What not to do.

[dparker]

Chaz,

Keep it up man, most of these people have probably done similar things, they are just smart enough not to put them in print. LOL  However, I bet bus office chair ice hockey or whatever you called it is about 30 times safer than motocross racing or skateboarding -- or letting your kid ride in a car with a brand new 16 year girl driving a car too fast while putting on makeup and talking on a cell phone -- in the rain

personally i log on every nite to just see what you have done the previous day -- keep it coming -- perhaps you could go on the road the with the "git it done guy" -- i believe that he has a prevost coach converted by others. 

I suggested that you get a little knowledge about the air braking system on your bus -- but not to tell you what to do, because what a story that would be (when you got out of the hospital)  -- but only because you live close enough to me if your brakes fail it could be my wife's car in front of your 35,000 lb bus that will not stop --

i hate to mention this - but as i was doing my bus -- i had all the old windows out just metal frame -- turn a curve too fast and nearly rolled my brother over the side - was raising the front roof area structural frame to install new cap with a cutting torch -- looked down and managed to get 3 oily rags on fire that was laying on the dash, sitting in the middle of rags was a can of ether -- my ladder had the door blocked -- started yelling at my brother who was on the roof of the coach who then cut himself as he jumped from the roof into coach to extinguish the rags before the ether can blows up -- so when you are doing your caps take the ether cans inside --- LOL or not might make a better story ...

david

[JohnEd]

Aw,D Parker.  Everyone has heard the urban legend myth of the guy raising the roof and gets a pile of oily rags caught on fire with a can of ether laying in there center.    COUGH>>>GASP>>> CRINGE   You two must have personified the saying "A HOLES and ELBOWS".  Great story.

Chaz,

I too look forward to your every story.  Please don't stop.  I have done far worse but don't have your gift for telling a great story.  There is some measure of educational value but I am reading your stuff for the pleasure.  Some guys are deeper than others and trying to bring them to a narrow focus isn't really appropriate...they know better by now or they wouldn't be sharing this as humor.

Ok, look, I need to get more popcorn and kick back another knotch caus I see you have another post.  See you again in a sec.

Hope This Helped

John

[muddog16]

I think I remember two stories told on here, one the guy was stuck on a ladder putting his cap on and had to use is cell phone to call for help....while doing so, and the other was a well known nut.........working "under" his bus when it came down without injuries....I'm not a big poster but I do read everyday and do enjoy the stories and information....I've made mistakes too.......I had this really nice Smart Level.....digital.....it was just neat.......some dummy (me) left it on the trailer one day!.........I sure miss my level!   

[wvanative]

Teenage boys love danger.  It's in their genes.

LOL if it wasn't in his genes when he started his fast accent from the back of the bus, it most likely was in his jeans when he arrived at the front of the bus and with a slight odor. LOL good story and keep them coming. I am glad he's OK

WVaNative

[JackConrad]

Had a similar episode many years ago.  I was helping a friend convert a 4106. Bus was a shell with an unattached sofa being the only seating except the drivers seat. We needed to get fuel so the owner rode sitting on the sofa.  A car pulled out in front of us and I had to hit the brakes hard. Roy felt the sofa shift, raised his feet off the floor, and ended up almost beside me.  I have never driven a bus with unattached seating since that learning experience.  Jack
PS: that was in mid 80s, before Bus Conversions Magazine or Internet BBs

[Devin & Amy]

My turn,
I picked up my bus in milwaukee, without any bus driving experience. I drove from there on a sat. to Elkhart IN. Went through Chicago without incident.
Arrived in Elkhart with a sunday to waste. Decided to pull the seats since I had nothing to do till monday. I tied the seats in a pile on one side of the bus just over the axles.
Went to the surplus places and got some furniture, appliances, and A/C x2.
Had to drive the bus home to Ark. on monday. Not much to tie to in a bus so the load was unsecured for the most part, except for the hogtied chair monster.
Coming through that horrible exchange in St. Louis I was going a bit fast. I came through without tipping the bus over only to have a jam immediately in front of me on the bridge.
Emergency stops in a bus are not good, they are really bad with all of that stuff coming forward at mach 1.
I didn't hit anybody, but when I pulled off at the next exit I had to climb up and out of the drivers area because of the twisted mass of seats.
Luckily I or anyone else wasn't hurt, but I did learn a valuable lesson.
Secure loads are safe loads.
Devin

[BusMom]

Chaz,
Keep up your posts.  I learn something new with almost all of your posts.  We have also wondered about securing chairs and all of the other furniture for tin can camping.   

[cody]

What really amazes me is how quickly I can get in trouble, just by reading posts, I read this one and quietly commented to libby that I had an idea for building a mother-in-law launcher, after that I made my own breakfast lol.

[wvanative]

Cody, There was a show a few years ago with people dressed up in dinosaur costumes and the lead roll was the father named Sinclair, and one show was called hurling day about when mother in law dinosaurs got to a certain age there son in laws got to hurl the mother in-law off a cliff and into a fiery pit. well poor Sinclair, his wife and kids didn't want old grandma hurled, but his boss had a video of his hurling day and show it to Sinclair to encourage him. They would watch it and listen to the old girl scream going down, and then they rewind it and listen to her scream coming back up and they'd laugh. It was funny as hell. Makes we wish we had that tradition here in America. Don't get me wrong my mother in-law was so mean to me that my wife would have wanted to help me hurl her @$# off the cliff.

WVaNative   

[pete81eaglefanasty]

One thing I learned not to do is to stay in the house when your boys are going outside to do some welding on the bus.  When I came around the side of the bus, to my surprise there's my brand new air cushioned drivers seat with air lumbar, with a hole burnt in it, it was only two months old, they were welding the beams in over the chair to support the entertainment center.   They had the chair covered pretty good, but a spark bounced under the cover and started a fire. it burned the whole back of the seat out, I'm lucky my wife was able to salvage it, she reupholstered it,  still all and all it was a brand new seat and didn't need to be reupholstered.
CARELESSNESS AND BEING IN TOO MUCH OF A HURRY CAUSED IT.
Here's a picture of the seat.


              Pete & Jean
                FANTASY

[HB of CJ]

Naw....don't let all of us old coots wear you down.  The important thing is that no one was injured.  Your solution is obvious.  Just have everyone inside the coach wear....a....parachute!  Works for me....should work for you toooss.

And.....never start.....er....I mean thank you for sharing.  I know it was difficult.  Someday I will again share my experience with the summer nap....the wasp on the bedspread....the combat knife.....and the side window.  AUUGHHHH! 

[ghanson]

Chaz,   

Great story, and don't you agree it's nice that folks around here actually do care about you?  I've got a few myself that have resulted in stickers under my window, however, I wasn't blatently screwing around at the time.  Check, if you can see the attachment, over my left shoulder......

[ghanson]

......and your story got me to thinking, every once in a while, I drive around an empty airplane.  These things just scream skyward when they're empty....you can hardly hang on to them.   

Since we don't have passengers on board, the back is a rather large cavern, and we're tempted to go in the back and play the vomit comet - you know, making people float and all that.

Being the responsible adult that I am, however, I've never given in to the temptation....but thoughts of "Ya know.....I wonder if.......what would happen?......." are running through my head all the time.   Seems as time goes by, I give in less and less.

Your mileage may vary......g

[niles500]

Pete - that'll Buff right out .... ;-]