Commencement of Full-Time

[John316]

Dave,

Glad you all are finally rolling. Good for you.

I totally hear you about the back roads. We take highways whenever possible, just because you have room.

Have fun, and take it slow. Buses are not the fastest vehicles. We feel slow sometimes, and that is with our setup.

John

[jmblake]

Dave & Amy, Me and Martha wish the both of you the best of luck on your adventure. I would love to do the same thing sometime in my life if I can talk Martha into it LOL. We will have to get together when you come back and do some more bus chatting before you pull out. Have fun in Vermont and don't worry about the bus we are in a safe neighborhood. Jason

[RJ]

I'm a little apprehensive about the trip south from here through the mountains.  My 6V92 towing my Impala is under-powered and really slow on the hills.  What happens after first gear won't go anymore?  So far it's cool enough outside that the engine is running cool.  but once we get to Virginia those hills get even bigger.  I might need a push.

Dave -

Those hills in VA are speed bumps compared to what we've got out here on the West Coast!  From where I live, I've got to climb 6% grades to go anywhere out of this valley!

If you're concerned about the power output of your 6V92, I suggest you detour thru Luke's shop in NJ, or Joel's Choo-Choo Garage in Chattanooga, TN and have it checked out.

In the meantime, when climbing grades, downshift the automatic MANUALLY!  Don't let the Allison shift by itself, or you'll get no performance out of the coach at all.  Try to keep the revs between 1800 - 2000 on a partial throttle, that's where the Detroit's happiest when pulling.  Reading this might help - automatics are covered at the end:

http://busnut.com/forum/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=41

One last thing:  Remember Aesop's Fable of "The Tortoise and The Hare?"  Well, you're now driving a Tortoise, and if you try to drive it like a Hare, you'll be terribly disappointed.  So enjoy the journey - you've earned it!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Dave5Cs]

Fjord Tortoise ?

[white-eagle]

Surprisingly, we've recently counted and I think we are on year 5 since we went full time, 4 since we sold the house.  No real regrets.  you should have told us you were coming to Ohio.  We have a minimal campground of sorts, parking lot with water, sewer and electric near a creek and acres of corn and soybeans.  And not too far from where you came thru if you went down 23 then caught the turnpike towards Vermont.

Hopefully, all will go well on your trip south. Watch the gauges, pay attention to the bad drivers in front of you and take it easy.  Go to the Bus Rally in Arcadia.  It will be an excellent experience, you'll meet many great busnuts, and make great and knowledgeable friends.  And we'll be there, God willing.

We leave in about 2 weeks.  my foot is already itching, and it's cold/wet here.  We'll go down i65 this year, but eventually, we'll make it to Arcadia by Dec sometime.  Lots of friends to visit going down.

[Bill 340]

I know I will hear some flack on this  BUT, I have seen a tow car helping push a 4105 up a mountain,  Myself  My tow pushed my eagle 2 mi to a garage when I lost a drive shaft,  tow bar will hold, drive with care,  maybe see you both in Arcadia,   arcadiarally.com   Bill

[wg4t50]

Bill,
Your not alone, I know of a bus company that uses a HD Ford Diesel pickup auto trans, to push their buses home when not too far out, they use an air compressor in the pickup bed for brakes and a William air throttle connected the the air throttle on the DDC. Not real quick but it gets the job done. 

[Seangie]

Dave & Amy

Glad you made the jump!  We too are into our first 4 months of fulltiming.  It is only by Gods grace that we have been able to pull this off.  And it gets better every month.  There are still challenges but the rewards are amazing. 

Looking forward to meeting you both.  Let us know when you are headed south.  We plan to be tooling around the southern states and at Arcadia on the 26th.

We have a 6v92 Turbo and we pull a 8000lb van.  We have made it through the hills of west VA up to Boone with no issues.  Very slow at times but you just gotta through your hazards on and enjoy the ride.  Keep your RPMs up and watch your temps.

Keep it going and God bless you both!  Will be praying for you.

-Sean


www.herdofturtles.org
1984 Eagle Model 10S

[LowTide]

Dave & Amy

Glad you made the jump!  We too are into our first 4 months of fulltiming.  It is only by Gods grace that we have been able to pull this off.  And it gets better every month.  There are still challenges but the rewards are amazing. 

Looking forward to meeting you both.  Let us know when you are headed south.  We plan to be tooling around the southern states and at Arcadia on the 26th.

We have a 6v92 Turbo and we pull a 8000lb van.  We have made it through the hills of west VA up to Boone with no issues.  Very slow at times but you just gotta through your hazards on and enjoy the ride.  Keep your RPMs up and watch your temps.

Keep it going and God bless you both!  Will be praying for you.

-Sean


[url=http://www.herdofturtles.org]www.herdofturtles.org [/URL]
1984 Eagle Model 10S

Congratulations and the best of luck to you folks.....hopefully we will meet someday!

We plan on pulling the plug in about a year and it seems like forever.....

Mike and Lori

[TomC]

A good place to have your first winter is in Florida. It is very RV friendly with lots of RV types. Plus the weather is great with lots to do. Good luck, TomC

[Stormcloud]

Fjord Tortoise ?

That's the Norwegian spelling of Ford Taurus.     

[travlinman]

Wow

That was a really good story, thanks for telling it. Selling everything your own and moving into a wheeled home takes a lot of courage so congrats.

Seven years ago I did the same thing. Best decision I ever made.

Hope your road does not have to many bumps!

TM