I am finally ready to go on my 4,000 mile trip leaving this evening. I think the bus will perform just fine.
The only bad part is we are about two weeks behind and didn't test the plumbing until today due to no power for pumps. It leaks liike a sieve all over the place. I used pex pipe with Oetiker clamps and copper fittings. Oetiker clamps were used on my travel trailer, but they used a little bit softer PEX pipe and plastic fittings. I am going to go to Menards and get a bunch of the pushlock fittings to make repairs in the field.
Hey Brian,
I hope you have a great time! Try not to blow yourself up while you're out there! :-)
Good luck on your maiden trip ... :)
Ron
If you have leaks you can just call it a fire supression system! LOL! Seriously glad to see you are making the trip despite a few drips! Have fun and enjoy the journey! ;D BK ;D
Good luck. I hope you are glad you hung in there, its a long term hobby, and it sounds like you are getting that beast under control finally.
Good luck on your adventure, hopefully, we'll be able to do that too at some point. Keep us posted on what's going on and take lots of pics.
I already got the plumbing partially fixed. The copper manifolds didn't get soldered 100% so I am going to make new ones of CPVC once we get on site. I hope I can get the plumbing 100% the day we arrive.
The other plumbing problem is the shower head was not secured down and the bouncing cracked the side panel of the shower. I secured it and duct taped the cracks in the panel for now. Will have to replace the panel with FRP or something.
Where are you headed, Brian? I just posted about the guy who bought my bus heading East on I-40. Maybe you'll see him along the way?
We're headed from Minnesota to Reno, NV via I80 mostly.
Brian, have a fun and safe trip, and enjoy driving that big bus. I hope you have good weather and a lot of memories when you get home.
Lets be careful out there
WVaNative
Brian Denver had first snow yesterday so stay lower altitude and should be good going and enjoy.
LarryH
Quote from: belfert on September 25, 2007, 03:08:45 PM
We're headed from Minnesota to Reno, NV via I80 mostly.
Brian -If you get some time in Reno, you might like to try a "Root Beer Float" in the Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill Casino. Tastes just like the real thing, but has NO root beer in it!
Just don't drive anywhere after you've had one (or a couple. . .) ;D
In the meantime, enjoy your journey!
;)
Brian, if at all possible, use crimp rings on hot water lines near the hot water heater. Those push-on, twist-on, etc, don't like hot water. Brass fittings with crimp rings will hold permanently.
I had one leak (at hot water heater) where we used non-crimp fittings. The crimped fittings can be cut off with a pair of side cutter pliers. Pex is great stuff.
Good luck with your trip! Sounds like a good time happening! :)
Best, JR
We have now been on the road for over 12 hours with issues with the bus except a bad bulb or something in the dash. Easily fixable when we stop next. My GPS speedometer doesn't work and neither does my rear camera. The monitor for the camera gets no signal and the GPS won't lock onto satellites for some reason. A few calls to make today.
We aren't actually going quite to Reno. No casinos on this trip unless we maybe stop in Wendover, NV for a quick casino buffet.
Sounds like a great time is being had..I'm jealous !
Brain,
If you can, divert to I70 and come through Kansas. Much better roads and a better view. I live in Abilene KS. This summer I headed to South Dakota and was planning to take I80 in NE. I ended up running two lane roads because I80 was so rough. KS has some of the best roads in the nation. You will have some construction, but it will all be smooth!
Coop
I'm posting this from the desert which is really cool. We made it to the desert Thursday morning. We head back home Sunday afternoon.
Anyhow, we did break down once in Rock Springs, Wyoming. We started losing coolant pretty bad. We determined one of the hoses hadn't been clamped properly. We put another hose clamp on, added 3 or 4 gallons of coolant, and headed on our way. It is dripping a little bit, but no big deal.
The bus is performing great. The coolant temps never wavered over 2 degrees even on the steepest grades along I80.
Gonna stop by BK's Garage on the way home????
Sounds like you are finally happy to be in your bus! Thats great to hear.
Quote from: bubbaqgal on September 29, 2007, 05:34:32 PM
Gonna stop by BK's Garage on the way home????
No, since it is 100s or 1000s of miles out of the way. I have been to BK's once and hope to go back some day.
I am quite happy with how the bus performed on the trip. MPG was just less than 8 MPG for the trip including some 35 hours of generator use. Speed never dropped below 40 MPH on any grade. Temps stayed right at 195 except the steep grade east of Salt Lake City where it went up to 200. (Hoped for a bit better MPG, but we had the cargo bays packed to the gills, 7 people plus gear, and a 600 lb trailer.)
My friends and I will probably make some major changes for the next trip. Some of the interior stuff didn't work out the best. I may end up removing the bunks and bathroom and starting over on that stuff. The shower stall walls cracked due to shower head not tied down so it needs major work anyhow.
My friends (and I) loved it. We could move around and not spend 4,000 miles cramped up in a truck or van. Not having to stop every 300 to 400 miles for fuel helped too.
Glad to hear your trip was a success!
I agree, it's nice to be able to drive long distances not all cramped up.
Sounds like your bus performed great, bet that feels good, huh.
Paul
Glad you had a great trip. One of the nice things about using it while converting it is that you get a chance to see how your ideas actually work in the "real world" and can still make changes without starting all over. Jack
Good to hear that your maiden voyage went well with no major screw-ups. Now that you've done a trip with your friends, do another trip to a campground or what ever you're going to use the bus for the rest of the year. Camping / traveling etc. and try to make the interior changes to suit ALL your needs.
Ron
Quote from: prevost82 on October 02, 2007, 07:07:33 PM
Good to hear that your maiden voyage went well with no major screw-ups. Now that you've done a trip with your friends, do another trip to a campground or what ever you're going to use the bus for the rest of the year. Camping / traveling etc. and try to make the interior changes to suit ALL your needs.
This vehicle was designed for going to rocket launches with groups of friends. It was never intended for campground use. I don't even have a power connection right now although I will be adding one. The generator is the only source of power at the moment, but for this trip we boondocked so we didn't need an external power connection.
I have no intention of ever going to a campground although I will try to get to a rally or two.
We didn't have any heat for this trip. I had intended to install a Proheat I bought, but we may just go with electric heat to save on bay space. If the weather is cold we can just run the generator. The generator probably consumes more than the Proheat, but we rarely need heat.