Taking my bus in for some repairs

[RickB]

Having Curt at central diesel put a new rear seal in the drive axle on the drivers side. Brake drums and shoes are oiled up pretty badly and I don't think I have a wrench for the big nut so I'm gonna let someone else fix it. Curt is such a great mechanic and his staff are all top notch. I'm going to have them look at my jakes which stopped working last summer as well.
I'm finally reworking my ducting for the house and bus air through the bottom of the couch and then it's off to Dave Benck's to have him charge my bus air and the two house AC units in the middle bay.

I'm recording a young artist in Nashville in the end of July when it's just god awful hot and I want the bus in top running order and the AC working at it's best for the trip.

I may order and install some fantastic fans and a few more peninsula/motion slider windows as well for circulation but I've always felt like those fans are deceptively hard to put in. Maybe I'll have to get Gumpy to come over and land a hand, that guy knows his stuff when it comes to fabrication and installs.

Lotta work to do. It never ends does it? That air tank a few weeks ago was so stink in' hard my wrists still hurt.

Rick

[belfert]

On my bus the Fantastic Fans were pretty easy to install.  The hardest part was probably measuring and marking where to cut.  The actual cutting and installing was relatively quick.

[TomC]

The hardest part of installing the Fantastic fans is running the power to it.  Cutting the hole and installing is a cinch.  The don't weigh much and just screw into the sheet metal-then use silicone to seal-and done.  Use only Fantastic fan-they have a second to none warranty. Good Luck, TomC

[RickB]

Tom, I have 12 volt lights that I'm hoping to tie into for power otherwise the power issue could be a big deal. I think all my 12 volt stuff is 10-15 amp fused do you think it would be a problem to use that power? Also, has anyone ever mounted their fantastic fans to the escape hatches. The hole is already there is what I'm thinking.

RB

[pvcces]

I think that the Fantastic fans only take about 2-3 amps of 12 volt power. Check to make sure.

Tom Caffrey

[thomasinnv]

The fuse in my fantastic fan is a 4 amp. (the little buss fuse that is built into the unit)

[RickB]

Got the bus back yesterday. Seal is replaced, jakes are working, called ramco and had them send a new lens for one of my mirrors. Bus Ac and some ductwork and we'll be ready for summer! Woohoo!

Rick

[RickB]

Just an update:
One of my coolant shutoffs to the front of the bus has been stripped and stuck in the open position for a number of years now and since it's brazed in and I am not a welding type of guy I came up with an idea... I went to the local hardware store bought a commercial quality shutoff and matched the spacer pipe length (that spans the 12" between the tee and the old shutoff) in galvanized pipe and replaced the spacer and voila! I now have a shutoff just in front of my old shutoff and my hunch that having that open was affecting my bus AC was proven right. I still think I need to have the AC system properly evacuated and recharged but I am encouraged that the air gets colder when I rev the motor which tells me that the new compressor I installed is working. The other good news is that my drivers AC started working with the new compressor as well which is a nice perk. Still have to mount my Bus HVAC system through the couches and then we'll be ready to go.

Rick

[RickB]

Wow! David Benck should be sainted! He took the time to check for leaks, evacuate my system and recharge it and I am really grateful. Turned the air on while I was driving home and couldn't stand it... it was sooooooo cold! Really happy and almost ready for a summer of on and off traveling. Dave also bought a Royal coach Prevost with two slides and I have to say it was the nicest bus I have ever seen and considering I spent 25 years touring with major recording artists that is saying alot. Brand new series 60, killer paint and just flat out gorgeous. The coolest thing was basically every Prevost conversion I have ever seen (Liberty, Marathon etc.) have ALWAYS been over the top with the "let me impress you with how much money I have" conversions. You know, the kind of coach that you don't feel like sitting in the seats and there are literally dozens of mirrors everywhere, what my wife and I call gaudy or chi chi foo foo. Well, Dave's new bus looked like a perfect country home, well done in every sense of the word but not goofy or over the top. Congrats David, and thanks for all your help.

Everyone start bugging him for pics and you won't be disappointed!

All I have left to do is plumb the HVAC stuff through the couches and I'm done.... Yeah right, I'll regret saying that won't I?

RB

[gumpy]

If your rheostat for the bus heat and a/c is still functional, you should have those coolant valves open in the engine compartment to allow circulation.
I'm pretty sure the coolant is used to regulate the temperature since the A/C is not variable and puts out only one temperature... cold!

[Busted Knuckle]

If your rheostat for the bus heat and a/c is still functional, you should have those coolant valves open in the engine compartment to allow circulation.
I'm pretty sure the coolant is used to regulate the temperature since the A/C is not variable and puts out only one temperature... cold!

Again the "Gumpster" is 100% correct!
Those old MCI's (and many new coaches) use the hot water to regulate the temp as the A/C is FULL BORE WIDE OPEN ALL THE TIME!

Also another issue many folks don't consider is many times when running it full bore with no heat to regulate it, the evaporator freezes over and then you loss air flow and have loss of A/C again.
With a proper working rheostat and water valve it will work as well (actually  better than), as now!
  BK 

[RJ]

Yup, Gumpy & BK are correct about having the hot water circulating. . . Just like GMC designed it, and everyone else copied theirs!

One other point - the heat also reduces the moisture in the air, making for less condensation on the windows.

IOW, no parkin' in the back row at the drive-in with the intention of foggin' up the windows!!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[RickB]

So why do they have the shutoffs on there in the first place?

I was so darn happy to get that fixed and then BK and Gumpy come along and rain on my parade! 

You're both a couple of bus tramps... There I said it..

By the way, in case you don't me I'm kidding here.       about everything except the "bus tramps" comment.

I'll open them today and run her and see if my rheostat is working correctly.

RB

[RJ]

So why do they have the shutoffs on there in the first place?

Rick -

Service, for one.

Pull the powertrain, only have to drain coolant out of engine, not entire system.

Pull heater core, don't have to drain engine's coolant.

Leaking heater core - shut off valves will get you home.

You get the idea.

FWIW & HTH. . .