Finaly Bringing her home,No really I am !!

[Oonrahnjay]

...  BTW, Ima gona avoid NYC and DC like the plague !!! Mountains or no mountains!

     Good plan.   From Florida, I'd get up to I-77 near Charlotte (details vary whether eastern, western or panhandle FL) but that doesn't matter.  Then I-77 to I-81 up to near Syracuse.  There is a big grade on I-77 near the NC - VA line; if you don't like that, you can take I-85 from Charlotte to Greensboro then up US-29 to I-81 near Roanoke or Charlottesville VA.  Harrisburg is no fun at rushhour but it's nothing compared to DC/NYC and the PA mountains on I-81 are reasonable.

[pabusnut]

If you don't know where that big grade is on I-77, Don't stop at the rest area/visitor center to find out----It starts on the exit ramp

Ask me how I know---

[Bill B /bus]

I95 to I26 to I77 to I81. Least shifting. But the hill at Fancy Gap will test your downshifting. Avoid Harrisburg, Scranton, at rush hour. Not terrible, just slow.

Enjoy your trip,
Bill

[pabusnut]

I made it up Fancy gap at about 47 in third---could have gone faster, but in the rain/fog, I didn't want to be THAT GUY passing a tractor trailer only going 3 mph slower than me!

Uncle Ned told me I'd probably be in 2nd at 30 mph!

[uncle ned]

hUGGY Goes up Fancy Gap at 55 to 60 in a cold freezing rain.

on a 80 degree day she goes up at about 30 in 2 gear.

The temperature gauge controls the speed more than the hill.

uncle ned

[Seangie]

One of our first trips in the bus was 95 up to Boston (2012). We took 81 to 84 to stay off the tolls.  It will give your bus a good run at driving in the hills. Its a pretty drive though. We did the toll roads up 95 last year and it cost us about 220$ going up the NJ turnpike and over the bridges in NYC.

When we went up it was the thursday before memorial day and it was freezing, sleeting, snowing and we had no heat and a generator that wasnt yet hooked up.

Hooking up the genny was my first roadside "repair".  We had no air on the windshield and it kept fogging up the whole way.

On the way back 10 days later it was 95 degrees and no rain in sight.  We had no ac and it was a miserably hot drive.

We tried to go up in one day and back in one day.  We learned that driving more than 5 or 6 hours in a day is not fun. Also that a 12 hour drive in a car is an 18 hour drive in a bus.  Now we try and plan 3-4 hour drives and those can sometimes turn into 8 hour drives.

Buy a temp gun and make sure your gauges match your thermostat blocks on the engine.  Once you learn how to drive your bus by temp you are good to go.

Also - as others have said...  keep an eye on your oil consumption.  Also make sure you give it a good 4-5 hour drive in the hot sun before you get too far to bring it back.  Better to know somethings wrong before you get too far int OK your trip.

Have fun!

-Sean

[lou432]

Thanks Ya`ll ,  Im gona Leave Bushnell Thursday of Friday and head 250 miles to Unadilla GA , via 75 N for a day to visit friends then head east on 16 to 95 N to Waltersboro SC,another 250 or so  for a day then leap on 95 N to Fredricksburg VA to 17 to 81 to 84 outa Scranton to 90 to 190 to 290 to 2 to 13 into Milford NH Where I currently live .
I have my temp gun packed already , not sure if the road heat works , If it is cold ?  I know the roof air works and the gen works and shes all electric heat inside .
Please describe where/what  T-stat block is??
I was kinda thinking that it would be like driving my MC cross country. Stop every hundred or so and takes 3 times longer than a car.
I have 9 days to make the trip safely before my new career starts so praying she holds strong and God rides shotgun .
 

[pabusnut]

Lou,

When I picked up my 4905 in Minnesota, I drove up from PA in my little diesel VW Rabbit, and my "copilot" was my 14 year old son.  On the way back, he laughed so hard at me trying to double clutch that I thought he was going to die laughing.  I banished him to the rear of the bus where I hoped I couldn't hear him laughing.

As a navigator, he wasn't half bad, except for putting me into Chinatown in Chicago on the way up.  Fortunately on the way back he was better at coordinating the signs and maps.

Steve

[johnjem]

Give me a shout when u get home. Would love to check it ! Johnjem84@gmail. I am over jn brentwood nh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lou432]

Finaly Leaving for first leg of trip /250 miles in the morning . Any Prayers my way would be appreciated !!
I'll keep yall in the loop ! Thanks!!

[Ed Hackenbruch]

keep in mind that the lug nuts on the drivers side are left hand threads.....should have a "L" on the end of them....

[lou432]

Thanks Ed! Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that but thanks for the refresh! Haven't left yet and probably won't till early afternoon hopefully brake lights are staying on and too late last night to check.

[thomasinnv]

Do keep in mind that as long as the park brake is set, the brake lights will stay on.

[lou432]

3 hours at 75 miles an hour she ran like a top :-) my first stop in Lenox Georgia I set the ICC break shut her down when in did my thing came back out prank your backup release the ICC break she was sluggish I pushed her a little bit then I smell something pulled over on Highway and I believe the ICC break did not disengage. have Coach net on their way. I'm guessing if they can back the brake shoes off a half a turn and as long as I didn't blow a diaphragm I should be okay???

[DoubleEagle]

If the air pressure was up fully, they should have released. Did you hear any air leaks at the brake canisters? If the brakes were not adjusted correctly you would have experienced trouble before now.