Mountain Driving with 1995 42', 42,000 lb. Blue Bird

[Ron Thompson]

Leroy,

You are correct, this is an important issue. I will check that out if I can get
to it. Other wise I guess you could find the source of power and disconnect it.

I noticed yesterday in the area where my tool box is located and all the water
connections are with Sporlan valve is located that there is a small heater in
the rear in the water connections cubby hole. I was thinking that heater would
be a fire hazard with the right situation. Anyone know about that one. Its on
a 1995 BB 42'.

Ron Thompson
Waller, Texas
1995 Wide Body 42" BB
Detroit Diesel Series 60 470 HP
Kubota, 4 cylinder, 1681 cc.
Phone 936-931-2802 land line
cell..713-295-0119 Cingular

Leroy Eckert wrote: My
windows in the bedroom are the same way. I have lubed the track with limited
success. I keep a small sledge hammer in the bedroom jic.
I posted back in April a potential major source for fire. I have removed the
source from my bus. The freeze heaters on my coach burned a hole in the water
pipe under the night stand while in the infield at Talladega. The event did not
trip the circuit breaker. Flooded the bus also. I am glad the water was in the
line and the pump was on! Or??? The reason for the failure was two of the wires
were touching when they failed. That is not allowed per specifications. I still
do not know why they operated at 85 degrees. In any event, they are gone now.
With hydronic heat, there is no real reason to have them.
It is not easy to do and inspection of these wires as they are encased in
insulation covering the water pipes. However, if two of these wires are crossed
or get together from movement over the years the result is inevitable.
Kinda off the original subject but very important.

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
Niceville, FL
----- Original Message -----
From: Ron Thompson
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 7:01 AM
Subject: RE: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Mountain Driving with 1995 42', 42,000
lb. Blue Bird

Brad,

Man am I glad you jogged my memory about that bus fire during the Houston evac.
I remember seeing that thing burn too. What a tradgedy.

Yes, you are right about a fire on a coach being a serious matter. I was just
thinking about what I would do if I was in the bedroom and a fire broke out in
the galley. There is no door to get out. I tried the windows in the bedroom and
you would have to have a pry bar to get them open. I don't think they have ever
been open so they are stiff as hell. Going to have to lube them to get them
moving again. A little WD-40 will do wonders. I notice too that the window
latches are very difficult to release. One of the windows I had to go get a
screw driver to get the latch to release. All of the windows are stiff like
that. Is that a usual thing on these Blue Birds?

Thanks again Brad.

My best regards,

Ron Thompson
Waller, Texas
1995 Wide Body 42" BB
Detroit Diesel Series 60 470 HP
Kubota, 4 cylinder, 1681 cc.
Phone 936-931-2802 land line
cell..713-295-0119 Cingular

brad barton <bbartonwx@...> wrote:
Ron,
One more ramble and I'll quit.
Marty is right about heat. A dragging brake on a tour bus evacuating nursing
home patients from Hurricane Rita in Houston, blew out one time on I-45. The
driver didn't understand English, so he continued on after the tire was changed.
The brake heated up again even in stop and go traffic. The wheel became red hot
and caught the rear of the bus on fire. The driver failed to notice until
portable oxygen tanks used by the patients began exploding. The bus turned into
a crematorium for 24 of those patients. I'll never forget watching the bus
burning up live on TV. Also, I left my magnetic retarder on by mistake in
Flagstaff and nearly caught my 84 Bird on fire. I burned through the air line
that operated the driver's seat slide. Imagine smoke coming from under your
coach and you're struggling to get to the extinguisher with your seat next to
the doghouse. Fire on a motorcoach is almost as serious as fire on board an
airplane. Brad Barton 00LXiDFW
bbartonwx@...

To: WanderlodgeForum@...: martingregg598@...: Tue, 26
Jun 2007 00:32:18 +0000Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Mountain Driving with
1995 42', 42,000 lb. Blue Bird

Ron, if you have a Allison HT-755 five speed with a retarder, I have know
advice, if you have a 1995-42' you should have a Allison HD-4060 and a DD series
60 with a 3 position Jacobs engine brake. Jacobs's brakes close the valves and
turn the cylinder into a compressor creating braking horsepower, each position
adds more cylinders. I haven't driven a 95 in the mountains but I have driven
over a lot of the passes in the Cascades, Montana, Idaho and so on, but I can't
imagine that if your in the right gear at the right RPM that the engine brake
won't hold it back. For me with a less effective Pac Brake, it is 4th gear at 50
mph at about 2400 rpm's on a 6% or so, on a steeper grade it's 3 gear at 35-40
mph and I almost never have to use my air brakes. If I am in 4th and it starts
to run away, faster that I like, I use the brakes to get the coach down to the
speed that I can select the next lower gear. If the Jacobs brake doesn't hold
you back, maybe there is something wrong
with the Jacobs brake? As for the "Drum type" air brakes, if you have been on
the road for a time and the ambient temp. is hot, and If you ride the brakes for
a long period of time the drum can expand away from the shoe and you lose your
brakes. With some real bad luck you could heat the wheel up so hot that it heats
the tire up and blowout.Marty95 BMC 37Kennewick Wa

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