Needed Repairs:
The last trip we took in the Good News Bus was to a lake about 3 hours away from us. While we were on our way there I notice that the bus seemed to be running a bit hot. I would have too slow down and then the temp would drop. Any hill that we climbed also caused the bus to over heat. I was able to get to the lake without the temperature getting to high. While at the lake and surrounding areas we shot some film for our "Bus Life with 9" episode that is now available for viewing on YouTube. On the way home the bus once again was running hot. Knowing that we were about to embark and a great adventure with the Good News Bus traversing many miles of good 'ol US country side, I decided that I should take the bus in for a check up. So just two days ago I drove it to my local International dealer to have the issue diagnosed. My first gut feeling was that it was just the thermostat but after speaking with a tech they said that it could possibly be that the fan clutch was not engaging. After diagnostics both turned out to be true. The fan clutch is triggered by heat coming from the coolant. Evidently the thermostat was stuck partially open and was not allowing enough hot coolant past to both cool the bus and engage the cooling fan. So in the end all that the bus needed was a thermostat. The thermostat opens at 180 degrees. The temperature of the bus not sits at about 200 degrees while on the highway. So it appears that the Good News Bus is once again road worthy. The last week we have been making preparations. We purchased a car hauler trailer to haul our 2001 Mercedes E320 Wagon. I mounted some tool boxes on the trailer so I can bring my tools with me. Julie (my wife) and many of the kids have been busy making the bus into a warm cozy home for our trip and our stay. We are very excited about the upcoming trip.
Up Coming Videos:
We have received great feedback regarding our "Bus Life with 9" video. At the time of writing this it is averaging 250 views every 48 hours. It has been up for only a month and has already garnered over 5,000 views, 148 likes and 35 comments. If you have not seen the video yet just click HERE to view it and let us know what you think.
In the coming week the Good News Bus will get a new propane heater. We will be filming the install of the Atwood AFMD30 30,000 BTU Ducted Propane Heater. Here is some info on the heater.
- 30,000 BTUs
- 12V
- LP / Propane
- 7.5 Amps / 90 watts
- 16.5"W x 7"H x 20"D
More updates to follow soon!
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