| Author | Message | ||
| Kasse Weikel (More_s_than_as)
Registered Member Username: More_s_than_as Post Number: 11 Registered: 4-2009 Posted From: 71.84.122.200 Rating: N/A |
after consulting recent board posts and the archives, im set on ramp designs, but am a little confused about blocking up the bus and pits. my friend whos helping me recently helped another friend replace a skooly tranny and suggested that we make as much room as possible for ourselves under there when we replace the rear main on my 6v92. i decided making a good concrete pit would be over the top for a one time use. i assumed it would be safe if i just dug a pit a little less wide that the inner wheel base, having walls with a 45 degree slope running down to a point. in other words, it would look like an upside down right triangle in the ground. placing my ramps just outside this triangle (perhaps on larger boards as well to increase stability) would be ok, or no?!? I noticed many people only talking bout having two ramps?!? i dont need to have one under each tire (single axle duelly)? if i only need one ramp on each side, which tires are best to ramp; interiors, or exteriors? Blocking: ok so i want to place blocks between the ground and the bus' frame, correct? but what kinda of blocks are we talkin here, some good tree rounds would do right? i am confused on the "air beams". am i looking for what would look like big bump stops (if it were a car). does the suspension REALLY need to be blocked if it is already deflated? is "air beams" the wrong terminonlogy, i read it in the archives i dunno what its all about. Is the idea to air up and block off the suspension so when the pressure is gone and you are under there you have more clearance??? if thats not the main idea than would what i mentioned be a safe practice or the wood would splinter i imagine??? IF IM USING SOLID RAMPS THE BLOCKS ARE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ONLY??? i can weasel around under there as is, deflated bags and all, a foot or more of lift with the ramps will help. I just want to get room under there for the jack (my friend says its not as roomy as it looks once your under there with it). i was thinking of putting a very thick board at the vertex of the pit (the bottom of it) to put the jack on. think this would be ok or am i a big dummy??? i cant possibly forsee the walls caving in when they would already be half way caved in, literally 45 degrees. THANKS a lot guys, i know this is a lot of repeat stuff for you all, but it cant hurt to see questions asked and asnwered in as many ways as possible, i love opinions!! | ||
| George M. Todd (George_mc6)
Registered Member Username: George_mc6 Post Number: 795 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 64.55.111.6 Rating: N/A |
Kasse, The problem with going under an aired up air ride bus, or between the tires and the wheel wells, axles, etc. is that if you don't have clearance, it will leak down and crush you! Period. If you can get under yours fully deflated, all is well. As far as ramps, a ramp under the outside dual, with a foot of flat dirt, then some slope, would probably be ok. Tree rounds are dangerous, you need hardwood blocks! On the other topic, a relay clicks in normal operation. If the coil circuit is open anywhere, no click. Granted, the contact could be broken off of the armature of the relay, and the relay would still click, but not connect. However, a start relay clicking when the start switch is pressed means that the start circuit is good from the front to the back! The trouble is in the circuit the relay controls. The engine control valve on mech engines, is called a Skinner valve. It is "normally open," which means that WITH NO ELECTRICITY, air flows thru it. (To the shutdown cylinder.) Power on, NO airflow, engine runs. Turn off the master, no power, valve opens, air to the shutdown cyl, eng stops. Comprende? You start up a mech injected bus, and turn the switch off before the air gets up, the eng won't stop! Now, Mac's bus died while idling, which indicates that the power went off to the Skinner valve, right? Now, lets assume that the same power wire feeds the CONTACT of the start relay? The relay will still click closed when the start switch is pushed, but it has nothing to connect! Low oil/hot engine shutdown protection never applies, think about it a minute. A dead engine never has any oil pressure? How the heck do you start your eng with no oil pressure? Where is the reset button for a hot engine alarm? When somebody finds one on a bus, let me know. Sorry, I'm in a bad mood over this stupid heat pump company. Regards, G | ||
| Patrick levenson (Zubzub)
Registered Member Username: Zubzub Post Number: 79 Registered: 5-2007 Posted From: 69.159.120.228  Rating: N/A |
to add to the blocking thing. If you empty all the air out of the tanks you could still be aired up! the air levelling system will stay aired up but it could still leak down while you are under there, that's why you need run up ramps and blocking etc..... People do die when buses drop so be really careful about this. | ||
| Don Evans (Doninwa)
Registered Member Username: Doninwa Post Number: 193 Registered: 1-2007 Posted From: 208.81.157.90  Rating: N/A |
The safety of blocking with a dug out area depends on your local soil conditions. Same goes for run up ramps. If you have a good surface to work on I would lean toward blocking the bus only. If you put it on run up ramps then jack a couple inches at a time and add blocks you can get enough room. If you have a good surface you can block only one dual. Does not really matter which, inner or outer. Usually outer because it is easier to position run up ramps and is more stable. Definitely outer if you have dug a pit. Again, good surface and good blocks. If your air suspension leaks down fairly soon, once it is on the stops, it is not going any further. Yes there are stops, pads that the bus rests on when the suspension settles all the way down. Not matter how you do it be careful. Good luck, Don 4107 | ||
| Kasse Weikel (More_s_than_as)
Registered Member Username: More_s_than_as Post Number: 12 Registered: 4-2009 Posted From: 71.84.122.200 Rating: N/A |
yeah i figured i would be ok. the tree rounds bit was important for me though, so i assume if i just go to home depot or lowes i can find some hardwood blocks? George - yeah being stuck on the road sucks a lot. I htink i put in that post more than once that my only experience with relays was with a volkswagons and lights. i assumed there wouldnt be much similarity. i was just trying to add any help i can since i cant drive out to him very practicaly to look myself (even though i would probably just get in the way). The starter relay on my bus doesnt click as loud as it seemed in the post but i wasnt the one on the phone so i guess i really have no judgement there either. like i was saying though...everytime a relay went out in that old VW, it would start clicking loud enough to hear it under the hood while driving. whenever im in a bad mood i take the doggy on a hike, always makes me smile seeing him run around wild. well i hope you help to solve macgyver's problem, and thanks everyone for the responses, the bit about not using rounds was a crucial pointer THANKS!!! Oh yeah...Don, are you the one with the shop that helped nillie with her clutch??? if so where are you and your shop located??? | ||
| Don Evans (Doninwa)
Registered Member Username: Doninwa Post Number: 194 Registered: 1-2007 Posted From: 208.81.157.90 Rating: N/A |
Nope not me. I am in Eastern Washington. Don 4107 | ||
| Kevin Black (Kblackav8or)
Registered Member Username: Kblackav8or Post Number: 111 Registered: 8-2005 Posted From: 24.152.162.226 Rating: N/A |
How about some sort of metal stand vice taking the risk on wood? The only way I would use wood is if you "cribbed it" IE you take 4x4 or larger boards 3 feet or so long and then stack them in parallel alternating pairs sort of like log cabin construction. I would much rather trust a metal structure. You could potentially make a welded or bolt together set of jack or safety stands to put under there. Even some 6000-8000 lb rated ones would probably save your life and be safer then wood. You could put a pair of bottle jacks pumped up but not against the load as another redundant option. Yes I know they aren't really meant for that but the odds of all this stuff failing simultaneously gets lower and lower. If the jack only has to hold enough long enough for the person to get out before jack and stand both give up then they have worked. Not as good as a pit but a pair of raised cement "lanes" that are half or full bus length might be easier then a pit idea. Go up instead of down. A little taller then the sidewalk might be all you need for many things. | ||
| Clint Hunter (Truthhunter)
Registered Member Username: Truthhunter Post Number: 140 Registered: 1-2009 Posted From: 24.129.235.190  Rating: N/A |
...there is always that "park up hill" trick , if you need to work under the drive-train, or down hill, if you need to work under the front end; you park on the level, just after a incline, with the ass hanging over to gain clearance. Always do block the bus suspension up & block the wheels from rolling over you, before going under. Don't make it easy for shit to happen ! |