[Ed]

That’s the hole you never want to get in.

[Ed]

Don’s correct Prevost was going to send me different bags for front,they will work but for leveling they won’t go much higher then ride height, the one’s Don is referring to are just a little taller.

[Ed]

Ed,

well done! Thanks for shedding some light on the internal Techlink workings. My three fish tank air pumps are getting noisy after 21 years. Still provide accurate tank levels but probably should replace them before our next major trip or at least carry spares.

[Ed]

It does not matter if it is AC or DC….your connections at; battery, plugs (110&220) Outlets, components and equipment must be tightened per manufacturing or industry recommendation. Grounds especially. Or you could end up with a bad experience such as fire or arcing that could lead to explosion or fire if there are vapors in the explosive area.

[Ed]

Very cool, that is awesome. Congratulations to you and to her!!!

[Ed]

Despite what appears to be overwhelming evidence to suggest the pandemic is real, the virus is life threatening, and that the number of new cases daily is continuing to set records, last night on our news it was reported around 50% of the general public does not wear masks.

The percentages all hover in that general area, up or down a little based on several factors, but nothing seems to create the need in people who choose not to wear a mask, to do so.

Personally I only want one thing. I want to be able to do the things we are required to do in public to be safe, and as long as there are people who choose to not wear masks we are less safe. I hate having a government tell me to wear a seat belt, or to shove an air bag down my throat, or to force people to wear motorcycle helmets. But that is because generally speaking ignoring those regulations likely has nothing to do with my health or safety. If people get around those mandates they are likely at risk, not others.

But when people choose to endanger me by not wearing a mask it is a whole different story and in this case I would like regulations imposed that protect me.

[Ed]

Expand on “19 bad boots”. Thanks!

[Ed]

Did the tire buster fail to see studs were marked which way threads went ?

AL

[Ed]

I weighed my coach this week for the first time since I’m getting ready for a trip on new tires. I had been erring on the side of caution before, running 100/100/90. It turns out I was very over-inflated on all axles. My weight was so low that I went to a second scale to verify it.

10780 lbs (85 psi) STEER

18100 lbs (75 psi) DRIVE

7720 lbs (70 psi) TAG

36600 lbs TOTAL

I have two Cruisairs currently removed from the steering compartment and my pull out sofa is removed. I can’t wait to see how it rides at the correct pressures.

[Ed]

I expect to replace the fitting on the tubing at some point, maybe the tubing as well.

I had good luck finger tightening the fittings; an eighth or quarter of a turn stopped the one or two leaks I had. Then an eighth of a turn on the rest using very little pressure. Some were “tight enough” and didn’t move.

I had to replace the fitting for the ice maker because it had cracked. I found the same fittings that liberty used in 1999 at the local hardware store and they had a special wrench for the fitting! I bought it. Used it to tighten. Cracked the second fitting with the wrench and had to replace … so that was the end of using the wrench. Too much leverage. Maybe the fittings get brittle over time.

Tighten cautiously!

[Ed]

Dan,

Glad to hear you are doing well…keep up posted how you are doing. Covid has not hit our family but I have a close friend who passed away last week.

Thoughts and Prayers for you

David Thomas

1998 Featherlight XL

[Ed]

I think bypassing the rheostat is no issue at all Dick as far as I can tell. The brightness is perfect to my eye not too bright and I always ran the switch at full anyway. Of course, when I go to sell my bus (never) I’ll have to get a new switch. And Tom that’s nice of you to say but I have learned more from you than anybody about mechanics. I’m sure I’m not the only one on this form that values your expertise and mentorship. I started to learn from you and Jon too back on that other form that I won’t mention the name of here!

Fred

[Ed]

The fuel efficiency is likely driven by (1) the seated coach operators and (2) a concern (read “fear”) by Prevost that if the fuel economy of the coaches doesn’t improve over time, state/federal government regulators will be crawling around where they don’t belong.

The “shitty fan clutch” is only part of the problem with the cooling system. Many of you might recall I dropped a large stack of Benjamins in the Texas Hill County due to the shitty fan clutch apparently poking holes in our radiator when the fins on the clutch collided with the radiator brace, broke off, and were ballistically propelled into the radiator. As a result I’ve done lots of thinking about how that system could be improved.

The system from the crank shaft to the air bellows tensioner, to the right angle miter box on the hinged plate, to the shitty clutch, and to the fan was likely the high point of Rube Goldberg’s career. I can see him now … he was just giddy when Prevost asked him to take on the consulting engineering assignment of designing the system to spin the fan, pull air through the radiator, and cool the big Detroit Diesel.

Electric fans make the most sense. I suspect there are times when fans don’t need to turn at all or hardly at all. Like cold weather, going down a hill (longer the better). As Jon mentions there should be algorithms in the computer to manage the fans.

Obviously multiple fans for redundancy. Turn them on sequentially as they are needed. I can see the algorithms can take into account throttle position (are you going to need much cooling if at idle?), outside air temp (OAT), and the list goes on.

I’d think the fans would run off the chassis batteries. The algorithm could monitor chassis battery voltage and if the batteries have lots of juice and the demand on the fans is light, no need to pull juice from the alternator until the battery voltage drops into a recharge range. I could see the batteries being recharged going down a hill.

Would all these ideas save a material amount of fuel? Probably not, but this could and should be factored into the algorithm.

Another benefit of moving to electric fans would be weight. The current system is very heavy. I would think four to six electric fans, support structure, and shroud would be much, much lighter than what we have now.

Periodic maintenance would almost disappear.

Redundancy could be built into the algorithms that when a fan goes off-line, the remaining fans pick up the slack until a replacement can be FedEx’d to the coach. Replacement should be easy for most owner/operators. Jon and a few of the rest of use would carry a spare fan in the parts bay.

What would owner/operators of Prevosts like us be willing to pay for a system like this?

I’ve heard that the failure of the fan system in an H3 cost over $15,000 (I suspect the CAC was damaged along with the radiator). I think I spent $8,000 plus lost 12 days on a trip.

I’d probably spend $5,000 on an electric radiator fan system before I’m go to Li-Ion batteries … presuming its a one and done deal.

Would Detroit be willing to program support for a retrofit electric fan array in DDEC? Would Detroit be willing to engineer the system? Would Prevost be willing to put the package together? Or would a third party have to do it?

[Ed]

Chuck,

You may want to consider CAT6 wiring instead of CAT5. Same size but upgraded wire.

[Ed]

Wow, John! Pretty incredible on Prevost’s part…especially considering how badly the coach business has been financially impacted these past eight months!

Makes us even more excited to be getting our coach in another month, or so. This is a standard of Excellence that seems nostalgic – yet, Prevost keeps it current!

Looking forward to seeing you both soon at PL!

Thank you for the “great news” story. 🙂