Harry
Forum Replies Created
-
It seems a surge protector can deal with attenuated surges caused by power line strikes in the distance but not with close in strikes. The high voltage surge simply bridges across the varistors in the surge protector.
I disconnect shore power and run the generator when I see a thunderstorm heading our way. Obviously only works if I’m around the bus.
Gerald
-
My 8V92 is in the shop to diagnose an over-heating problem that I PM’d Jon about a few weeks ago. Shop services a fleet of Prevost buses.
current price on a new radiator is $4,500 and they have had poor experience with the-coring so proceeding step-wise before throwing money at it.
Water-pump fine, plastic fan good.
Replacing thermostats as they have seen stats that look OK but don’t fully open.
Wash external fins. Lots of dirt. They do this often on their fleet.
Flushed the core with a cleaner and got a lot of crap out.
Going to road-test on some hills and see if that solved it.
Interesting observation is that someone removed the thermostatic fans hub so the fan is locked on all the time. On the newest busses Prevost claims a 50-hp boost on the swap to an electric fan.
Just wondering if I would see a decent gain in power or fuel economy if I re-installed the original thermostatic fan clutch?
-
Your fortunate Reese, I didn’t do as well and was flat out told no ticky no washy.
-
Good to hear. Did he mention whether they would like the busted one back so they could take a look at it to see what went wrong?
-
Purchased my XL 5years ago. Awning did not work, adjusted the price for the coach. At that time had Liberty in Stuart Fl replace both arms. All worked for 6 months and started to have trouble… Worked with ZipDee and I pulled the master control box out my self, shipped it to ZD had it rebuilt and put back in (not a big deal). Awning still working good! I maintain as ZD suggested. Every six months oil the arms and periodically open the ends of the arms in the low position to drain any accumulated water. Batteries start to get bad every year or so even with the main controller on at all times charging. It is what it is, but still working
-
Contact Jim Purcell at CoachPro. He did the pre-purchase on mine.
-
Yes I torqued the 5 inch long by 7/16 then I put lock tight and some lock nuts on, the threaded part stuck out so the nuts cleaned it up
-
I did this upgrade in April 2018 and I matched up the 2 threaded holes in the bracket at the hardware store to verify the bolt thread size. I used two 7/16, grade 8 fasteners, a little Loctite 242, and no nuts. (I just checked the bracket install at the coach a few minutes ago) For the bolt on the single hole end of the bracket I reused the existing bolt and it is metric. If you want to add nuts to the threaded portion of the bolt that sticks out of the bracket facing forward you will need longer bolts than I used which were 5in long.
Of course, your mileage may vary.
-
Seems to me the DDEC in my coach (with retarder) is set to show trans overheat light at 283F or therabouts…I’ve seen the light a couple times.
I try to stay under 250F trans temp on downhills. I’ve found my generally used MOST EFFICIENT retardation in 4th gear with positon 4 on retarder. Trans will overheat in 5th gear at any retarder positon over 3. Never use 5-6 except in emergency.
-
The diff temp is the second most critical gauge in my cluster behind only the speedo. My 1990 coach came with a diff temp gauge which alerted me to it’s importance. Under extreme conditions with these coaches, it is not difficult to exceed 300F diff oil temp. I was at Mira Loma several years ago when the red Newman-Haas Indycar coach that pulled a kitchen equipped stacker was receiving a new rear end at about 100,000.
I’ve had numerous problems with drive axle seals on both coaches, but a recent (80,000 miles ago) change of seal brand may have helped. No actual diff repairs yet.
When I acquired my 2000 coach, I added a diff temp gauge. I pull a stacker and regularly run gross weights of approx 70,000# in high temp conditions (120F) at high speed (75mph). In an effort to reduce temps, I have eliminated rear air flap to attempt better air flow, switched to synthetic lube (25,000 mile change schedule needed and verified by oil analysis) and gone to super-single wheels on the drive to allow better airflow over exposed wheel bearings, seals, and brakes. All helped.
The brakes are not the problem for me as the diff temp now seems largely dependent on ambient temp and speed. At 60 mph, nothing is critical. When I’m running 75 mph, I watch the diff temp and if it gets to 260F, I begin reducing speed in 2-3 mph increments until temp stabilizes at 260F. I have had to go as low as 65mph.
In short, anyone who tows any kind of significant weight at high speeds should absolutely have a diff temp gauge and, if running dino oil, should probably be using lower target temps than mine.
-
I haven’t driven US 2 in sometime, but a few decades ago spent lots of time between the Green Bay area and Houghton-Hancock MI. Two summers ago we went to Woodruff, Eagle River, Land O’Lakes, Ironwood/Hurley.
There are a number of casinos on US 2 or a short drive off of 2. We drove by a couple of them on our trip. They cater to locals, travelers, truckers, bus trips, and RV’ers. Unless I found an acceptable campground I thought would work, I’d plan my route stopping at the casinos. We’ve been to the Oneida Casino near Green Bay and the Stockbridge-Munsee Casino near Bowler WI and both had 50amp; but these are much further south than where you’re going planning to go.
Fuel? I wouldn’t be too worried. Do you use GasBuddy.com? We do to plan our fuel stops. In some cases we’ve saved 20 to 30 cents a gallon by just planning ahead and knowing the prices on Gas Buddy. While the UP is somewhat sparsely populated, there is a good amount of truck traffic and logging which of course demands diesel. The stations might be small, but you should be able to get in most of them, fill up, and get out again.
When is your trip? That area (from Ironwood MI/Hurley WI to Houghton MI) got 4″ to 7″ of rain on Saturday (6/16). There are reports of flash flooding, impassable roads, etc. So plan ahead. Most of the Sheriff’s Departments have FB pages that they post that kind of stuff to. If in doubt, call the sheriff’s department and ask. If things are OK, they want you in the neighborhood. If all hell has broken loose they don’t want you near them. They’ll be honest.
If you’re making a casual trip through the UP and don’t have a mission on US 2, I would strongly encourage you take the northern route through the UP. Sault Ste. Marie (Sault locks, bring your passport and ride the Algoma Central RR deep into the Canada wilderness on a one day trip), Marquette MI, Lanse, Baraga, Houghton, Hancock, and Copper Harbor. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. Interesting history (they don’t call it “Copper Country” for nothing!). Take the drive to the end of US 41 in Copper Harbor; it literally end at the water’s edge at Lake Superior, return along Lake Superior. Take a float plane or boat out to Isle Royale National Park (the most remote park in the system). Spend the night or a few days. I recommend the float plane.
Enjoy your trip. Make sure to enter the campgrounds and casinos you stay at in the PC Forum map; lets get the map populated with lots of things to do and places to say in the UP!
When you cross from Superior WI to Duluth MN I’m sure Mark will be waiting to welcome you!
-
Unscrew the “T” handle a couple of turns and it should pull out. The T handle tightens against the rubber seal causing it to expand against the tube.
Doug
-
Sorry for inserting “cruiseair” on my original post…..it’s on the marathon documentation. As stated in my original post, 4 Coleman series 9000 (delete cruiseair) 13500 btu with heat strips. I had them serviced, filters etc as well as some marginal plastic fan blades replaced in April as well as a noisy fan motor and 2 water condensation pumps, so they have been recently serviced. I was just curious if anyone has changed out all the original units and if so what did they replace them with……sorry for the confusion.
-
I’m truly saddened by your loss Penny.
If Cindy & I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
May God furnish you peace thru this difficult season of your life.
-
Jon
appreciate the comments. I did lock out the fan clutch but somehow this had frozen the bearings or something. The fan would not turn locked or unlocked but was frozen.
gary