Here we sit at the Flying Jay truckstop........
Friday, April 15, 2005
Monday, April 04, 2005
The Great Veggie oil Conversion......
After almost a week of hard work we have finally completed our engine conversion. We actually completed it days ago but it would not run,due to air in the lines, which we have recently fixed.
To those of you not familar with the idea of using veggie oil as a fuel source, I will explain here. I then pass the torch to the much written of and never yet heard from ,...Moss, my best friend and husband of 11 years.
The idea of running diesel engines on vegetable oil is not new. In fact the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolph Diesel, had originally designed the engine to run off a variety of fuels, most notably peanut oil. In 1898 at the world fair in Paris, Rudolph showed his peanut-oil fueled engine for the first time, much to the astonishment of the public. Rudolph was repotedly very excited about this and very much wanted to provide farmers and small industry a way to make their own fuel .
Veggie fuels were used for many years after ,until the 1920s when it was eventually replaced with what was to become known as "diesel" fuel, which is simply a by product of gasoilne. There were also,over the years a few slight modifications made to the original engine that allowed it to run more efiecntly off "diesel" fuel.
Despite those changes, today it is still possible to run any diesl engine off of veggie oil.Why would one wish to, you might ask ?
The answers are many.
First off, it is completely reknewable , produces very little carbon and no sulphur.Secoundly, it is usually free and can be obtained from local restauraunts, who often must pay to dispose of it.
So, what modifications are needed and why ?
The most important thing to remember is to filter the oil with a 10 micron filter,at least once (especially waste oil) heat the oil first , start the engine on diesel fuel,and end it on diesel fuel.To do this requires two tanks,one for veggie and one for diesel.Although it is possible to simply pour veggie oil into a diesel tank and go,but ONLY on a warm day.
In fact,on a warm day you could walk into any grocery store ,purchase a bottle of Wesson and off you go.This is due to the fact that the warm temps causes the oil to thin and therfore flow more smoothly through the engine.
For cold weather and long term use however it is neccesary to modify the engine by first heating the oil to a temp of 170 degrees. Moss will be explaining this momentarily.
I just want to say that there are many excellent kits available that allow one to convert there engines quickly and easily,and our original intentions were to purchase one of them.
However,after thinking it over and talking to a few people,we decided to go it alone,to create,with the help of a friend our "own" system. Our reasons for this were two fold.On one hand we wanted to save money and on the other hand there are some inherent flaws with some of these premade kits,and we felt we could possibly improve on some aspects.
. Our friend Greg, who is experienced with diesel engines and veggie oil conversions,helped us tremendously. Together we have designed a system that we think will work very well, but only time will tell. We would never have tried this without his help,as neither myself nor Moss are very mechanically inclined.
This system is by no means complete,we consider it more a work in progress.Although,at present it is fully functional,we do anticipate a period of adjustment where we may need to make some changes as neccesary and as funds become available.
I will now pass the torch to Moss, who will supply you with the many details of the conversion process, but first I would like to leave you with a timely quote from the late great Rudolph Diesel,
" The Use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignifigant today.But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time " ~ Rudolph Diesel 1912
To those of you not familar with the idea of using veggie oil as a fuel source, I will explain here. I then pass the torch to the much written of and never yet heard from ,...Moss, my best friend and husband of 11 years.
The idea of running diesel engines on vegetable oil is not new. In fact the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolph Diesel, had originally designed the engine to run off a variety of fuels, most notably peanut oil. In 1898 at the world fair in Paris, Rudolph showed his peanut-oil fueled engine for the first time, much to the astonishment of the public. Rudolph was repotedly very excited about this and very much wanted to provide farmers and small industry a way to make their own fuel .
Veggie fuels were used for many years after ,until the 1920s when it was eventually replaced with what was to become known as "diesel" fuel, which is simply a by product of gasoilne. There were also,over the years a few slight modifications made to the original engine that allowed it to run more efiecntly off "diesel" fuel.
Despite those changes, today it is still possible to run any diesl engine off of veggie oil.Why would one wish to, you might ask ?
The answers are many.
First off, it is completely reknewable , produces very little carbon and no sulphur.Secoundly, it is usually free and can be obtained from local restauraunts, who often must pay to dispose of it.
So, what modifications are needed and why ?
The most important thing to remember is to filter the oil with a 10 micron filter,at least once (especially waste oil) heat the oil first , start the engine on diesel fuel,and end it on diesel fuel.To do this requires two tanks,one for veggie and one for diesel.Although it is possible to simply pour veggie oil into a diesel tank and go,but ONLY on a warm day.
In fact,on a warm day you could walk into any grocery store ,purchase a bottle of Wesson and off you go.This is due to the fact that the warm temps causes the oil to thin and therfore flow more smoothly through the engine.
For cold weather and long term use however it is neccesary to modify the engine by first heating the oil to a temp of 170 degrees. Moss will be explaining this momentarily.
I just want to say that there are many excellent kits available that allow one to convert there engines quickly and easily,and our original intentions were to purchase one of them.
However,after thinking it over and talking to a few people,we decided to go it alone,to create,with the help of a friend our "own" system. Our reasons for this were two fold.On one hand we wanted to save money and on the other hand there are some inherent flaws with some of these premade kits,and we felt we could possibly improve on some aspects.
. Our friend Greg, who is experienced with diesel engines and veggie oil conversions,helped us tremendously. Together we have designed a system that we think will work very well, but only time will tell. We would never have tried this without his help,as neither myself nor Moss are very mechanically inclined.
This system is by no means complete,we consider it more a work in progress.Although,at present it is fully functional,we do anticipate a period of adjustment where we may need to make some changes as neccesary and as funds become available.
I will now pass the torch to Moss, who will supply you with the many details of the conversion process, but first I would like to leave you with a timely quote from the late great Rudolph Diesel,
" The Use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignifigant today.But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time " ~ Rudolph Diesel 1912
The Lowdown on the Veg.,,
Howdy folks, Moss here. I will be getting you hip to the ins and outs of our conversion proccess.
As stated by miss Pix, the main thing is to heat the oil to the proper temperature so's it is the right viscocity to flow properly through the engine. To do this we use the coolent.
Under normal circumstances the coolent leaves the engine after absorbing as much heat as it can and goes to the heater of the vehicle. From there it makes its way to the radiator,where it is cooled, before going back to the engine where it starts the cycle all over again.
What we did was rerout the coolent through a copper pipe, surounded by a larger metal pipe. As the coolent in the copper tube flows toward the second fuel tank, the veggie oil in the tank flows toward the engine through the larger metal pipe. The hot radiator fluid heats up the oil going to the engine. This is called a tri core heating system.
In our conversion, we let the coolent in the copper pipe wrap around the tank, this works to pre heat the oil in the tank before it goes on to the "tricore' heater . For our veggie fuel tank we used a 55 gallon plastic barrel,not because it is superior to other materials but had the great advantage of being ten dollars,as opposed to say, 400 for a nice metal tank .
After the oil leaves the tricore it goes through a 10 micron filter. We used a Golden Rod because you can find replacement filters at any tractor store for very inexpensive. The bus leady has 2 other filters, but since we are usingwaste vegetable oil it is neccesary to filter as many times as possible. You never know what nastyies lurk in used veggie oil.
Our system for retreiving the veggie oil from returaunts is as follows; filter the oil as we pump it into a container (curently using a hand pump), then filter it a second time as we pump it into the bus from the container. This way the oil gets filtered 5 whole times before it reaches the engine. That aught to stop the yucks from entering the sanctity of the engine.
We decided to go minimalistick on the change over process. This meens that after the veggie oil goes through the filter it goes to a fuel pump and then to a ball valve which you have to manualy pull to allow the veggie oil to flow. There is a shut off valve before the traditional diesel goes into the engine also. When we want to change over to veggie oil we start it on diesel , wait till it gets hot enough, open the hood , open the veggie valve, close the diesel valve, open the veggie return line valve and close the diesel return valve. We went with the all manual system because we felt that the less coplicated the system, the less to go wrong down the line. Another big motivation was saving money.
Return line? What say you of return lines?
Well, after the fuel goes through the engine, it does not all get burnt up. The fuel that doesn't get burnt goes through a return line and back to the tank. Many of the pre made conversion kits opt to create a loop and instead of feeding it back to the tank, make it go back through the engine immediately.The Idea is that the oil is already hot so rather than letting it cool off as it goes back to the tank you just put it back into the engine. Greg Makes a good point as why another way might work even better.
The idea is this; If you keep recycling the fuel around and round, you bypass the fuel pump and therefore loose preassure resulting in a larger likelyhood of the engine quiting. What we did is this; we ran the return line along side the tricore and the coolent return line. All these pipes are bound together with duck tape and inulated with spray foam along with the tank. We actually haven't got around to insulating the pipes yet ,but because of the tempraure this time of year ,Idon't know if that's to crucial at this moment.
Another diffrence betwixt our conversion and others I have heard of is the fact that we are using copper and steel pipes. Most other kits use plastic and rubber hoses. The use of rubber hoses makes it much easier to put together,but has two draw backs.
First, the hoses will disinigrate over time. I guess, being that it's so easy to replace, it's not to big of a problem. Then again, when the hose carrying radiator fluid deteriates inside the tricore heating system, it can contaminate the veggie oil,which could be catastrophic.The second is that plastic is a poor transferer of heat. With the copper lines, we are heating mutch more efficiantely.
Thast about it.There are a few things we would like to change and add in the near future.Those things are as follows,
1) a new flat,metal fuel tank with fuel gauge and temp read out
2) Move the on /off valve for fuels in next to the drivers seat.This would allow the driver to switch to veggie or diesel withouit having to pull over and lift the hood.
Before I hand things back to back to Miss Pixie,I want to thank Greg Archambault for his help in designing this system. His knowledge of school buses and diesel engines was indespensible and we could not have done it without him.
Thanks Greg !
As stated by miss Pix, the main thing is to heat the oil to the proper temperature so's it is the right viscocity to flow properly through the engine. To do this we use the coolent.
Under normal circumstances the coolent leaves the engine after absorbing as much heat as it can and goes to the heater of the vehicle. From there it makes its way to the radiator,where it is cooled, before going back to the engine where it starts the cycle all over again.
What we did was rerout the coolent through a copper pipe, surounded by a larger metal pipe. As the coolent in the copper tube flows toward the second fuel tank, the veggie oil in the tank flows toward the engine through the larger metal pipe. The hot radiator fluid heats up the oil going to the engine. This is called a tri core heating system.
In our conversion, we let the coolent in the copper pipe wrap around the tank, this works to pre heat the oil in the tank before it goes on to the "tricore' heater . For our veggie fuel tank we used a 55 gallon plastic barrel,not because it is superior to other materials but had the great advantage of being ten dollars,as opposed to say, 400 for a nice metal tank .
After the oil leaves the tricore it goes through a 10 micron filter. We used a Golden Rod because you can find replacement filters at any tractor store for very inexpensive. The bus leady has 2 other filters, but since we are usingwaste vegetable oil it is neccesary to filter as many times as possible. You never know what nastyies lurk in used veggie oil.
Our system for retreiving the veggie oil from returaunts is as follows; filter the oil as we pump it into a container (curently using a hand pump), then filter it a second time as we pump it into the bus from the container. This way the oil gets filtered 5 whole times before it reaches the engine. That aught to stop the yucks from entering the sanctity of the engine.
We decided to go minimalistick on the change over process. This meens that after the veggie oil goes through the filter it goes to a fuel pump and then to a ball valve which you have to manualy pull to allow the veggie oil to flow. There is a shut off valve before the traditional diesel goes into the engine also. When we want to change over to veggie oil we start it on diesel , wait till it gets hot enough, open the hood , open the veggie valve, close the diesel valve, open the veggie return line valve and close the diesel return valve. We went with the all manual system because we felt that the less coplicated the system, the less to go wrong down the line. Another big motivation was saving money.
Return line? What say you of return lines?
Well, after the fuel goes through the engine, it does not all get burnt up. The fuel that doesn't get burnt goes through a return line and back to the tank. Many of the pre made conversion kits opt to create a loop and instead of feeding it back to the tank, make it go back through the engine immediately.The Idea is that the oil is already hot so rather than letting it cool off as it goes back to the tank you just put it back into the engine. Greg Makes a good point as why another way might work even better.
The idea is this; If you keep recycling the fuel around and round, you bypass the fuel pump and therefore loose preassure resulting in a larger likelyhood of the engine quiting. What we did is this; we ran the return line along side the tricore and the coolent return line. All these pipes are bound together with duck tape and inulated with spray foam along with the tank. We actually haven't got around to insulating the pipes yet ,but because of the tempraure this time of year ,Idon't know if that's to crucial at this moment.
Another diffrence betwixt our conversion and others I have heard of is the fact that we are using copper and steel pipes. Most other kits use plastic and rubber hoses. The use of rubber hoses makes it much easier to put together,but has two draw backs.
First, the hoses will disinigrate over time. I guess, being that it's so easy to replace, it's not to big of a problem. Then again, when the hose carrying radiator fluid deteriates inside the tricore heating system, it can contaminate the veggie oil,which could be catastrophic.The second is that plastic is a poor transferer of heat. With the copper lines, we are heating mutch more efficiantely.
Thast about it.There are a few things we would like to change and add in the near future.Those things are as follows,
1) a new flat,metal fuel tank with fuel gauge and temp read out
2) Move the on /off valve for fuels in next to the drivers seat.This would allow the driver to switch to veggie or diesel withouit having to pull over and lift the hood.
Before I hand things back to back to Miss Pixie,I want to thank Greg Archambault for his help in designing this system. His knowledge of school buses and diesel engines was indespensible and we could not have done it without him.
Thanks Greg !
Monday, March 14, 2005
An end in Sight................
Just a quick update on the bus progress, since yesterday all I did was scream about George W. Dumbass (urgh...)
Anyway, we have completely finished the veggie oil conversion and are working out a few kinnks ( air in the system). Moss ( yes, he has finally agreed to post on something !!) will be posting on it in detail and he is still writing it all up, so look for that in a few days.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, most notably rain, we have had to push our launch date back another week. When we leave we will be running on veggie oil and hope to do so all the way to C.A. We will be looking for places with free wifi connections and posting about our progress along the way.
This week we managed to complete our little sound modification project in the front of the bus. You see, the 9.0 L diesel is a VERY loud engine and we could barely hear each other when it is going, and more importantly we cant hear our music. So Moss decided to build a wall and box thingy in the front of the bus ,under the dash. He built a wall,stuffed it with insulation,then built a box around that, stuffed it with insulation then mounted our c.d player and xm satellite radio in that. It seems to have quieted the engine noise quite a lot.I have posted pics of the first stages, but do not have any at this time of the last stages. I will post them shortly.
Besides that we mostly put up some more t&g and worked on the engine.Since we will not be able to finish the interior before we leave ,most of the wood will have to go in the middle of the floor,along with our water tanks (groan).
Thats about it for now, will update more later. I am off to bed...............
Anyway, we have completely finished the veggie oil conversion and are working out a few kinnks ( air in the system). Moss ( yes, he has finally agreed to post on something !!) will be posting on it in detail and he is still writing it all up, so look for that in a few days.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, most notably rain, we have had to push our launch date back another week. When we leave we will be running on veggie oil and hope to do so all the way to C.A. We will be looking for places with free wifi connections and posting about our progress along the way.
This week we managed to complete our little sound modification project in the front of the bus. You see, the 9.0 L diesel is a VERY loud engine and we could barely hear each other when it is going, and more importantly we cant hear our music. So Moss decided to build a wall and box thingy in the front of the bus ,under the dash. He built a wall,stuffed it with insulation,then built a box around that, stuffed it with insulation then mounted our c.d player and xm satellite radio in that. It seems to have quieted the engine noise quite a lot.I have posted pics of the first stages, but do not have any at this time of the last stages. I will post them shortly.
Besides that we mostly put up some more t&g and worked on the engine.Since we will not be able to finish the interior before we leave ,most of the wood will have to go in the middle of the floor,along with our water tanks (groan).
Thats about it for now, will update more later. I am off to bed...............
Sunday, March 13, 2005
The War on our National Forsets
O.k,now,I have been trying to keep my George Bush hating, republican bashing tirades to a minimum, but I have to let loose today.
I simply cannot believe what this man is now doing to the few remaining wildlands and the creatures that inhabit them. It simply defies logic of any sort. I am just so disgusted,outraged and sadened at what he plans to do here.
My heart is heavy when I think of the fate of these sacred places.
What is happening to this country ?? Who is this crazy man, and why does it seem that half of this country is sleeping?? Why do they not see??
It seems he is just hell bent on destroying and exploiting every last bit of this country for profit and greed.Nothing is sacred, nothing is off limits. Not even the constitutuion. He has unjustly waged war on other counties,this countries poor and middle class and now, our National Forsest and the few pathetic laws that were in place to protect them and their inhabitants. He has simply gutted and made a mockery of those hard won laws and regulations.
We are moving increasingly away from a democracy towards something very different, something run by bigotted right wing evangelical christians who seek to take away our freedoms and force us to worship their gods.
Why are we allowing this ? Fear. We are so afraid of another terorist attack like 911 that we have lost all grip on reality and common sense.Our fear has allowed us to elect the most inept president in history.
It's funny,because you dont think it can ever really happen. "Of course, we say , trying to reassure ourselves," the best man will always get the job. Someone smart, fair , who loves this country and upholds the ideal of the presodency to its highest honour. You assume that someone mature, level headed and selfless will get the job."
You would never imagine, in your wildest dreams that a complete mindless, self serving idiot could actually win ,but it happened,it really happened and its almost hard to believe.
How does this happen, shurely our system is foolproof.
It's simple really.
What happens when a country is so sharply divided that we have the ignorant and apathetic masess deciding who wins?
Well, we get an ignorant and apathetic person in the white house.
We should never take for granted our freedoms. It all seems so stable, doesnt it ?? It is a facade.We are only ever centimeters away from total collapse and regime change.It only takes a few nut balls to get in there, pull the wool over everyones eyes, appoint a few of their buddies to high position, change a few laws, pay some people off and before you know it everything is different, and there is not a damn thing that can be done, short of violent revolution, NOT something I advocate.
Look at India, it used to be the hub of the world, look at Rome, and so many others.We may think we are on top now,but history is rife with civilizations, empires and countries that have risen and fallen,and it can happen very easily.
You just wake up one day ,look around and say, " what happened to my country?"
I am scared,very,very scared .
Please read the article below and pass it on to your friends. ~ Pixie
Bush Plans Further Cuts in Forest Protections
Next Monday marks the final day for public comment on a proposed new Bush Administration rule that will restrict public input and environmental review of forest management plans under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). It will also rescind wildlife protections that were established decades ago under President Reagan.
Under the Bush Administration's proposed forest plan rules, it would no longer be necessary to complete an environmental impact statement, a basic requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
This is not the first move by the Bush Administration to reduce the role of NEPA in forest policy. Its "Healthy Forest Initiative" eliminated nearly all environmental reviews for logging in the public's forests. [1]
Environmental impact statements ensure that forest decisions are based on the best available science. By removing this step, an important tool for forest managers to evaluate plans for potential harm to water, wildlife, old-growth and roadless areas is eliminated.
Wildlife viability requirements will also be negated, meaning that viable levels of native fish and wildlife populations will no longer need to be maintained. The Forest Service will also be relieved of duties to monitor wildlife populations. Instead, forest plans need only a "framework to provide the characteristics of ecosystem diversity in the plan area." [2] Disclosure, and even studying, cumulative impacts of management activities across the national forests will be unnecessary under the new regulations.
The proposed changes also ignore the role of science in the decision-making process. Under the new rules, agency officials are actually given the discretion to ignore scientific evidence and recommendations. [3]
Environmentalists point out that lack of reliable public information regarding environmental consequences of forest plans -- combined with increased discretionary power over the level of scientific involvement in forest planning -- will mean an open door for corporate incursions into timber, mining and oil resources in our nation's forests.
"This is yet another example of the Bush administration putting industry profits ahead of the interests of Americans," Randi Spivak, executive director of the American Lands Alliance, told BushGreenwatch. "The new rules reject science and demonstrate blatant disregard for public input. Americans care deeply about the places where they hike, fish and relax, and want to protect these places for future generations. With Bush¹s allegiance to the timber, oil and gas industries, what is now a forest heritage could soon be history."
### TAKE ACTIONSubmit a comment through the American Lands Alliance.
###
I simply cannot believe what this man is now doing to the few remaining wildlands and the creatures that inhabit them. It simply defies logic of any sort. I am just so disgusted,outraged and sadened at what he plans to do here.
My heart is heavy when I think of the fate of these sacred places.
What is happening to this country ?? Who is this crazy man, and why does it seem that half of this country is sleeping?? Why do they not see??
It seems he is just hell bent on destroying and exploiting every last bit of this country for profit and greed.Nothing is sacred, nothing is off limits. Not even the constitutuion. He has unjustly waged war on other counties,this countries poor and middle class and now, our National Forsest and the few pathetic laws that were in place to protect them and their inhabitants. He has simply gutted and made a mockery of those hard won laws and regulations.
We are moving increasingly away from a democracy towards something very different, something run by bigotted right wing evangelical christians who seek to take away our freedoms and force us to worship their gods.
Why are we allowing this ? Fear. We are so afraid of another terorist attack like 911 that we have lost all grip on reality and common sense.Our fear has allowed us to elect the most inept president in history.
It's funny,because you dont think it can ever really happen. "Of course, we say , trying to reassure ourselves," the best man will always get the job. Someone smart, fair , who loves this country and upholds the ideal of the presodency to its highest honour. You assume that someone mature, level headed and selfless will get the job."
You would never imagine, in your wildest dreams that a complete mindless, self serving idiot could actually win ,but it happened,it really happened and its almost hard to believe.
How does this happen, shurely our system is foolproof.
It's simple really.
What happens when a country is so sharply divided that we have the ignorant and apathetic masess deciding who wins?
Well, we get an ignorant and apathetic person in the white house.
We should never take for granted our freedoms. It all seems so stable, doesnt it ?? It is a facade.We are only ever centimeters away from total collapse and regime change.It only takes a few nut balls to get in there, pull the wool over everyones eyes, appoint a few of their buddies to high position, change a few laws, pay some people off and before you know it everything is different, and there is not a damn thing that can be done, short of violent revolution, NOT something I advocate.
Look at India, it used to be the hub of the world, look at Rome, and so many others.We may think we are on top now,but history is rife with civilizations, empires and countries that have risen and fallen,and it can happen very easily.
You just wake up one day ,look around and say, " what happened to my country?"
I am scared,very,very scared .
Please read the article below and pass it on to your friends. ~ Pixie
Bush Plans Further Cuts in Forest Protections
Next Monday marks the final day for public comment on a proposed new Bush Administration rule that will restrict public input and environmental review of forest management plans under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). It will also rescind wildlife protections that were established decades ago under President Reagan.
Under the Bush Administration's proposed forest plan rules, it would no longer be necessary to complete an environmental impact statement, a basic requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
This is not the first move by the Bush Administration to reduce the role of NEPA in forest policy. Its "Healthy Forest Initiative" eliminated nearly all environmental reviews for logging in the public's forests. [1]
Environmental impact statements ensure that forest decisions are based on the best available science. By removing this step, an important tool for forest managers to evaluate plans for potential harm to water, wildlife, old-growth and roadless areas is eliminated.
Wildlife viability requirements will also be negated, meaning that viable levels of native fish and wildlife populations will no longer need to be maintained. The Forest Service will also be relieved of duties to monitor wildlife populations. Instead, forest plans need only a "framework to provide the characteristics of ecosystem diversity in the plan area." [2] Disclosure, and even studying, cumulative impacts of management activities across the national forests will be unnecessary under the new regulations.
The proposed changes also ignore the role of science in the decision-making process. Under the new rules, agency officials are actually given the discretion to ignore scientific evidence and recommendations. [3]
Environmentalists point out that lack of reliable public information regarding environmental consequences of forest plans -- combined with increased discretionary power over the level of scientific involvement in forest planning -- will mean an open door for corporate incursions into timber, mining and oil resources in our nation's forests.
"This is yet another example of the Bush administration putting industry profits ahead of the interests of Americans," Randi Spivak, executive director of the American Lands Alliance, told BushGreenwatch. "The new rules reject science and demonstrate blatant disregard for public input. Americans care deeply about the places where they hike, fish and relax, and want to protect these places for future generations. With Bush¹s allegiance to the timber, oil and gas industries, what is now a forest heritage could soon be history."
### TAKE ACTIONSubmit a comment through the American Lands Alliance.
###
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.................
Picking up where we left off, Moss and I were able to conjure up a bit more money, just enough to finish up a few things and pay for insurance and registration.
We eagerly set upon our tasks, motivated by the possibility that finally we would be able to drive away from this forsaken state.
However, In order to register the bus we needed to have an officer check the vin.This is due to the fact that the bus was originaly from New York .
No problem,we thought and imediately called to have someone come down and check.Within a half hour a police car pulled up , two heavy set men got out , gave us a quick look over, and asked if we had called for a vin check.
"Yes officer,right this way", I said leading him through the gate and into the backyard where our bus set.
We lead him down and into the bus..They asked where the vin number was and I pointed to a small sticker above the drivers window. Taking the tiltle in his hand he walked over the the sticker and proceeded to compare numbers.
After a few minutes he looked up and informed us that the numbers did not match.
What, that could not be we told him,we bought this bus fair and square !
Moss and I franticly began looking all around the bus for any trace of another vin number,even the officers helped,but to no avail.We found no trace of any other vin number.
We called the place where the bus originaly came from in new york and they assured us that they had given us the corect title,they only ever had one bus with that make and year,and that they had registred it in new york for many years now.
Next we called the International dealership to see if they had any other ideas where the vin could be.They did not.
After a bit of digging around discovered that, aparently somewhere down the line a few numbers got skewed and no one ever caught it.
We called the DMV in New York and the lady informed us of the long ,excructiating process involved in procuring a new title. It would take up to two months.
No way, we have to get out of here, we thought.We have to get to C.A where we have work and can make some money to finish this bus.
There had to be another way.
To make a long story short, we eventualy discovered a way where we can get a temp 30 day tag ,enough time to get us to c.a . Once there, we can go through whatever process is needed to correct the title.
O.K then, we thought, breathing a huge collective sigh of relief. Now we can get back to work and hopefully get out of here on time.
Wrong.
Today we discovered that the key to the bus is missing. O.k, worst case sceario we pay 100 bucks to get a new one made.
Nope.
Since the title is not right we do not ,techincally own this bus. In fact we probably own some bus in a junkyard in brooklyn.
Anyway, that is about where we stand now. We have a few more places to look before we really start panicking.
Whatever the case though,there is always a solution,and it is all in how you look at it. I am really starting to get that lately., whatever the problem,there is ALWAYS a satisfactory solution. The fun part is figuring it out.To do that one needs only to keep their minds and hearts open to all the possibilities available.
Isn't life exciting ?? I often feel as though my life is a novel and I can hardly wait to see what comes next ? Whats around the bend ?? Where will I be in a month, a week, a year ??
When I was younger and hitchhiking around I used to sometimes just close my eyes, point my finger and turn in a circle. When I opened my eyes,whatever direction I was facing that is where I would start hitchiking.
Another old favorite is to close my eyes and throw a small cystal or some other special stone on a map,wherever it lands that is where I would go.
I think it would be fun to someday do that with a world map !
Anyway, as far as the conversion process goes, we have made some big progress. The T&G floor is going down,we built a bookcase and bought all the rest of the parts for the veggie conversion.
Before we go we need to paint it and finish the conversion,then off to C.A we go, probably in about a week or so.
We'll see how it goes......................
We eagerly set upon our tasks, motivated by the possibility that finally we would be able to drive away from this forsaken state.
However, In order to register the bus we needed to have an officer check the vin.This is due to the fact that the bus was originaly from New York .
No problem,we thought and imediately called to have someone come down and check.Within a half hour a police car pulled up , two heavy set men got out , gave us a quick look over, and asked if we had called for a vin check.
"Yes officer,right this way", I said leading him through the gate and into the backyard where our bus set.
We lead him down and into the bus..They asked where the vin number was and I pointed to a small sticker above the drivers window. Taking the tiltle in his hand he walked over the the sticker and proceeded to compare numbers.
After a few minutes he looked up and informed us that the numbers did not match.
What, that could not be we told him,we bought this bus fair and square !
Moss and I franticly began looking all around the bus for any trace of another vin number,even the officers helped,but to no avail.We found no trace of any other vin number.
We called the place where the bus originaly came from in new york and they assured us that they had given us the corect title,they only ever had one bus with that make and year,and that they had registred it in new york for many years now.
Next we called the International dealership to see if they had any other ideas where the vin could be.They did not.
After a bit of digging around discovered that, aparently somewhere down the line a few numbers got skewed and no one ever caught it.
We called the DMV in New York and the lady informed us of the long ,excructiating process involved in procuring a new title. It would take up to two months.
No way, we have to get out of here, we thought.We have to get to C.A where we have work and can make some money to finish this bus.
There had to be another way.
To make a long story short, we eventualy discovered a way where we can get a temp 30 day tag ,enough time to get us to c.a . Once there, we can go through whatever process is needed to correct the title.
O.K then, we thought, breathing a huge collective sigh of relief. Now we can get back to work and hopefully get out of here on time.
Wrong.
Today we discovered that the key to the bus is missing. O.k, worst case sceario we pay 100 bucks to get a new one made.
Nope.
Since the title is not right we do not ,techincally own this bus. In fact we probably own some bus in a junkyard in brooklyn.
Anyway, that is about where we stand now. We have a few more places to look before we really start panicking.
Whatever the case though,there is always a solution,and it is all in how you look at it. I am really starting to get that lately., whatever the problem,there is ALWAYS a satisfactory solution. The fun part is figuring it out.To do that one needs only to keep their minds and hearts open to all the possibilities available.
Isn't life exciting ?? I often feel as though my life is a novel and I can hardly wait to see what comes next ? Whats around the bend ?? Where will I be in a month, a week, a year ??
When I was younger and hitchhiking around I used to sometimes just close my eyes, point my finger and turn in a circle. When I opened my eyes,whatever direction I was facing that is where I would start hitchiking.
Another old favorite is to close my eyes and throw a small cystal or some other special stone on a map,wherever it lands that is where I would go.
I think it would be fun to someday do that with a world map !
Anyway, as far as the conversion process goes, we have made some big progress. The T&G floor is going down,we built a bookcase and bought all the rest of the parts for the veggie conversion.
Before we go we need to paint it and finish the conversion,then off to C.A we go, probably in about a week or so.
We'll see how it goes......................
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