Badlands

[ajhaig]

We drove through the Badlands today... There are some hills that seem to go straight up.

Are there any tips to climbing steep hills?

Thanks.

[ajhaig]

This place is great... not that busy off-season!

[dalej]

isn't that a nice park! Tom, Nancy, Bill and Jody stayed there in August. we were in the executive suite behind B&J bus.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

AJ as for steep hills, you dont want to attack them with your foot planted to the floor. Back off the throttle, just a bit, and let it pull at a little bit less drastic condition.

It will love you for it.

[dalej]

AJ, when I run our bus in the hills, it seem I'm watching the tach. On mine when it starts pulling down to 1500 rpm I manualy shift down to 4th and then when it's down to 1500 rpm again down to 3rd and so on......going up when it hits 2000 rpm I start shifting up.

As Joe said, I don't run my pedal all the way down when the rpm gauge starts pulling down, seems there is a area of the throtle that just doesn't help much but just heats the engine.

You can find that spot when you are pulling a 5 degree or so hill, the bus holds rpms when your throtle is in the right place. Once you find it you'll remember.

[truk4u]

AJ,

I suggested we do a Rally there some day, great place. Still think Sept 08 would be a good time for a National at Elkhorn.

[Loc]

AJ,

You are right about the Badlands having some short but steep hills. We drove through there several years ago and made the mistake of stopping in a couple of the pullouts that were on a steep incline.

What I found works best in our bus when climbing steep hills is exactly what Dale said. Try to keep the rpms around 1800 with downshifts around 1500. I watch the pyrometers and try to keep them around 900 degrees. Running with this range of rpm and pyro temperature tends to keep the the engine temperature pretty steady when climbing. I also found that if I am starting from a dead stop on a steep incline, our bus works best if I use a very light foot until it builds up a little speed. If I punch the accelerator it tends to not climb any better, but really heats up the transmission until it shifts out of first. While you may not be the fastest guy up the hill, the wear and tear on your bus will be significantly lessened. Additionally, if you have bus air, turn it off on climbs - it takes a signifiant amount of horsepower from the engine.

[win42]

AJ: You may not be experiancing any long steep downhills but out west we have many. First you have to maintain a safe speed all the way down the hill. Lower the transmission gears to one that represents the grade and desired speed. Use the transmission retarder keeping an eye on the Transmission Oil Temperature guage. When it climbs toward 300 deg. use more of your brake to help it. Brakes should be applied using steady constant pressure. Do not pump them off and on, this causes them to overheat. Don't be influenced by drivers following you trying to force you faster. You are not driving a Porche, but a 50,000# bus that needs to maintain a controlled speed.
If you are able to visit Mt. Rushmore in your travels you can drive past the front of the visitors center and park the bus to the left. It's one of our favorite sights. We were towing when we visited. Enjoy the trip and we'll see you in Branson.

[truk4u]

Harry,

Can't park anywhere at Mt Rushmore now except the parking lot. They have blocked off all pull overs and will ticket anyone stoping just to take a picture. We couldn't even pull over with the Harleys while visiting Keystone with Bill and Jody.

[win42]

Truk: That's really a shame they can't allow a simple visit like we made. It may be during peak summer seasons they have bigger crowds and can't cope with what we were allowed to do. We travel on off seasons and our visit was in the afternoon during donut break I guess. Thanks for the warning.