The first thing I want to say is a GIANT THANK YOU to Gene Russel. He created a work of art on our bus. Of course I paid him some money but my personal thanks for his work will last forever.
We have had our Silversides for 15 years and I have driven it 9000 miles. It's been a painful driving experience because our bus only had manual steering and a four speed shifter on the column. I couldn't make a U turn on a six lane highway, wouldn't dream of backing up a trailer with it, and to make a five point turn would develop into a 20 point turn with two other men helping me pull the wheel and when it would be turned we all would be exhausted once the turn was made.
In June I sold my motorcycle ( because I realized what a terrible rider I was) and armed with that money I brought the bus to Gene In North Carolina. I told him to take his time, and gave him a wish list of small projects I would like him to fix plus fabricate and install power steering.
Well this past weekend Gene called me and said I could come and pick up our baby, she was ready for the road. And was she ever.
Not only does Gene's genius as a fabricator/mechanic soar but his hospitality in beyond reproach. When I mentioned to Gene when I was flying in, he never blinked and said good I'll have someone there to pick you up at the airport. (Well, that's no small feat the airport is 48 miles away.)
At Gene's the first thing he wanted me to do was take the bus for a ride with him in the co-pilot seat so that there would be no surprises. We went to get fuel (about 100 miles round trip) to save a couple of bucks we went to South Carolina where the taxes are lower. Back home Gene patiently took me all around the bus and showed me the work he had done. Everything on the list and even a couple of more things that were important but I forgot to tell him, were done by Gene and his staff.
Thursday morning rolled around and it was time to go. I was invited to stay a night at John Vickery's house in Georgia. I was a little apprehensive about driving the bus for the first few turns because it was so easy. (I guess I kept waiting for something to break, I don't know) Finally I settled down and what a ride. For the first time in 9000 miles I was actually comfortable and at ease drive our Silversides. In and out of small towns (I chose not to go on any highways, back roads only) making all those tight turns as country roads take you through glorious small towns and hamlets, sometimes people would wave when they saw the bus, some would just smile and nod with approval.
I showed up at John Vickery's house about 4 pm and his driveway looked like a campground there were at least 6 buses in his driveway I was welcomed in and almost was able to parallel park behind Jack Conrads bus. WOW, I never could have gotten into a space that small before. After a lot more gracious hospitality from John and his wife Lois I went to bed and woke up to a knock on the bus door. It was John, saying " Lois said she knows your bus has been in storage for a few months and your provisions are low so she's making us all breakfast." How cool is that? Thank you John and Lois and Jack and Paula.
Friday morning came and I was going to head toward my son's house in DeLand but he told me he had a gig Friday night so I decided to head to Ocala stay there and head down 27 on Saturday to complete my journey home. I have an app for my phone that helps me find Walmarts that I can overnight park at and as I am heading into Ocala I drive by a Sweetbay grocery store. I work at a Sweetbay in Naples so I made a U turn thru a Walgreen's parking lot (with no sweat turn and never hit a curb, either) I introduced myself at the Customer Service counter in Sweetbay and was easily granted permission to stay there over night. It was raining and staying was a good thing, especially a 8pm in the dark. I also knew I could get some good food at Sweetbay so after dinner and a couple of drinks I decided to go to bed. I was in a dark area and it was cool out so I decided to turn off my generator and go to sleep listening to the raining bounce off the roof of the bus. (Did I ever mention I love that sound?)
I slept like a baby and when I woke I needed to turn the generator on so my water pump would work and I could shower and brush my teeth. No luck, I had forgotten to turn the radiator fan off and the fan kept running and drew the generator batteries down to a 0 supply. I brushed my teeth and washed my face with a cold bottle of water from the frig. Well, it got me going. Talk about going, it was 6 am still raining, and I got started down the road, all the time looking for a repair place that might be able to jump start my generator battery. It took until 8 am until I finally found a Firestone place that was just opening, the service manager put the jump box to it and the generator came to life, just like that, and I was on my way.
I arrived home mid afternoon with Jan waiting at the door, and I let out that famous redneck yell " Hey, watch this" as I made a U turn in our front yard.
Do I sound excited, you bet your butt I am. Now the bus is easy to drive we will use it a lot more, and finally get to really enjoy trips in it.
Thank you Gene for making this happen for us.
And thanks everyone for reading this far.
Good read! Sounds like Jan is going on more rides in the bus now. Best wishes Bob& Judy
Thanks Bob. I cruised at 60 almost the entire way (except in small towns). That was pretty fast for some of those County Roads, but at least I wasn't being passed by everyone on the freeway. I still haven't gotten used to that.
Dave
Dave, Great story! Have fun.
Steve 5B....
Congrats on the good work, Dave -- it sounds as if you've really improved your bus. But following from what you've written, I have a question for the experts -- in a condition like Dave's, where you have a small battery that's been run flat but the bus is running and doing OK; is it possible to run a small jumper (say 10 gauge) off the main battery to the small battery for a few minutes. Will that safely put enough charge in the small battery to get the gennie to start (and then "self-charge")?
You still have the 6-71 and column shifter? I changed my steering gear from manual with air assist (8 turns lock to lock) to Sheppard full power steering (3.5 turns lock to lock mounted on the axle). Even though the tires don't turn quite as sharp, I too can just whip it around to get the bus in and out easily with finger tip only on the steering wheel. Plus it has far less wondering all over the road at freeway speeds. Changes everything-doesn't it! Good Luck, TomC
Congrats!
It is nice to hear such great reports about bus service providers. From the first post about Gene Russell it is always the Same . What a great job he does and what an awesome person. Hope when my turn comes along i will bring it to you for some work Mr. Gene, on top of that his shop is on our side of the country!! :D :D
Congratulations Dave! My Silverside will be the next one for Gene to do. Glad he has pioneered the project with his and yours. You probably saw my engine there (6L71TA DDEC II) that is going to be installed as well as the power steering. Can't wait for the house to be finished, paint and then head cross country for the engine. Gene has been a real prince to work with. Nobody knows 671's better than Gene. Wish he was on the West Coast.
Thanks everyone, I think our old steering was something like 8 turns lock to lock, and not only was it hard to turn but there was about a 1/8 of a wheel slop in the old box so I was constantly fighting the wheel as we went down the road.'
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This new set-up Gene installed is about 3.5 turns lock to lock and almost no perceptible wander while you are going down the road. When you are driving and about to turn you have to be very careful because it turns so easily,you could easily run over a curb and hit a sidewalk sign. You feel like you are driving a car and you can forget about that 37 feet behind you.
Dave
Congrats on the upgrade!!!! Sounds like money definately well spent!!!
Dave,
Glad you had a good trip. It was nice visiting with you at John & Lois' Jack
Dave: I can tell you're excited... and I'm excited for you. Congratulations. I wish you and the misses many happier miles ahead.
Great story Dave, thanks for sharing it. I love the look of the old silversides. :)
Sounds like a lot of happy miles ahead, enjoy them.
Maybe you can get a few bucks for the old Armstrong Steering on E-Bay.... ;D