What should I bring when picking up my bus for the first time?

[cadillackid]

what kind of bus? a Van front or full chassis? bluefire works on full chassis like international, if its a van front bus a standard OBD-II scanner will work

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

If you need power tools for the pick-up and drive home, you're in for a challenge! No, you won't need those. I don't even think you'd need a cordless screwgun or anything like that.

If you're driving and you don't know the condition of the batteries, it wouldn't hurt to bring heavy jumper cables. If the batteries have sat dead for a long time, they may not charge and you might want to be prepared to buy new batteries and swap them. But the tools I mentioned will get that done. Having a multimeter is a good idea for checking voltage.

I do take an infrared thermometer with me, when I'm not flying, so I can check hub and drum temps on the road. In a new-to-me bus, I stop after 10-15 minutes of driving to check temps. This will tell you if you have a brake dragging or a bearing issue in a hub. After that, I'll check at every stop.

One thing I forgot to mention...you must have a tire pressure gauge capable of checking dually tires. You won't normally find that at a regular auto parts store, but every truck stop will have them. The have two tips, one angled back towards you for the outer wheel and one straight for the inner wheel. Here's what that looks like. You don't need the dial gauge type like this photo, but the straight tip on the end is essential.

Attachment 58165

Oh, and bring a flashlight for finding the inner wheel valve stem. It's usually...but not always...about 180 degrees from the outer wheel valve stem...in other words, through one of the hand holes on the other side of the wheel.

One more thing. What if your tire pressure is low? No auto air fill station has a fitting which will reach dually tire valve stems. So, drive around to the back of the truck stop where the semis fill up and you'll find suitable air stations back there...and they're usually free, so you don't have to feed it quarters.

There are next level tools for changing tires or bigger items, but I bet you won't need those for this trip.

I bought extenders for my red bus so all of my Valves are easy to get to.. on my DEV bus I had them install the U-valves on my outer duals so I can get to them from the front..



I have a 3 foot clip on air chuck so I can stand away from the sidewall when pumping up my tires. . the chuck has a built in gauge

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I bought extenders for my red bus so all of my Valves are easy to get to.. on my DEV bus I had them install the U-valves on my outer duals so I can get to them from the front..



I have a 3 foot clip on air chuck so I can stand away from the sidewall when pumping up my tires. . the chuck has a built in gauge

Those are definitely nice additions! My dually capable air chuck isn't the typical lock-on style, with the lever, because I haven't found those to work on unmodified dually tires...but it does have grooves or "threads" inside so when I push it on to the valve stem I can pull the hose to the side and it stays on quite well. Like you, I stay away from the sidewall when I inflate them...especially the split rim/tube tires I find on the old buses. We probably have the same chuck, with the little plunger and the lever to fill or stop? The only problem with that is my thumb or fingers get tired of pressing that thing down when I'm airing tires which are super low (like I did yesterday on the old bus I winched out of the sand).

Anyway, you make a good point to emphasize...air carefully!

[buslivesmatter]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

what kind of bus? a Van front or full chassis? bluefire works on full chassis like international, if its a van front bus a standard OBD-II scanner will work

I think it’s a van chassis. That’s good to know about the standard OBD-II. It’s a Chevy express gas engine handicap bus.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by buslivesmatter

Ok thanks. I didn’t totally understand. You think a bluefire is a good investment?

I would consider it a MUST HAVE for any skoolie owner (if the vehicle is new enough) or even for a prospective skoolie owner.

Edit: but not if it doesn't work on your van chassis bus, of course. I didn't realize it didn't work on those.

[Bert06840]

I don’t have a BlueFire, but bought a $199 Nexas NL102+ with the DPF reset. At that time it had 4+ stars. It works, but doesn’t go very deep at all.



At that time, I didn’t know enough. My bus has manual DPF regen (doh! $50 out of the window), and I didn’t understand about the RP1210 API.

Just weeks later I bought a real RP1210 adapter (Grandview USB) which is much more my kind of thing, but less practical of course.

[Bert06840]

Originally Posted by buslivesmatter

I think it’s a van chassis. That’s good to know about the standard OBD-II. It’s a Chevy express gas engine handicap bus.

An OBD-II adapter is cheap as chips. Buy an ELM327 adapter off Amazon for a few bucks.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Bert06840

An OBD-II adapter is cheap as chips. Buy an ELM327 adapter off Amazon for a few bucks.

THIS and the Torque Pro app on an android device.. (sorry no torque pro for iPhone)..





I have one bus with retainer ring rims still on the front, technically a retainer ring gets tighter with more pressure.. but it is still a split and I wouldnt want that thing flyin apart! its a 43 year old bus (the tires are new) so airing carefully is the name of the game!

[buslivesmatter]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

THIS and the Torque Pro app on an android device.. (sorry no torque pro for iPhone)..





I have one bus with retainer ring rims still on the front, technically a retainer ring gets tighter with more pressure.. but it is still a split and I wouldnt want that thing flyin apart! its a 43 year old bus (the tires are new) so airing carefully is the name of the game!

I have an iPhone. Is there a comparable app?

[cadillackid]

I tried a couple a few years ago and hated them so I went and got an android tablet, problem solved