Sad Safety Reminder

[Pete Masterson]

I believe the shocks where stopping the droop of the axles, so the stress wasn't on the air bags -- From what I could see, they were not over-extended. This may not be true on older coaches -- but it appeared to be the case on my '95. Indeed, on some modestly sloping camp sites, the leveling jacks will bring the wheels completely off the ground, so BB must have engineered the suspension to allow for that.

CCW in Riverside does not have pits -- I'm told they're looking for a new location (for the complete facility) as they've outgrown the area they have, so they're not investing anything extra in the facilities they have beyond basic necesities.

When the wanted to do a full examination of the underside (and wash the bottom of the engine, etc.) they used 6 "wheel jacks" -- huge hydraulic jacks that cradle each tire and raise up the coach (controlled by a computer that keeps them all moving together). It was an amazing thing to see. (I saw several busses raised up with the things while I was there.)

However, for some aspects of the service, the work was done next to the "Blue Bird" section of the CCW facility. For example, the air dryer was removed (to be rebuilt) with the coach slightly raised to let the technicians roll under the coach on creepers. I think the technicians would be very happy to have a service pit -- and perhaps one will be made available in the future when CCW finds, builds, and moves to a new facility.

When I was at Henderson's Line-Up in Grants Pass Oregon -- seeing how they worked on the coach from their pit made it very clear what an advantage it was. To tell the truth, I wish I had room for a pit for the maintenance items I handle (but that's far from likely to ever happen).

Pete Masterson

'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42

El Sobrante CA

"aeonix1@mac.com"

On Jun 9, 2008, at 5:28 PM, David Brady wrote:

This may not be true for all Wanderlodges, (I think it is), but
on my LXi the shocks will stop the drooping axles before the
air bags, thereby eliminating load on the air bags. I called Koni
and Justin assured me that each shock can handle 8500 lb of
dead load (tension) in this static configuration; consequently,
there's no risk of damaging a shock.

David Brady
'02 LXi, NC

bumpersbird wrote:

Pete,

I've seen some shops use the technique of using blocks under the
jacks to get the wheels off the ground and to get the coach in the
air. I may be wrong but I think their is an issue of the air bags
being strained beyond thier extension limits.

Don't get me wrong I've had the wheels off the ground via the jacks
several times, but I don't like to do it and I think it could easily
damage the coach.

I would suggest a pit or a lift for the safest way for working under
anything.

Sometimes we take safty for granted, we think we know what what were
doing, most of us have spent a lot of time working on our coaches and
we know them intimatly. She can and will bite, if you don't mind her.
You just can't be too careful.

Kurt Horvath
95 PT-42
Fayetteville TN

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