americancarriage.com

[jack14r]

on the american carriage web site on the home page it says that they offer triple and quad slide coaches.does anyone have any knowledge of anyone building a quad slide prevost?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jack Just spent the afternoon with a fellow who sells used conversions and has driven PLENTY. Says Country Coach put a 110mph speedo in , I think he said 99 and the 60 series in that camper would turn 2400rpm and it would go triple digits for sure. Not that I ever questioned it.

[Jeff Bayley]

I was just at American Carriage and had the misfortune of loosing 3 days watching them try to wire my coach up to pull the trailer the sold that I'm taking back to the east coast. I saw what the President described as the first ever quad slide converstion under construction. The appear to tear the coach apart quite a bit prior to reassembling it to their liking and while the workmanship seemed good, the owner was just too full of himself to ever earn my business.........but then again when how long will it be before I'm a 1.5 million dollar customer anyway I suppose.

[jack14r]

Joe,I would think that the ecu would not let the dd60 turn over2100-2200,but that must not be the case.I did the math and there is no way a coach with a 4.86 gear can run in the triple digits,but the 4.56 can if the dd60 will turn 2300-2400rpm.I am curious,have any on here driven an xl2 with the old suspension verses the new(50,500-54,500 GVWR)?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Ive not driven that. But as for your other question. When I read Jons reply about fertilizing his garden with your comments I too was curious and figured Id ask someone who might shed a little more lite on the subject. That is what I was told. The gearing referance was odd. Its the SMALLER the ratios the more up top, right? In any event When I asked the question " are there busses out there that will run 100 his responce was an immidiate one.

Just for the record although I've driven cars at those speeds I have never been that fast in anything else nor would I like to.

It would be fun to watch

[Just Plain Jeff]

I guess we are on the topic of driving speed.

As the resident nay-sayer about speed, here's my take on it.

Took a trip from Maine to Seattle a few years ago on a BMW 1200 RT which is a pretty fast and nimble motorcycle. In 2 1/2 weeks I put 7600 miles on it. At one point I was tooling around in northern Nevada where it was flat and open country and decided, "Hey, wonder what this puppy would do?"

At a buck and a quarter, there was plenty more left. At a buck thirty five she was still winding out. Do you have any idea of h-o-w f-a-s-t that really is on a motorcycle?

My V-Max was even faster. I got it to a buck and a half and it possibly could go faster.

Lemme say this: At a certain point, whether it's buses or bikes, the tiniest thing can go wrong and all that is left is paperwork. I am much younger than most of the posters here, I am sure of that, with lightning reflexes, but at certain speeds a bunny rabbit or a piece of debris can turn a nice day into a wet spot in the pavement.

IMHO a bus is a casual, slow-moving dinosaur and the pleasure of driving it is to get it down the road with the greatest comfort and ease. We've all seen the Super-Duper Type A guys rocketing down the left lane in the buses, perhaps because they can.

I think it's a dumb idea for me to pretend the Bonneville Salt Flats are on public highways in a bus, but then maybe I'm just getting old and crusty like some of the old geezers here.

Take your time and enjoy this beautiful country that we have and smell the roses.

Of course, I could be wrong.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Depending on the coach engine / transmission combination and the rear end gearing it is theoretically possible to see almost any top end speed.

As a practical matter however the lower the rear end gear ratio (as Joe points out is required for higher top end speeds) the less capable the engine is in overcoming the effects of the wind at high speeds. It takes a huge amount of our engine's power just to push the bus into the wind. That is why the slower speeds pay big dividends in fuel mileage.

I had my coach up to a fairly high speed on the way to Santa Fe at one point because we were driving around 70 or 72 and we encountered a long and reasonably steep downhill section. With the retarder off and my foot off the gas pedal the coach coasted up to about 84 momentarily. To maintain that speed however would have required my foot to be on the accelerator pedal almost all the way when on level ground, and the wind noise at that speed confirms just how hard the engine is working.

All of this totally ignores practical considerations such as how long the tires would last because I am sure the 75 MPH speed limit is established for heat dissipation, and I wonder if the engine cooling system can get rid of the heat generated by an engine runnning at maximum HP for an extended period.

[jack14r]

Joe, you are correct,the smaller the number the greater the speed at a given RPM.I drive a vintage stockcar in roadraces about 6-8 times a year,we go to Sebring,FL-Road Atlanta-Watkins Glen,NY-Nashville,TN-Virginia Interional Raceway-Daytona,FL-and some other small tracks,I carry a small Garmin GPS which will record the top speed I almost always see170+MPH and at Daytona because we do not have restrictor plates my car will top 195mph.In all honesty I am much more comfortable around 170 than 195.When I purchased my coach my friend who has owned a Vantari for several years,told me that I needed to change my driving style,I have made a lot of progress but I am not sure that I am 100% there yet.I like to feel as if I am a professional driver and that makes me slow down and think.The stopping distances will get the agressive drivers one day.Even though I have a CDL I am surprised at how easy the coach is to drive,mayabe this fact eludes to overconfidence and can take us to the scene of a wreck.Have a safe new year,got to go to the lake tonight with friends,back on tomorrow.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jack,

The problem with driving cars and then hopping into the bus is the perception of speed.

With cars you sit close to the road and your peripheral vision conveys to your brain the speed of the road surface immediately in front of the car.

The exact opposite of that is a plane at altitude never provides you with a sense of speed despite the fact you are going many times the speed of the car because you are a distance from the surface. The same holds true to an extent with the bus. Your eyes that were 3 feet from the surface are now 2 1/2 times that distance so at 65 MPH you don't get the same visual sensation of speed.

And you are exactly correct that it is the problem stopping that will eventually catch up to the speeders

[garyde]

On long journeys, my speed tends to increase at times into the 70,s but I prefer to stay under 70 MPH. One of the problems is that most traffic flow is much faster now, moving at 70 to 80 MPH. Except in California and even here on some hwy's, the 18 wheelers are clipping along at 70 to 80 MPH. While Caravaning to Santa Fe with the West Coast Gang, I was passed by a XLII Marathon going around 80 MPH on a up hill grade. I waved t him as he passed and noticed how reclined he was in his seat. Pretty casuall for that speed!