I'm Broke Down Post!

[robertglines1]

Keep them coming. We all learn from them.BCO recent post called attention to several things.1st His dissatisfaction with road service. I'm in total agreement! Let's read the rest;as I understand he is now going to lighten the weight of his coach after actually weighing it or going to weight it soon. He was pulling a beautiful box trailer also. Had made necessary modifications to the stock suspension--a accepted practice on this type of coach.    BCO took corrective action and has recognized a problem.  Did share a Bad experience with Coach Net.  Also has planned to correct the possible problem for future use.   Our roads are horrible! definitely found the weakest spot in the rig here.  Brian's brake problems: I learned from. caused me to be aware.  Kevin's engine failure is probably the least under or control-just watch for signs and keep fluids at correct levels ;temps at correct range  or shut her down!                     I for one had my trailer safety chains to tight and cracked my hitch mount during a tight turn. Dick Eagler a fellow busnut (while I was on road) took me into his shop and fixed it for me. Thanks again Dick!.          If I had read this board first I would never have owned a bus.  Nothing but respect for all the people I mentioned and thanks for sharing.   Bob       

[luvrbus]

Don's coach was probably to heavy on the rear axle to start with when he bought it with the bigger engine installed the 2 axle coaches are easy to over load on the rear axle that was always a problem with 10s Eagle maybe he will post his weight the GVW on his is somewhere around  36,500 depending on how you read the chart 24,500 on the rear


good luck

[bevans6]

I think one of the interesting things I learned is that Coachnet is for breakdowns, not accidents.  I think I probably knew that, but I sure didn't think about it.  They considered that road-caused damage is an accident, kinda like hitting a rock or debris in the road is considered an accident.  I once had to replace  two wheels on a road car because I drove over a 4x4 that a truck in front of me dropped.  Insurance paid, but it was deemed an at-fault accident.  

I have Coachnet, I have used them once, had a good experience but I understand the challenge of expecting them to be able to come up with a major repair in a camp ground at 4 hours notice.  They use a network of private operators, they just call out to people who do service in the area near where you are.  They don't own them and sometimes they need to find them from scratch.  When I used them, I was in deepest darkest Nova Scotia (OK, three miles from my house and two miles out of town) and worked with the gal on the phone with google maps to show her exactly where I was.  Then I gave her the name of the only tow truck operator in 25 miles and said "call him, he's near here, and he knows where I am already".  They had never had a call anywhere near there, had no contractors so they called him, he showed up, took me home, put my MGB my garage for me, and bob's your uncle.  Coachnet lady called me back three times, one to say that she had called the tow service, once to check that they had arrived, and a final time to make sure I was happy with the service.  Not saying BCO's experience wasn't different, just that I was happy with mine.  Would have been different if it had been the bus. and needed a low-boy tow.  That could have taken a couple of days to organize where I was at.

Brian

[luvrbus]

Like Brian I have had CoachNet for 10 years never had the problem like Don I used it when I broke a cam 60 miles from El Paso they found a shop 20 miles from there that said they could do the repairs and I told him no.

I wanted to go to Stewart and Stevenson in El Paso 60 mile farther and did not want a hook 3 hours later a low boy showed up and he even had to make detours to clear some underpasses with my bus,Coachnet does have different plans so make sure you get the right one for your bus,I have used their techs before those guys are pretty sharp also lol as I even give a little advice there on the old 2 strokes when someone is having a problem like running out of fuel and lost the prime on the engine, the Blue Bird owners are good at that.

If Don sends a letter they will remove the one guy from their list of service people I know that will happen they removed a tire guy here because he would tell people he would be there in hour and show up 4 hrs later  

good luck

[belfert]

Clifford, Coach-Net only has two plans.  Gold and Platinum.  I spent some time reading the 17 page benefits guide last night.  The towing coverage for the RV itself doesn't change between the two plans as far as I can tell.  The Platinum plans adds coverage for multiple RVs and they cover towing a trailer.  They also add some emergency medical assistance. 

[Chopper Scott]

I had a friend in the auto repair business that owned a wrecker. AAA approached them about being one of their clients and he accepted. It wasn't long before he dreaded that decision and did not continue any longer. They only pay so much for a tow to the operator and they were not making it worth his time. I imagine that's what most other business's face.

[belfert]

There are web pages out there that show the average amount paid per call by a number of different roadside assistance companies.  The pages also show the average time to pay.  Coach-Net was near the top on both.  Obviously, the goal of any roadside assistance company is to pay as little as possible while paying enough to actually get operators to work for them.  AAA locally has their own fleet of trucks they use first and then call others for any overflow.

Roadside assistance companies are kinda like health insurance companies.  Neither pays anywhere close to what a private person would pay for the same service.

[boxcarOkie]

The Eagle 10-S has always been heavy.  In 1982 Trailways opened a second plant to manufacture a new two-axle suburban Model 10 at Harlingen, Texas, creating Trailways Manufacturing, Inc. The original Brownsville, Texas plant remained under Eagle International. Trailways placed 19 suburbans in Atlantic City service. Although several other operators experimented with the suburbans, the fact that the axle loading exceeded the legal limit in most states inhibited the popularity of this model.
     
Underfloor luggage space did not increase when the tag axle was dropped to create the suburban because the space was filled, in most units, with additional air conditioning equipment.
     
In 1985, the Model 10 drive train was redesigned to eliminate the mitre box, allowing the engine to be set farther to the rear, improving accessibility for maintenance. The weight shift caused by this change made the two-axle version even less practical so the suburban was discontinued and the Harlingen plant was closed.
     
Other special versions produced were the empty shell model for conversion to custom motor homes and right-hand drive models for operation in Australia and other countries.
     
The Model 10 remained in production after the 102-inch wide Model 15 was introduced in 1985. Most sales switched to the wider Model 15 but some demand remained for the Model 10 to be used in East Coast tight spots such as New York's Holland Tunnel. The last Model 10 was delivered in November, 1987 as future orders for a 96-inch Eagle were to be filled with the new Model 20.

Our coach has been re-powered as Clifford pointed out, it has an V892T, after cooler, transmission cooler and a 6 speed Allison World transmission, with King Cruise Control, current mileage is 53,112 miles.  Last trip fuel numbers came in at 7.3 mpg.  It also has an all Oak interior with wood floors, and this too adds to the total gross weight.

The current weight of the coach is 35,640 lbs gross (full fuel, water, 50% holding tanks), and the combined weight of the bus, trailer, tow car comes to a robust 43,540lbs.

The breakdown is as follows:

bus 35,640
toad 3,215
trailer 4,685

It is pretty apparent besides beefing up some of the suspension components, it needs to go thru some kind of weight-watchers thinning process before the next outing.

We are on the Coachnet "Gold" Plan.  This should sum it all up for those who wanted to know.

BCO

[luvrbus]

While they did close the plant Don they never stopped making that bus the model 20 two axle was the same bus except most had Cummins engines, taller windshields and the GVW was a little more. 
There were 2 models of the 10S the other was a 10SC and I cannot tell the difference I have a tough time trying to figure the 10S some have the fuel tank up front and some in the rear some are 35 foot others are 40 foot the 35 foot models carry more weight,the model 15 two axle like the one Lee owns is a nice bus


good luck

[RnMAdventures]

A wise man once said, "For those who travel in bus conversions, life has a flavor the sticks and staple owners will never know."

A bus is safer, more reliable, and a much better ride if they are properly maintained. I try to learn from the stories about the breakdowns and really appreciate when folks post their experiences. I don't know many of you personally. One thing through reading that I have not got a good feel for is how many miles folks actually travel trouble free? I drove my 4104 a few thousand miles maybe and it never broke down. It scared me a couple of times, but overall it was a good bus. I think we all fear breaking down on the road and not having the knowledge, tools, or financial means to deal with a breakdown miles from home. In BCO's case it sounds like it was bad luck. He has a pristine coach and it is well maintained. Even if it is a little heavy his trip would have probably been fine if the poor road conditions hadn't got him. That could happen in million dollar coach.

[belfert]

I've traveled between 25,000 and 30,000 miles in my bus since I bought it in 2006.  I've had four issues on the road with only three of them involving the bus itself.

1. Water pump and radiator core had been replaced.  One coolant hose was not centered properly and started leaking.  It took about three hours and an additional hose clamp to fix the issue.
2. Enclosed trailer had axle break loose in middle of night.  Trailer had to be towed to a welding shop so we rented a trailer and transferred our stuff before the tow truck came.  The trailer was repaired by the time we were passing through on our way home.
3. Another coolant hose developed a leak on way to Florida last December.  A wide band clamp fixed the leak until I got home and replaced all of the hoses this past summer.  I actually noticed the leak while visiting Mike in Chattanooga so I wasn't exactly on the side of the road.
4. I had a tag axle brake lock up about 2 weeks ago.  I was stuck on an exit ramp on I35 for about five hours until I was able to release the brake.

I try my best to have the bus in top shape so it doesn't break down on the road, but things still happen.

[robertglines1]

Guess I'm fortunate. 30yrs RV 16 yrs in buses 4 to date. a few flats. one major blow out!  one transfer pump. ran out of fuel once. DUMB minor gen set problems.  all easy fixes. no tow trucks.     mine are not million dollar coaches but are home built the last being a 1200dollar salvage shell.    Bob  picture on left

[Brian Diehl]

I have traveled about 60,000 miles in 9 years.  I have had two break downs on the road.  1st issue was on the way home after I bought the bus.  The exhaust pipe blew off the turbo outlet.  I spent a bunch of time working to get it back on and fixed it myself. The 2nd time was a failed drive axle wheel seal.  This happened back in 2004.  I had to have road side service come and help me out.  I have had no other major issues affecting the enjoyment of my trips.  There have been lots of little things I have had to put on my to-do list during trips.  However, I consider everyone of my issues (like dash lights failing, speedo acting up, etc.) to be simple by products of a vehicle that is 26 years old.  Of course, I've invested a ton of cash into proactive maintenance and consider this one of the reasons I've had so few problems on the road.  I enjoy working on my bus and consider the maintenance I do part of my hobby.  It might seam quaint to some, but I also consider the fact that God's hand has been involved in much of the timing of some critical repairs and failures I've had.  His unseen hand has clearly been at work.  I've always been in a position to deal with whatever has happened - at home or on the road.

[Chopper Scott]

One can basically tell from other folk's posts about their maintanance precautions and such before they hit the road. Without a doubt BCO was pretty well on top of such and had worked hard to make his trip as uneventful as possible. But still something bad happened that basically ruined his vacation and forced him to return home prematurely. I think the majority of us sigh in relief when we arrive home with the "ole girl" and the bus   after a trip that may take us one or 2 thousand miles away from our comfort zone, so to speak. One thing however that I have noticed on my brief time of traveling in a 40 year old bus is that I see a lot of new s&s version with problems also. Granted it is expensive fixing our stuff on the road but I seriously doubt it is any cheaper than the s&s rigs getting towed into a rv dealership for repairs. I guess the fact that we are hauling around a mobile version of our homes and expecting to do it without any problems may be to much to ask, be it in something new or something old. I had a friend that bought a new 5th wheel camper in June for 60 grand and now is selling it because he bought a cabin. The same dealer he bought it from offered him $38,000 now. That 38,000 is still a lot more than I have in my bus. So I'm staying the course as I basically just run under a thousand miles a year for the time being until I once again get a wild hair and set off on a wild excursion. Regardless of what one has, be it a fifth wheel behind a Ford with injectors taking a dump or a Dodge Cummins with scored cylinder walls...... it's gonna be expensive to haul that much stuff around. Just no way around it.

[luvrbus]

Scott, you covered it well the S&S jobs use the $20,000 engines and $10,000 transmission too and they go south and most RV dealers charge 125.00 a hour and don't do heavy work so off to a dealer they go.
Parts are expensive for any engine I bumped the HP up on my wife's little rig with a new pump and turbo it was over 3 grand for parts only no labor but I just could not stand the 190 hp 280 hp is a lot better lol.
I never had but 1 major set back on the road and that was a broken camshaft no way could I repair it in a rest area and towing home was in the 1000's of dollars so I took my hit wasn't much I could do at the time except shed a few tears and $22,000 bucks  

good luck