The alternator went out AGAIN on Millicent, on its first short trip of the season, in late May.
Last year, she didn't even begin that trip before we treated her to a new fuel pump.
So I figure this is a good time to remind skoolie owners that The Event is approaching and you ought to take the beast on a shake down cruise.
Obviously, you ought to also perform all normal maintenance.
Allison automatic transmissions hate dirty fluid. TranSynd fluid is expensive, but highly recommended.
Even if you don't change the fluid, change the external filter.
Allisons also hate heat.
The transmission is cooled by the radiator. That is, the transmission fluid is cooled by the radiator water. So the condition of the radiator is doubly important.
Here is
a trick that really works, assuming your skoolie has an electric fan clutch -- and most do. (I may have mentioned this earlier.) With an electric fan clutch, you can run wires to a switch in the cab and turn the fan on at will. Install that switch.
When I did, kind'a on principle, I discovered that... by starting the fan at the first notion of an up-hill, I kept the transmission much cooler the whole way up.
This is because the transmission is cooled by the water coming out of the bottom of the radiator. And the switch lets you "supercool" that water.
Never mind the engine. It has a thermostat on top and takes care of its own temperature-regulation. (Assuming the radiator is in good condition.)
Back to the alternator. Millicent has a Delco CS-130 alternator. This is a passenger car alternator, and a notorious one. The rear bearing is especially prone to failure. That's what happened the first time on Millicent. This time, it quit charging.
Although it is a CS-130, you cannot grab the CS-130 off a car, because the housings -- the mounting ears -- are different on the commercial version. I just ordered one, and it takes a week to get it from the opposite coast.
So if you get the idea that you might want to replace it BEFORE it fails....
Yeah, buddy.
Better yet, upgrade to a better unit.
Albatross -- my new bus --
has a Delco 22SI. Larger size and more amps, but most important... more durable.
Again, no grabbing one off a car. And you will need the brackets that mount it to the engine, since they are different to go with the larger size of the unit.
But yeah, Buddy-O.
Regardless.... A brand new alternator is a lovely travel companion. Belt too.
When I bought
Albatross, one of the tires lasted all of 20 miles from the dealer. The entire cap peeled off.
Recapped tires are OK -- from a reputable source. We routinely used recaps on a fleet of over 200 18-wheelers, and they served very well.
But tires die of sheer age. Learn to read the date code. You can easily google that info.
Ben, a neighbor of mine, just bought a skoolie, cheap. It has tires going back to 1996. One of them has a patch on a sidewall. He thinks he is going to drive it to Guatemala like that.
Do you know why farms and ranches across the country so often have broken wagon wheels for gate posts or decoration? That's where the wheel broke when great-great-grand-pa and family were headed for California, so that's where they settled.
Welcome to Bakersfield, Ben.
Hey! We're going to Burning Man!
Let's try to get all the way there.
