week and that was from the air conditioning guy. He was having a problem getting the chassis A/C working and looking for more information. Of course, the A/C was not even on my list so I told him to stop. Other than that, I didn't receive any updates during the week unless I texted my friend. Friday afternoon at about 3:30, I texted my friend asking what the status was. He said I could come pick her up.

I realize all of this is typical but it still makes me angry. I have no idea why communication is so difficult. English is actually my first/primary language but I constantly have problems. Kinda like at work when I give someone direction to do something and they do something else. Clearly I have an issue but not sure I'm going to get it figured out before I check out of this life.

Regardless... the service got done and we are good to go again!

[alpine44]

On communication:

A CEO I worked for introduced me to the following model that governs interactions between people if reaching a common goal is desired.

-Hearing does not guarantee listening
-Listening does not guarantee understanding
-Understanding does not guarantee agreeing
-Agreeing does not guarantee proper execution

If we want a task executed exactly to our specifications we have to "walk" others through all these steps and not assume that they will follow (through) automatically.

In aviation, critical instructions to the pilot have to be read back by the pilot as part of the clearance process. This rule is a result of learning from many smoking holes in the ground that were caused by ATC and pilots not being on the same page. If that is necessary with highly trained professionals who know that a "miscommunication" will not just put their job at risk but their life, you'll get the idea how much more work has to be invested to have the average grease monkey do the right job, the right way, at the right time.

The grim reality is that we typically need to hold people's hands from the job order all the way to finally paying the bill. (That's probably the number one reason why I prefer DIY whenever possible.)

A famous military general phrased it like "It's not sufficient to give orders that can be understood. Orders have to be given so that they cannot possibly misunderstood" and I would add "...by the dumbest, least motivated character out there".

[alpine44]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

...

They didn't find anything that might be causing the vibration so they took her for a drive. They agree that is coming from the back but feel that it is tire/wheel related. Of course, the tire/wheel people think it is something else. So, I'll continue to enjoy it.

...

Check the runout on all tires by jacking the bus up, turning the tires and holding a tire iron close to the tread. A wheel balancer will tell the technician how much weight needs to be added to compensate for a mass imbalance but it will not reveal geometric deviations.

I learned that while chasing a persistent, annoying vibration on my box truck. After a warranty replacement of one "egged" tire everything was fine. Before I wondered about the geometry of the tires, that tire had been balanced twice with weights and once with beads.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by alpine44

A CEO I worked for introduced me to the following model that governs interactions between people if reaching a common goal is desired.

-Hearing does not guarantee listening
-Listening does not guarantee understanding
-Understanding does not guarantee agreeing
-Agreeing does not guarantee proper execution

I like this CEO of yours already.

and I would add "...by the dumbest, least motivated character out there".

Therein lies the problem. Just when you think you have the dumbest most clueless person nodding their head up and down, along comes another...

I work in the DoD industry. We have a bunch of newbie millennials working here.

1) They have zero experience as this is their first job. We've all been there. No one was born an expert at anything other than filling a diaper. It's not their fault they are clueless.

2) Many of these millennials are also govies. This is where it gets dicey. Govies think of themselves as a higher class of people. New college grads to bot. They are going to save the world. If you explain things to them as described above, they get their feelings hurt. Then they go and try to make trouble for you.

3) while they are usually well intentioned, I no longer say they (all the govies not just the newbies) can't surprise me with the retarded stuff any more. As soon as I say they can't get any dumber, they prove me wrong.

I've worked DoD before. I've worked publicly owned corporations. I've worked privately owned corporations. Electronics manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, aerospace manufacturing, and military manufacturing. This place, by far, takes the cake on doing retarded stuff.

[JDOnTheGo]

Tire out of round has been part of all three balances. Purcell Tire uses a machine they refer to as the Road Force 'balancer' (or something). It tests for out of round and balance with the contact patch under pressure (like driving down the road). All of mine have passed balance and out of round three times. I don't claim that there isn't a problem with them but sure is hard to argue with the three results from two different shops (Albuquerque and Reno).

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

Tire out of round has been part of all three balances. Purcell Tire uses a machine they refer to as the Road Force 'balancer' (or something). It tests for out of round and balance with the contact patch under pressure (like driving down the road). All of mine have passed balance and out of round three times. I don't claim that there isn't a problem with them but sure is hard to argue with the three results from two different shops (Albuquerque and Reno).

Tested off the bus right? Wonder if you have a wheel bearing going back. "A vibration" isn't much to go on but the shop(s) should be able to figure it out. Frustrating when they can't or point fingers at each other.

[cadillackid]

make sure the hub pilot actually centers the rim... its quite possible the rim is not centering.. thats why the method explained of raising up the bus and rotating the wheels is the one i use.. it accounts for bent axles, off center hubs, out of round tires, etc
-Christopher

[alpine44]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

Tire out of round has been part of all three balances. Purcell Tire uses a machine they refer to as the Road Force 'balancer' (or something). It tests for out of round and balance with the contact patch under pressure (like driving down the road). All of mine have passed balance and out of round three times. I don't claim that there isn't a problem with them but sure is hard to argue with the three results from two different shops (Albuquerque and Reno).

If you had the tires balanced with the bus on a drum (like a dyno), that's a different story. I was referring to problems with balancers, where the tire is taken off the vehicle and mounted on the balancer.

[JDOnTheGo]

Hi Christopher,

I've had the "Tru-Balance" tools (https://www.tru-bal.com/) used to ensure the wheels are centered on the axle (in case the wheel was worn and not centering on the hub correctly).

[JDOnTheGo]

Thanks to all for the thoughts on the vibration. I'm afraid it is not a simple/obvious problem as some really good tire shops have seemingly pulled out all the stops to fix it. No luck.

I have four more steel wheels to replace with aluminum. I have fairly low expectations but maybe... Not sure when I'll get around to that.