Maiden Voyage!!

[bigbrd]

I bought by bus six months ago and finally got to drive it the other day.  After purchasing my bus and having it towed to my father-in-law's shop, we got to go for a spin.  It was a great to see all the town's folks looking at the 40ft, 40 year old tank cruising through town.  I have another tire question though....  I have 12r 22.5 tires on the tag axle and 11r 22.5 on the rest.  Is this ok?  I've read that the tires are the same height.  Please let me know if I'm wrong.  My bus is a 71' mc7 and after a new clutch, rebuilt brake pot, some wheel seals and a lot of crawling, its a mover.  It's a good thing thing there was a windshield or I'd have bugs in my teeth after driving the bus for the first time.

[demodriver]

I was able to take my bus on a short road trip for the first time a few weeks ago.  It sure does keep your motivation up when you can drive it.

sorry no advice on the tires.. but I would think that as long as the tires are the same size that are across from eachother it should be fine. Im sure that others will chime in tho!

[rv_safetyman]

Welcome bigbrd.  When you get a chance, set up a signature with your first name, bus information, and location.  I see you are from Colorado, so we are at least in the same state.

The 12 and 11 22.5 are different size and capacity.  Since the "odd ball" is on the tag, it won't make any difference.  Many folks run 11 22.5 on 40 ft buses that probably came with 12 22.5.  When you get a chance, if your coach is done, have it weighed.  You will need to have each axle weighed and preferably each side.  Some gravel pits or recycle places can weigh one side (one set of wheels off the scale).  That will tell you what tires you should be running from a capacity standpoint.

You will also want to check the date code and make sure your tires are less than 10 years old - many replace the tires at 5-7 years.

Jim

[PP]

Welcome Bigbird, Glad to have you aboard. Most people always throw their oddball tires on the tags, so long as their a 'like' pair you shouldn't have any problems. But since 12R's generally cost more, you might want to make sure they didn't put the bigger ones on to compensate for some additional weight (If you bus isn't converted yet, disregard this and just assume they got a deal on the larger tires)
Good luck and enjoy her, it sounds like you already got a good taste of what owning a bus is all about. 
Will

[bigbrd]

The bus is converted but I don't think that determined the tires on the tag.  They look like a bargain off an old truck.  The tanks are in the last bay of the bus which would add some weight.  Where do most conversions put their tanks?  Are they more to back or front?

[rv_safetyman]

Rob, thanks for adding the signature.  Now we can call you by name and know a bit about your "toy".

I think many converted highway (vs transits) have their tanks in the rear bay.  The rear axle (and tag/bogey if equipped) can handle more weight.  The front axle on most highway buses are 12K rated and it does not take long to get close to that capacity even with the tanks in the rear bay.

To give you a feeling for axle ratings, my Eagle front axle is rated at 11.7K, bogey at 10K and rear end at 17k.  With those ratings you can see why folks put the heavier components towards the rear of the bus.

While my bus is does not have the spit and polish finish, I think it has most of the typical components in the typical places.  I had it weighed at an FMCA rally and the results were:

By RVSEF  3/06
Front:  left 5800   right  4850   total:  10650
Bogey:  left 4500  right 5200  total:  9700
Rear:  left  8000  right 8200  total 16200

A year later I stopped at a closed weigh station in Oregon (they leave the scales on) and it weighed about the same.  Those weights are with at least 75% fuel and typical water/gray/black tank levels.

That is with the tanks in the back, the 8 golf cart batteries/inverter/Aquahot in the center bay and the generator in the front bay.

I suspect that my weight is fairly typical for a 40 foot converted bus without all the really heavy finish items like heavy tile floors, etc.

Be careful of the tire quality.  If one blows, it usually causes a lot of damage in the wheel well area.

Jim

[luvrbus]

Jim, strange how much less axle weight on a model 10 with 11rx24.5 tire than the model 05 with the 12rx22.5,front 12,000 boogie 10,000 and rear 20,000 total 42,000 very same under carriage

good luck