Hi again ! and my bring her home saga continues! :-)
So I was discouraged a few weeks back when the RV service center gave me sticker shock on items that need/may need fix`n before I bring her up the NH.
So I posted here and had some great responses ! Thanks! Craig/Gumpy being one of them and thru his encouragement and willingness to possibly come all da way down from minnysoda :-) for a small fee and give her a once over and help me get her up here.
I was invited to call him and call I did!! 2 plus hours on the phone and I felt nearly enlightened and less discouraged and whittled the items on the service list to a minimum . She`s getting two new drivers today ,fixn/checkin things that Craig agreed and soon she will be closer to making the 1400 mile trip to her new home.
So......... As Craigs offer still stands his schedule is a bit tight for a sooner than later trip down which later would bring us into late Oct and the weather can be quite unpredictable at that point so my choices minimize .
So my question/s are ...
Is there any body in the State of Florida or the southwest area that could meet me , or do on there own and give her a once over to check her out in order for me to be a bit more confident/safe in cruzzn up to New England ??
Or .... Any one have a place in Southwest Fla I could drive her over and park her until I can get down there a time or two to check her out and drive her back or possibly park her there for the winter if needed .
And of course am willing to compensate reasonably for all of the above .
PM me if interested or have ideas and I`ll give contact info to discuss further.
Thanks Folks!! Louis.
SW Florida is kind of large....where ?
OK.. I looked it's in Port Charlotte. :P
I am in Lakeland FL
Jack
I too am in Lakeland Fl and could possibly store it for a short period depending on if my truck deal goes thru! If that happens than no I wouldn't be able to store it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I do not remember seeing it in a while but there was a large bus nut gathering down that way in the winter. I want to say it was around Sarasota.
That would be Arcadia. As far as I know, it's still going on, though the original organizers have turned it over to other hands.
I've suggested he consider leaving the bus in FL for the winter and fly down in Dec to take it to the Arcadia rally and spend a few days
getting to know it and all the wonderful people at the rally. There will certainly be much knowledge and advice available there for him
to glean, and it would give him an opportunity to get more familiar with his bus on level ground before making the trip north with it.
I've offered to help if I can. It's a long ways away for me, but I'm not working a full time job so it might be a fun adventure.
It would be great if there was someone closer who could help him through the first stages. Maybe go with him
to pick up the bus and help him get familiar with driving and shifting it. Then, if there's has a place he could keep it for a few months till
the threat of snow up north is past and he could take it home. He mentioned maybe being able to come down 2 or 3 times to get it ready.
Is there anyone nearby who would be willing to guide him?
I think the first step is getting all the "issues" sorted through and making the needed repairs to make it safe and roadworthy, which is what
is happening now. Much of the list of recommended repairs he received is unnecessary work and can be done after he gets it home. The safety
issues like tires, brakes and wheel bearings are essential and being taken care of.
I'd be willing to help any way possible but nobody has contacted me so until then...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You're on the list of prospective helpers, Ace. Thanks.
Louis (and I) is still evaluating everything. I haven't heard where the RV place is with the repairs yet.
We will get hold of you when we got to a point where we know more and it looks like you can be of assistance.
Well, let me tell you that my 4104 was sitting for 2 years before the PO attempted to deliver it to me. I was not aware of it sitting for 2 years until he got it here. If I had to do it over again, I would have had it shipped down. By the time I paid for all of the issues on his delivery trip I would have been most of the way to having it shipped and it would have been a lot less stressful. I would put a bid out on Uship and see how low it gets and who knows you might even end up on Shipping Wars.
That being said, I have family in Charlotte Harbor and do make it that way from time to time. I am new to busses and don't know much about the MCIs but I can sure spot bad tires, air lines, and other issues that would make driving it unsafe.
Vern
I guess it's a bigger issue with the older coaches. Bought my 1991 Prevost a few years back and the thing had been sitting for 7 or 8 years in a bus barn , having never been started or even gone into. . It was plugged into ac but all the batteries were toast. Put batteries in and tires on and drove the 400 miles to house where the fun started. I guess it did help up until the last year of being in the barn it was climate controlled at 78 degrees.
Hi Folks! Sorry for the absents ! Been haven a Family crisis that should be nearly over ( Thank God!)
The update on the 5A is, as of Last Thursday the new tires went on the front and the headlight were diagnosed ,Front bucket was loose/hanging and shorting out?front right bearings,races etc are being replaced and thats all I recall with the other things going on in my head!! Oil change and others have not been done yet ( as I know of any way)
I`ll upddate when I can and want to thanks all of you for your reply`s and thoughtfulness!!!
I did put a UBid post up, one Bid at $7,500.00, I declined! I know a guy up here that has a transport biz but no lowboy and would have to rent one but have not talked to him at length yet. but If so we`re looking at 5-7K any how.
Talk soon!! off to races for the day!! Louis.
7,500 is insane. Should be more like 2500.
I'm probably gonna be making a trip to Mn soon to either inspect a truck and possibly bring it home! Thinking I could drive it up to Mn for whatever fuel it takes and maybe Gumpy could deliver from there. If it's got a hitch I could pick up gumpys bike trailer in Al and tote it as well, killing 3 birds with one bus, so to speak!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ace, What a gracious offer !! Thanks! Not sure with the unknown long haul capability's of the bus ,whether it would make a longer trip than planned (1400 miles) with the fact it has not seen highway travel in a few years and unknown maintenance/mechanical of that or longer and possible issues on a longer trip . Plan was to just get her up here or keep her down there till I could get down there to go thru her a bit more than the RV service center is doing now.
And Mung, either way unless I get a truck headin up here with no load i`d be paying miles and fuel both ways at $3-$5 a mile so figured cheapest would be 5K.
You know there is a better option!!
Move to where the bus is! SW Florida is a nice area :)
We'll see if this works this time. I posted this earlier, but it showed up in a different thread!
============
Good thought. I like the idea of getting the trailer back, but, I'm not sure about the extra miles on that bus. He's putting new tires on the front for now.
Rears need to be inspected first.
It has a hitch, but I don't know how it's wired. I was going to bring a toad converter in case I needed to hook one up for toad lights.
Also, if it gets to MN and the weather turns bad (not unusual in Oct), it'll be sitting here through the winter, and I don't have a place to
keep it at my house. If it's got to spend the winter away from it's owner, FL is a better option.
It really needs someone to look it over well and make sure it's good to go.
If the truck deal works out and you come up to get it, maybe I can ride back with you and bring the bike in the garage. We could pick up the trailer on the way
down. Then I'd just need a way from your place down down to where the bus is. Calendar is a biggie, too. I won't be able to do this now till the middle of Oct.
Hey Lou idk if it makes you feel better but these old busses are awesome and dependable..I drove mine back 800 miles . I know it's not 1400 but I'd get in and drive it ! You sure would get too know the ole girl ... Just drive it a hundred or two a day plot a course with campgrounds on the way. I'm sure after the first hundred you will know the busses quirks. I never stopped till I crossed into ct for a nap! Good luck ! Oh but now I'm driving it all the time weekly.any just don't get discouraged it will all work out!
Yea Craig that would double the miles plus a few and would the unknown of my girl be worth it ?? Prolly not.
Nice contingency tho :-\....
And
Quote from: loveshack on August 31, 2014, 07:32:11 AM
Hey Lou idk if it makes you feel better but these old busses are awesome and dependable..I drove mine back 800 miles . I know it's not 1400 but I'd get in and drive it ! You sure would get too know the ole girl ... Just drive it a hundred or two a day plot a course with campgrounds on the way. I'm sure after the first hundred you will know the busses quirks. I never stopped till I crossed into ct for a nap! Good luck ! Oh but now I'm driving it all the time weekly.any just don't get discouraged it will all work out!
Was thinking the same thoughts for a few days now !! Just throwing caution to the wind and flying down fueling up pre flight check her for a few days and throw some white lines in front of her !!
Then I look at my work schedule and I cant even see daylight till mid Oct at the moment and got many other project estimates out that`ll prolly get accepted in between !!
So unless the Bus Gods and my God get in line she may have to stay down till spring??
If that is so I`ll definitely be taking her to Arcadia!!
Thanks again folks for the advice,encouragenent and the offers to help in what ever way you can !!!!!!!!!!
Have a Great Labor Day!
Louis.
I know that time is a factor for you but if it was me I would get a campground guide to carry with me. There is a campground at about every exit in Florida. You can always pull in one and leave it if something goes sproing. Then I would drive around the block a couple of times, stop and look things over and if everything is still together head up the road about 25 miles, maybe stop and do another look over. Then do a couple hundred and stop for the night at a Walmart so you can shop if you need to. Then the next day commit to the trip home.
If you have a problem in Fl Call John Silver at Central Florida Bus in lakeland Fl, 863 665 8155.. You could probably work out a storage with him, Really good people to deal with, He works on several of the coaches represented on this site, Also Visit arcadiarally.com it is the link for the bus rally spoken of in earlier post, yes it's still going on , you would learn a lot there and we have a LOT of old busparts and JUNK at the daily flea market there also.
Quote from: loveshack on August 31, 2014, 07:32:11 AM
Hey Lou idk if it makes you feel better but these old busses are awesome and dependable..
And don't panic. I picked my bus up at the port and drove it through a "blown out" hurricane about 400 miles home. I had never driven a bus before (or any vehicle 13'6" high). It was 3:30 PM by the time I had finished up Customs paperwork etc. so I had rush hour in Washington DC to drive through -- did I mention that I'd never driven a bus (or any vehicle with air brakes) before? About midnight, I stopped at a truck stop at the NC/VA line to fuel up; I had just realized that it didn't have a fuel gauge. I got back on the road and the lights went off when I hit a bump doing 45MPH down I-95 -- DEEP BREATH, and they came back on. Drove it another 20 miles, hit another bump and the lights all went off, flickered then came on again. Although I was asking myself WTH I was doing out there at 1AM in a 30 year old vehicle I knew nothing about in bad weather. But I drove on for the last 130 miles without any other hiccups, and drove into the back driveway at home at about 4AM. OK, turn the lights offs, is this big lever the parking brake? Now, how do I stop the engine. There was a red button next to the green starter button -- let's try that. "Rumble, rumble, rumb .., rumb .., rumb, wump, wump ............" OK, musta been that button. Now, have I mentioned I never drove a bus before?
After I fueled up, I walked into the fuel desk and told the country girl behind the desk I wanted to pay for fuel on pump 8. She said "wutcha gonna do with that big bus?" I said "I'm gonna build it into a motor home." She said "Cool! Whurr ya gonna put the hot tub?" At that point, I was a bus nut for life.
You'll be amazed and mystified but it will probably all be OK.
Omg oonrahnjay maybe got that wrong haha! Sounded like me never drove a bus or air brakes and I also went thru Washington, D.C. During 5:00 rush hour on Friday ! I stopped for fuel and looked at pumps thinking how the @@&$ Do I get it in here ! Had to ask for assistance .... I now know turn on pump sit it on ground and use other ..... But at the time omg! I stopped at rest area and asked how the heck can I get off this highway ? I headed for poconos and onward for New Hampshire . At the time my bus had eagles and Stars and Stripes all over it .... Looked like it belonged in the circus haha .. Not meaning anything I was in the military I just didn't want a bus that said eagle one on back and sides haha
Folks it been a few since I last posted but my goodness I`ve been burning the work/life candle at both ends !!!
But........... She has had a bit of work
New front tires and replace left front bearings race,gaskets etc, Got air adjuster to proper working order.
Diagnose the headlights Checked over connections and wiring. Found bad high beam light on right side- it was a 12V bulb in a 24V system. The bucket is broken and needs to be replaced but I`ll check it out when I get her.
Replaced RF side high beam.
Traced brake light wiring and found broken wire at switch. Found 10 bulbs were burned out- replaced/Repaired wiring for brake switch. Replaced all bulbs in tail lights .
Found loose airline for wipers, tightened all lines and connections for wipers .
Oil change with Shell Rotella 40T change oil filter element and both fuel filter elements. clean and refill the oil bath air cleaner and grease chassis.
Replace reverse solenoid cab switch and secondary on Tran.
And PO took her from the RV service center to an outside secure storage spot that was 20 miles away from
service center as he wanted his grass to stay in his yard where she was for a while and was bald when he took her to service.
So..... Just bought one way ticket to Tampa for the 28th of December so count me in for Arcadia !! :-)
I think I`ll need all new batteries when I get there and a once over by whom ever will once her over and IF the East coast looks clear weather wise and she seems trip worthy I`m haulin @$# home!
I`ll look over the Arcadia app soon and am really looking forward to the trip!!!
Oh!!! Went to register her and if ya`ll recall was have`n ?? `s about why Title says 50,000 LB and NH charges based on weight and approx cost new so I hit`m up on a Fri 20 mins fore closing and told`m mit dont wheight no where near and show`d them the original General Spec book and showed them the actual Net weight (ready for use) at 21,290 and told`m approx cost new was $15,000 so permanent plates and reg was $230.00 so I`m pumped on that !
I`ll prolly spend a day with her fore going to Rally tho to get antiquated with her with PO but open for suggestions .
Thanks again to all posters to my threads and the encouragement on get`n her up here!!!
Louis.
I really like your bus. Those early Custom Coach conversions were built to last forever. Good quality.