One of my favorite shows is America's Funniest Home Videos... A steroidal biker prepares to leap a dozen buses on his Harley, launching himself at 90MPH up a ramp constructed of toothpicks and chewing gum... and we have to wonder “what does he THINK is gonna happen?”.
Sooo... I'm looking out the window at cold rain, with forecasts of more to come and what do I think is going to happen?
Summer... honest.
Folks, now might be the time to nudge your AC system out of hibernation so it's ready for the inevitable (I hope) warm weather trips.
There are a couple of considerations here. First, the fairly obvious one... many HVAC components have been resting all Winter, and have probably used that time to plot against you. Others, who do double duty and help out with heat, like motors and filters, may be tired.
Just as a toothpick ramp may be a... mistake, it might be foolhardy to assume that when your driver flips the switch marked AC, everything will be cool (pun intended).
Aw heck, you get it. Check the system out before you need it, because modern coaches, with big sealed windows, need efficient AC even on a cool sunny day.
If I was smarter, I could list all the stuff that needs to be checked, tweaked or replaced. Belts, compressors, Freon, filters and that pesky partridge in the pear tree. Fortunately coach builders provide manuals... many even have pictures (for us dullards).
The point here is that you probably should be thinking this way now.
In ye olden days a coach in the middle of a charter turned up at our facility one Spring morning with an anemic AC, a panicked driver and perspiring passengers.
This model bus had redundant fan motors, and over the winter several had quietly retired from active duty. No one had checked, and now, 350 miles south of home, there weren't enough running to cool the coach.
After stuffing a couple new motors in, it still didn't cool right, and the mechanic took a peek at the air filters... you guessed it.
Then he found a giant dustball squatting on the thermostat's sensor, fooling it into believing that the temperature in the cabin was OK.
Thousands of dollars later the coach continued on the charter. Its’ owner called to ask if this wasn't “warranty” because the coach was “only” 5 years old. Apparently the HVAC on this “experienced” bus had been untouched by human hands.
This work could have been done incrementally, at lower cost, if he'd only known that warm weather was coming. AND... he wouldn't have annoyed his customers.
A properly functioning HVAC can still be a problem if your drivers don't know how to operate it.
It might be good to refresh their understanding of your fleet's AC systems. Many jurisdictions have idling laws, so cooling the coach before passengers board can be tricky. There's a delicate balance between cooking customers and expensive excessive idling. Your drivers to need to know the ordinances, and how fast their coach cools.
Generally the HVAC computer's motherboard knows best, but many offer manual modes of operation that can overcome problems or... create catastrophes of biblical proportions.
Most modern buses have a separate set of climate controls for the driver's area. Just because the driver is comfortable doesn’t necessarily mean their passengers are.
Drivers don't have to be technicians, but should be well trained enough to know when things aren't going right. A “failure” light on the dash is a clue, but often the HVAC gives subtle hints before quitting entirely.
Even if your drivers are well schooled, it's been a long winter, and reviewing AC operation and policy can't hurt (and may bring hope).
We were setting up for a show in Boston one bitter January day. It was time to move the demonstrator Eagle from a parking lot across town to the convention center, and we sent Warren to pick it up.
This bus had a new super-dooper HVAC unit, and Warren didn't have a clue how to work it. He fired up the coach, and figured that the switch marked “Manual Heat” must be better than the one marked “On”, so he flipped that puppy and headed our way.
“Manual” meant that the HVAC was going to do its best to cook the coach's contents. It had no relationship with a thermostat, and tried diligently to make the cabin temperature equal the engine temperature.
When Warren reached us, it was 120 degrees inside the coach, he was sweating like a pig and shedding clothing (an ugly visual image that endures to this day).
A bit of training on the HVAC would have saved some discomfort... AND if he'd used the “Manual AC” switch on that bus incorrectly.. it would rain inside.
Honest
