Pulled into my in-laws yard so we can convert our new bus this summer and the MCI 9 Bus drive axle fell into an old septic tank. Just one side. State Farm covers my winch but the tow companies said it's too soft back here to bring in a heavy. So now I'm being told that State Farm doesn't cover the 4wd recovery truck that we need. I'm getting tired of paying for services I can never benefit from. The insurance company keeps winning. I'm slightly annoyed at the moment. (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160427%2Fad166c6c7c34a1b1c1c24d745d5ac25d.jpg&hash=3e632700436c0a14985b347d148f16d831eb0662)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160427%2Fd97acd9fd0e52e51a6d52e9c1528a42c.jpg&hash=9fdf3ddc65c319d7ee6652820e8a21e51d157df9)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160427%2F1d014c4a5650809858006673a9339453.jpg&hash=273371d32a31c1210e82a1767fef778f4cbc6961)
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Oh crap!
This whole situation has an odor to it...
on the bright side, there's a bus pit at your in-laws you didn't know you had?
Have a giggle? (except for those insurance thieves, that ticks me too)
You have another bus story few can brag about?
happy coaching!
buswarrior
Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!!!
I hate that for you, Scott.
Davy
Hi Scott,
I wasn't ever stuck like that.
But I've seen others stuck AND unstuck.
What they did was dig a trench for the duals, line it with bricks , blocks, and wood planks.
It's not easy work but a lot easier that tearing out some parts trying to pull on it.
Once you fill the trench with support, jack up the bus until it is level again , fill in the trench
all the way out and then try to drive it out. Looks like you're need a lot of bricks , blocks and wood. As I said not an easy project but doable. You are not the first to be stuck and use this method. GOOD LUCK. Have lots of cold beer on hand. At this part of TX we have a lot of handy man types that work cheap to lessen your back pain.
Frank @ TX
Scott,
First off. Normally I would agree with Frank. However, if there is actually a pit underneath, digging won't help you.
Believe it or not, we've been there done that. It took a heavy semi wrecker AND a large loader chained together to pull us out.
If you do not have an actual pit, then yes. A lot of careful digging should do it. The other option? Do you have a buddy that has a concrete plant? Concrete trucks are all axle drive and usually have plenty of traction. That being said, yes. You do have a situation.
Do your in-laws mind a new apartment.
Keep us updated!
John
Go to one of those wrecker retreaval companies with your pictures. Maybe they have some suggestions or an inflatable bladder that can lift the rear of that side of the coach so you can put support under it like heavy steel plate.
Don't where you are at but a tandem oilfield truck with a winch cable would either pull you out or pull the front of the bus off. They carry a lot of cable on winch and chains on those. A nice big Autocar comes to mind.
Maybe the local Volunteer Fire company has a need for a training day... hot dogs and iced tea come to mind... ;D
Quote from: eagle19952 on April 27, 2016, 11:43:25 AM
Maybe the local Volunteer Fire company has a need for a training day... hot dogs and iced tea come to mind... ;D
I think they put out fires! ;D
John 316 is an expert in this situation, seriously ( want to see pictures) ;D
Scott we have BTDT. I like Chessie's Air bag idea and then I would once it is up to level fill in the septic hole with gravel and 4 inches of concrete. Let dry a few days and drive out. Hey just saying. ;D
Dave5Cs
Quote from: Dave5Cs on April 27, 2016, 12:10:59 PM
John 316 is an expert in this situation, seriously ( want to see pictures) ;D
LOL. I KNEW you were going to chime in. Post the pics. We don't own the bus anymore, so good to go.
You have the best idea yet. Given the right setup, just plain jacks and cribbing.
If the pit has a concrete wall edge in the right place, that might be a good jack point, but it looks like you do not have enough room to work. A rubber bladder would lift, but it might also punch out body or floor panels. The axle is what needs to be lifted. Are there any trees in the vicinity that could be used as a winch post? A heavy duty hand winch or electric winch might do the trick. The driver side rear wheel still seems to be supported, a farm tractor or bulldozer might be able to pull it sideways while it is being winched forward. Are you back in Michigan with this predicament? Does the septic still stink? Inquiring minds want to know.
How about a heavy duty piece of pipe that would snugly fit over axle stub, then you could jack on it.
Wow. Did it ever occur to your to confirm that you had FIRM ground, (like pavement) before you drove where you drove? You are going to have to rent a big winch truck with a long cable to pull your Bus Conversion to-be out of the ... the ... er ... er ... stuff! Also probably your insurance will not pay a dime. Expensive lesson indeed for you.
But do not feel too bad. I once drove my 1974 Crown Supercoach 40 foot 10 wheeler out onto the firm packed SAND at Crescent City California. The horseshoe beach just South of the marina. I knew the retrieval bill would have been $5000 bucks, but I did it anyway. At 10 mph she floated fine. Tandem drive. I got away with it. Yikes!!!
The first time I parked the frenchy-bus in the back of our yard in town I slid it down tight against my neighbour's 6 foot tall fence. I used a couple of lengths of 4x6 tubing as tracks for heavy duty floor jacks and a tree as a deadman. When I got the bus up on the jacks I pulled it sideways with the jacks rolling on the tubing. Something similar might be an option for you if you can get a jack past centre on the axle with something to jack against underneath it.
I wouldn't even think of pulling from the front. If your wrecker operator suggests that I'd thank him and send him home. If you can get a cable to the axle you could pull forward or backward but no way would I hook to the front end and start pulling.
If it is not raining and you can dig under tires or jack something up to get the axle high enough to raise the bottom of the coach so nothing is still buried other than the tires or just touching the ground. dump a few bags of dry concrete under them it soaks up any moisture in the ground under the tires. Dig a trench in front of the tires to where it slops out and put some more gravel or dry concrete there. If you can start it it might just walk out but if it has 4 feet of empty space under the tires and or axle then I agree with Bob a 45 foot crane with counterweights is about it.
Dave5Cs
From the angle of the drive axle in the off side picture....
I suspect the wheels are hanging in the air over that tank, and lots of stuff is resting on the ground.
This is a sticky job, to be sure!
happy coaching!
buswarrior
Pull it back out the way you went in is the standard practice in the trucking and heavy equipment business any good tow truck driver will know that or should.Don't look that bad to me after sinking mine on both sides on the Gulf of Mexico ;D They dug the sand away from the drivers then put carpet down and told me to put the bus in reverse at idle and pulled it out with a 1 ton wrecker
It looks like a the ground could be cleared enough for a construction forklift to get under the wheels. You might have to lay plywood or something on the ground for it to drive close.
Lol. Your responses all made me smile. Yes we are back home in Michigan. Septic is over 35 years old and doesn't stink. Coach is pulled out. It was actually easy. They brought a small tow truck with a mighty winch. He strapped himself to a tree in front of him and walked it right out nice and easy from the front. Took a handful of minutes. Amazing because the entire dual was in midair. It could only go out from the front because the rear was up against a fence. We are filling in the septic tank this weekend lol. Insurance did pay for it. Win for State Farm roadside for our coach. (https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160428%2F271e89fd9fd3a643d09a14d2aaec9654.jpg&hash=289338785c4c59307eb3ebec3e91657321856fd2)(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160428%2F8f35362859df104bb9290d19ab572df1.jpg&hash=09e987af6a4448406dd5fa5b228960cf96a3be01)https://vimeo.com/164507084 (https://vimeo.com/164507084)
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Yeahhhhhhhh. Well that was easy. ;D
Dave5Cs
Glad to see that the tree I suggested was in the right spot. Winches can do a lot. You really lucked out and got everybody stirred up. Those six Shires (or Clydesdale's) could have done it as well.
Yahoo! Happy ending. I will not share the time way back in about 1980 when a young man in Bakersfield CA who drove a fire engine for a living for the City was ordered to take a 58,000 pound tanker fire engine across a packed hard dirt vacant lot to get to a house fire quickly in the SE of town.
Yep, very heavy indeed. 1500 gallon water tank. 10 wheeler. He tried. Yep .... old septic tank. CRASH! Oh .... heck! Yep! Took a BIG wrecker with a BIGGER winch with BIGGEST choker cable to pull the aforementioned fire engine out of the .... gunk! It only cost the tax payers a ton of money.
The engine Captain admitted he gave the order. The stupid Engineer admitted he followed the stupid order. Both the Captain and Engineer got reprimands. The Captain for being stupid. The Engineer for also being stupid. The crew had to hand stretch fire lines quite a ways. The house burned.
The non aforementioned Engineer was nicknamed "Ah Shiet" for months. He deserved it. :) :)
I must say, that fire engine story is my life....and yes, the horses are looking better every minute. My parents yard is a nice lawn, and it's dry and the coach had no issue driving around on the lawn, but when I busted through the lid of that old septic tank...it was over. They have been on city sewer for 35 years so no one had a clue that old tank was there. Will be filled in my next week. Now my focus is on getting 102 converted! Here we go!
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You could tell everyone you were experimenting with a new direct holding tank dumping method that needs more refinement.
Scott - That ol' bus knows you are sellin her and is doing everything she can to stay. Thats crazy.
Glad to see you got out easy and really glad that both tires didnt sink in. That would have been a bad day.
That would have been a great place to hook up the black tank though!
Give your parents hugs and kisses from all of us.
-Sean