"Standard truck axle" means something different to you than it does to someone looking to swap one... they are upside down, and not every axle can be rolled over.
Put a regular truck axle under your bus, and it will have multiple speeds in reverse...
The guys who were trying to get different gears back a bunch of years ago, to match their drivetrain swaps, had to do a lot of research and find a bemused representative at the axle manufacturers to give them a hand.
A stock locker would be nice.
Happy coaching!
Buswarrior
BTDT! Not by putting a regular truck rear end either. But we replaced the third member in our S217 once and don't ask me how but we managed to put it in backwards! I don't know if it was because it was a Kassboro rear end or what I have NEVER and I mean NEVER seen a rear differential go in but one way before (or maybe I was just lucky and always got it in the right way by accident before)
Anyway it was a Saturday afternoon when my dad, uncle an I finished putting it in and dad told me that he and Robert would finish it up an I should go up the the house and get cleaned up for my run the coach had to go out on in about 3 hrs!
I'd no sooner got ready to step in the shower when my phone rang, I looked an it was dad so I answered it. Dad said
"If you haven't got in the shower yet you might want to wait and come back down here. Robert went to back it out of the shop and it's got 6 reverse gears and one forward gear!"So I put my dirty clothes back on and back to the shop I went, I was sure Setra had somehow screwed up and sold me the wrong rear end. I was furious! As dad, Robert an I were discussing it I went over to one we'd pulled out and examined it. I looked it over really hard and told them ya know
"It just might be possible it's upside down, don't ask me how but it looks like it's possible!"They both looked at me like I had 3 eyes and said
"WHAT? How is that even POSSIBLE!"I showed them how it was the same all the way around with no differences in the bolt pattern or shape or anything different at all except there was a small "hump" for the ring gear off center in the rear of it.
So of into the pit I went and sure enough the hump was on the opposite side than it had been before we'd pulled the original one out, I was lucky to remember that from all the times I'd looked at it while servicing it before.
So I asked Robert if he minded going home and getting cleaned up to drive it tonight while dad and I flip it. Wasn't NO WAY I was ASKING dad to drive that night as he an mom had plans that night! (or should I say mom had plans) It was their 48th wedding anniversary!
Robert agreed and took off dad an I went straight to work pulling the axles pulling the rear end and breaking the "come along" we were using to suspend it in the air from the bus since the ground was 6 feet below in the pit! I quickly grabbed the oil barrel we kept in the pit for oil changes and slid it over under the rear end and released the come along, BOOM the rear end slammed down on the barrel and smashed the barrel on one side, but it stayed up!
We searched for another come along and I told dad I'd thrown the other one away (we were hoping between the 2 bad ones we could make one that would work long enough to do the job)
Dad jumped in the truck and went an got another come along while I stayed and got things ready to shove it all back together as soon as he got back. Our bus cleaner had showed up and was helping me get ready when I reached down and grabbed the rear end picked it up and flipped it over and put it back down (and I'm pretty sure that's when I damaged my back too).
Chuckie's eyes were the size of golf balls and he said
"Wow remind me if I ever piss you off to keep running! How much does that weigh any way?" Well I'd just paid for shipping so I looked on the shipping tag 398 #'s! I didn't say anything I just showed him the tag. (but 20+/- of that was the heavy pallet they used too!)
Any way dad got back and we went straight to work and got it back in just in time. I backed it out of the shop and Chuckie did a walk through just as Robert pulled back up.
Robert asked
"Did ya test drive it, to make sure it's OK?"I told him
"Yup sure did backed it out 75' turned and pulled up right here 25' so it's been tested 100' and it only has one reverse now, so I'm sure yer good to go!"So yes I know at least with a Kassboro rear end it can be done!
Also no they are not regular truck rear ends the housing are different and have built in supports for the coach so they don't break and fold in half. Also the whole thing is heavier duty than the standard road tractor so one out of a "heavy haul" truck might be the same, but I have BTDT to with trying to use a junkyard differential in an MCI and it didn't worK! OH BTW there is a certain Eagle in NV that has a heavy duty dump truck rear end in it was well as air ride, custom tag axle and a pretty yellow motor that was built by the late Sonnie Gray!
OH and Brian your 43' coach is much better designed for rough/off road use as they were mainly designed for use in South America where the roads are not as good as the US!
Someguy you do as you wish but I wouldn't take a E or J model very far off a public roadway and I sure wouldn't take one on the logging roads around here!
BK
