Heading out tonight finally!

[Coops6]

Brain, 
If you can, divert to I70 and come through Kansas.  Much better roads and a better view.  I live in Abilene KS.  This summer I headed to South Dakota and was planning to take I80 in NE.  I ended up running two lane roads because I80 was so rough.  KS has some of the best roads in the nation.  You will have some construction, but it will all be smooth! 
Coop

[belfert]

I'm posting this from the desert which is really cool.  We made it to the desert Thursday morning.  We head back home Sunday afternoon.

Anyhow, we did break down once in Rock Springs, Wyoming.  We started losing coolant pretty bad.  We determined one of the hoses hadn't been clamped properly.  We put another hose clamp on, added 3 or 4 gallons of coolant, and headed on our way.  It is dripping a little bit, but no big deal.

The bus is performing great.  The coolant temps never wavered over 2 degrees even on the steepest grades along I80.

[bubbaqgal]

Gonna stop by BK's Garage on the way home? 

[H3Jim]

Sounds like you are finally happy to be in your bus!  Thats great to hear.

[belfert]

Gonna stop by BK's Garage on the way home? 

No, since it is 100s or 1000s of miles out of the way.  I have been to BK's once and hope to go back some day.

[belfert]

I am quite happy with how the bus performed on the trip.  MPG was just less than 8 MPG for the trip including some 35 hours of generator use.  Speed never dropped below 40 MPH on any grade.  Temps stayed right at 195 except the steep grade east of Salt Lake City where it went up to 200.  (Hoped for a bit better MPG, but we had the cargo bays packed to the gills, 7 people plus gear, and a 600 lb trailer.)

My friends and I will probably make some major changes for the next trip.  Some of the interior stuff didn't work out the best.  I may end up removing the bunks and bathroom and starting over on that stuff.  The shower stall walls cracked due to shower head not tied down so it needs major work anyhow. 

My friends (and I) loved it.  We could move around and not spend 4,000 miles cramped up in a truck or van.  Not having to stop every 300 to 400 miles for fuel helped too.

[Dreamscape]

Glad to hear your trip was a success!

I agree, it's nice to be able to drive long distances not all cramped up.

Sounds like your bus performed great, bet that feels good, huh.

Paul

[JackConrad]

Glad you had a great trip.  One of the nice things about using it while converting it is that you get a chance to see how your ideas actually work in the "real world" and can still make changes without starting all over.  Jack

[prevost82]

Good to hear that your maiden voyage went well with no major screw-ups. Now that you've done a trip with your friends, do another trip to a campground or what ever you're going to use the bus for the rest of the year. Camping / traveling etc. and try to make the interior changes to suit ALL your needs.
Ron

[belfert]

Good to hear that your maiden voyage went well with no major screw-ups. Now that you've done a trip with your friends, do another trip to a campground or what ever you're going to use the bus for the rest of the year. Camping / traveling etc. and try to make the interior changes to suit ALL your needs.

This vehicle was designed for going to rocket launches with groups of friends.  It was never intended for campground use.  I don't even have a power connection right now although I will be adding one.  The generator is the only source of power at the moment, but for this trip we boondocked so we didn't need an external power connection.

I have no intention of ever going to a campground although I will try to get to a rally or two. 

We didn't have any heat for this trip.  I had intended to install a Proheat I bought, but we may just go with electric heat to save on bay space.  If the weather is cold we can just run the generator.  The generator probably consumes more than the Proheat, but we rarely need heat.