Horn Honking

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Marc L said:
I did not know that the air brakes system had to be pressurised...
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I never knew, either - I found out when I worked for an auto body shop when I was 17. I was told to move a large truck across the shop so I jumped in, started her up, popped the clutch and off I went. Hit the brakes and....NOTHING! Eventually, I stopped - hard - about 2" from the back wall! Must be those back up springs Lou mentioned.

It's ironic because my father was a professional firefighter so I had seen those coiled hoses a million times as a kid...never bothered to ask what they were for. That day in the body shop, I finally figured it out.
 
Thinking about the horn honkers... Take down their ID and next time you are parked do a bit of unauthorized mod to their vehicle... Move the honkers inside where the driver can truly ENJOY 100db plus of noise when he presses the button..

(NO Do not do that,  Seriously, that is "Tampering which an automobile" and can get you in serious trouble but hey, sure sounds like justice to me)
 
Seems it would be easy to plumb in a small air tank with valves to have a way of getting a quick start with brakes.

http://www.amazon.com/BE-Pressure-Portable-Storage-125psi/dp/B001CYIOXS
 
I don't think I'd Jerry-rig something like that on our coach.
 
In a properly functioning air system, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get enough air pressure to release the brakes and safely move the coach.  If you have to rely on some external air supply, then you need to get your air system serviced as it's not working correctly.
 
Our air system has recently been serviced and I believe it's functioning correctly. I can bring the air up quicker by raising RPMs, but figure that would only annoy other campers further. The brakes would release before full air pressure is achieved, but I prefer to wait until both systems are up to working pressure before moving off.
 
The brakes would release before full air pressure is achieved, but I prefer to wait until both systems are up to working pressure before moving off.
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Of course, wait until both gauges indicate full and you hear the popoff valve fire.  Raising RPMs to 1000 isn't much above idle and can shorten the time, but not at 0700 :)  At 0900 I'm not as concerned.
 
Another air tank won't do much, there's already at least that much air storage in the existing reservoirs.

But an electric tankless compressor like Ernie and Ron M. have added to their Wanderlodges should be standard equipment on every diesel pusher, IMO.  Turn it on before you unhook from the electric pedestal and let it fill the system, then unplug, start the engine and drive off.    Much nicer for your neighbors than running the big engine for an equivalent amount of time.
 
It is better for your engine to idle at 1000 RPMs than 700 and the difference in sound isn't much. It is also better for your air bags to wait until the air pressure is all the way up to make sure that your bags are fully inflated and that all of the suspension parts are properly aligned before moving off.
 
1000 RPM is not idle speed, but understand what you're saying Bernie. I haven't stood outside the coach while Chris held the RPM above idle but, from inside, there's definitely more sound coming from the rear of the coach. OTOH when CAT techs come to our boat, they "idle" those big engines at the red line  ;D

We never move off unless/until the air pressure is all the way up, except for this one time  ;D
 
.... from inside, there's definitely more sound coming from the rear of the coach.
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Just for the record, today I had Chris idle the coach, then hold 1,000 RPM for a while, then back to idle. To my uncalibrated ear (I didn't have a sound meter), there was a significant increase in noise at 1,000 RPM. I was outside the coach, at the front entry door, and the exhaust is on the same side near the rear of the coach. The engine was warm (we'd just driven from home), but probably not up to full operating temperature. We were inside our covered storage, which is a huge barn with "open" bays (no dividing walls) and a high ceiling, with the barn door open.

Here endeth this unscientific test.
 
Tom,

The next time you start your coach try turning on the cruise and hit set. Many diesel coaches are programmed to increase idle to 1000rpm. It can be disconnected the same way as if in cruise on the highway.
 
Thanks Jim, I'll pass it along to the driver. I learned something new again today.
 
On mine, while idling, just move the cruise slide switch to the left and the engine RPM jumps up about 300 RPM. Tapping the brake releases it.
 
If the reason for letting the diesels idle so long in the morning is to build up air brake pressure that has leaked down during the stay, perhaps it would reduce the early moring noisy time if the operator ran the engine to top off their pressure tanks the night before leaving.
 
Since we typically don't leave until mid/late morning, I'd think that idling to raise air pressure before we leave would be less annoying to others than if we did it at night  ???

... build up air brake pressure that has leaked down during the stay ...
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Although a 'leak down' can be a reason to need to pump up, our coach manufacturer's recommended procedure for arrival/setup includes dumping air before extending jacks. Failure to do that can result in insufficient travel in the jack.
 
I agree that leaving late or mid morning would not be a noise issue. :)  When I said the night before, I was thinking before 9PM.  After 10 PM would be annoying too. 

Making noise late at night when coming into a campground is equally as annoying as early morning noise.  :-\
 
The old 20 year old one we have pumps the air pressure up to about 100 pounds pretty quickly, I need 60 psi for the brakes.  I haven't driven it much and need to read if I need to dump all air to use the levelers.

I often wondered too why people ran those things for an hour in the morning before leaving.  I think many start them, then start taking slides in, unhooking everything and then seem to just sit there awhile.  I haven't been bothered to much by the sound as generally since I had a smaller couch I was parked in a different area.  Now I figure I will get that pleasure also. I will try not to be a guilty party in doing this.  But you likely won't hear me, I'm not an early bird, I wonder out whenever.
 
We rarely leave a park before 10 AM.  If we leave a 9 AM we were really early.  It takes about 2 minutes to air up the system.

If I were to air up the night before, I might as well store the jacks, because the airing up of the air bags would take the coach out of level.

If people can't listen to 2 minutes of idling at 10 AM then SORRY....

Horn honking... Never.
 
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