Hi All, going for a week to So Cal, to see pagent of the masters, SD Zoo and the apple orchards of Julian, coming back to LV, the question is, I-15 up Cajon Pass and Baker grade, or I-10 and that long grade past Palm Springs, then up US95 thru Searchlight, obviously morning or night. What's easiest on my 8v92? lvmci...
If you back up the hills they will never overheat. Problem solved. ;D
The "elevation to climb" is the elevation difference between the two points,,sooner or later you will have to climb it like it or not,, I like to make it short and sweet as possible,, the long climbs are brutal (and are also the ones with a headwind).>>>Dan
You need radiator SPRAYERS (not misters) drawing out of your fresh water after the pump with a toggle switch. Watch the temp gauge and start hitting the SPAYERS At 190f for 10 second blasts. Guaranteed to work.
--Geoff
Don't be afraid to drop a gear when needed to keep the fan speed up and engine labor down. Speed is not a consideration when climbing.>>>D
Question If Buses did these routes for years did they always overheat or what was different?
Tom We are so Jealous, have fun at the POM. ;D
On this year's trip to the high desert I set off at 4.00 AM. So much better - far fewer cars, and they seemed to be driven more intelligently (less dumbly?) than during the day, and of course it was much cooler for the climbs. I'm definitely doing that again in the future.
Just bear in mind that quite a few shops in Julian are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays - it's their weekend on those days. Weekends in Julian are crazy, so try to go mid-week. Parking there for a bus could be a challenge, but there's a large parking area on the east side of town where 79 heads south to I-8. If you take 79 south from Temecula, it's fun to stop at Warner Springs and take the sailplane rides there, and the little old chapel there dedicated to St.Francis of Assisi is beautiful.
John
Quote from: Dave5Cs on July 14, 2017, 09:23:23 PM
Question If Buses did these routes for years did they always overheat or what was different?
Tom We are so Jealous, have fun at the POM. ;D
From what I've heard they used water sprayers on the radiators just like we have to. I added a radiator and don't need the sprayers like I used to.
--Geoff
Hi guys, just about ready to takeoff from LV with the Fiat, my Lady, 2 Italian Greyhounds, a new batteryforthe generator on the bus plus an overstuffed bag for her. Right Now I'm worried about the Fiat climbing over the mountains! The bus is in the Lancaster area, where I have kept it all lthese years to take it to SoCal to live in while working in LA. Now I have a large enough parking area for her. Thanks Geoff, I have a sprayer system,with the holes drilled out to 1/16th", when Clifford and TomC talked about it, and plumbed from the main tank with a remote switch. Radiators area a bit worn, next thing to replace. Have memories of the bus shutting down from heat. Thanks John or the info,will do, but Nicky won't let me outta bed at 4am, staying at ponderosazilla for a night. Thanks Dave and even Gary, tom, lvmci...
I-15 is still the best way. In Baker there is a tow company that I've used. I would highly recommend you pull the Baker grade early in the morning. You can park in Baker overnight at the Mad Greek restaurant, then have an early start. Will still be close to 100 in the morning, but that's better then 115 or more later on. Good Luck, TomC
Quote from: Dave5Cs on July 14, 2017, 09:23:23 PM
Question If Buses did these routes for years did they always overheat or what was different?
Tom We are so Jealous, have fun at the POM. ;D
Cooling system and all related hardware, seals, cores, flushed, coolant, pump, etc was up to snuff.
Drivers were on orders how to climb, which gear, at what speed.
It is the rare busnut coach that has a fine cooling system when it gets into our hands, so we popularly have to cope with less than sufficient conditions, and it becomes the norm due to our collective experience coping.
Coping is cheaper than new radiators?
happy coaching!
buswarrior
There is an alternate route through the Mojave Preserve if you would like to go scenic.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/33.9615456,-116.5903629/Las+Vegas,+NV/@35.0633062,-116.9861964,8z/am=t/data= (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/33.9615456,-116.5903629/Las+Vegas,+NV/@35.0633062,-116.9861964,8z/am=t/data=)!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-115.7505318!2d34.5571679!3s0x80c556c9fc5e4669:0xa8d45e5dd5b7689a!1m5!1m1!1s0x80beb782a4f57dd1:0x3accd5e6d5b379a3!2m2!1d-115.1398296!2d36.1699412!3e0?hl=en
P.S.: If you happen to do this, let me know since it passes our neighborhood.
Thanks BW you made a good point and explained it well. Something to be said about having the slowest Bus on the block too. Even over the hill from Las Vegas to Pahrumph we ran 190 at the most but 180 most of the way.
Tom don't mind Bakers grade going to LV but coming back from Pahrumph we went the back way through Baker and it was much flatter.
Dave5Cs
Yes going through the Mojave reserve is a scenic route-but there is hardly anything out there. If you break down, you're really deep in the soup. Stick with I-15. Good Luck, TomC
Break down? I thought these buses were supposed to go a million miles trouble free! Damn!
Thanks guys, yes Lin, Morongo, Yucca valley, Jousha Tree and 29 palms is a beautiful area and don't forget Pioneer town! Site of Hop a Long Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Lone Rangers exterior shots, lvmci
Break downs are not trouble Lin, they are opportunities to learn more about why they go millions of miles. :-)
Dave after a new radiator and evry thing up to snuff (sniff) we ran 180 degrees over the hump to Phrump back one gear and hammer down. BW does have some words of wisdom for us ;D
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi457.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fqq292%2Fcwvanhagen%2F17264250_1050338975111949_5585133609887676998_n_zpsimgudayv.jpg&hash=87a483cb5d73099fdcd4748e678981c8ed8dc042)
Thanks guys, yes Lin, Morongo, Yucca valley, Jousha Tree and 29 palms is a beautiful area and don't forget Pioneer town! Site of Hop a Long Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Lone Rangers exterior shots, lvmci
I was actually referring to the ride from Twentynine Palms to Amboy and the road through the Mojave Preserve to I-15 after that.
Hi All, busin home from a nice vacation, taking a siesta at flying J in Barstow, waiting till 2AM to finish the 150 miles to home in LV thru the Baker grade...Nicky drove the Fiat up Cajon Pass at 1pm detached from the bus and that lighter load by 3000lbs, the water sprayer and down shifting, gave me a water temperature well within normal operating temps. Surprisingly had rooftop AC shut downs, first the bedroom, then the front AC, middle one has worked the whole time, i think it to be a thermal shut down of some sort, because when it was off about an hour, was able to use it again, lvmci...
Tom clean your coils they shut down because of high head pressure people never clean a roof top for some unknown reason ;D other than being a real PITA to clean
Thanks Clifford, I hope Sonja is better, tom...
What Clifford said and they probably iced upon you. Ours did that and they ran really slow until we turn the temp up a little. ;D
Thanks Dave, 2 A.C.s running, front one still won't start, but not leaving Barstow, till Baker is under 100°, might be Tuesday! tom...
Dave, nice comment on the slowest bus around. Must be talking about me. Just pulled Baker grade a few days ago. Was 113, kept it under 25mph and it stayed nice and cool!
Matt yep we stay around 180 in the heat about 27 but we have 2 more holes than you, LOL ;D
Nice Dave. Had the radiator recored before the last run, made a 10-15 degree differance. My radiator guy thought it could have been original to the bus. :o
Hi All, had a great trip, had to jockey the 40'er in an older RV park called Santa Fe in San Diego, driveway wasn't very wide and to many 5th wheels sticking into the street. Needed the services of a mobile mechanic in Newport Beach, .CA, Howard Chadwick Rv Doctor
Mobile 1 949-466-9088. Nice and competent. I use a sprayer for my radiators, as mentioned before, from my water holding tank, it looked like it had the usual amount of water, but in fact didn't pump out anything. Filled it over what I normally carry and it was fine. Nicky drove the Fiat up Cajon Pass and Baker Grade, the 3000lb lighter was enough to keep the 8V92 in normal operating temperature, even tho Baker was 103° at 10pm. Driving in SoCal is always an adventure, wanted to show Nicky Julian, .CA, in the mountains east of S.D. on CA79 off of I-8. The road was quite twisty, but the bus handled great and best of all Nicky thought the RV park Pinezanita, a mixture of pine and manzanita trees was the best park we stayed in, cool at night, big trees, but only 30amps. Really good Sicilian food at Ramanos restaurant. By the way, the A.C. problem, was an intermittent issue before, turns out one if the dip switches in the controller box wasn't fully flipped, hense intermittentcy. All and all a good time away from the heat of the Mojave desert summer. lvmci...
I think Huggy ran her first million miles about 60 some years ago.
Still not afraid to take off any where I can get the number one
person to go.
uncle ned