Can I take my bus to Bonneville.

[challenger440]

Well, what do you think.  I was at Bonneville in 09 and loved it.  But that was in a pickup.  A 4x4 at that.  Can I drive my MC7 on to the salt?  The areas where there has been traffic seems fairly stable but what happens if you drive a bus out there?  Can it be done.   
  How about the bend in the road?  Will I sink out of sight, never to be heard from again? 
Thanks, JM

[Seayfam]

Only one way to find out
But don't do it because of my cheesy grin!

[challenger440]

I'll call if I get stuck!.  My understanding is that the salt is only a couple of inches thick.  If you go past that it's mud.  Driving on the raw surface, even in a 4 wheel drive you can feel the truck bog down.  Take your bus out there and kiss it goodbye.  The packed surface seem fairly solid.  The "camping area" is called the "bend in the road".  Looks like  a mix of sand, dirt and salt.  If you could park there and drive onto the salt to watch the racing it would be most excellent.  But being 26 thousand pounds, it spooks me just a little.

If you are a car guy or gal, Bonneville Speed Weeks is a must do.   JM

[Seayfam]

That sure sound like a lot of fun! been wanting to do that for a wile. Just need to find a dumb buddy to take his bus and ride along.

Gary

[artvonne]

  There is a website about Bonneville that had some nasty pics and some description of a Bus that broke through. The salt appeared to be simular to water and ice, where the you have a hard salt layer on top, with a milky wet slushy mud like salt mix underneath. Once the Bus broke through it turned into a Mess. The wrecker that came out broke through, so they sent a bigger wrecker. That broke through, so they sent another, even larger wrecker. You guessed it. If you drive out there you may want to have a way home in case you lose your rig. After what I seen and read I wouldnt do it. Leave it somewhere close and drive your toad out there.

[rv_safetyman]

JM, you can take your bus on the salt with no problem.  Even if the salt is wet, you will not sink.  It will get rutty and rough if it is wet, but no problem getting stuck.  The big issue is the damage due to the salt.  I took my toter home out a couple of times, but not the bus.  I always have a toad and take it out.  I spray the undercarriage with a corrosion preventative material and then clean it real well when I get home and respray it.  Last year was the first year I used the product and it really seemed to work. 

They will not let you stay on the salt.  All folks must be off at the end of the day.

You can camp either before or after the "bend in the road" with no problem ******UNLESS***** it rains.  If it gets very wet (doesn't take much), you will be stuck until it drys out.  Good thing is that it does not rain all that often.  At the first sign of rain, I pull out and park up on the diagonal road.

We plan to be there for Speed Week this year.  Could be a couple of Eagles and a Prevost.

Jim

[artvonne]

Heres a link to the big dig out. Scroll down a ways to read about it. I forgot it was a motorhome. A Bus would have been a bigger problem....


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://theglobalguard.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/2-wreckers.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theglobalguard.wordpress.com/&usg=__0j0vykCuxmt9pwDKnWB7IFenIrA=&h=183&w=640&sz=58&hl=en&start=20&sig2=DJHtIxs3bR8L6FcGJqu6Gg&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=MeY60JVJowk8dM:&tbnh=39&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbonneville%2Bsalt%2Bflats%2Bbus%2Bwreckers%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=30ZCTdfbFYjpgAfxsq3FAQ

[challenger440]

Well maybe the Magic Bus will be there as well.  It's only 603 miles from my house. The sound of 1000 Hp screaming past you at 300 mph is unforgetable.  rv-safetyman I sent  you an email.
   
JM

[rv_safetyman]

Paul, I am not sure what is going on here.  If I say something is black, you will search the internet until you can prove that it is really white.  Do you have firsthand information?

I have been going to Bonneville since 1990.  I have ****never**** seen a problem with sinking on the salt.  Perhaps I need to qualify that a slight bit and say that I have never seen a problem ***if*** you stay in designated areas. 

Indeed, I have a tribute page to The Phoenix LSR truck here:

http://rvsafetysystems.com/The%20Phoenix%20LSR%20Truck.htm

That truck weighed 18K pounds and ran on some pretty narrow tires.  The support equipment for that truck was huge and they never had a problem.

There are tons of very heavy equipment on the salt every year.  Lots of motorhomes and travel trailers.  Lots of huge trailers with very heavy loads.  Never saw one have a problem.

NOW, if you venture off into areas that are not associated with the course and associated areas, all bets are off.  At each end of the long course, it can be a bit touchy.  More than one race car has had a problem.  But the public has no business being in that area.

The salt is very stable.  It is when you get to the edge and the salt is very thin  that the problem occurs.  The soil out there can be terrible when wet.  That is the reason why you have to get out of the camping area at the "bend in the road" when it rains.

John, I got your email.  As I say, do not worry about going on the salt. 

Jim

[luvrbus]

I been there a couple of times in a bus never had a problem ,one year there was a guy running his GM scenic cruiser with a 3408 engine on the flats an another guy running a BlueBird with a 625 hp 6v92 in it


good luck

[artvonne]

Paul, I am not sure what is going on here.  If I say something is black, you will search the internet until you can prove that it is really white. 

  Wow. I dont know how to respond here. He asked, I answered before you said anything, wasnt trying to prove anyone right or wrong, just relaying information. I didnt "search the net to prove anyone wrong", I looked up something I already had "first hand" knowledge about. Sorry, I didnt know it was a contest.

[rv_safetyman]

Paul, not a contest.  I gave an answer based on years of experience.  Then you show the site where the motorhome and various tow trucks got in terrible trouble.  Not sure where that took place, but was not on the public areas of salt during the race.

The implication is that the public faces this kind of dilemma when they go on the salt.  I don't believe that is the case.  Have been proven wrong before (many times), but I have a ton of experience that says it won't happen.  

One year I took the toterhome on the salt and it was terribly wet.  The road from the end of the asphalt to the pits (several miles long) was in terrible condition.  Lots of standing water and terrible ruts (ruts ran across the direction of travel - there were no big ruts running in the direction of travel), but never saw any problems with folks getting stuck.  To be sure, the salt, when it is wet, can be somewhat slick, but not to the point of not having enough traction to drive safely.

If, somehow the racing and public areas of the salt could get as bad as that shown in the pictures, I assure you they would close the course and the road to the pit.  I have seen some terrible years and I don't ever recall them shutting any of the public areas down.

Clifford, I spent quite a bit of time talking to Greg Bush (owner of the Scenecruiser with the 3408) a couple of years ago and that is a fun bus to talk about.  I think he has a 15 speed in it and the shift tower in the driver area is a real work of art.  I would love to ride in it some day.  Said he just "plays" with the big boys and I don't doubt it.  We used to call cars that looked pretty crude exteriors and big engines "sleepers".  That bus fits the description to a "T".  What a fun toy!!!!

Jim

[CrabbyMilton]

Bonneville. No you can't. GM no longer has the PONTIAC division. Sorry, I could nto resist that one.

[4905 doc]

never mind all that, just let me know how fast that bus runs the flying mile

[kyle4501]

Go & have fun!
If you get stuck, you know to NOT let a cowboy in a yellow wrecker try to pull you out! 

Looked like what could have been a simple recovery was made into a horrible mess by wrecker operators who would not stop when things didn't go well.