| Author | Message | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Registered Member Username: Jwsmythe Post Number: 258 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 70.126.251.160 Rating: N/A |
I just thought I'd share my bus status, with anyone that cares.  The shop my bus is at is slow. Well, they're busy and understaffed, so it takes time to get them to get onto a project. They finally got the 4.10 gears installed. Whee! I will say there is a slight reduction in power, which is expected, but the simple fact that I can now keep up with cars doing 70mph is wonderful. I no longer feel like I'm driving a rolling roadblock, and I'm not in danger of EVERY car in the road cursing me as they pass me. I haven't really tried to see how fast I can go with it quite yet. I know I can't depend on my speedometer, as I already know it's 5mph at 65mph (indicated 65mph, actual 60mph). I wrote a little program that displays the GPS speed in a large font along with some other data that I consider interesting (altitude, heading, etc), so I can have a good display including my speed, without wondering if the speedo is right. I checked it against my car, which I trust to be right. It fluctuated within about 0.5mph, which is acceptable considering cruise control does play with the speed a little. I haven't done any engine mods yet, so this is with the straight DD 6v92TA. I also got my new A/C on. It's a Carrier 15k BTU heat pump. Needless to say, one unit isn't enough to cool the entire bus in the summer in Florida. I tried, for giggles. When it cooled down to about 80, it made a difference. As I posted before, I'm going to be using my bus as a moving van VERY soon. I've been waiting for the shop to finish some things off, which they're almost complete with. The gears was the hardest one. I was there while they did it, and I'll testify that they were not exactly happy about doing it. It was a bitch to do. I built my bulkhead, seperating the drivers/living section from the cargo section. I kept the drivers section and two more sections, making almost 15' That left almost 25' for cargo. Effectively, I have roughly the cubic footage of a 26' U-Haul, except I have a drivers area the side of a nicely sized bedroom. Because of the oil leak (since fixed) my engine was VERY nasty. I went to town on it pressure washing everything that looked less than clean. I also got into the diesel fuel tank area. In the engine area, I found a plaque that says Midwest Bus Corp rebuilt this bus in 1999. I believe that makes my ratty old 1982 bus a relatively modern 1999 bus, although it still has the old school DD engine. I also found a plaque on the diesel fuel tank that indicates it's a 139 gallon tank! Whee! If I manage 7mpg, that means I can go almost 1000 miles on a tank. That'll make a cross country drive very pleasureable. Two gas stops between Florida and California! Whee! If it manages 10mpg, which I may since I will be keeping my speed around 70mph and just cruising along, I could get away with stopping once for gas to cross the country. I like that. That's all for now. | ||
| Larry Ward (Rts_parts)
Registered Member Username: Rts_parts Post Number: 9 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.138 Rating: N/A |
Hello: Sounds like you are making good progress on your bus. I also am in Florida and will be wanting to put the higher gears in my RTS. I bought one to convert into a family motorhome, then bought several more for parts. Is there a phone number I could call and chat about the place that did your ring and pinion work. I am also in the process of buying air conditioners, do you have a good place here in Florida to buy them. Thanks Larry Ward 850-983-9519 | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Registered Member Username: Jwsmythe Post Number: 260 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 70.126.251.160 Rating: N/A |
I'll give you a call when I'm back in Florida. Well, I'm here now, but I'm busting @ss to get on the road to pick up my stuff in California. Maybe we can get together, so you can take mine for a spin, and feel the difference, and make an educated decision. Pete/RTS Daytona has a suggestion for a guy in Orlando who's suppose to be really good. I can't recommend the shop that mine's at right now. Their work is good, and they are careful to do things right, but they're SO slow, and their estimated times are terrible. I told them on July 11th that I *NEEDED* my bus to be done. They were waiting on me delivering the gears, which I did on July 17th. They just got done doing the gears yesterday. They hadn't even looked at the steering. I had told them when I dropped it off in MARCH that the gear box was screwy and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. They only got to that today. "Your steering gearbox needs to be replaced." No shit. I told them months ago. They specialize in big diesel trucks. While the bus is the same technology, and generally the same, they've run into problems, like, how to you get the gears out, when you can't just lift 'em up with a cherry picker. It took them 5 hours to put the gears back into the bus. I know the finer points of doing gears, at least on cars, and I watched everything they did, so I know they're in correctly. It's just so frustrating to think, "I could be on the road tomorrow", just to have it pushed off for yet another day.. and another.. and another. I spent all day today working on it. It was so damned hot out, and most of it is out in the sun at the shop. The bulkhead wall is pretty much like a wall for a house. 2x4's, 3/8" plywood, and R13 fiberglass insulation. I put plastic sheeting on the gaps in it on the forward side. I was lazy, and left some gaps along the wall curves up to about 6". I put a solid sheet of plastic across the entire back wall, where my cargo is going to be. I picked the R13 insulation specifically because it came in smaller rolls that would fit in my car. On insulation, I had pulled down the roof panel and insulation on the 3rd section back, when we were stripping it down to be an RV, and I didn't expect to have it working anytime soon. Sitting in the sun, you could feel the heat from the roof when walking under that section. I covered it with insulation from Home Depot. It's R6 aluminum lined fiberglass for wrapping ducts. I secured it with aluminum tape. I let it sit for an hour, and then walked around touching roof panels. The stock panels with their insulation still intact were warm to the touch. The area I did with the duct insulation was cool to the touch. Home Depot has an R3 self-adhesive insulation, but I opted for the extra R rating. The higher the number, the better it insulates, and generally the thicker it is. I got my air conditioner (Carrier 15 BTU air conditioner/heat pump w/ heat strip) from a guy selling on eBay. He's in New Port Richey, but the air conditioners are drop shipped from up North somewhere (I can't remember off hand). It got here in 4 business days. His is $599 + $79 shipping, and I paid for the shipping insurance too. I had also found rvsupplywarehouse.com , who is selling 3-packs of the 13.5K BTU air conditioner for $1,500. I wanted the larger cooling capacity AND the heat pump, so I had to pass on that. I have no experience buying from them, so I can't really say if they're any good or not. Ok, enough rambling. I'm actually exhausted from today, and I really should just go fall over. | ||
| Pete/RTS Daytona (Pete_rtsdaytona)
Registered Member Username: Pete_rtsdaytona Post Number: 261 Registered: 1-2005 Posted From: 72.40.12.4 Rating: N/A |
JW I used R-Max 3/4 insulation board (R5) and sprayable contact cement and a cheap Harbor Freight spray gun (put a plug in the air hole and keep the gun full of glue in a plastic bag - it will stay useable for years) (or come borrow mine) - fill the roof dimples first to form an even larger gluing area for the next 3/4 sheets - work with easy to handle smaller pieces and spray both roof and insulation - adhesion is immediate - trap with a rubber hammer and small 2 x 4 to bow insulation to conform to roof curve Pete RTS/daytona DAP Weldwood Contact Adhesive - Landau Top & Trim HHR solvent type spray grade (natural or red) - about $50 per 5 gallons at an upholstry shop or try ABCO 800 437-1529 407 297-1765 Orlando I used the sprayable glue for my formica work and to glue my heavy indoor/outdoor carpet ceiling - requires 2 coats on bare wood - first coat needs to dry and seal the raw wood | ||
| Larry Ward (Rts_parts)
Registered Member Username: Rts_parts Post Number: 13 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 205.188.116.13 Rating: N/A |
Sounds like you are making progress. We are located just off exit 31 on I 10 if you happen to be going west on I 10. If you have any problems we have a pretty complete shop with all types of welders, mechanical and a full wood shop. If you have any problems on the way, just stop by. Larry | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Registered Member Username: Jwsmythe Post Number: 262 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 70.126.251.160 Rating: N/A |
Pete, Thanks! I was looking at the RMax board, but for this trip I didn't want to mess with it this time. I haven't completely pulled the ducts out yet. We removed the lights and the outer layer, but on the drivers side the inner layer where the wiring harness is, is still in place. Unfortunately, a few hard days work in the sun are to be completely wasted. Once I'm done with the move, I'm going to be stripping the whole mess out and starting over. I'll probably recycle parts of it, but I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Another friend of mine may be moving soon, so I told him that I'd leave my bus in moving van mode until he finds out if he is or not. I kinda look forward to ripping the rest of the original interior out, so I can really get started with it. I just got a call from the shop. The hitch is installed, and the steering gear box should be on it's way from the rebuild shop. If they're going to cut it close to 5, I'm going to run over with my car, grab it, and drag it up to B'ville. I don't know how I'm going to load or unload that damned thing though. I couldn't pick it up. I ended up using a engine hoist. | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Registered Member Username: Jwsmythe Post Number: 263 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 70.126.251.160 Rating: N/A |
Larry, Ya, I'll be heading West on I10. It looks like it's going to be a late start today, so I may end up stopping off somewhere in N. Florida for the night. If I'm not rolling through there in the middle of the night, I'll give you a shout. Of course I say that now. The way I usually drive, I just keep going and going.. I'll probably end up in Texas before I stop. | ||
| Larry Ward (Rts_parts)
Registered Member Username: Rts_parts Post Number: 15 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.138 Rating: N/A |
ok, if you get this far I have a 30 amp and 50 amp plug in on a pole with water hook up. I will have a client stopping by tonight but plenty of room. Larry 850-983-9519 | ||
| Brian Elfert (Belfert)
Registered Member Username: Belfert Post Number: 3 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 132.148.80.215 Rating: N/A |
As far as A/C units go, $1500 for three 13.5K units is better than most RV dealers, but the same place you bought the heat pump from has 13.5k units for $480 including shipping. I bought my 15K units from them and yes, they are dropped shipped out of Elkhart, not out of Florida. Good luck on your travels. Brian Elfert |