Aftermath of the breakdown

Well, it seems that had the first people had the time to service my bus like they were supposed to then I would not have been in the predicament I was because the leak in the transmission would likely have been spotted. It is what it is, however. When I got there I had a smoking back wheel. That was diagnosed as a sticking brake caliper which they fixed with PB Blaster 16 for which they charged $260 in total. I did buy a can of PB Blaster after for $3 in Walmart.

I broke down on the way back. To be more precise I’d found the bus was getting ever less revs out of the engine than before. That started just before I reached Orangeburg and then the revs reduced until I finally ground to a halt in St Mathews. That was 30 miles from home. I felt the tow truck took me on a slightly longer route to maximize mileage but perhaps that was the better route.

As can be seen, the route looks longer on the map but could well have been the better route. The tow truck driver on the phone wanted to know what size vehicle I had and I was afraid he was going to send a dinky little tow truck for a car. I impressed on him several times 32.5 feet long, 27,500lbs and that it was a bus. He turned up with the right tow truck though.

I had broken down just outside a church - 7615 Columbia Road to be precise. I’d been lucky in that it was possible to roll into a turn lane dedicated to the church. The steering without engine power was dreadfully heavy. I was lucky not to have air brakes as I could just keep rolling until I hit the brakes.

Anyway, I got towed to W W Williams in West Columbia. That’s not the closest repair shop but they did a good job. I could have had them fix the problem but I had them run over the whole bus diagnosing everything. It transpired I still had some fluid in the transmission - just not enough to get it to work properly. The problem was the front of the transmission had not been properly secured so the fluid had leaked out when it was under pressure. That made sense. So now I’ve had all the fluids changed and new filters in place. They didn’t do the air filter which says a lot for them. They looked and said it didn’t need doing. That’s a complete contrast to the sharks at car repair places where they tell you things need doing that do not. I didn’t know but I actually had a cabin air filter. They changed that too.

The bill came to $1,143 and change. I knew I was going to have to spend at least $700 on getting the bus serviced prior to this. It seems that the oil pan gasket probably doesn’t need changing. This is, of course, why I like to use a paid mechanic rather than a trade deal or a favor mechanic. I get a way better job done. I can honestly say I feel way happier now.

So, I spent $280 on getting the brake fixed, $525 on a tow truck, $1,143 on getting the problem solved and an overall checkover. I also spent $40 in total on Uber to get to and from my bus. Actually it wasn’t strictly Uber. It was a friend that drives for Uber and I called her and gave her money for her trouble and we didn’t put it through Uber. So, this weekend I’ve spent around $1,988 on bus related things. Now I know I’m good to go wherever. The next oil change will be September of 2019.

Having been through this I realise that these busses are built like tanks. They will take anything. The transmission was not damaged. Mind, as soon as the engine stalled and I coasted to a halt, I parked. Then I leapt out and checked under the hood. As the engine wasn’t overheating there was clearly plenty water. I checked the engine oil and that was fine. Transmission fluid - that was below the level on the dipstick. In fact I couldn’t see any so that was clearly the culprit.

I was happier to be stuck outside a church than I would have been in some areas. It was also pretty quiet and nothing much was passing on the road. If I’d been anywhere suspect, I’d have been sitting in the cab waiting for my tow with my 9mm ready to hand.

On another topic, I had an interesting query on my previous blog entry...

Enid VerdantSeptember 11, 2018 at 11:00 AMWell. I've been following you for years and never quite thought I'd see the day when you'd finally be able to take it camping. With what you know now, do you think your next project might be one your school district retires, with a known history and configuration you want (e.g. air brakes) and none of the hillbilly mess to undo

To answer that one, I don’t think I’ll be attempting another bus conversion in the foreseeable future. I learned an awful lot from doing this one and would definitely do the next one very differently. Air brakes (now that I understand them - which I didn’t before I learned to drive school busses) would definitely be something that interests me. Having said that I might instead go for a smaller bus or even a van for quick camping trips but tow it behind a bus. I’ve seen schoolbusses being delivered with a car being towed behind them. As for the school district I work for at the moment, they scrap all their retired busses. By the time they get to the end of their lives they’re mostly 30 years old and falling apart. Not all school bus drivers are as gentle on the busses as I am.

I will say right now that schoolbusses while very solid and well built have a higher operating cost:

1. My insurance is $245 every 6 months but I’m registered and insured as a private bus
2. Regular maintainance is going to be $800-$1000 a year.
3. Tyres are going to be $200 each approximately and you’ll need 6. The steer tyres you need brand new - no questions - every 7 years. The drive tyres you can get part worn but don’t get remolds. 
4. Keep sufficient in the bank in case of a breakdown. 
5. Remember diesel is cheaper than gasoline and gets you more to the gallon. Don’t faint though when you find the bus does 8-10mpg and has a 50, 75 or 100 gallon fuel tank. $20 of diesel at $3 a gallon will only get you 56 miles! 

While I was at Givhans Ferry I did have my Olympus camera with me. I didn’t stick to taking pictures with a cheap phone. I’ll now include those images.