The Maiden Voyages again. . err. . .or is that, "Another Maiden Voyage"?!?

[Christyhicks]

So, the great beast is awakened from it's slumber. . . or really, if you want to be more truthful, "from it's anesthesia", the transplant looks to be successful, and although Doc will monitor it for awhile, the new (to us) transmission seems to be working fine in TempBus.   

For the uninformed, . . .disinformed,  . . . reformed, . . . and just plain deformed, Larry changed our VS2-8 to a V731, installing an air throttle, a transmission cooler, and, as men will do, any other upgrade he comes across. . new muffler, a remote radiator for the generator, etc.  We now not only have five pretty lights on the dash, but also the ability to downshift should we ever come across another "came up from out of nowhere" ski slope we need to descend.  One trip to Chattanooga in our old motorhome, with no brake buddy in our toad and no such thing as Jakes taught us that  even the most "Que Sera, Sera" spouse that I am can reeeeaaaaaaalllllly get nervous when I smell hot brake pads .  I would like to formally thank whoever came up with those truck turn-offs, because, although we were lucky enough we didn't have to use one, we sure were glad they were there! 

(I've only been scared, really scared, three other times in an RV, once when we were ice skating on I-35, another time in TempBus, crossing Lake Ponchatrain on I-10 less than a year after Katrina, and that time I smacked a bridge with the tail end of my travel trailer,  many, MANY moons ago. 

So, with our new office manager, Julie, left in control, we took a few hundred mile jaunt this weekend down to Canton, Texas and our favorite flea market.  The bus ran fine, no big noticible difference on speed, power, etc between the VS2-8 and the v731. Larry thought the 731 pulled a little better in lower gears maybe.  He was warned that we may lose some on the top end, but either he's hot rodding it more, or it just seems to run just a little faster now.  The big noticible differnce is the air throttle, so he thinks that perhaps it's just so easy to push that throttle that he has to keep backing off of it to keep her running 60-65, which is our ideal cruising speed for comfort, fuel mileage, etc. 

All in all, it cost us WAY more than we thought it would,  and took a lot of time since he had to work around my carpal surgeries and had next to no help on the project. .    I'm ashamed to admit that my great contribution was only to route the wires/air lines from the back to the front inside the bus, and to lend an occasional "shove here" "pry here" "can you get your fingers in there" and some verbal encouragment.  Larry did a great job and I'm really proud of him! 

Rollin again,  Christy Hicks

[Dallas]

Way Cool Christy! We are sure glad to hear from you again.
Now that you guys are motivated, it's time to learn to delegate authority and hit the open road.

By the way, delegating authority doesn't mean giving the workers free reign.. they now make collars that give an electric shock when so desired by the button holder. You could probably set these collars up to be activated by a cell phone signal, just to give the employees a little idea of who is really in control!

[travelingfools]

All in all, it cost us WAY more than we thought it would,  Rollin again,  Christy Hicks

LOL...that should be our board slogan. Ive only had mine a year and a half and am not even a 1/4 through the conversion and Ive muttered or thought that a half dozen times !!

[Dreamscape]

Hey Christy, Glad to hear your repower went well! We stayed at the Walmart in Canton on  our way to the Eagle Rally at Breaux Bridge LA last Thursday night and saw all of the flea folk! You guys should have just come down to the rally, we had a couple of MCI's along with the birds!

Hope to see you guys at TBR 2009!

Good to hear from you again!

~Paul~

[Christyhicks]

Thanks Dallas. . .Jule, our new girl, is just great so we'll gradually be able to leave more often again.  The real holdup was the Tranny swap and the surgeries.  Now that both are over, we are more than ready to make regular trips again!  I'll check into those collars. . . good tip!

LOL...that should be our board slogan.

That's a great idea!  Everytime someone talks about a tranny swap, an engine swap, their conversion, etc., they do have a tendency to repeat that phrase. . maybe someone ought to name their bus, "Way more than I thought it would cost" or something to that affect, ha ha. 

Darn, Paul, I wish I had known that! We got to Canton about 4:00 p.m. Wednesday night and pretty much shopped till we dropped!  I've got another post about this morning's adventure I need to get written now.  Have a great night guys!  Christy