| Author |
Message |
FAST FRED (63.215.237.111)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 10:29 am: | |
While we all suffer some from the 'BESTITIS " disease there can be limits.
Certainly an all Hubbel power inlet system ,
fine stranded tinned wire , superb insulation,monel terminals in the connectors ect, would be a dream , but a set of power inlets and 120V cords and 240 cords would run over a housand dollars .OOCH!
And they would still connect to the campground supply thats under wired and uses range plugs.
So most use Home Depot ends , and the best flex wire they can find and make up their own power inlet cables.
The usual wire is not tinned , so it can easily crush in the range plugs that we all use.
Cheap trick is to clean the end of the bare copper and have an iron cup or old ladle that you heat to melt a couple of onces of solder in.
A great use for the old 50/50 that can't be used in plumbing.
Use a bit of non corosive flux in the copper.
Simply dip the end of each power cord wire in the molten solder for a half inch or so.
After it hardens its very happy about going under the screw treminals of the plugs ect.
Works for me!
FAST FRED |
john wood (206.252.234.6)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 11:44 am: | |
I have some operational questions.
#1 is what is the best tire to use on a coach that will be driving in mixed conditions, ie; snow, ice and desert? AND is this what the commercial carriers use on their coaches?
#2 Is there such a thing as cruise control for an old coach? I am addicted to the cruise on my 4 wheeler and would love to have same on coach. Is it doable?
#3 I will be driving a LOT in the mountains of ID and MT and have heard that there is a device to "lock down" the VS2 so it does not inadvertently get away from you on long downhills. Some of the hills are 7% for 7 miles. Often wondered what it must feel like to use a runaway ramp. Some of them look like they'd launch you to the moon!
#4 On a related note; what are the benefits and drawbacks to the available retarders such as jakes and magnetic types, and which would be suitable for a GMC w vs2? (I like the idea of being able to slow down without toasting the brakes.)
Being a well read neophyte I have many questions of those who have actual experience. I just recieved the Plancho book and the galey "bible" Read both of them last night and am generally unsatisfied with the elementary information contained therin. Can you fine folks help me out?? This site HAS proved to be the best place I have found for information! I could probably buy a thousand dollars worth of books and still not get the focused information that I get here.
Thank you again and keep on coachin'!
John Wood |
john wood (206.252.234.154)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 3:46 pm: | |
Oh, One other question I forgot to ask is what is involved in adding a tow hitch to a 4107? Anything special need to be done?
Thanks again
jw |
DrEd (67.201.149.38)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 8:55 pm: | |
Yes John adding an after market cruise control is very doable. King controls makes an all electric cruise control that works great. I know I have used one on my MCI for about a year. I have taken it off since I am installing a DDEC series 60 which has cruise built into the computer. The King unit has an electric servo to control the throttle. You need a speed reference source, I picked mine off the transmission with a sending servo. It has a compact control module for the driver to operate. New ones cost around $600. I will be selling my unit for $300 including the 60 dollar servo. If I can help please email me. DrEd |
Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (12.146.33.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 10:49 pm: | |
John, in order that you asked them:
#1 The rib seems to be favored and is used on all positions. And yes, I believe that's what the commercial carriers use. Also, one spare fits everywhere.
#2 See DrEd's answer.
#3 I have seen an old automatic, not a V730, that had a switch on the control panel. It engaged the lockout clutch when it was on. So I think you can do it, but you'll have to research the details.
#4 Go with a Jake. We have one and find that we can reduce our braking by more than half. If you're going to run mountains, you might even find that your brakes are not hot by the time you need to slow down.
#5 You will need to tie your hitch to the bulkhead in front of your engine. The engine cradle hangs on the roof, and you will not want to add to that load with your toad.
Comment: you may have heard of the old rule "don't go down a grade any faster than you can climb it". With the horsepower that some people run today without an upgrade to their brakes, the rule is becoming outdated, in many cases.
One of the first things that people do after getting a retarder is to start going down grades faster. If you should do that, and your retarder fails, you need to get slowed way down or stopped until you can proceed as if you don't have a retarder.
Brakes heat up awfully fast if you use them too much on downgrades. And if you go twice as fast, you have to get rid of four times as much energy in order to stop. All of that energy turns to heat in the brakes, which in turn has to released in cooling air over the drums.
I hope this helps.
Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 |
Don KS/TX (64.24.4.72)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 10, 2002 - 6:51 am: | |
I will hit the VS2 questions. I don't know what you meant about the "running away", the VS2 does not do that. A simple skinner valve and a toggle switch will keep it out of top gear if you wish, but that is more useful for climbing the hill than for going down. Tales are sometimes told about the VS2 that "assume" that it is freewheeling like the old car overdrives did, that is simply not so. A jake works just as well on it as any other transmission, maybe better, since you are directly coupled until your speed drops below about 20 mph, at which time the jake becomes ineffective due to going back into the torque converter slip mode. I am unaware of any automatic transmission that does not do that. |
john wood (206.252.234.29)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 10, 2002 - 1:05 pm: | |
Thanks guys! I can feel my brain swelling already with the added knowledge. I think I have the coach I want to buy scoped out and want to go into this with my eyes wide open and prepared for all the possibilities. I am a sales rep for HVAC equipment and am sorely tired of motels and hurrying from place to place. Think that a dependable coach would be an excellent way to cover the three states in my territory and keep my sales samples in the bays. Much more room than in my suv!
SO; seeing as we still have snow on the passes, would it be reasonable to run "all weather" tread on this coach? The prospect is a 4107.
jw |
claimjumper (216.190.25.66)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 10, 2002 - 9:26 pm: | |
John, I agree with Don on the VS trans, I have a VS2-8 coupled to an 8V71 (318) and jakes. I live and travel in Utah, Idaho, Montana and north Nevada. I would not go to a tire with a very strong tred as you will not believe the noise. I have road ribs for steer and all weather for drivers, works well. >>>Dan |
Don KS/TX (65.141.166.198)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 11, 2002 - 6:08 am: | |
I decided to go for some aggressive tread on the drive axle last fall, for no real good reason really. I expected some noise, but there is none detectable from the drivers seat at least. |
don (Bottomacher) (67.249.226.92)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 13, 2002 - 7:44 pm: | |
Tom Caffrey's post on securing the hitch to the bulkhead has me puzzled. I'm about to add a hitch to my 4106 to tow my Ranger. The tongue weight will be negligible. I have looked carefully at the cradle, and I find a lot more steel leading to the bulkhead from the bumper support than I would add to carry the towed weight, and I can't see any benefit to securing the hitch independently to the bulkhead. Has anyone out there got the definitive answer (and no offense to Tom!). Thanks all
Don |
Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (64.114.233.253)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 12:12 am: | |
Don, I was talking about the effect of inertial loading, not weight, like when you stop quickly or your toad gets yanked on.
There isn't much strain while you're going straight down a superslab, but potholes, dips and swerves will add considerable stress to both the roof and cradle connections.
It's not when everything is going right that you need to be concerned about; think about what happens when things start going wrong.
That's all I meant.
Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 |
Buswarrior (Buswarrior) (64.229.208.6)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 1:02 am: | |
Someone out there has a great picture on their website of an excellent execution of a hitch for a GM. Nice colour picture from below of the bars swooping back to the bulkhead.
Once you see the picture, you'll see it isn't too hard to do.
If in doubt as to the merits of tying the hitch to the bulkhead, ask the local transit what happened to their GM transits if they were rear ended by an automobile. Small hit can wreak havoc with the cradle.
The cradle's job is to hold the motor and tranny, no more, no less. The motor and tranny do not push, pull and twist the cradle the way a toad hitched to it would.
If you want to drag a toad around, that cradle will serve as a pick up point for the ball, but must have reinforcing to withstand all the loads described in earlier posts.
Who's coach was that good hitch on? I'm sure that I accessed it off this site or through a post. Anyone remember, or are the owners?
happy coaching!
buswarrior |
RJ Long (24.127.8.58)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 2:30 am: | |
Don - (and others who want to add a hitch to a GMC coach) -
Tom's right with his comments about the loading of the cradle with a toad, and the potential for problems.
The best hitches tie not only into the rear of the cradle, but to the bulkhead and the radius rod mounts behind the rear axle. The radius rods (dog bones) and their mounting points are designed to absorb and transmit driving and braking loads into the chassis, and are some of the strongest points on the coach. By integrating the hitch at these points, the whole chassis can absorb the horizontal loads, without undue stress on the cradle.
The vertical loads, which really shouldn't be more than a couple hundred pounds, are handled by the engine's roof/cradle hangers when the hitch is attached to the cradle underneath and behind the bumper. When installing the hitch, it might be wise to inspect/replace the bolts holding the cradle to the roof. . .
And Buswarrior is right, there are some very nice pics of this type of hitch on the web. Daris in So CA has one on his '06, and the pics are on his website. Here's the link:
http://home1.gte.net/res07rfl/
BTW, has anyone noticed this thread has moved quite a bit away from Fast Fred's original topic?
HTH,
RJ
PD4106-2784
Fresno CA |
J.Meyers (208.169.40.17)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 4:23 am: | |
Since the thread has turned to hitches on GMC coachs.
What about a hitch to pull a full carrier,car trailer behind a GMC? Would the cradle and roof handle the extra tongue weight? With a hitch like in the previous post,I would think you could add tubing to beef up the cradle if the roof supports would handle the extra load.
I would like to haul rather than tow behind our coach so we can take different vehicles with us.
Also I like the option of being able to back up a trailer.
Thanks to all who respond
Jeff |
don (Bottomacher) (67.242.157.153)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 7:01 am: | |
As usual, thanks for the great responses. I saw Tuck's '04 hitch last year, with the struts to the axle, and I liked the idea, but I'm prone to overkill. I also don't want a receiver, just a plate with a ball, flush with the bottom of the bumper that won't bottom out on a slight hill. Do you all have suggestions on the size and shape of the struts? I thought about 3/4" round rod. I also want to offset the hitch to the left so I can see the towd while driving. And Tom, the brake conversion is done; piece of cake and looks great. Thanks again. |
Don KS/TX (64.24.4.45)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 7:44 am: | |
Although the GMC cradle attachment cautions are quite correct, I have grown to believe that the cradle was over engineered enough that toweds are not a real factor. I have seen dozens of hitches just bolted to the bumper! One friend has his 4104 that way, and hauls a tremendous hitch weight all over the country for years, never had a problem. In the case of a 2300 lb Saturn wheels down, I think there is very little strain on anything back there. |
Buswarrior (Buswarrior) (64.229.212.184)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 11:19 am: | |
Thanks RJ, that's exactly the pictures that I was remembering.
happy coaching!
buswarrior |
Mike Eades (Mike4905) (206.15.152.151)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 5:30 pm: | |
I pull 25 paace aamerican traileer and havve had no problems at all. I am heavy but no problems for two full years. i ahve a 4905. I carry a lot of stuff in the trailer. A tongue weight of about 750 lbs. I know it in the hills but no traileer problems. hooked to the cradle and dog bones. pulls great just need series 60 for the hills. I know make the load lighter. Mike |