Sad Safety Reminder

[bubblerboy64]

I think you are entirely correct about the pits. I use a quick
change oil place to have the oil in my cars changed. They have a pit
which you drive over. It's situated in a garage with a garage door in
front of and in back of the pit (drive thru). I noticed it was their
practice to have the customer drive into (and therefore over) the pit
and then exit the car to wait in the waiting room while the oil was
changed. The problem being that with an average length or short car
the customer if he walked around the back of his car as would be your
typical path to get to the waiting room he was exposed to the very
real chance of falling into the pit. I saw this situation and told
the owner he was absolutely NUTS to operate this way. I don't know
if it was my effort or not but I noticed the next time I was thru
there they had covered the back part of the pit so that a person
would have to go under the car in order to hit the pit. It would
worry me a lot to have a pit on my property. If it wasn't covered it
would fill with water and what ever. I guess for some it's a good
option but for the average guy I think you are better off farming out
the work that requires a pit to do the work. Lets face the reality
of this stuff. If you can afford to own and fuel one of these things
cash can't be that tight to risk your life. I think some of our
problems are (well I know they are) that we don't want to admit to
our limitations and especially as we age. Age can bring experience
and good judgment but it also can bring a stubborn attitude that "I
can still do this".
John Heckman
central Pa
1973 FC




>
> PIts are wonderful to work in. They are also a huge liability as
falling into one can be lethal. Building codes in many areas do not
allow them.
>
> Pete
>
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: Pete Masterson
> > I believe the shocks where stopping the droop of the axles, so
the
> > stress wasn't on the air bags -- From what I could see, they were
not
> > over-extended. This may not be true on older coaches -- but it
> > appeared to be the case on my '95. Indeed, on some modestly
sloping
> > camp sites, the leveling jacks will bring the wheels completely
off
> > the ground, so BB must have engineered the suspension to allow
for that.
> >
> > CCW in Riverside does not have pits -- I'm told they're looking
for a
> > new location (for the complete facility) as they've outgrown the
area
> > they have, so they're not investing anything extra in the
facilities
> > they have beyond basic necesities.
> >
> > When the wanted to do a full examination of the underside (and
wash
> > the bottom of the engine, etc.) they used 6 "wheel jacks" --
huge
> > hydraulic jacks that cradle each tire and raise up the coach
> > (controlled by a computer that keeps them all moving together).
It
> > was an amazing thing to see. (I saw several busses raised up with
the
> > things while I was there.)
> >
> > However, for some aspects of the service, the work was done next
to
> > the "Blue Bird" section of the CCW facility. For example, the
air
> > dryer was removed (to be rebuilt) with the coach slightly raised
to
> > let the technicians roll under the coach on creepers. I think
the
> > technicians would be very happy to have a service pit -- and
perhaps
> > one will be made available in the future when CCW finds, builds,
and
> > moves to a new facility.
> >
> > When I was at Henderson's Line-Up in Grants Pass Oregon -- seeing
how
> > they worked on the coach from their pit made it very clear what
an
> > advantage it was. To tell the truth, I wish I had room for a pit
for
> > the maintenance items I handle (but that's far from likely to
ever
> > happen).
> >
> > Pete Masterson
> > '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
> > El Sobrante CA
> > aeonix1@...
> >
> >
> >
> > On Jun 9, 2008, at 5:28 PM, David Brady wrote:
> >
> > > This may not be true for all Wanderlodges, (I think it is), but
> > > on my LXi the shocks will stop the drooping axles before the
> > > air bags, thereby eliminating load on the air bags. I called
Koni
> > > and Justin assured me that each shock can handle 8500 lb of
> > > dead load (tension) in this static configuration; consequently,
> > > there's no risk of damaging a shock.
> > >
> > > David Brady
> > > '02 LXi, NC
> > >
> > > bumpersbird wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Pete,
> > >>
> > >> I've seen some shops use the technique of using blocks under
the
> > >> jacks to get the wheels off the ground and to get the coach in
the
> > >> air. I may be wrong but I think their is an issue of the air
bags
> > >> being strained beyond thier extension limits.
> > >>
> > >> Don't get me wrong I've had the wheels off the ground via the
jacks
> > >> several times, but I don't like to do it and I think it could
easily
> > >> damage the coach.
> > >>
> > >> I would suggest a pit or a lift for the safest way for working
under
> > >> anything.
> > >>
> > >> Sometimes we take safty for granted, we think we know what
what were
> > >> doing, most of us have spent a lot of time working on our
coaches and
> > >> we know them intimatly. She can and will bite, if you don't
mind her.
> > >> You just can't be too careful.
> > >>
> > >> Kurt Horvath
> > >> 95 PT-42
> > >> Fayetteville TN
> > >>
> > > <snip>
> > >
> >
>