[Greg]

Won’t your customers tell you when the generator quits? Won’t they call you if the A/C goes out? Aren’t you going to have house batteries separate from the bus batteries? Are you going to have the large Delco 50DN alternator to charge the house batteries … just fire up the bus and you have tons of electricity?

[Robert]

Hello,

Yes to all your questions, I was just wondering if there was a way for me to get a jump on them.A service oriented kind of thing that I know what is going on even when I am not there!!!!

Thanks,

Robert

[Archived]

If you are building the ultimate leasing coach I presume you have a second generator. It would appear to me that if a generator shuts down you could have an auto-start that will start the second generator.

But I am sure the coach could be set up with any event you choose to become a trigger for a phone call.

I would seriously consider setting the electrical system like Vantare’s because if a generator quits, and before the second one kicks on you will still be running the air conditioners through inverters.

The cynic in me believes none of your clients will appreciate the coach you are building as much as you.

[Peter]

Jon,

I agree with your last statement 100%, But this is something I want to do and do it to what I think is the Perfect lease coach with all the things my 28 years have brought to me. The average person that rides on it will not know if it is the newest thing out or 20 years old,they will only know that it looks nice and appealing to the eye.The mechanics are for me to appreciate.

Thanks,

Robert

[Archived]

As a gear head your last sentence makes perfect sense to me.

What will get your client’s attention is if they are never inconvenienced or uncomfortable. As long as you have the systems set up with either redundancy or alternate methods what they will notice is the absence of problems.

[Rick & Denise]

Jon,

That is what I am after,A coach that if it does have a problem,It has a back-up system to handle the problem so no one knows there is a problem but me.If I can suceed in doing that I will be HAPPY!!

Robert

[AL]

Robert, what are ya going to do if the motor takes a ——! Can’t have double of everything can ya

[Bob]

No some things cant be doubled ,but that is what cell phones are for and I carry 2 of them and that is to arrange alternate transportation!!!!

Robert

[Archived]

Jon is onto something with the auto-start for backup generator. I spoke with my buddy who used to run Van Hool entertainers (and who got me hooked on this ill-advised hobby of bus ownership). Some of his buses had two generators and some only one, but none had any sort of auto-start feature or any house batteries and he had never heard of it being used in the industry. It is a great idea, however, as my friend always said there are only three things that matter to the customer — getting there on time, and having air conditioning and working TVs. Of the three, the getting there on time matters more to the manager, and the guys on the bus care more about the other two. Engine breakdowns are much more tolerable if the a/c and tvs are working. Good luck with your business. It sounds like you are on the right track regarding your equipment.

[Gerald]

You are exactly right,As long as the sastelite is working and the T.V. comes on and the air is cold or the heat is warm everybody is ok with everything else!!LOL

Robert

P.S. I have been awakened many times from a deep sleep because the satelite quit working and one time I went to a pick-up and were waiting for the rest of the band and the road manager turned on the t.v. and the satelite wasnt picking up and he told me that we were not going anywhere if the satelite didnt start working,That we would have to get another coach. No satelite No trip!!!! LOL. I turned the power switch on and there it was,I told him to either learn how to use the equipment or leave it alone!!!!!

[Archived]

If you really want to know what is going on in your bus at all times, you should consider a GSM cellular dialer. Most of them have multiple inputs to trip a call and will call several numbers with event specific prerecorded messages or send texts/emails.

Google them and you’ll find lots of options from $50-200. Any prepaid GSM SIM card should work. Of course, they can also do double duty as an alarm system.

[Paul]

Robert, we have an 2002 XLII . Our generator is a kubota 20KW. It also has an EZ start EPS system on it. I am continuing to build my confidence with the gen set. I know you guys run these things forever and days on end, but I am stil relcutant to jst let it run and tend to baby it. It has between 8 & 20,000 hours on it depending on which hour meter you beieve (in or out). it runs fine and no issues. We did blow squirrel cage motor but have had it replaced – that sapped some confidence when it blew with a big puff of smoke and then buzzed like an alarm until I shut it down. No oil leaks, no issues. I know you guys run tehse things for days on end, but I am still relucant to do that. When we are in it overnight, I have all the things in the world I really care about in the coach with me (wife and kids) and I still worry about issues while sleeping. Should I sop worrying and just run it or do you have other advice?

Paul

[AL]

Run it run it hard service it you will be good to go carry spare belt, do you have two fans one in gen bay and one where rad is?? Just wondering which squirrel cage motor went out , I have two motors with squirrel cages. They are good for over 30,000 hours the gen

[Archived]

Peter, we’ve just got one big squirrel cage motor behind the gen set. It draws air up from under the gen set below the bus and then discharges out the opposite side of the bus from the gen access.It didn’t quite make it 30,000 hours. It was new in Feb last year, had maybe a couple hundred on it and blew. Grainger did replace it under warranty, but that didn’t help much when it went out on a 20 degree night. We found an RV park and plugged up.

[Davy]

The gen set I meant is good for 30,000 to 50,000 hours not the squirrel cage motor sorry thanks….