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I 70 to Moab
Guys,
Just got back from a work/fun trip. I had business in Denver. Stopped by and visited Al in KC had some great BBQ and then off to Denver. After Denver 10yr son and I went to Moab for the weekend to go run around on a Side by Side with a bunch of guys. We have been to all 49 states but hadn’t done 70 west of Denver with the bus. With the help of all the advice gathered here I gave it a shot and bus did great. Tried to keep the RPMs >1600 and was able to maintain 40 – 45 on the uphill climbs Down shifted and used the two stage exhaust brake and kept my downhill speeds to 35 – 40 with almost no service brake use.
PReviously I had issues tiht e Code 39 2-147 VNT Vanes not responding error on steeps but it looks like the last round of sensor changes did the trick as it was all roses on this trip.
Great time in Moab. The bus just got a bath back in it barn until Saturday when we drive to Hilton Head Island.
On the way up I powered off the Dash air and took all the loads off the inverters by running the geny. But what I noticed by playing around with it that the bus ran about 6 degrrees cooler with the dash air on.
Jon you will be impressed. Without OTR I had condensation on the front window only running 2 roof airs
Bill
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13 Replies
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Dash air runs the cooling fan on high whenever the compressor is engaged. I see the same thing, but even more of a drop…usually about 10 degrees less.
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The dash air is vital whether a coach only has dash air or full OTR.
Our windshields are a solar panel when we point towards the sun, and even when pointing north a great deal of heat / cold transfers through the windshield. Dash heat does a far better job of offsetting that than any house AC units can do.
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Bill that can’t be, no way you can keep cool with a dash air bus, you must have OTR in order to survive, or so we’re told…..
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Tom,
Yep it must be a Marathon thing… no rose pedals but plenty of AC…. my son was complaining the entire way and had a blanket on the entire trip.
Bill
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Don’t need OTR to survive…but it sure is nice ! Geo.
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OK, old man, let’s set the record straight. Pay attention so I don’t have to repeat it.
I like OTR because it is simple and with it operating everyone is comfortable, no matter where they are in the coach. There are no hot or cold areas because it is controlling the temperatures through the entire length of the coach.
That should be so simple that even a CC owner like Michael could understand that. (Michael, you pick on me, I pick on you).
But if I did not have an OTR coach (not likely, but let’s pretend), I would use my dash air, plus I would run my generator and turn on every AC or heating unit (as appropriate) to keep the entire coach comfortable. We paid serious money for a coach we all like to think is top of the line, so we should make use of all the features, including the ability to have every part of the coach comfortable.
I would not run one or two ACs off of the inverters because I want even distribution of temps, and since I have a generator I am dragging around everywhere I go, I might as well use it.
So repeat after me, OTR is ideal because it keeps the entire coach comfortable, but if I did not have OTR (hard to imagine) I would be running my generator and every AC unit to accomplish the same objective.
Those who run dash air and one or two AC units from inverters here is you opportunity to tell me how comfortable you are doing things that way. Just remember what Tom has said about my interpretation of comfortable, and how mine is the coach with water pouring off the windows from condensation.
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Jon,
OK I am not going to refer to you as an OLD Man as my parents taught me to respect my elders. I will leave the mud slinging to you and Tom.
I will tell you that my coach stays completely comfortable with Dash air and two roof tops. My wife and kids generally have jackets or are walking around with blankets in the middle of the summer. I like it cold 68-70 at home and the bus is the same. The way Marathon ducts the air I use the salon AC up front because of all the heat from the glass and the Bed/Bath as the second which covers the back of the bus.
I have never “had ” to run the Geny to stay cool but do run it just to excerise it. In which case I fire up all four roof tops and then were talking serious cold everyone is complaining… but I am the driver.
when we are parked 99% of the time we only run the same two roof airs Salon and Bed/Bath
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Man. Prevost newbies, since March, here again. With only our dash air turned on we run down the road with goose bumps. It’s cold. The only time we turn on the roof airs is at a rest stop for lunch. Then it’s back to dash air only. Either the goose bumps are ’cause we’re still newbies or the dash air is flippin’ cold.
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We “plastic” coach owners just run the generator during our summer travels. The coach stays nice and comfortable even in 100-105F temps. Wife is often baking something during our summer travels with the Grandkids.
Winter travels don’t require the generator unless the wife is baking as the AquaHot keeps everything toasty.
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You know Jon, there has been this invention called, insulation, that decreases the need for massive amounts of HVAC in the summer. Coaches that have it do not need ten million tons of air conditioning to keep them cool. They put quite a lot of it in Country Coaches, so we do not need a gi-normous OTR compressor to cool the bus like a meat locker.
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If I were unfortunate enough to own a coach without OTR, that is exactly what I would say. I would also tell everyone how comfortable I was running down the highway with one or two ACs running up front, while the bedroom was hot enough to cook ribs.
There is a downside to OTR…………..When I have to use the wipers to clear the windshield condensation, I tend to smear the bugs that are above the level of the condensation. I may have to lower the inside temps a little to get the condensation up a little higher on the windshield.
Your turn Michael.
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Being that our previous bus was a CC XLV with their version of OTR and our present bus is an H with Prevo OTR, I’ll jump in here. The CC was adequate with the combo of roof airs and extra compressors for front and rear with the York compressors being a weak link. But it certainly was no match for the Prevo OTR…we like being able to dry age our steaks while going down the road…I’ll take overkill over adequate any day. Geo.
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Thank you guys, I am totally entertained here.
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