New boot on the block

[wal1809]

I guess I will just introduce myself.  My name is Wayne and I live west of Houston by about 50 miles.  My wife and I just bit off on a 1984 Silver Eagle which has already been converted.  We consider it phase 1 on the road to retirement.  I know nothing about them but I learn fast.    I learned it will not turn from a black top road into a 20 foot culvert driveway.  Yes!  I learned the hard way.  2.5 hours with 30 ton house jacks and a lot of sweat to get it out.  Well now that the county has installed a new 40 foot culvert we are ready for the road.  I am on call this weekend or else I would be piled up right in the middle of the round up in north Texas.  I have a lot of questions and things to tinker around with so get ready folks.  I will post some pics of it tomorrow because the internet connection is just too slow here.   

[Melbo]

welcome to the madness

we look forward to any and all your postings

Melbo

[Eagle Andy]

Welcome Wayne , to the wonderful world of Bus ownership these guys are great here with alot of great info . If you haven't already done so check out Eagles Internationl web site a great bunch of guys and gals there as well . Good Luck and welcome .

[Hi yo silver]

Welcome to the board, Wayne.  I have a daughter in Dickinson, TX.   Hoping to get down your way in March, if all goes well.  I bought a previously converted MC9 about a year and a half ago.  Would never have taken the plunge if it hadn't been for this bunch of nuts.  I owe these guys a lot, and one of these days I'm gonna get 'em back! LOL  Just kiddin'
Dennis   
Near Roanoke, VA

[robertglines1]

Welcome.....Life is good.....retirement is good......Busses are good.... last of all ask questions and don't think they are dumb..lots have been there and done that and made the same mistakes.

[wal1809]

Well thank you all for the warm welcome.  I will post one pic of the new bus then go over later to the "Post your pics thread".  Of course the only picture I have is the one my wife took.  she has a sense of humor and took pictures of the bus with the right rear tag axle and drive axle buried to the frame.  Gotta love a wife with a grand sense of humor.

[wal1809]

Alright I will test yalls sense of welcome and fire off the first question.  In the photo above and behind the front left wheel are two lights.  One is a marker and the other a signal light.  The signal ligt is the lower of the two and it is in good shape and functioning.  The top one is not working so I took it apart to have a look and found the guts in it are not salvageable.  The insides has rusted away.  I have looked on the internet and keep getting Chinese companies and I don't want to order there.  Where pray tell is a good link to an American company that I can speak to on the telephone and order good parts?

[John316]

Wayne,

Welcome aboard, and welcome to the madness. Looks like you did get yourself pretty stuck. Glad you were able to get outa that spot.

I will let somebody else answer about the lights. They are more knowledgeable, about Eagles, then I am.

God bless,

John

[robertglines1]

Auto Wheel and Rim in your area usually has a vast selection of lights in 24 and 12 volt..

[NewbeeMC9]

Welcome to the the best life experience you'll ever have,  See you've already got the "getting stuck" one out of the way .  Anyway, less overwhelming when you handle a few things.  I had to use my  air system to jack up the bus when I got stuck.

That is a good looking bus.   I hope it serves you well, Did you have it checked out by a mechanic before you bought?  I hope the list of needs is small.

[Ed Brenner]

  Wayne, For that light try Bus Services Inc. in Sharon Springs,KS.
   John Allen has been a help to me in both advice and parts.
   785-891-3714 785-891-3557    1-888-287-3499

  His catalog shows that lense , so perhaps he still has them !!

  Good luck, Ed ( 77 Eagle 05 )

[belfert]

If the lights are not standard items sold by Grote, Truck-Lite, Bargman, or similar I would try Silver Eagle Bus at 615.346.9303.  Most LED lights I have seen are not made in the USA.  A lot of the incandescent lights are still made in the USA, but a lot are moving to China too.

Nice looking bus.  I wish my paint looked half as nice as yours.

[wal1809]

I thank you all for the compliments and the tips on "where to go" for the light.  I will jump in Monday and get it done.  So far as having it checked I was not able to get it done by a mechanic.  I hated to do it without a check up but I would have lost it in the time frame.  I emailed Tejas Coachworks in Mineral Wells Texas and they have a 90 day waiting list to get a bus in there for a check up.  I could not wait 90 days, my wife would have sewed me into the sheets and poured hot grease on me.  She flipped when she got in that bus for a test drive.  So I did the next best thing I could do and that was check it out myself.  I listened to the motor on crank up. It fires up quick and settles down really fast.  Faint black smoke for about a minute on a really cold startup then the black goes away.  Boost pressure is good and the temp was rock solid at 180 degrees.

The only thing that bothers me mechanically is sometimes on a farm/market road I can hear a knock.  If I slow slightly it goes right away.  It is coming, as best I can tell, from the right side tag axle area.  I intend to get it over to Tejas as soon as I can.  I read somewhere about front mounted tag axles tend to bounce so maybe that put it in my head.

The other little things that bother me, no actually drive me insane.  When they mounted the black water tank and the fresh water tank it took the needed room to mount the Kabota generator properly.  So they turned it 90 degrees and stuck it in there.  This rendered the slide out mount for the generator useless.  That is going to change.  When I get time I am taking it all out and fixing it right.  I am pretty picky about stuff like that.  It will wake me up at night until I get it fixed the right way.

The other is the fuel gauge does not work.  As best I can tell the fuel tank is in the top of the rear basement and goes back to the axles.  It is encapsulated in sheet metal and insulated.  I want  to get in there but the black tank and fresh tank and generator are all in  the way.  SO when I tackle that project I will get the fuel tank issue done at the same time.

Other than a little bit of shoddy bondo work I am absolutely hooked on that bus.

You guys have some good suggestions right off the bat.  Here goes a dilemma.  I have been living out of hotels since I was a kid.  I do have a home but I travel all the time.  I train dogs as a side job which keeps me on the road every weekend from July through October.  The other times I am hunting or fishing.  I hate hotels therefore I bought the bus.  SO to be a hunter/ fisherman you got to have a boat.  Well I am not all that fired up about backing a 30000 pound bus down a ramp to launch a boat.  I see a disaster in the mix.  So how do you fellas get a run around/launch vehicle to where your going.  I'll be dipped if I can figure out a good solution.  My boats are way to heavy to hand launch. 

[HighTechRedneck]

Welcome to the forum community.  As has been said, I think you will find it a very unique and special extended family.

That's a good looking bus you got there.  I am sure it will bring you much enjoyment.

[ruthi]

Hi there. I grew up in Houston. Lived there til my kids were 10 and 12. I now live in Ga. Anyhow, this is the best bunch of people around. We are converting a conversion now, and the advice I get here is great. We have a gmc that we drive now. We are on the road working most of the yr, so, it is home away from home. I am with you about hotels. We have had to do them before, when the bus is down, hate it. Your bus looks good, good luck with your new ride, or home . Ask all the questions you need to. I know I have been driving everyone crazy the last few months with my own questions, and prob. will for a while. Ruthi