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Old 09-02-2019, 04:15 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by banman View Post
Wow, that's great news for me -- with the lower gear on mine then I should be able to cruise 75 and possibly get 10mpg. That makes a shared cost road trip feasible! Does yours also have the 100 gal tank parallel to the frame behind the rear axle? Even at 8mpg that's incredible range -- dig it!

I tried to get the DTNA login when I bought my batteries and filters but I was taking advantage of my local Freightliner being a 24/7 operation! It was 10:30pm and the night-shift guy didn't know what that was...

I'll try again during the day!

Yeah, day shift. Get the parts manager, not the guys behind the counter.


More good news for you ... I just looked and my tires are 10R22.5 so you have a little taller tires as well.

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Old 09-02-2019, 04:33 PM   #42
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as for back on track.. how many batteries to run? several factors play in.. MANY busses are shipped with trays capable of holding 3 group 31's or 2 8D size batteries..



I see a lot come stock with 2 group 31's.. ive seen some heavily equipped RE busses with 3..



as a school bus it will spend a lot of time in idle or slow-go-stop mode.. in winter or hot summer (A/C equipped), the alternator may not be able to keep up with the full demand at slow RPMs of lights, heaters, fans,injection systems, transmission controls, etc.. batteries are the "ballast" of the system.. they may discharge a bit going through a neighborhood then recharge as tyou drive to school or the bus idles with everything turned off on shutdown..



ive never seen a diesel shipped with less than 2.. obviously in cold weather diesel starting demand is much higher than a gasoline engine..



many people can get away with 1 battery as a skoolie because they may not use their bus in extreme weather.. and when it is used, typically spends enough time at above idle to recharge the batteries and not run them down..



what shipped on it is something only freightliner or thomas would know.. the battery box and tray is aprt of the body so im guessing its a Thomas question as to how many batteries were OEM in that bus..

-Christopher
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Old 09-02-2019, 08:13 PM   #43
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You were there when my bus was built -- what else can you tell me?
Maybe you have the Holy Grail specially built for you.
Were you there when the bus was built?
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:14 AM   #44
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Yeah, day shift. Get the parts manager, not the guys behind the counter.


More good news for you ... I just looked and my tires are 10R22.5 so you have a little taller tires as well.
I wouldn't have guessed such a similar bus would have a smaller tire -- hmm, I guess one inch narrower isn't much of a difference... I imagine you could go up in size on your next set of tires -- is there room between your rear duals for wider/taller rubber?
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:26 AM   #45
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depends on his rim size.. on my DEV bus it came with 10R22.5 tires but the rims were wide enough to take a Uniroyal 11R22.5, I think they required a 6.75" rim.. I know my rims were right close to what was required.. I went to 11R because its such a standard size..I gained like 4 MPH in speed.. or in my case lowered my RPM a couple hundred for my normal travel speed.
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:36 AM   #46
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depends on his rim size.. on my DEV bus it came with 10R22.5 tires but the rims were wide enough to take a Uniroyal 11R22.5, I think they required a 6.75" rim.. I know my rims were right close to what was required.. I went to 11R because its such a standard size..I gained like 4 MPH in speed.. or in my case lowered my RPM a couple hundred for my normal travel speed.
That's a pretty huge difference -- I've run gear/tire/rpm calculator charts for my Willys project but never for a big truck.

Don't suppose you have a tire regroover? My Michelin's say they're regroovable -- lot of coin for new sneakers before I know how much I might drive it...

And now to find a new(ish?) power steering reservoir -- I don't think the one I've got is where I should practice my MIG skilz...
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Old 09-03-2019, 07:37 AM   #47
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This thread reminded me its been a month or two since I's started mine.
Drove till it got up to temp and parked it far from any trees, just in case we get some wind tonight.
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Old 09-03-2019, 06:54 PM   #48
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Yeah, it looks like Dorian will be mostly blowing 'cause is ain't going.
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Old 09-03-2019, 06:57 PM   #49
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I have room around I do not know about between the duals.
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Old 09-04-2019, 07:14 PM   #50
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Going back to the original question about Thomas Bus Manuals - I contacted the local Thomas shop about getting access to the electronic manuals.

My bus was too old for that, so they sent me electronic versions of all the manuals that related to my 2005 Thomas HDX ~1500 pages.

I printed the whole thing out and it was invaluable for electrical troubleshooting.
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Old 09-04-2019, 07:54 PM   #51
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Going back to the original question about Thomas Bus Manuals - I contacted the local Thomas shop about getting access to the electronic manuals.

My bus was too old for that, so they sent me electronic versions of all the manuals that related to my 2005 Thomas HDX ~1500 pages.

I printed the whole thing out and it was invaluable for electrical troubleshooting.
Very cool.
By "local Thomas shop" do you mean a local Bus repair facility?
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Old 09-04-2019, 08:01 PM   #52
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yeah dont ether it if it has an intake heater!!!



get out the old fuel!!! 2 years plus is a LONG time for diesel to sit in moist Ohio..
and yeah that kitty wants to spin to start... we can try to jump it up with one of my busses but best thing is a couple new batteries.. I have batteries-plus AGM deep cycle in mine so i dont hurt them if a bus sits and the batteries die..



chances are after that long of time the HPOP probably drained so it weill take a bit of crank and wait, crank and wait till it fires...



a 240 HP FS-65?? dayum.. ive never seen a 240 in an FS. I guess thatsd why they put a stick in it.. no auto wants to take that power!
How do you start with ether, exactly? My bus has it and it's just a push button. My bus has failed to start three times (bad batteries, bad starter, and I accidentally unplugged the rear door's barrel lock) and each time I was tempted to randomly hit that button and see if it would magically fix my problem. Fortunately I have more self-control than that.
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Old 09-04-2019, 08:03 PM   #53
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How do you start with ether, exactly? My bus has it and it's just a push button. My bus has failed to start three times (bad batteries, bad starter, and I accidentally unplugged the rear door's barrel lock) and each time I was tempted to randomly hit that button and see if it would magically fix my problem. Fortunately I have more self-control than that.

Good question, we've got an ether button as well but I've never tried to use it.
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Old 09-04-2019, 11:23 PM   #54
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Very cool.
By "local Thomas shop" do you mean a local Bus repair facility?
Yes. Around here, there's a company that services the Thomas contracts and repairs the buses. If they aren't the right place, they can direct you to the right people.

You'll need to include the VIN number to get the right documentation.
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Old 09-05-2019, 08:00 AM   #55
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Yes. Around here, there's a company that services the Thomas contracts and repairs the buses. If they aren't the right place, they can direct you to the right people.

You'll need to include the VIN number to get the right documentation.
Thanks! that would be amazing to get a searchable .pdf and go to kinco's and get oversized color print-outs of the electricals!
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Old 09-06-2019, 07:45 AM   #56
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Ether is only to be used as a cold start aid. Don't use it to mask other no start issues, it's pretty volatile and hard on engine components. So if you have other cold start aids, like grid heaters and glow plugs, use those first.

We use ether as a last ditch effort to get an engine running in the cold.

If you have the button on the dash, crank the engine, and while cranking, you push that button. That button operates a solenoid that sits on top of a can of ether, and releases a stream of ether into the intake manifold.
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Old 09-06-2019, 07:56 AM   #57
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Ether is only to be used as a cold start aid. Don't use it to mask other no start issues, it's pretty volatile and hard on engine components. So if you have other cold start aids, like grid heaters and glow plugs, use those first.

We use ether as a last ditch effort to get an engine running in the cold.

If you have the button on the dash, crank the engine, and while cranking, you push that button. That button operates a solenoid that sits on top of a can of ether, and releases a stream of ether into the intake manifold.
Thanks for the info, I'm going to definitely never do this if it's at all possible (in fact I'm going to see if I can cover the button with something). My bus is going to be more of a mobile tiny house (MoTH?) so I shouldn't need to ever be driving it in extreme cold.
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Old 09-06-2019, 10:18 AM   #58
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Originally Posted by Booyah45828 View Post
Ether is only to be used as a cold start aid. Don't use it to mask other no start issues, it's pretty volatile and hard on engine components. So if you have other cold start aids, like grid heaters and glow plugs, use those first.

We use ether as a last ditch effort to get an engine running in the cold.

If you have the button on the dash, crank the engine, and while cranking, you push that button. That button operates a solenoid that sits on top of a can of ether, and releases a stream of ether into the intake manifold.

Ah HA! Thanks, man. I just relocated the button when I put in a new radio, and like musigenesis said, I probably should have tucked it away out of sight We've got (I think?) a grid heater, as there's a 120v looking plug in the front bumper. We don't plan on doing much cold weather starts, we plan on going where the climate suits our soul.
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Old 09-06-2019, 10:58 AM   #59
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The 120vac plug on the bumper is for a block heater. It's essentially a heating element in the engine that warms the coolant in the block. A grid heater will be 12vdc and it's operation will be automatic by either the engine ecm or a self contained controller.

Both of your busses might not have a grid heater. So aside from plugging the block heater in, that ether injection system is your cold start aid.

Dt466's are pretty good at starting when cold, so, depending on your climate, you might never need to use ether.
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Old 09-06-2019, 12:12 PM   #60
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Ah HA! Thanks, man. I just relocated the button when I put in a new radio, and like musigenesis said, I probably should have tucked it away out of sight We've got (I think?) a grid heater, as there's a 120v looking plug in the front bumper. We don't plan on doing much cold weather starts, we plan on going where the climate suits our soul.
The plug on the front is most like an engine heating system, either heating the coolant in the water jacket, or the oil in the motor. The grid heater is in the intake and not manually controlled.
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