Oh my. . .

[RJ]

. . . gotta shake my head over this:


Went to MickeyD's for a McFlurrie dessert tonight, and when I pulled into the strip mall where it's located, there was a relatively new stick & staple Monaco three-axle diesel pusher parked in the lot, with the door open.

After I found a spot nearby, I happened to see the "man of the house", and commented to him that he's got a nice-looking rig.   (Can you see where this is going?  I'm going to play with him!  BW & BK will appreciate this!)  As you can imagine, I got all the details: 40-foot 2006 model he got from an estate sale w/ less than 20K miles on it, Cummins/Allison, air suspension, air brakes, two slides, three A/Cs, all electric, 15Kw genset, etc.

"Air brakes?  How do you like them compared to your car/truck?" I asked him. . .

"Oh, they're great!  Completely different feel, but boy will they stop this rig.  And everything's automatic on them, too!!  Not like the old ones, I never need to adjust anything!"

So, just to lead him on: "Do you know how to do a DOT-approved air brake system check-out before driving your rig?"

"Nah, I don't have to do any of that commercial stuff, since it's a private vehicle.  Besides, like I said before, everything in the system adjusts itself automatically, so I don't need to check it out before driving. . ."

Hmmmm. . . "What if you have a pinhole leak in a brake can, how would you know?"

"Not a problem, everything adjusts itself in the air brake system automatically, so the system would adjust to it."      

"Well, enjoy your rig" I said as I walked into McD's, shaking my head. . .


Remind me to stay far away from S&S rigs that are obviously air-brake equipped, if this is the common line of thinking among these folk!!

I certainly hope those who frequent this forum have a different attitude about their air systems than this guy!

Whew!

FWIW & HTH. . .



 

[Busted Knuckle]

AMEN!

[JackConrad]

There a lot of scary drivers out there. Reminds me of the man that said he always pumped his air brakes???  And then the ones who have very poor vision, but still drive.  Jack

[Len Silva]

Unfortunately, you cannot blame the owner for his lack of knowledge.  Go to any RV dealer and look at a 40" DP.  Tell the salesman that you are intimidated by the size and he will tell you "It's just like driving a van, just put it in drive and go. Nothing to worry about, it's all automatic, practically drives itself."

[HighTechRedneck]

Just wait till he tries out the cruise control/auto pilot to go back in the kitchen to get something to drink.  After all, it has all the latest automation.

[John316]

That is really too sad. Too bad they don't really tell them what is involved with the big rigs.

There is a reason that RV repair shops are always so busy, fixing all of those automated parts .

God bless,

John

[Dreamscape]

I know he got it at an estate sale, but he probably has no mechanical experience or know how. I wonder if he even knows how to check the oil level in the engine, wonder if he thinks it's automatic too. How sad! And there are a bunch of them out there, kinda scary huh.

I just hope he reads "Da Book"!

Paul

[kyle4501]

You want scary? Go to an RV discussion forum & read up on what many believe about GCVW & how heavy a trailer you can pull with minimal equipment.

Idiots are everywhere.

Ever watch minivans in traffic?


Thinking about this makes me want to get a tri axle dump truck for my daily commute. 

[TomC]

Motorhomes compound the mechanical complexity by having both a commercial vehicle and household type equipment on board.  While it isn't mandatory, it sure makes life a lot easier on the road if you understand every system on board so you can at least make an intelligent decision as to what to do in the case of a failure, rather than having some mechanic taking you for a ride.  There are always little things that pop up that if you are not mechanically inclined to fix them, will just plainly make your life miserable.  Personally-it is a challenge to me, and like the fun in fixing it.  Course some would not feel that way-and those types perhaps would be better suited to just stay in motels.  Good Luck, TomC

[buswarrior]

If only I could figure out how to side step my value system and get in on the INCOME possibilities these folks represent....

RJ, you are quite the pro, left the guy feeling like a king!

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[luvrbus]

I take it you guys have never talked to some of the owners of new Prevost buses the S&S people don't have the market on dumb.
I met owner with a new H3-45 that never even drove a pickup before and the only thing he knew about the bus was he gave 934,000 bucks for it at Marathon in Oregon that is scary a guy in a 45 ft ,50,000# and over 12 ft tall rig with no training or experience what ever.   


good luck

[bubbaqgal]

Thinking about this makes me want to get a tri axle dump truck for my daily commute. 

Aw, come on Kyle, admit it....you just want an excuse to that dump truck to add to your collection.   We all know the truth! 

[kyle4501]

Thinking about this makes me want to get a tri axle dump truck for my daily commute. 

Aw, come on Kyle, admit it....you just want an excuse to that dump truck to add to your collection.   We all know the truth! 

Already there - air brakes, 15 spd, tandem rear with lockout, power steering & air ride seat. All in a 1963 international Loadstar 1800.
COOL TRUCK!     

[belfert]

How many of you had training or experience before buying your first RV or bus?  The only experience I had was towing a 30' travel trailer across the USA a few times.  I did do a lot of research before buying my bus.  No experience before buying my travel trailer.

The states probably should mandate some sort of special license or training before owning an air brake motorhome, but most don't.  The RV industry does a lot of lobbying against special licensing.

[TomC]

I was one of the lucky ones-in that I was an 18 wheel owner/operator for 21 years.  Now driving my bus is a pop stand in comparison.  Course it helps that it is a transit-they have a much tighter turning radius (for obvious reasons) then a highway coach.  Now the challenge will be driving my truck conversion.  It is at the other end of the spectrum with taking 8 lanes to do a U turn.  But the whole reason for carrying a car is to do my exploring with the car, not the truck.  So I'm not to worried about it.  Good Luck, TomC