We’re prepping the Big Green Bus for another adventure. I take this prep work seriously because it’s routine that helps my mindset before we embark on much of anything, settling me into what needs more attention before departure. Whether it was my search and rescue gear, our 51-ft sailboat or moving the Big Green Bus from place to place, I think that preventative maintenance and service checks are key to keeping things less dramatic. I admit that I have not always been very good at these. But years on a cruising sailboat outside the US definitely woke me up to how important it is to take a close look at the systems before and during operation, just to establish a mechanical baseline and ensure the engine has fluids and seems normal. So I do this every time I’m going to move the bus now, no matter what. I can tell you about the very cold mornings in February/March/April when we were touring the US when I didn’t want to get out of the bus and do these checks, but those things proved their own importance. The engine inside the Big Green Bus is a Cat C-7 diesel pusher, capable of running and performing for over a million miles if cared for….so we care for it. With a complete professional service check and repairs in February at a licensed and highly reputable service center and careful service checks before and during bus operation, I think we’ve done a decent job of prep for fun with the Big Green Bus.
This morning was no different. We wanted to move the bus to get the tires rotated and get the bus topped off with diesel, so I checked the engine by sight and feel carefully. No leaks, the belts were tight and there was no signs of cracking. In the picture above, you’ll see the three arrows I put in there, but didn’t label. The arrows point to the coolant sight glass (used to check coolant levels), the engine oil dipstick (which you can’t see) and the shorter dipstick to the check the power steering fluid. Only after those checks do I fire up the engine. And on a bus, you need to wait to make sure the air brakes fill, you can’t just take off. Heat and cold do could affect the time it takes to fill those air brakes.
Then we went through the macinations of actually getting the bus moved out of it’s summer parking spot so we could go get fuel. This wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
Then we got the bus home…but not back into her summer spot. Since she’s headed to adventure next week, we just backed her into the driveway so it will be easy to get her out again and get a power cord to her and now we’ll get her prepped. I’ve already checked her fluids, checked her propane, we’ve topped off her fuel and we’ll do some light cleaning as we prep for departure.
Nuff said about all that. Wanna check out the Big Green Bus adventure next week? Make sure to FOLLOW our website or just check our posts out next week. And, Kids Corner used to be published on Friday’s but the kids no longer want to write, so I’ll occasionally publish stories on Fridays.
Parting Shot:
We live in a small town. As we were fueling the Big Green Bus, a friend was across the street and texted this picture to someone else, asking if this was our bus. We didn’t know he had taken the pic until it was sent to us later in the day. Love our town!!
Last Call:
