2010 Chevy Express 3500 Collins 6 Window HC Bus

[BMWNJ]

That's a nice feature to have for sure! Mine luckily came with cruise control but I didn't use it much in the mountains for obvious reasons.

Yeah not ideal for mountains for sure lol. I'm in an area thats pretty flat but if it head an hour NW from here I'm into the mountains.

I love diving in tow/haul mode in the mountains. Having the engine braking while slowing down feels much safer.

 

[BMWNJ]

Last weekend I installed a new water pump, idler pulleys, tension pulley, thermostats, coolant temp sensor and I upgraded to a severe duty fan clutch.

What a PITA job to change out the water pump on the Duramax. The geniuses at GM thought it would be a great idea to put a bolt for the pump behind the harmonic balancer so that needs to be pulled. You need to lock the flywheel so you can remove the balancer bolt (it's a one and done bolt so you'll need a new bolt when you put it back together) and its like 270 ft pounds of torque.

After I put everything together I added coolant and saw that the coolant pipe at the top of the water pump was leaking. I was thankful that the leak was at the top of the engine and not coming from the water pump itself. After I removed the pipe I saw that I had torn the o-ring on the top of the pipe while twisting it into place. I did lubricate the pipe and o-ring but when I fixed it I greased the hell out of it to make sure it wouldnt happen again. After that was repaired I added more coolant, fired her up and no leaks!

I took her on a test drive with the AC on full blast (yep, I kept and repaired the factory AC) and she did not go above 194* on the 0b2 scanner. Before the repair if I came to a stop light or just city driving the temps would start creeping up into the 215-220 range. I dont like seeing 200* on any of my fluids.

 

[BMWNJ]

You can see how much the old pump was slipping compared to it's OEM replacement. Replacement was at 120k miles.

 

[BMWNJ]

One thing I noticed on my bus while checking the grounds was that the body ground on the passenger side of the engine compartment was not bare metal. My bus has the battery cables coming up from the battery compartment into the engine compartment on the passenger side. The + wire feeds into a junction then across the front of the engine bay over to the fuse box. The - battery grounds onto the body in the area near where the bolt and nut for the side view mirror are.

I've been having weird intermittent CEL codes related to the electrical system. I'm assuming that it was because of Collins not putting the ground on bare metal the ground was then overloading the engine block ground causing it to short.

If anyone is having ground issues in the chevy cutaway check to make sure your body ground is touching metal, not paint.

 

[BMWNJ]

Changed the layout of the bus. Moved the kitchen to the front so I can get to the fridge while cooking outside easier. Opened up the layout a bit so it feels roomier. The last trip with the 4 of us plus our 3 dogs got cramped quickly with the narrow isle.

 

[rblvacation]

Wow..nice.. I just saw your post. I just got a 2010 Thomas built with the 6.0 L Chevy V8. I'm having a couple issues since am new to this bus thing. The A/C in the back. I heard that the bus has to be moving in order for it to work.. is that right? I'm also trying to find the schematic for the bus but no luck yet. Do you know if there are 2 batteries on these bus or just one battery where everything is hooked up to?

 

[BMWNJ]

Wow..nice.. I just saw your post. I just got a 2010 Thomas built with the 6.0 L Chevy V8. I'm having a couple issues since am new to this bus thing. The A/C in the back. I heard that the bus has to be moving in order for it to work.. is that right? I'm also trying to find the schematic for the bus but no luck yet. Do you know if there are 2 batteries on these bus or just one battery where everything is hooked up to?

Congrats on your bus purchase. I'm not sure if the gassers have 1 battery or 2 like the diesels. Where is your battery located? Mine were relocated (im guessing by Collins) to a compartment next to the passenger door. There's a slide out tray with 2 batteries on it.

The stock AC does require the bus to be running in order for it to work. DO NOT RIP IT OUT! Mine initially did not work when I bought the bus but I fixed it and I would not trade it for anything during those hot weather drives. My issue with the AC was the drier filter was corroded and had a leak. Easy fix, refilled the oil and freon and it's been running great for the past 2 summers. I wish I didnt wait 2 years to figure out what was wrong with it.

I put a small window unit in and run that via a generator or if we're camping at a site that offers electric I use that. It doesnt look the greatest but its only in the window for a few months out of the year.

I dont have the schematic for a Thomas bus but if you're looking for a chevy schematic you should be able to find it w a google search for "2010 Chevy Express schematic forum" I find truck forums very helpful when trying to problem solve.

Got any pics of your bus?

 

[rblvacation]

I can only find 1 battery, have not check under neath the truck yet but I dont think a second one is there. Inside by the door I see no other battery. I'm planning to keep my bus as much stock as possible. Do you still have the lift and if so what is the model.. mine is a Rincon S-5505 and I'm missing the handheld controller. Right now my main 3 things that i want to get going is the car front AC.. look like it needs a recharge and the heater is not producing heat. I guess this is the issue with the Chevy that I need to fix. Then the 2nd thing is to get the back AC (which you said that the bus need to be moving in order for it to work. I didn't know this so I will try again). Then the 3rd things is to get the lift handheld controller and make sure the lift is working.

 

[BMWNJ]

Nice bus. How many miles?

I removed the lift but kept the platform and made a big hitch mounted carry-all out of it. I dont see any external compartments so my guess is its just the single battery under the hood. My work truck is a 2000 K2500 with a 5.7l gasser and it has a dual battery set up under the hood, the extra battery is for aux power (snowplow, lights, etc).

What happens when you try the AC and heat? Is there any air coming from the vents? If not it could just be that one of your bus switches may need to be turned on for it to work. Mine has a red switch that kills all of the accessories like blowers, AC and heat. Im guessing its put in for the bus driver to be able to kill all noises with one flip of a switch instead of going through each individual control. If that little fan isnt working either thats a dead giveaway that the switch is turned off.

 

[rblvacation]

Can you show me what you did to your lift with the hitch with a picture. The front AC fan turn on but no cold air nor heat when I turn the heat knob. The back AC is not even running when I flip the switches overhead but am guessing the breaker on the floor is trip so there is no power. I'm surprise that a single battery provide all that power for all of the auxiliaries and back AC. Mine has just broken the 70k miles mark

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

my 2004 chevy/collins had the units and lift removed before i bought it?
my AC control relays were above the drivers seat cabinet.
look for a smallish 4 relay panel labled with CLR HSR and i cant remember the other 2 lables if thats bad then let me know cause i saved mine and dont need it.
i put dash AC in my by salvaging everything from a 16 passenger suburban.
didnt know that that relay board also commanded the dash AC not the dash knobs so i had to add a switch to command the compressor through the high pressur switch.

 

[BMWNJ]

Can you show me what you did to your lift with the hitch with a picture.

I cant find a pic but you can see it in this video during the drive by shots. I had a section of 2" square tube welded to the underside of the platform, drilled a hole for the hitch pin and slid the tube into the hitch receiver. Its heavy but if I need the extra cargo space I throw it on, otherwise I use my smaller carry-all from harbor freight which is a lot lighter.

 

[rblvacation]

Look like am missing a bunch of relay in the lower passenger compartment?

 

[BMWNJ]

My bus doesnt have that configuration.

 

[BMWNJ]

The results were better than I expected.

Can You REALLY Rely on SOLAR Power for Morning Coffee? Find out below!
https://youtu.be/Z7CLQykF81c

 

[BMWNJ]

After getting only 1.5 years out of my 2nd set of brand new batteries since 2021 I changed the alternator. They definitely don't make it easy lol.

So with a brand new AC Delco Gold 145a alternator and 2 brand new batteries (replaced under warranty) we'll see if this fixes the bus' pre-mature battery failure.

 

[rblvacation]

Has anyone put a wider front tire on the bus?

 

[BMWNJ]

Has anyone put a wider front tire on the bus?

I'm still running stock 225's. I'd like to put a 3" lift on it and go up a size or 2 but that's not in the immediate future. Weldtech sells a 3" spindle lift for the Express that ive had my eyes on but its pretty pricey.