New Radiator: On The Road Again!

[busboy]

S&S in Denver finished up with our bus about 4PM this afternoon and we headed east...we are stopped in a real nice park in Seibert, CO, Passport rate is $15.  OK, everyone wants to know what a brand new radiator does for a bus that normally overheats.  The first thing I noticed was that the temp gauge was at about 160 while we did town driving to get to the freeway...a few miles, normally we would be at 180 and climbing.   We have an Eagle 10, 8V71, 740 Allison(using the bus radiator), 15KW Kubota generator that is plumbed into the bus radiator.  When we left we turned on the generator with the front roof air running.  Going thru traffic on I-70 east the bus ran right around 180, outside temp was around 87.  We hit some mild hills east of Denver and at one point the temp hit 195 but quickly came down just below 180 on the next downhill and for the rest of the next 75-80 miles we were running about 70MPH, a few hills and the temp guage barely moved off of 180.  On the last part of the run I think we were running closer to 170 on the temp gauge.    We also had S&S to replace the thermostats and new belts.  So far I'm pleased...still want to see what it will do on some serious hills.  BTW, I did not even turn the misters on.  S&S also did a nice job on putting a patch on the rear torsion tube.   I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes.
Happy Trails,
Brent

[Barn Owl]

I'm sure not having to stress about the heat has already made it worth every penny (Actually all the big bucks!). My big radiator barely lets my temp gauge move. Even when I do the torturous driveway climb to my house. There was a time I thought my gauge was broke because it doesn't move much, but that's the big ole' radiator doing its job. Anyways, I'm happy for you. Hope you have many safe and enjoyable miles ahead.

[DrivingMissLazy]

Brent, since you are running your genset coolant thru the main radiator, I have a recommendation for you.
I suggest you get a couple of 16 inch automotive type auxiliary radiator fans and install them on the outside of the radiator. I also suggest you install an auxiliary thermostatic switch in the water outlet of the genset. This should be a NO switch that closes at 190 degrees, or in that area.

I had the same setup as you in my Eagle, and I found out then when parked and running the genset, the coolant in the radiator would get too warm and the OT shut down in the genset would shut it down after about 30 minutes or so. The fan would switch on and off as necessary to keep the coolant in the proper temperature range. I also installed a small indicator light in the dash that came on when the fans were on.

Another benefit of this was that when the the engine temperature started climbing during a pull on a grade the fans would come on and help bring the temperature back down. This was before I would have to use the misters.

It really helps, believe me.

Richard

[RJ]

Brent -  Glad to hear that S&S did a good job, that's the kind of info that's helpful for other busnuts.

Don't forget to manually downshift that Allison while climbing hills.  If you let it downshift automatically, most of the time it drops the engine RPM down too low, and the temp really begins to climb.  Keep the Detroit in the 1700-1900 range on a partial throttle while climbing, and things will stay in the normal 180 - 190 range.

Watch your exhaust, too.  If you cannot accelerate anymore from 1700 rpm, and the exhaust is starting to blow black smoke, it's time for another downshift.

FWIW&HTH. . .

[busboy]

Guys,
Thanks for the suggestions.  I forgot to mention that the bus is also pulling a 4500lb Land Rover and we have 2.33(yes that's a third) of a bays stuffed with things...we have 4 kids...
Richard, there is one electric fan that is thermostatically controlled already on the radiator.  Jimmy Terrell from TTT Coach in Nashville who did some of our reconfiguration coach work before we left said that one of the big-time bands he works with put 3 fans on their bus and that seemed to solve their problem.
The S&S guys were telling me about 2 rigs(Prevost & Wonderlodge) that were in their yard that the owners had burned the motors up because they did not pay attention to the temp guage.  They said they see a lot of this with people coming from the lowlands on vacation, they get up in the mountains where the air is thinner and the grades steep and they try to drive them like their on flatland.
The Prevost was just finished with and in-frame...bill...$15K...watch that temp guage.
Happy Trails,
Brent