Wanderlodge Gurus - The Member Funded Wanderlodge Forum

How long did Wanderlodge (and Bluebird?) use copper tubing for air
and fuel lines?

Is there a problem with the copper tubing cracking and becoming a
safety hazard?

I have someone trying to tell me that my 'lodge is unsafe because it
has these copper lines, he's telling me that most truck
manufacturers switched over to plastic lines in the early 80's
because of stress fractures in the copper lines. I think that he is
full of **it, as he has proven to be so in the past.

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks,

Tim Hannink
Winter Park, FL
1981 FC-33SB

BTW, we will be headed north on I-95 to Darlington this evening,
flash your lights if you see me:>)

in all my years of working on birds and talking to people that work on birds
i've never,ever heard of a copper line problem,unless it was a water line that
froze. ohh,i take that back,i did have a copper air line split on an 84pt40.it
was a short line and i replaced it with plastic.copper seems fine to me,i've
also replaced plastic lines on trucks that leaked.its not a perfect
world...randydupree93wbinfl
----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Hannink
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 11:36 AM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Copper air and fuel lines?


How long did Wanderlodge (and Bluebird?) use copper tubing for air
and fuel lines?

Is there a problem with the copper tubing cracking and becoming a
safety hazard?

I have someone trying to tell me that my 'lodge is unsafe because it
has these copper lines, he's telling me that most truck
manufacturers switched over to plastic lines in the early 80's
because of stress fractures in the copper lines. I think that he is
full of **it, as he has proven to be so in the past.

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks,

Tim Hannink
Winter Park, FL
1981 FC-33SB

BTW, we will be headed north on I-95 to Darlington this evening,
flash your lights if you see me:>)







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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Tim,

Can't say for sure when BB used the copper lines but GM used copper
lines on all their buses which had millions of miles on them. I have a
'62 GM that still has copper in it. I changed some of the lines to
plastic because of the ease of working with it as well as the lesser
cost. I will bet that the manufacturers did the same. I have seen
the plastic used even as hydraulic lines on some conversions and it
lasted longer than the copper.

Copper, if not properly supported and if allowed to flex will become
annealed or work hardened and then tends to crack. Have learned that
the hard way.

With labor prices much more than plastic material and the copper
prices so out of sight, it makes economical sense to use the plastic
whenever possible.

Back in the eighties the copper prices were extremely volatile. When I
would go to a supplier for a quote on a copper product, be it wire or
pipe, the best they would guarantee a quote was up to 5 pm of that
day. I would try to second guess by adding more and many times by the
time the contract was let, the prices had risen so much that I was
losing money. I would not be surprised that the vehicle manufacturers
found the same thing.

As to being a hazard, I doubt it. My old GM coach probably has more
miles on it than any Bluebird WL and I have found no problem...

George Lowry
"95 WBDA 4203 & GM 4106 (for sale)
Spearfish, SD

Tim Hannink wrote:

> How long did Wanderlodge (and Bluebird?) use copper tubing for air
> and fuel lines?
>
> Is there a problem with the copper tubing cracking and becoming a
> safety hazard?
>
> I have someone trying to tell me that my 'lodge is unsafe because it
> has these copper lines, he's telling me that most truck
> manufacturers switched over to plastic lines in the early 80's
> because of stress fractures in the copper lines. I think that he is
> full of **it, as he has proven to be so in the past.
>
> Any info would be helpful.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tim Hannink
> Winter Park, FL
> 1981 FC-33SB
>
> BTW, we will be headed north on I-95 to Darlington this evening,
> flash your lights if you see me:>)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Most manufacturers changed to plastic air lines because: a) it is
cheaper and b) it is lighter.

Copper is still used for LP in many applications but it is rare in
water, diesel, air.

- Jeff Miller
http://www.wanderlodge.net
http://www.millercoachworks.com


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Tim Hannink"
wrote:
> How long did Wanderlodge (and Bluebird?) use copper tubing for air
> and fuel lines?
>
> Is there a problem with the copper tubing cracking and becoming a
> safety hazard?
>
> I have someone trying to tell me that my 'lodge is unsafe because
it
> has these copper lines, he's telling me that most truck
> manufacturers switched over to plastic lines in the early 80's
> because of stress fractures in the copper lines. I think that he is
> full of **it, as he has proven to be so in the past.
>
> Any info would be helpful.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tim Hannink
> Winter Park, FL
> 1981 FC-33SB
>
> BTW, we will be headed north on I-95 to Darlington this evening,
> flash your lights if you see me:>)

Jeff:
I thought that copper was not to be used in LP systems due to some sort of
corrosion problem??

Bill

Jeff Miller wrote:
Most manufacturers changed to plastic air lines because: a) it is
cheaper and b) it is lighter.

Copper is still used for LP in many applications but it is rare in
water, diesel, air.

- Jeff Miller
http://www.wanderlodge.net
http://www.millercoachworks.com


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Bill,

I'm not Jeff - but from what I learned in my days as a contractor,
copper cannot be used for natural gas but can be used for LP. The
natural gas is more corrosive, I guess.

George Lowry
'95 WBDA 4203 & GM 4106 (for sale)
Spearfish, SD

Wilhelmus Schreurs wrote:

> Jeff:
> I thought that copper was not to be used in LP systems due to some sort of
corrosion problem??
>
> Bill
>
> Jeff Miller wrote:
> Most manufacturers changed to plastic air lines because: a) it is
> cheaper and b) it is lighter.
>
> Copper is still used for LP in many applications but it is rare in
> water, diesel, air.
>
> - Jeff Miller
> http://www.wanderlodge.net
> http://www.millercoachworks.com
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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> To visit your group on the web, go to:
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> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Post your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals
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>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Bill copper is regularly used for LP lines.

tom
1982 FC35
Vernon Center,NY

At 10:07 PM 5/4/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>Jeff:
>I thought that copper was not to be used in LP systems due to some sort of
>corrosion problem??
>
>Bill
>
>Jeff Miller wrote:
>Most manufacturers changed to plastic air lines because: a) it is
>cheaper and b) it is lighter.
>
>Copper is still used for LP in many applications but it is rare in
>water, diesel, air.
>
>- Jeff Miller
>http://www.wanderlodge.net
>http://www.millercoachworks.com
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
><http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WanderlodgeForum/>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/\
WanderlodgeForum/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>WanderlodgeForum-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>
>
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>Post your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals
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>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Tim Hannink"
wrote:
> How long did Wanderlodge (and Bluebird?) use copper tubing for air
> and fuel lines?
>
> Is there a problem with the copper tubing cracking and becoming a
> safety hazard?
>
> I have someone trying to tell me that my 'lodge is unsafe because
..............
>
>
> Let's see now--yours has been safe for 24 years now--yep, one of
those lines may break in 50 or 60 years!

Jim