Hello! Interested on your opinion of the t444e

[brokedown-SKO]

Absolutely. Finished is a pretty strong word but let's say I'm selling it once the Wangerlounge is road legal and insured as an RV. In Florida that's actually a moderately high bar.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Absolutely. Finished is a pretty strong word but let's say I'm selling it once the Wangerlounge is road legal and insured as an RV. In Florida that's actually a moderately high bar.

In my experience its really easy to get a bus "road legal" in FL. The bar in my county is extra low.

 

[brokedown-SKO]

The tough part is the insurance as an RV.

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

What year, trans, bus make?

What transmission?
What size tire's ?
What size is the rear end gearing?
I Have a full size bus with a 175hp engine that runs like a sewing machine with the 545 but my rear end gearing at a 6.50 ratio limits my speed to 49 mph.
Hp is an issue but if you can match the optimal tranny,rear end and tire size to it then you can make highway speeds slowly but easily maintained once there.
Rear gearing is a bit tricky to find what matches your needs?
For me at 6.5 I can tow A car trailer with storage boxes loaded and maintain my 49 mph.
If I change into the 5 range I could get up to 55 mph but would probably have to change to a four down/flat tow no trailer and use the vehicle as minimum storage.
In the 4 range I can get to 60 mph but probably can't tow and if I did it would take a good open road to get there.
That's my calculations for my set-up as is because I didn't know any better when I bought my bus.
Now I have a almost complete skoolie and am looking at re-powering to make it do what we originally bought it for? Or find jobs that will allow us to travel the country at 49-mph to get to our next spot?

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

But I did grow up on a cattle and horse farm and have rode for many a mile so slower than the speed of life around you is actually very pleasant so I might just up it a little,stick a little bobble head Calvin and hobbes figure with a finger on the trailer and enjoy the back roads from NC to TEJAS.

 

[cadillackid]

I dont mind somewhat slower.. I drive my DEV bus at 55-60 and its happy as can be and doesnt disrupt the traffic too much.. but at 45-50. I could see traffic running up on me really quick and causing drivers to get frustrated enough to make dumb unsafe moves that could cause a crash..



2 weeks ago i was on my way to a bus rally in my Superior and it started ailing really quick. so i turned around and took the 2 lane roads home. at 45-50. as the bearing noise racket was bearable at that speed.. and had 2 different vehicles pass me with not much wiggle room from oncoming traffic..



I do agree about road tripping at a bit of a slower speed.. to actually see the scenery and when travelling by bus I do stop a lot more than I would by car..
-Christopher

 

[Johnny Mullet]

My honest experience after a year of ownership and 2000+ miles driven mostly local with 2 road trips equaling 800 miles is pretty positive. The are 2 ways to drive a bus with the T444E and AT545......

The first way is to floor the pedal and let the tranny RPM shift at 2600 RPM. This causes longer shift times and harsher engagement. This method works, but builds heat fast in the tranny. You might think you are taking off and building speed decently, but you actually are not. This may also cause driveline issues down the road.

The second and best way to drive this setup is to start off from a stop at half or just above half throttle. The tranny will shift through the gears much quicker and you will be in 4th pretty quick. Maintain the same half throttle until your speed increases to 45 MPH and then you can down the accelerator until you reach the desired speed.

My bus drives pretty good. Learning how to drive it and using the half throttle thing for take off has made me understand how the fluid drive tranny works. Once up to speed, this thing cruises at 55-60 mph comfortably on the flats. Hit a hill and it slows considerably, but still maintains 35 MPH after dropping to 3rd while climbing. I can haul at 65-70 MPH on a flat interstate, but at this speed the RPM's are approaching 2800 and racing the engine. This also builds heat in the tranny and cooling system after extended driving running high RPM's. I feel I could run the bus like this for many, many miles, but this might cause premature engine or tranny wear that can be avoided if I just cruise at 55- 60 MPH.

The 7.3L can be run over 3000 RPM like they do on the Ford Powerstroke applications. I feel the engine can run as hard as you want it to. I had my bus up to 75 MPH on a downhill mountain run and the engine was spinning hard at 3100 RPM (My road speed limiter and RPM limiter is disabled) but I had no fear that the engine was hurting in any way.

I have no fear of my T444E having a major mechanical issue. I only have fear of my transmission because of all the hate I read about the AT545 on these forums even though my transmission seems fine. I suppose if you want to run balls to the wall all the time on the interstates and want to keep up with traffic, then find another bus with a different setup. If you want to take the scenic route and enjoy the ride, then this setup will work for anyone.

John

 

[cadillackid]

the reason *NOT* to run over the 2600 RPM factory rev limiter is because the engine's cam and head gaskets are different on the 444E vs the power stroke. the power stroke features a thicker head gasket than the 444E and a slightly more aggressive valve schedule.. the extra clearance between the head and the piston allows for more rod stretch and a higher RPM allowance in the ford.. I would not be running a 444E over 2800. unless I wanted to shorten its life..



I have full reign over every single parameter in my computer. but I leave the rev limiter at 2600.. the engine doesnt make any more power after 2300. .. the lower spec 444E's have no wastegate on the turbo and as expected the higher RPM you will get more boost.. but the engine is not going to fuel anymore than its allowed max.. this helps to keep your boost levels from getting you into trouble with EGT's..



the computers on these engines strive to reach a set RPM as a percentage of max allowed based on TPS.. im not sure how it operates if you completely blank the RPM limiter parameter out.. I suppose you could just set it high.. but by doing so you lose some resolution in your throttle pedal..



the AT545 has a max of 4000 RPM so theres no worries in ruining the trans from input speeds..



driving part throttle is definitely easier on the trans, esp when it has a weak sun gear shell to begin with.. the part throttle shifts are much nicer on it than running it flat out.. and as noted full throttle does make alot of heat.. I did the math and ran the bus over the mountains with videos to prove that before I chunked my 545 for a better trans..



I dont talk-down equipment just because others do.. I have had 2 AT545 failures from what seemed like perfectly good transmissions in a total ownership time of about 18 months or so.. the AT545 in my red bus (T444E) gave me warnings.. it started not knowing what gear ot be in.. I noticved it first as I left st pete fl for ohio.. by the time I got to columbus it weas easy to reproduce. theres youtube videos posted of it so I wont explain it fully.. that was my warning..



the next one, in my DEV bus this summer gave me zero warning.. in fact I had recently remarked about solid and tight the shifts felt.. not Bang-clang.. but a nice positive shift with very little flare.. and one day (close to home base fortunately).. I was getting on the freeway at about 3/4 throttle.. 1-2-3-N?? what? it just never made 4th gear and never moved on its own after that... both transmissions had fairly fresh fluid in them.



Johnny's got the right idea.. try and keep your engine RPM as close to "zero slip" ion the converter as possible and you will run more efficiently and make less heat.. in other words dont "load up" the transmission..



while technically I can "Haul ass" in the red bus.. the cranked up Horsepower of the 444E along with a 6 speed allison 1000 trans will allow that bus to go as fast as the freeway would allow... HOWEVER.. cruising over 65. (I ran it 70-75 to a bus rally I was late for a couple weeks ago).. kills the MPG's and also ends up in lots of transmission hunting up / down. and noticeably higher engine load factors.. navistar use an engine load factor to calculate whether it thinks you are lugging or not..



one thing that none of us can overcome no matter what drivetrain we dream up to build / swap in / tune / tweak, etc is the fact our busses are a big ole BOX going down the highway trying to cut through wind.. the faster we try to go the worse it gets from more than one direction. it seems for whatever reason. that 65 MPH is thew theoretical max to getting good MPG's and not running the engine/trans hard..



-Christopher

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

With many road trips in a truck or camper I too find 65 seems to be a majic number of speed and fuel mileage. you will find most truckers doing 65 or close to it. Now that I have my bus on the road 60-65 is a nice comfortable speed.