[Bill]

Hi gang, well we got our new house batteries yesterday (thanks to tom) and the guys who installed them were pretty good. They checked the voltages and said they were spot on so we rested up last night and headed to shreveport. We just got here and just as we pulled in to the campground the alternator fail light came on. Im gonna check out the voltages after I cool down along with the engine and hope for the best. I havent gotten to the genny problem yet but thats next. Jeez this vacation is soooo much fun ! LOL I got the feeling that the run to Dallas is gonna end up at Prevost. Will keep you posted.

[Bill]

That particular Vision is a beautiful bus George. Good luck! 🙂

I’m a member of many bus/rv forums, as I’m sure many of you are. I even run my own forum at http://www.wanderlogegurus.com. The slide versus non-slide discussions are perrenial. I think bus/rv forums need their own version of Godwin’s law but with a slight modification of substituting hitler with slides! 🙂

[Bill]

Thanks Diane, I’ve been looking at that one, sounds like the one to use.

[Bill]

Jon I was there I saw them, those are Deka’s in Lifline clothing. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So who cares if they get dirty, they are just cheap batteries.

[Bill]

Just thought I would mention what I have heard on the Evans coolant as I am searching coolant threads on the ol’ PC tonight.

If any of you listen to Kevin Rutherford on XM, he swears by the Evans and he also thinks the Series 60 is pretty much the best engine ever made and LOTS of owner operators are running Evans in a Series 60. The one caution is getting ALL of the old stuff out, something I would be careful about, I guess some shops are good at it with the right equipment, others not so much.

[Bill]

I only replaced the steer and tag axles and they were about $500 with shipping. Because of the problems I noted above I will probably replace the other axle when it’s time for new tires. I now feel more secure with the brackets that are held on under the lugs.

The stove seems to be at the post office and Natalie hopes to pick up tomorrow. I think that she won’t be able to send to me in Maine, so it will have to wait until I return to install. 🙁

Thank you for the well wishes!

[Bill]

Nice job Dean. Our’s is the same and we really like it. Marathon provided covers for the seat backs and straps under the table that you can secure the chairs while driving. It also has a plug underneath with a hole and plug in the table for power cords. I don’t need the straps, but Jon miight!

[Bill]

Chuck and Jerry, you have two different systems. I believe Jerry has valves operated by the system automatically depending on what mode he selects on the controller, and Chuck has all manually operated valves to regulate defrost or recurculate.

[Bill]

Forgot to say, Portal RV Resort in Moab. Make reservations early.

[Bill]

Dick, I ended up going a different route than originally planned on the media server. My intent was to have one centrally located media server that would wirelessly feed both ends of the bus with movies and music. I had it working with a little unit by RavPower but I didn’t like the results. So what I did was end up just adding a portable 2Gb hard drive to the back of each Blu-Ray player. Yes, to add movies I’ll have to take each unit out separately and upload them, but they are easy to access and just a simple USB plug. It is much faster than wireless and I don’t have to worry about interference. Those portable drives are getting very cheap… Less than $100 each. Two things: for easiest use, make sure and get the drives that are powered by the USB so you don’t have to run an extra power cords. And also, the USB port on all players will not work. Luckily, on these Sonys I bought they work fine. I know for example that Samsungs will not work. Hope that helps.

[Bill]

Bill, I know exactly what you are talking about with the dipstick, mine has obvious wear marks on the air tube as well. Interestingly enough I have notice that it seems to always find its way back to the air tube. It needs to be moved a bit.

If that were to wear through it should not have any impact on turbo boost. It would allow for the intake of dirt though.

So, was it really the sensors or were the sensors reporting irregularities due to the intake leak? In either case, I’m glad you have it fixed.

We went to Alaska two years ago and it was great, except a few stretches of really bad roads. Enjoy your trip and slow way down on the bad stretches.

[Bill]

To give you an idea on costs associated with a new-to-you coach. I picked up my coach on 4/13 in Kamloops, BC. I had it serviced at Prevost(Richmond,BC), tires at Superior Tire(Oregon), and another service at Prevost(TN). All-in-all, these services totaled $13K including $5K for 8 new tires. I then drove 4000 miles home, trouble free. Here’s what I had done:

Coolant System: new coolant, filter, pressure check, new fan clutch, and new engine temperature sensor,

Engine/chassis: level two engine/lube service including air filter,

Transmission: new fluid and filters,

Air Dryer and Air System: check,

Brake System: new caliper bushings on steer axle,

Generator: new fluid and filters,

Suspension: replace (14) drive/tag axle suspension control arm bushings,

Differential: new fluid,

Hubs: new tag axle hub caps, gaskets, and fluid,

Shocks: 8 new,

Tires: 8 new and centramatics on all wheel positions.

Parts: $8000, Labor: $4000, Taxes, Supplies, etc: $1000

[Bill]

If you want to be legal carry a short shotgun in the coach. States such as NY will put you in jail if you are found to have a pistol.

I assume you do not intend to carry, but wish to have access to a weapon while in the coach.

[Bill]

Good tip Michael, thanks.

[Bill]

Isn’t anything repairable any more?

I may be stuck in the 50’s but at least stuff we owned wasn’t put in the trash as soon as it needed a repair.