Hot floor!!

[Chasen]

So, today was the first 5 hour leg of my west to east coast migration in the new home. I've noticed the warm floor before, but todays venture in the desert was down right hot. Even my driver seat was hot to the touch and I'm wondering, Is this normal or do I have an issue somewhere? I am very green when it comes to buses, but I can't imagine this is the norm. BTW, this is a 2003 chevy express 3500 Bluebird Microbird. Thanks to the experts on here that answer all of our questions. Thank you

 

[Albatross]

It's almost summer, and you drove across a desert in what is essentially a van with a metal floor and maybe a half inch of rubber on it, with the engine and the transmission shedding heat in the airstream under the bus, on a platform that is more than 20 years old, and probably didn't have a large enough A/C system for the cubic volume in the first place.... And you're wondering if it being "hot" is normal? Lol, forgive me, but that is pretty funny.


I would say that you're probably alright, and that you're just stressing the limits of what that old bird can do.


Maybe give her an extra break somewhere out of the heat, and let things cool down a bit. Besides, part of traveling is enjoying the ride, and that actually means stopping and getting out of the car and meeting some new and interesting people and seeing some interesting places along the way, sometimes a bit more off the beaten trail. Stop and see a wax museum or that "world's largest ball of yarn" or whatever it is, and maybe get an interesting photograph or two. And even if it sucks completely, it's not like you're signing up to have and to hold... Check your fluids, top off your tank, buy a drink, and keep on trucking to the next spot.



Speed will kill you, yes, but it will also kill your motor and tranny. A lot of the van-cutaways are using the stock one-ton drivetrain, and maybe have an upgraded cooling system--but maybe not. Sure, there's more weight, but the real thing that is usually making the engine work overtime is the wind-resistance because of the <ahem> "streamlining" (or lack thereof). Keep the speedo around 65 or less, and turn off the OD when you're going up hills. Make sure that you're not leaking or burning coolant, and you should be fine.



When you get to building it out, you should be able to add some insulation to keep the heat from creeping up inside the compartment.

 

[Chasen]

It's almost summer, and you drove across a desert in what is essentially a van with a metal floor and maybe a half inch of rubber on it, with the engine and the transmission shedding heat in the airstream under the bus, on a platform that is more than 20 years old, and probably didn't have a large enough A/C system for the cubic volume in the first place.... And you're wondering if it being "hot" is normal? Lol, forgive me, but that is pretty funny.


I would say that you're probably alright, and that you're just stressing the limits of what that old bird can do.


Maybe give her an extra break somewhere out of the heat, and let things cool down a bit. Besides, part of traveling is enjoying the ride, and that actually means stopping and getting out of the car and meeting some new and interesting people and seeing some interesting places along the way, sometimes a bit more off the beaten trail. Stop and see a wax museum or that "world's largest ball of yarn" or whatever it is, and maybe get an interesting photograph or two. And even if it sucks completely, it's not like you're signing up to have and to hold... Check your fluids, top off your tank, buy a drink, and keep on trucking to the next spot.



Speed will kill you, yes, but it will also kill your motor and tranny. A lot of the van-cutaways are using the stock one-ton drivetrain, and maybe have an upgraded cooling system--but maybe not. Sure, there's more weight, but the real thing that is usually making the engine work overtime is the wind-resistance because of the <ahem> "streamlining" (or lack thereof). Keep the speedo around 65 or less, and turn off the OD when you're going up hills. Make sure that you're not leaking or burning coolant, and you should be fine.



When you get to building it out, you should be able to add some insulation to keep the heat from creeping up inside the compartment.

Thank you for the words of wisdom. I left Mesa this morning and am now in Las Cruces. Much better today and I realized there's a fair bit of heat coming in from the engine which apparently was heating up my seat. The weather was cooler, I kept my windows down and the temps were great. Thanx again, Chase

 

[cadillackid]

I insulated my firewall and driver area floors.. plus i have 100,000 BTU of air conditioning..(forget windows down in the desert) one of the vents i keep blowing into the driver footwell.. its pretty normal for the floors to get hot in busses

 

[Albatross]

Yeah, you can add some dynamat or rockwool to the inside of the doghouse and up against the firewall, as well as sometimes under your floors to help insulate the cabin from the heat being shed from the engine and the transmission. This will make your ride much more comfortable, but without proper temperature monitoring, you can also easily overheat your stuff.



But it's better to have temp sensors in your oil and your coolant anyways; they're closer to the source, and can tell you much more about what's really happening inside the engine. In the meantime, just make sure that you're not riding too hot, and you should be fine.