Our Moose is on the loose!!!

[JT4SC]

Hello fellow busnuts!!

I have been meaning to write this post for 3 weeks but it's been kind of busy to say the least.  First, I want everyone to know my wife and I joined the busing fraternity June 28th when we purchased our Moose Creek Motorcabin from Mike Kadletz (MAK).  I want to thank everyone here who helped me get a crash course in busing (and RVing in general) by posting your answers to my questions these past 2-3 months.  I specifically want to thank Phil Lyons for helping me giving me his opinion of Mike and the quality of the his workmanship on the bus, it was so helpful, thank you Phil.  I also shared emails with Musicman, Jim Stewart and Gus, who were very, very helpful – thanks guys!!  Finally I want to thank MAK, he was/is very helpful in getting all the little kinks out that inevitably come with a new conversion, thanks Mike!!

We are not wasting anytime getting our money's worth out of our new bus.  We are currently in day 24 of a 5 month road trip throughout Canada and 43 states.  I am writing you from a parking lot in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.  We started our trip in San Diego, CA.  If you want you can follow our trip on our blog – www.tynertrip.blogspot.com.  We also have our two dogs – Chief and Dixie – who are sharing this experience with us.

To give you a little background, my wife and I had never spent a night in an RV of any sort before our first night sleeping in the Moose in Las Vegas on July 1st.  We had never turned on a generator, dumped a black-water tank or filled up an empty propane tank before we started this trip.  In fact we both quit our jobs not knowing a thing about camping or busing.  Anyways, needless to say we have learned a lot in the past 24 days.  So far we have had to get a jump-start because we forgot to turn off the main power lever for the bus batteries, I fried our inverter installing something on a 110v breaker that was supposed to go on a 12v breaker and we ran out of gas on a freeway just outside Edmonton.  Through all of that we are still having a great time having seen a lot of amazing places and having learned a lot about ourselves.

Thanks again everyone for helping make this possible.
Your fellow busnuts,
Jimmy and Roilyn Tyner

[belfert]

Those Moose Creek Motorcabins look really cool.  I am modeling the interior of mine sorta like one of those.  Was this a custom build for you as it doesn't look like either of the demo models he has for sale?  Yours appears to be a D3 or a DL3.

[Dreamscape]

Great going! Nice blog site too. Keep us informed on your journey. You will learn alot and have many memories to share. Have fun and keep 'er between the lines.

Happy Trails,

Paul

Dreamscape

[plyonsMC9]

Jimmy & Roilyn,

Thanks for updating us on what is happening - I was about to give you a call to find out how things are going.  That sounds fantastic!!!  (well - except for the mishaps of course  )We still remember our first bus journey quite well.  Including our own share of mishaps.  Lots of silly things ( in retrospect ), like forgetting about parking brake & wondering why the bus wasn't moving. 

Please do keep us posted -    Send your fellow busnuts some pix when you get a chance!  I'm real curious about how cool the interior of that moose bus looks.   

Kind Regards, Phil
Fellow Moose Nut

[plyonsMC9]

Whoa - Nice blog on the trip.  Great pix!!!

Best Regards, Phil

[Slow Rider]

The mishaps, as long as they are not catastrophic, make the trip. Otherwise it is just a ride........

We smile at the end of a smooth trip.  We grin and can't wait to tell others when we overcome problems and learn something new.

I admire your courage and applaud your spirit. I hope I acquit myself half as well when my "adventures" start.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip now and even more in the retelling.

Frank

[Barn Owl]

OK....I'm not green...trying really hard not to....somebody tell me I'm not turning green! WOW...stuff like this inspires the rest of us! One day I want to post photos like that, very cool!

I can see the parkway from my house, so if you all come through Roanoke on your way through let me know, and we could possibly meet up somewhere. If you overnight close by (there are some beautiful places here) and I can swing a day off, I could bring my bus along. Or, if only a passing wave as you drive by, that's OK also. Great blog, I will visit it often, so keep the photos coming. 

Thanks,

Laryn

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Jimmy & Roylin,

Awsome Blog... The Moose looks real Kool!

August 25 – Philadelphia  26 - Philadelphia you have planned to be in Philly, you both are very welcome at our place with plenty of room and hookups

for the Moose.. No Charge of course.... Just e-mail us dnick85@hotmail.com

Nick & Michelle

[Busted Knuckle]

Those Moose Creek Motorcabins look really cool.  I am modeling the interior of mine sorta like one of those.  Was this a custom build for you as it doesn't look like either of the demo models he has for sale?  Yours appears to be a D3 or a DL3.         

Brian study up on yer MCI's a little more! I believe that they bought the C3 Mike had completed and for sale as a DEMO, and wow talk about getting some major MOOSE Exposure! Mike oughta be sponsoring Jimmy & Roylin for all the free exposure he's getting from such a long and inclusive trip abroad! (just kid'n Mike don't shoot me!) Ok Brian the first dead give away that it is not a D3 or DL3 is the location of the A/C condenser door! It's located right behind the driverside steer tire! MC 8's (maybe even before them, but I personally have not experienced any thing before an , 9's, 96A's, 102's A, B , & C's were all like this! The D's however changed and have the A/C condenser moved back to the middle of the coach (better A/C distribution!). Also if it were a DL3 it would be 5' longer and have 4 luggage bays instead of 3 per side! Just thought you'd like to know so you can be politically correct next time.

Jimmy and Roylin you guys are awesome! It is cool to see and hear about folks like yerselves who just say "LETS DO IT!" I checked your schedule hoping you'd be able to make it to our September 6-10th Busnut Bash here at my place but your gonna be in Cleveland & Chicago! Bummer for us! I was think'n we could get Mike to send some sponsorship $ and we'd show case the "MOOSE" at the rally! But hey you got plans, and I'm sure Mike doesn't have plans of sending $ LOL! So hey enjoy this experience to the fullest! And I did see you'll be very close to us 3 times! As a matter of fact we're about an hr off the path from St. Louis to Nashville, again we are a little over an hr from the head of the TRACE, and right on your rte from Memphis to Louisville! So feel free to give us a shout! Maybe we'll have time to kill and can swing over to the TRACE and show ya some of the finer points we know about. And your more than welcome to swing by here! We'll be more than glad to hook you up with accommodations of yer needs! Bryce Gaston aka Busted Knuckle and soon to be Dallas N' Cat's place too!
bryce@kylakesidetravel.com
  BK 

[belfert]

Those Moose Creek Motorcabins look really cool.  I am modeling the interior of mine sorta like one of those.  Was this a custom build for you as it doesn't look like either of the demo models he has for sale?  Yours appears to be a D3 or a DL3.         

Brian study up on yer MCI's a little more! I believe that they bought the C3 Mike had completed and for sale as a DEMO, and wow talk about getting some major MOOSE Exposure! Mike oughta be sponsoring Jimmy & Roylin for all the free exposure he's getting from such a long and inclusive trip abroad! (just kid'n Mike don't shoot me!) Ok Brian the first dead give away that it is not a D3 or DL3 is the location of the A/C condenser door! It's located right behind the driverside steer tire! MC 8's (maybe even before them, but I personally have not experienced any thing before an , 9's, 96A's, 102's A, B , & C's were all like this! The D's however changed and have the A/C condenser moved back to the middle of the coach (

If they bought the 102C3 demo Mike must have done some work on it as the paint color is different and the one they bought has the fiberglass louvers like a D series.  I can't tell if the demo has the fiberglass louvers or not.  I just looked at a whole bunch of 102C3 pictures and they all have the metal screens over the radiators.

Mike may very well have put aftermarket fiberglass louvers on a 102C3.  I'm sure you and others know MCIs better than I do.

[JT4SC]

Hi Everyone!!

WOW!!  Thank you for so many nice comments and offers to stay at your homes.  I knew this was a great group of folks but you guys really are above the norm, thanks again!!  Most of our stops we have scheduled (and had to pre-pay for) a KOA, but if we are Wal-Marting it we may just call you and take you up on your offer. 

To answer some of your questions, our Moose is a 102C3.  I am sure the fiberglass skins came the way Mike bought the coach; knowing Mike he would not have bought new skins... "It's a cabin!" is Mike's favorite words next to "Don't know".  Phil Lyons I am sure can appreciate this...LOL!!

Mike had two "Demos" - one he uses for his family (an MCI 9 if I am not mistaken) and the one we bought.

Busted Knuckle sorry we can't make it to the busnut bash at your place, my mom, Grandma and brother are flying out that week and we are staying with friends in Detroit and Chicago, other wise we would be there!!

One issue we still have is our generator doesn't work very well, even though its brand new...ARGH!!!  Mike is trying to help fix it but he is having trouble getting ahold of the manufacturer.  If I was educated enough in this I would try to explain what is wrong, but truthfully I have no clue.  It's a DEK 6000SL Diesel generator, so if by chance you know anything about this brand maybe you can give us a hand.  You can call me or Mike - my phone number is 619-392-4074.

Thanks again everyone!!
Jimmy and Roilyn

[H3Jim]

Thanks for the kind words.  You have really gone on an adventure!  Sounds great, glad you are haveing such a great time.

[Len Silva]

One issue we still have is our generator doesn't work very well, even though its brand new...ARGH!!!  Mike is trying to help fix it but he is having trouble getting ahold of the manufacturer.  If I was educated enough in this I would try to explain what is wrong, but truthfully I have no clue.  It's a DEK 6000SL Diesel generator, so if by chance you know anything about this brand maybe you can give us a hand.  You can call me or Mike - my phone number is 619-392-4074.

Thanks again everyone!!
Jimmy and Roilyn

No problem.

Just call
Fuzhou Hua Bo Machinery & Electric Co., Ltd.
Add: Block 3, Zhanglin Industrial Estate, Fuxing Investment Zone,Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Tel: 86 591 87667803¡¡Fax: 86 591 87667803 Post Code: 350014 
contact person: Windom Yongdong Gao
Email:info@dek-diesel.com     

I'm sure they can help

I can't believe anybody would put that in a bus conversion.  I would trade it even for a used Powertech or Wrico with 30,000 hours on it.

[niles500]

Len - uh-oh!

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Jimmy,

This company is listed as a retailer/ servicer for DEK. There is a phone # listed in the site.

www.enginecom.com

Here is a thread I found....

DEK 6000SL
Posted by Ignoramus25177 on December 30, 2004, 3:03 am
Please log in for more thread options
> Someone asked me for my impression of this unit, which has shown up on eBay
> at very reasonable prices.
> I've just given mine the initial run, and my impression is very favorable.
>
> Observations:
> 1. The engine was running in at most three revolutions. Ambient temperature:
> 42F
> 2. As it was twilight, I'm not sure if there was any initial smoke. However,
> after twenty or so seconds, I was able to examine the exhaust, and to my
> surprise, it was completely clean. I held my hand up to it, and felt only
> water vapor. Even over a period of 20 seconds, no visible soot deposited on
> my hand.
> 3. Speed was perfectly stable, with no hunting, immediately after cold
> start.
> After 5 minutes warmup, I hooked up a 1500 watt cube heater. Turning the
> heater on and off made caused the voltage to vary by perhaps two volts,
> with very slight and quick adjustment of engine speed.
> 4. The generator was subjectively noisier than expected, but with no
> evidence of loose parts. The isomounts are doing their job. Bryon Kass of
> "The Engine Room" informs me that most of the noise is coming out the
> muffler, and suggests the addition of a Whitney stainless flex hose, which
> he says cuts down the noise very significantly.
> 5. At 40F, the cabinet did not become warm to the touch.
> 6. The battery comes without acid. I replaced it with a Yuasa YUASA YIX30L
> sealed AGM battery.

A very nice report. As for use of flex pipe before the muffler, my
Onan manual warns to install muffler as close to the exhaust manifold
as possible, otherwise, it says, there will be too much soot deposit
in the muffler, due to cooler exhaust. You have a different engine,
but, I would suppose, the same laws could apply.



Hope this helps
Nick-