Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 29,970
- Display Name
Display name:
iFlyNothing
Random thought of the day - I'd rather take a ride in your bus than in either of the two current US spacecraft, let alone any from any other country.
I appreciate the vote of confidence.
Re the air leaks, it would be cool if it were possible to fill the air systems up with orange smoke and fix all the leaks at once. And if anyone working at a spacecraft company uses that idea, I expect a coupon for a steak dinner at my choice of eatery.
I'd imagine you could do something like that. I have a couple of known air leaks that I just haven't gotten around to, which are on the auxiliary side. When I first got the bus, it leaked fast enough that it wouldn't pass a DOT check if I ever got stopped. Of course, I don't think RVs normally get that treatment, but that rule is there for a reason.
Now, while it's not the best sealed system in the world, I've had it in the shop with the air suspension at max for a month. The right rear will bleed down after a few days like this, but the left rear and the front are still aired up. For all I know, these couple of air leaks I've found and am addressing may fix that - we'll see. The front and rear air tanks will hold air overnight, going down from 120 PSI to about 75-80. I've seen them go a few days before emptying altogether.
With an air system, "some seepage is normal". But ideally my goal is that the air suspension won't bleed down, at least not quickly enough to require regular adjustments.
All this talk of the air system reminds me. Another thing I did was replace the air dryer filter. To do that, I had to empty the air system (which I'd filled up to raise that one corner that goes down so I could put my jack stands under the bus). I then needed to empty the air out to remove the air dryer filter, so I drained several of the tanks (which was due anyway). The "wet tank", which is the tank directly off the air compressor, had basically no liquid in it at all. Previously (before replacing the air compressor) it would have an oily-watery gunk in it. I already knew the air compressor was bad and needed replaced, but it's nice to see that cleared things up. I'm pretty sure that air dryer cartridge had gotten clogged up after the only 10,000 miles or so it had on it because of that, so I expect I'll see the air system fill up quicker.