This will get some people stirred up

[bobofthenorth]

Think about it.  What if I got on one of your bike forums and said, I've decided to cut the front end off my Honda and just run with one wheel, cause I really think it would work better. Maybe I'll move my rear wheel forward to compensate for the loading.
Oh, and I popped a wheely and drove it for 500 miles and it seemed ok. It had a flat front tire when I bought it, so they weren't using that tire anyway.

In the future could you maybe post a warning before this kind of stuff. There's gonna be more than one keyboard get a bath from spewed coffee I think.

[kyle4501]

It is often difficult to fully express one's self on a flat media like this board.

However, to ask baited questions or make baited statements is in poor taste & the results are predictable (by anyone who remembers what they have read in the past.)

The quality of the response is in direct proportion to the quality of the question. A little background information goes a long way.
OSB, you claim to have so much experience, I won't directly dispute that, but the impression several got from reading your posts does not support your claim of experience.
When one goes belligerent when responses meet the quality of the question/ statement . . . . seems to tell something of ones self . . . even more telling when the belligerent one fails to see the response is of higher quality.


Lots of us know little if anything at all (How could anyone with even a single living brain cell end up with 6 derelict old buses?)  


BTW, if you haven't noticed by now, most busnuts are more of a 'show me" rather than a 'tell me' mentality.


OSB, your posting style is very similar to a few trolls of the past. Come in all hot & heavy, claim to have all the knowledge & experience they need, yet ask the most basic of questions in a way that demonstrates a lack of comprehension of the total system that makes a conversion.



If it looks like $hit & smells like $hit, most of us here are smart enough to walk around it.

However, it is rather amusing to watch a self professed expert pick up & taste it if you know what I mean.  

[HighTechRedneck]

A lot of good points have been made on both sides of the issue but also a lot of offending statements on both sides.  I see this thread heading down a bad road and am going to put a cool down lock on it.

OSB, I would put more faith in the knowledge of the people who are on this forum than on a whole staff of true bona fide engineers or crew of a top rated hot rod shop.  Not because they have the formal training or cutting edge techniques, but because of their experience and their concern for each other's safety and ability to enjoy their buses.  Personally, I would give careful consideration to the advice of the majority here and not do it.  But as has been said, take all the answers pro and con, consider it and then make your decision.  One thing is true, in a group of any size, there will be opposing opinions on anything and everything.

I do agree we are all more creatively conservative than we used to be. And at times that can be regretable.  Creativity and thinking outside of the box is good as long as it doesn't cause a safety hazzard.  But I also agree with the explanation posed earlier that everyone has watched a lot of very creative people launch their project and then give up the dream because they ran out of money, time, health, motivation or found too late that it wouldn't work.  Before the age of the forums, bus nuts didn't witness so many lost dreams because their field of view was much more localized.  Now we see the successes and at least to some degree become aware of the epic fails.  So as a lot, we are all much more cautious about major structural changes.

OSB, you joined a community whose members know each other better than in most forum communities.   Consequently, when new members arrive and jump right in, everyone would like to know more about them.   That took time for me to get used to as well.  But once people "know" you, it is one of the most family like communities I've ever found in an online forum.  And I do mean family.  There are indeed disagreements, irritations and moods.  But there is also closeness, helpfullness and commaraderie.  Even those who aren't best of friends, pull together to help each other and show their concern for one another.  Do a forum search on "Daniel McMurphy" or look back through the archives and you will see many cases of that concern and help.

While I wouldn't want to see anything as formally required as an introduction, I do think it is good when new members introduce themselves in their first post and share a little about their experience level.  That way they will avoid getting talked down to or have someone take for granted that they know how the fuel injectors work.

I encourage you to do what you want to do. As Clifford and others have said, it is your bus.  Do it your way.  Document it well and if works revel in the accomplishment.  If it doesn't work, publish that too so that others can learn if it doesn't work and maybe save someone else down the road from the same.

But I would also suggest that before you take it any long trips, stress test it.  Go to a big empty parking lot with speed bumps and run over several of them at 30 mph.  Do some tight turning in both directions.  Do a couple panic stops at 30mph.  If you can find a place to do it safely, try a panic stop from your planned highway speed.

Then go back to your shop, put it up on blocks or ramps and go under it with a very bright light looking very closely for issues with special attention to the engine rails, u-joints, and overall straightness of the bus.

Lastly, for future posts, I am 100% certain that you will get better responses if you avoid sarcasm, especially in the subject line.  If you honestly want feedback on an idea, express it that way and accept the responses yay or nay.  Then use what is helpful in your decision making process and go with it.  If you don't actually want feedback but just want to inform folks what you are going to do, post it that way and say "photos to follow and I'll let you guys know how it works out."