Looking forward to the seminar Jon. I just paid PVML to replace an airspriing that I didn't have time or a place to run down..
Would rather understand it!
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Looking forward to the seminar Jon. I just paid PVML to replace an airspriing that I didn't have time or a place to run down..
Would rather understand it!
Boy if you want to suck all the air out of the room, lets talk about the price of fuel.
I hate the idea of paying $500.00 or more for a fill up, but I will cut back else where. Also, Shorter trips and fewer trips will help.
Actually as a guy that has supported an aviation habit for years, suffering with the pain of writing checks for fixed costs such as hangars and insurance and charts and databases anyone that owns a bus and is influenced by the price of fuel needs to readjust the thinking.
Consider the cost per mile of your bus bringing depreciation, lost earnings on invested capital (or interest), tires, batteries, insurance, licensing, etc. into the equation based on the average number of miles you drive. These are the costs you pay annually without ever rolling a wheel. Add to that cost the variables such as oil changes and repairs and you will see that the per mile cost will make you want to sell your bus.
But....instead of doing that take another look at what your cost per mile is if you double the mileage you drive, or triple the mileage you drive. Despite the high price of fuel you are now saving money. See how simple it is to ignore fuel costs????????
Jon,
It is still o.k. to bitch about the price of fuel!
Very few of us use our busses enough to really worry about that issue from owners point of view.
My complaint on 4 plus per dollar diesel is the impact at say the grocery store where those fresh avocado's from the left coast sell at twice the price on the opposite side of the country, when to compared to a year ago. Same holds true for almost anything that has to be shipped be it by truck, rail or air....they all use some form of much more expensive diesel and the consumer, you and I, are paying for it.
Without getting this into a political argument I suspect we are seeing high prices across the board due to the idiots we have placed in office.
First, our wizards have managed to cause the dollar to lose value so we may not actually be seeing $4.00 diesel, but $3.00 diesel if we had as much value in the dollar as we had 2 or three years ago. So part of the higher costs are due to the weaker dollar. Maybe they need to stop printing money and let the people that got in over their heads lose their houses.
Then to exacerbate the problem the tree hugging weenies have decided ethanol is the path to environmental purity. So we spend megabucks to create a gallon of fuel that costs as much as or more than petroleum fuel, and which requires abundant amounts of corn (for example) to produce. And that fuel has less energy content so more is required. So instead of planting other crops farmers plant corn, with less going to feed cattle driving up prices of produce across the board due to the ripple effect.
You can blame the fuel for higher prices, but the price of fuel is the symptom, not the disease.
Heading out to burn some of that in a little bit. Maybe there will be less traffic because the American public has said they cannot pay the cost of fuel. Yeah right....there will be as many on the road as before.
Right on Jon,
Careful of that Ethanol. I put some (accidently cause I didn't read the pump) of that crap in my Jeep Wrangler last year in Denver. Bucked and snorted followed by a nice case of vapor lock.....took an Oklahoma Credit Card to it and was not able to syphon all of it out...lighter than gasoline! Took about 4 tanks of fuel to complete the flushing cycle. Absolute junk, costs more to produce than gasoline, diverts corn from cows, lousy performance and lousy mileage....have a look at the E-85 EPA mileage charts to verify that one.
John
$4.299 is todays price.Quote:
Originally Posted by jello_jeep
My gosh, JDUB, you gonna let that "Oklahoma Credit Card" statement just sit there and simmer?? You gotta step up here, man.Quote:
Originally Posted by flyu2there
Unless, of course, it's the truth!! :D:D
Pahrump Diesel Prices are a lot less than LV and about the same as Reno. We are leaving early tomorrow morning and will arrive at Siebt about 10 hours later. (Harry and Shirley were planning to leave Reno this morning). I was going to top off my fuel here at The Alamo Truck Stop but fueling in Pahrump is a better option since we will be traveling a little lighter.
Now, I just need to get my son out of bed to help me wash the Tamale Wagon, make some last minute MH adjustments, fix about 40 ft of fence that blew down in our last 85 mile per hour wind and we'll be ready for an early morning departure. Life is so easy!!:)
A little update: Harry just called and they are having a brake problem just outside of Reno. He said the ABS light went on and there was a lot of screeching. The preliminary guess by a mechanic, now there with them, is it may be a wheel bearing. They will probably be towed back to Reno and hopefully leave with us in the morning.
Mel Torme,
Cut the guy a break. He's from Pismo Beach; the summer home of Bugs Bunny.
Anyone steeped in the fine art of the siphon hose has some stories to tell.
Yea, Jerry, your right to let it go I guess. I wasn't up to speed on the rabbit deal. That explains a ton.
Ask me about my siphon hose technique developed over a period of 3 years of delivering the morning paper in my hometown of Ft. Worth. And that was back when gas was 35 cents a gallon. Damn, I can still taste it. Always preferred Ethel myself.
We will be leaving Friday night from Pomona CA. Probably boondock at a casino Friday night.
Should be at the resort sometime Sat. morning.
eek:Shirley and I are very disapointed we could not complete our trip to Pahrump.
Reno's Smith Detroit - Allison repair facility supplied the reason. We had a drivers side rear axel beraing seal replaced on Tuesday. We hit the road to Pahrump on Thursday. 40 miles east of Reno loud scraping noises sounded from the rear. By the time we found a semi safe spot to leave the freewy roadbed smoke was emitting from the rear DS rear axel bearing. I exited with the fire extenguisher and did not have to use it, but the axel bearing was toast. Smith sent the tech that replaced the seal to examine the problem. We checked to see if I could move the coach further away from the roadbed and found it would not move under power. The drive line turned, but no wheel movement. Now the real fun of the day begin. Smith called a tow company. After explaining the problems to them, they dispatched a tractor with a drop-bed trailer and a large wrecker truck. I got busy and removed the all across rear mud flap to allow access to the rear hoisting points. They pulled and scraped the bus on to the trailer 11: oo AM to 3:30 PM. At Smith they pulled and scraped the bus off the trailer. The scraping part did some minor damage to tail pipe extensions and the front SS light bar. There it sits for at least a weeks worth of repairs.
Lesson learned on towing: Our bus bumper sections front and rear are not strong enough to stand the pressures put on them from cables hooked to the frame below and wrapping up under the bumper sections. We need to check with Prevost for detailed instructions on hoisting for towing. It would have been easier to load the bus on the drop trailer if we coud have lifted the rear over hang of the bus with the other wrecker winches. The tow driver said the bumper section would not stand the pressure of the cables wrapped under the with blocking, without bending upwards causing body damage. It took long sections of 4X4's placed under the rear wheels to get the overhang portion of the bus behind the rear wheels off dragging the ground when being pulled onto the tilt trailer ramp.
Darl came to the rescue allowing us to transfer our portions of the Monday evening meal and auction items to him for his trip to Pahrump.
You'all have a good time your hear. God willing we'll work toward seeing you in S.D. @ POGVII.
Bug's Bunny, Pismo Beach, where did you guys hare that?:D
Pismo was a hang out, still is, for folks like Jethro Bodine (Max Baer) who I think is someones role model here; Clark Gable, he and Carol Lombard owned my little place at one time; the Lone Ranger and many more.
Seems that Hal Roach studios shot a bunch of cowboy movies nearby, not to mention DeMile using the beaches for copy of Egypt as far back as the 1920's. Pismo became the local watering hole......
Now you have heard the rest of the story....
P.S. correct syphoning does not include tasting fuel, ask any Oklahoma Card Holder
Harry,
Now you have me nervous.......
Last week I had the right side drive axle seal replaced! The tech said the bearings were fine and re-installed them. He, the mechanic, found the minor seep during a lube service that I was watching, it was not bad enough to attack the brake and had not leaked onto the tire. My hope here is that his maintenance prowess is as keen as his eye...as I said I watched the whole thing, 2 hours from start to finish, no parts left over and used a torking wrench....still in all I will give it a 35 mile check.
Sorry your gonna miss it!
John
John,
If the guy added about 2 quarts of lube to the hub and you have no leaks, you'll be fine. The problem is when some dimwit puts it all back together dry or forgets to check/add differential oil. Prevost Nashville only has a few guys that do the seals and their good at it... They also learned the hard way.
tom,
I was charged for Hypoid so I suspect they refilled the thing.......I was refilling my coffee cup towards the end and really didn't notice that save what is shown on the mechanics invoice. I will still do a 35 mile check...just in case:D
Truk: The sad part the service prior to the seal change they drained and re-filled the differential lube. Smith replaced the passenger side seal on a previous leak problem, 1600 mi later the same seal was leaking. They re-did the seal replacement and noticed the driver side seal was leaking a little. That is when I scheduled the recent driver side seal replacement, hence the current problem. Smith is not a small outfit, the Sparks unit is one of many owned by Smith of Salt Lake City.
Harry,
So sorry to hear the news.
Is replacing a drive axle seal that complicated? I know that Hector has had several seals replaced at Prevost Texas, and at Sevierville he was thinking the last replacement seal was still leaking. And, it sounds like the Prevost techs are not the only mechanics having problems. Might be time to look at the quality of the seals being used for replacements.
" you can't ride in my red wagon, wheels broken axels dragging, same song second verse, should get better but it could get worse"
What a bummer, the worse part is missing Jons presentation on leans and other subjects. Yah Yah I'm gonna miss seeing some of you other jokers too.
Harry,
Very sorry to hear about this. What a jinx! So, is this not repairable in a couple of days? So that you could still come, perhaps a day or two late?
Ray
Geez Harry! What a run of bad luck!! Hey, its not that far, why don't you get a room in town, and commute to the rally. Its not very far at all into town?
We don't want to miss you guys! :(
See Harry,
You should have kept the other bus as a backup.
Mike
Mango; At this point I don't want one bus much less two. The sympathy I got from Shirley amounted to " well you wanted to run with the big boys. "
Harry,
Sorry to hear of your trials and tribulations. Hopefully, all will turn out well in the end, and this episode will fade into a distant bad memory.
Keep the faith...
Thanks Paul I'm sure it will and thanks to all the well wishers that responded. We had our hearts set on the p rally. It could have been worse, there is a lot of nothing between Reno and Pahrump. Our problem developed 40 miles from the repair shop.
Harry that is terrible news.
So that others may learn from your mishap I would like to tell everyone about a company that will come out to you and cut off a burnt spindle and weld on a new one right on the side of the road without having to remove the axle housing or tow your vehicle.
They are called the axle doctors. Google this or www.axlesurgeons.com
Sad to hear that Harry.
I suspect as Tom said that when they changed the seal they di not tip the axle or refill the bearing area with fresh lube. The folks that did your seals owe you the cost of all repairs. If they did replace the lube (doubtful if the bearings were dry) then the other cause directly traceable to them is they overtightened the bearings.
We were looking forward to seeing you and Shirley.
If you install NEW (dry) inner and outer hub bearings on a drive axle and do not prelube them and prefill the hub cavity they will be squeaking in a matter of 3 or 4 miles.
I have seen this first hand.
I'm not sure how far you got Harry but take this information into consideration.
Harry,
Sorry to hear about your situation. Hope everything comes out alright!
I agree with Jon, Smith Detroit/Allison owes you the entire cost of the repairs. Just my .02
Harry,
3 or 4 years ago I had the very same problem. I had a seal leaking and the mechanics never think you have leake enough gearoil to add any. It only took 9 miles before I siezed up and it took 5 days to get the correct axil. Needed the doctor with the big torch and it scared the crap out of me.
Good luck with the repairs. The initial repair facility covered all of the expenses.
I know you want to listen to Jon's infor on the leaks. Ya know, we're getting old enough to watch out for anal leakage.
Harry, have those professionals get you up and running by Tuesday or else. I was really looking forward to spending time with you and Shirely. I don't know how those knuckleheads can compensate a POG member from missing a POG Rally!
Harry,
Good luck, looking forward to meeting you. Have a dent SS rub rail for your demo. I was at Mira Loma this week and could of had all the dented rub rail we wanted. Some one hit a short pole and dinged up 3 sections.
We are at Seibt, the park is very different and was build with all the hookups on the wrong side of the coach. I saw something similar in the new Pony Express, Salt Lake City park. The power and sewer were 50' apart. They were digging it up and fixing the SL park.
Folks are arriving. It was great to meet Mike & Dee and to see Warren and Kelly again. I forgot how funny Warren is. This is going to be fun!
Alan Hann just registered for Pahrump which is great!
If you can attend we still have spots and want you here!
I talked with Kevin Erion last night who was doing a celebrity gig in Las Vegas. I begged him to drop by the rally. He gave me the "Do you know who I am?" line and said he might be able to grace us for a couple of hours. :D
Joe: Thanks for your comments and the info on axle surgeons. I will be contacting Smith on Monday morning and going over your suggestions and planning a plan for proceeding with the repairs. You offer so much experiance with your use of heavy equipment in your work. You are of real value to all of us and we thank you. Several of us look forward to meeting you and Debbie in the future. A future rally in your area should be planned so we all could meet you wonderful people. Thanks again for your advice. I hope every POG member learns something from our axle experiance.
Hey Jim,
How about some captions so we know who's the good looking busses belong to.
mm