Finaly Bringing her home,No really I am !!

lou432 · March 29, 2016, 05:44:04 PM

Ok , life has thrown me a few curves in the past 2 years but God has blessed me as of late and I have booked my one way ticket to Fla to get my girl .
I leave next Wed the 6 th and will spend a few day re acquainting myself with her . She`s at JB`s Bus in Bushnell Fla as he`s wrapping the safety inspection and new sneakers all around and Fri or Sat the 8 or 9th and with great care and intrepidation I will put her into 1st and start the journey !
Heading to Perry GA first to visit friends, then to Walterboro SC to do the same then have potential stops in Va and or MD .
I will be solo as Iv`e been most of my life so it is the norm. I will teach myself as I go the art of downshifting as so far I have been unable to
do so . But my confidence ,the handy downshifting document on this forum and my multiple conversations with ole spicer shifting truckers I feel some what good about my chances ! :-)
I am looking for any advise on anything including routes to NH . I know the 95 all the way route and the 95 to 270 outa Washington to 15 to 81 to 84 etc.....
Also, any aps for truckers I can put on my android phone that is any better than the Google maps gps already have.
So I just wana let you great folks know I`ll be headn to the north and to wave if ya see me cruisin !!

MB LeMirage · March 29, 2016, 07:18:06 PM

Happy shifting and a safe journey.
Ryan.

travelingfools · March 29, 2016, 07:30:27 PM

Sounds like a fantastic adventure, I'm jelious....safe journeys

pabusnut · March 29, 2016, 07:34:26 PM

Lou,

After you pass Richmond, VA, take 17 at Fredricksburg to get up to 15. There are a few lights, and stop and go for a while, but it is better than being stopped on 495 and 270, which can happen for no apparent reason. It is a nice drive through the country, and you will not miss anything important!

Steve

DoubleEagle · March 29, 2016, 08:42:12 PM

One thing I would recommend is to not rely on Google maps alone for route planning. To shave off a few miles, Google will have you make multiple turns on streets that are not appropriate for trucks or buses, and, there is the lack of low clearance warnings. Programs that are designed for commercial trucks would be safest.

RJ · March 29, 2016, 09:46:06 PM

Quote from: lou432 on March 29, 2016, 05:44:04 PM
I will teach myself as I go the art of downshifting, as so far I have been unable to do so. But with my confidence, the handy downshifting document on this forum, and my multiple conversations with ole spicer shifting truckers, I feel somewhat good about my chances!

Lou -

No shifting document on this forum, I think you meant the one over on busnut.com.

I know - I wrote it!

Good luck with your new toy, once you get the hang of it, you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

FWIW & HTH. . .

Charles Seaton · March 30, 2016, 04:17:09 AM

Really sounds like a great trip! Drive carefully, have fun and go around New York City. I only drive it because I live here but I would never route anyone through it.

- Seaton

chessie4905 · March 30, 2016, 04:24:18 AM

Wazup or Waz app is very useful. Individuals report police, accidents, broken down vehicles, etc.

chessie4905 · March 30, 2016, 04:51:15 AM

Avoid having to start out from a stop on a steep grade. Is hard on the clutch. Keep it geared down on steep grades and be careful not to allow engine rpms to exceed more speed than it goes when accelerating in that particular gear. Stop frequently a first to check over any serious issues, like oil or fuel, or air leaks, etc. Issues will more like show up sooner in the start. You can spread them out late. Taking it easy going home would be better than running flat out against the governor helps avoid issues on first trip but whatever....good luck. Take a pair of new fuel filters along and install new before you start.. Don't forget to frequently check oil level on the trip. Let it set at least 5 minutes to let oil drain back to pan for accurate reading. I would take along 2 gallons of 40w oil and 2 gallons of coolant and 5 gallons of water,rags,some basic hand tools. A service call on the interstate could be very costly. Fortunately the weather is cooler now so you hopefully won't have overheating issues. Oh, and don't lug the engine on a grade with full power applied more than a brief time. I'm sure I'm missing some things but this should be a start. Make sure you get a set of shop manuals for it after yo get home.Have the bus company tutor you on replacing fuel filters out on the road just in case.

blue_goose · March 30, 2016, 05:56:40 AM

Just a little out of your way, but a good time to meet lots of us Nuts. The Southeast Bus Nuts rally is in SC starting on the 13th of April. Check it out on the web at sebusnuts.org.
Jack

Oonrahnjay · March 30, 2016, 10:17:27 AM

Quote from: pabusnut on March 29, 2016, 07:34:26 PM
Lou,

After you pass Richmond, VA, take 17 at Fredricksburg to get up to 15. There are a few lights, and stop and go for a while, but it is better than being stopped on 495 and 270, which can happen for no apparent reason. It is a nice drive through the country, and you will not miss anything important!

Steve

Yeah, do whatever you need to do to miss the DC area traffic mess (I lived there off and on for about 25 years and it's only gotten worse and worse over time).

Jim Eh. · March 30, 2016, 10:20:37 AM

If you are in the process of having new rubber put on make sure you re-torque the wheels nuts in 100 then again at 500 miles.

TomC · March 30, 2016, 11:43:13 AM

I always have enough Delo 100 sae40 with me to do an oil change on the road. Also have additional oil and fuel filters. Carrying the weight of extra alternators, starters, bulk of an air filter is not necessary. Good Luck, TomC

lou432 · March 30, 2016, 03:28:35 PM

Damn !! not sure I wana go now!!?? Just kidding !!:-) Lots to remember but I`ll spend 2-3 days at JB`s gathering stuff on my list and adding some suggestions from you all before I pull out .
I`m guessing a torque wrench is in order ,oil I knew about I believe I still have 2 gallons from last trip . Oil, filters,hoses and belts all replaced . I`ll get xtra fuel filters .
Did not have Tach in bus when I dropped her off at JB`s but he talked of putting one in as I had room in the dash. So as is , I gota listen to the engine rpms and fine tune my down shifting as I go.

I thought I copied and pasted the shifting doc from here in a tread someone else posted but cant find on my spawn of Satan windows 8!!!
I`ll look on busnuts .
I am taking on some life changing stuff as of late ,career change, relocating to Syracuse NY area, driving a 66 stainless steel frikin bus 1300 miles and cant downshift it as of today .... All heck I`m all in !!!! Lets get this show on the road!!!
Thanks for the well wishes and suggestions ! Keep`m coming if ya got`m !
BTW, Ima gona avoid NYC and DC like the plague !!! Mountains or no mountains!

DoubleEagle · March 30, 2016, 06:58:35 PM

You are really in for an adventure - you will either end up becoming one with the bus and proud of your new skills, or you will regret ever thinking of doing this. One thing is for sure, if you get stuck in stop and go traffic a lot, your left leg will end up being stronger. I took my 4 speed Spicer Model 05 Eagle through New Jersey and across the George Washington Bridge through Manhattan and on to Long Island back in the nineties when they were repaving. I had air-assist on the clutch linkage, but I still got pretty sore. I would go to neutral a lot to rest my leg.