[Per]

Sounds good, Bill. Any problem with us showing up Monday afternoon?

Raymond Norris is also coming in. Can we get side-by-side spots?

[Per]

Well, Jeff is all finished–just waiting on the bill. Took the time to go over the coach with waterless wash and wax so Jon and Tom won’t give us any grief about showing up at a rally with a dirty coach. See you all in Lakeland in a few days!

[Per]

This RV salvage yard is worth a try;

visonerv.com

[Per]

Per, Jeff does possess magical qualities, but replacing brake chambers has nothing to do with repairing your leaks in the brake system.

When your bus is parked there is no pressure at all on any of the brake chambers. So Jeff did other work to correct the problem, or it is a coincidence.

The reason for making everyone aware of the fact there is zero pressure on the brake chambers when the bus is parked is to help everyone understand if an air leak in an emergency brake chamber is creating a serious problem, it will always be possible to air up the entire coach so with full pressure the emergency brakes can be then released so the coach can be moved a short distance to a safer spot (until the air loss again locks the brakes).

My guess is your brake system air loss is elsewhere such as a slightly open air tank valve or a leaky relay valve or even a leak in the air lines to the gauges.

[Per]

Truk,

question, if i turn off our engine loop(s) , we have two loops, does that turn off the loop for the wabasto hot water? Just curious as we turn off the loops in summer but curious if our wabasto uses the same loops.

[Per]

Thanks, Mark. We’ll give it a try!

[Per]

Try to locate what they sometimes refer to as system make up boxes. Most time in bays mounted on ceilings or walls.

Marathon ID’s with a label on the outside.

[Per]

Neither of us has much time to monitor this web site or the forum because we are kept so busy counting the dues money.

[Per]

Jon,

I agree with you, but would like to add EVERY state has distracted driver laws… The issue is they are not enforced. Maybe because of priorities, etc.

The problem is increasing at a rapid rate.

[Per]

Tim,

Electric elements can be checked in place by VOM meter on ohms for continuity or clamp on amp meter for current flow.

[Per]

Well, if Prevost can’t get the job done next week, hopefully American Fleet can cure the oil leaks next year.

[Per]

Dan, Two concerns because I worry about stuff.

The hubs at all positions have a specified procedure in the Prevost shop manual available on line for tightening the hub nuts. One procedure I have read requires a specific torque and than to back off the nut a certain number of degrees, and the other procedure I remember called for a runout of a couple of thousandths. Whatever it is for your particular vintage it should be followed to the letter. Too loose or too tight creates problems that show up as a damaged bearing or a worn spindle. The damage takes time to be seen but in both cases it gets expensive.

As to changing to 30 brake chambers that alarms me because when our coaches are engineered the size of the brake chamber and in some cases relating to drum brakes the friction material is sized for a balanced brake application. If you put the same size shoes or chambers on a lightly loaded axle as a more heavily loaded axle (service brakes) the lightly loaded axle locks up sooner than the more heavily loaded axle. Under almost all driving and braking conditions this is not an issue, but when you have a panic stop you have an un balanced braking system and the ABS (if equipped) comes into play. As a racer you likely would not have ABS on a race car because a skilled driver can modulate the brakes and get better performance, but in street cars, trucks and buses the ABS is used to compensate. If your ABS kicks in on your tag which has a brake chamber with twice the normal brake force you have lost some braking force as it cycles.

A 16/24 for example is an odd size and from an economic perspective the temptation to go to a 30/30 is great, but I found I could buy a 16/24 piggy back combo and a 16 service chamber and swap parts to create a 16/24 almost as cheap as a 30/30 or 30/36.

[Per]

Thanks for the help.

Did get the motor out and benched checked it – DEAD

The brushes are worn almost down and one of the four had a weak spring. Called Monarch with the part number and discovered the motor may still be available in Fort Worth for 9650 – nxt step is to find a motor repair shop in Fort Worth or the mid-cities early next week.

Thanks again for the comments.

Ray

[Per]

Those customers of course are the ones that opt for the expensive oil changes.

Jeff knows when they see the bill, they won’t even have money left for diesel for the generator.

[Per]

You know, when you look at the tach and your doing 2200 RPM you would think “ok what the hell is wrong here” and look at the shift pad and notice your in 3rd gear doing 60 MPH.

You admin people just love picking on poor young inexperienced drivers, don’t you!

Just wait till I get to Florida