I bought a coach!

Buys shed loads of new tools, removes seats with old socket set :D

Looking good, have you got storage for deliveries and bits you remove and need to put back in?

Oh and subbed to your YT channel!
 
wonder_lander said:
Buys shed loads of new tools, removes seats with old socket set :D

Looking good, have you got storage for deliveries and bits you remove and need to put back in?

Oh and subbed to your YT channel!
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Yeah I realised hammers and abuse were gonna be involved, so why not abuse a Halfords professional toolkit :D

You will be pleased to know that the new kit is receiving some use, and I did use the New Makita LXT Impact wrenches ;)

Thanks for the Sub, likely to be Furloughed from the 24th so activity will recommence then :D

With regards to storage, I have some huge lockers underneath that will suffice for now, but may rent a shipping container when I move to the new site.
 
BMS for my lifepo4 storage battery has arrived from China, will be using 16x 500AH prismatic cells for around 25kwh



Will be paired with a Victron Multiplus 24v 5000Kva inverter and 2400w of Solar.
 
Dr Who said:
BMS for my lifepo4 storage battery has arrived from China, will be using 16x 500AH prismatic cells for around 25kwh



Will be paired with a Victron Multiplus 24v 5000Kva inverter and 2400w of Solar.
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I recon GPU's will look very similar to this soon enough. :D
 
@Dr Who I probably don't need to tell you this but as I have experience I'm going to anyway.

Having noticed the headlight units on your coach, make sure you buy the absolute best bulbs. We had those units on some of our older fleet buses and the light output was beyond shocking with the cheap bulbs the company bought.
 
Resident said:
@Dr Who I probably don't need to tell you this but as I have experience I'm going to anyway.

Having noticed the headlight units on your coach, make sure you buy the absolute best bulbs. We had those units on some of our older fleet buses and the light output was beyond shocking with the cheap bulbs the company bought.
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I am fitting a Van Hool HID Upgrade and a light bar so should be fine. I hate poor headlights and with lighting it is definitely buy cheap, buy twice. Some of our Buses have super cheap bulbs and they are awful.

http://www.carlylebusandcoach.com/w...trical-Catalogue-Update-WEB-Low-Res-Nov-2.pdf
 
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Dr Who said:
I am fitting a Van Hool HID Upgrade and a light bar so should be fine. I hate poor headlights and with lighting it is definitely buy cheap, buy twice. Some of our Buses have super cheap bulbs and they are awful.

http://www.carlylebusandcoach.com/w...trical-Catalogue-Update-WEB-Low-Res-Nov-2.pdf
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Good stuff.

Yeah, some of our buses are fitted with the cheapest H7 halogens they could possibly find. Even the LED DRLs are brighter so if I'm driving a dark estate route I turn the headlights off and just have sides and DRLs on. Technically I'm not supposed to but I'd argue the safety aspect.

You'd think a company who runs a number of rural routes would think to invest in good bulbs for safety. ...
 
Resident said:
Good stuff.

Yeah, some of our buses are fitted with the cheapest H7 halogens they could possibly find. Even the LED DRLs are brighter so if I'm driving a dark estate route I turn the headlights off and just have sides and DRLs on. Technically I'm not supposed to but I'd argue the safety aspect.

You'd think a company who runs a number of rural routes would think to invest in good bulbs for safety. ...
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They never invest in safety as they can always blame the driver :rolleyes:

My Depot isn't too bad as we only drive rural so they generally replace dim bulbs quickly but one of our main depots just fits cheapo garbage. The HID upgrade units are expensive but they are OEM fitment so no legality problems.
 
Dr Who said:
They never invest in safety as they can always blame the driver :rolleyes:

My Depot isn't too bad as we only drive rural so they generally replace dim bulbs quickly but one of our main depots just fits cheapo garbage. The HID upgrade units are expensive but they are OEM fitment so no legality problems.
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The very same here. If you're in a situation and you call for advice they just say 'it's your decision' and then moan like hell when you refuse to continue.
 
Resident said:
The very same here. If you're in a situation and you call for advice they just say 'it's your decision' and then moan like hell when you refuse to continue.
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lmao Yeah that sounds very familiar. They moan at me when I keep taking buses off the road for Emissions Derate, because others drive them. Emissions = MOT Failure = PG9 afaiac and with the hills on my routes 10mph is dangerous for other road users with all the morons overtaking me on double whites! Suicidal Impatience is one of the main reasons for RTA's in my opinion.
 
Dr Who said:
lmao Yeah that sounds very familiar. They moan at me when I keep taking buses off the road for Emissions Derate, because others drive them. Emissions = MOT Failure = PG9 afaiac and with the hills on my routes 10mph is dangerous for other road users with all the morons overtaking me on double whites! Suicidal Impatience is one of the main reasons for RTA's in my opinion.
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I've had a few near misses with muppets trying to overtake as I've moved off.

Even had a skip truck try to over take me on a roundabout to beat me to the exit. He goes to court in about 2 weeks.
 
Resident said:
I've had a few near misses with muppets trying to overtake as I've moved off.

Even had a skip truck try to over take me on a roundabout to beat me to the exit. He goes to court in about 2 weeks.
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I have to say, driving a bus has made me a much safer driver all round, it gives you almost a sixth sense about morons and what they might do, stuff I could never predict before!
 
Dr Who said:
I have to say, driving a bus has made me a much safer driver all round, it gives you almost a sixth sense about morons and what they might do, stuff I could never predict before!
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Not to blow my own trumpet but I sorta already had some skill in that.

I passed my PCV with 3 minors after only 12hrs of driver training (don't worry there was 3 weeks more afterwards)
 
Dr Who said:
I have to say, driving a bus has made me a much safer driver all round, it gives you almost a sixth sense about morons and what they might do, stuff I could never predict before!
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Now go ride a motorcycle for a week too, it'll change the way you drive again.
 
Diddums said:
Now go ride a motorcycle for a week too, it'll change the way you drive again.
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I have previously for about 7 months then had enough. Not just 4 wheel drivers though, there were many seat-sniffers on 2 wheels too. One nearly took me out. Blind bend, wrong side of the road (right bend for him) thinking he was Valentino. ..
 
Diddums said:
Now go ride a motorcycle for a week too, it'll change the way you drive again.
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Only non-bus driving motorcyclists would say that ;)

As a motorcyclist of 30 years+ and a cyclist for 40+ years, I can safely say you don't have to deal with morons as much as you do on a bus. Even having to brake harshly can injure someone, at least as a cyclist/motorcyclist you get some respect from other road users (usually weekend cyclists/motorcyclists themselves), Bus Drivers get utter contempt from everyone as only Bus Drivers would want to drive a bus at the weekend :D
 
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