Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango
I can't say that I have ever seen a single commercial tow rig that was rear engined.
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Grayhound buses are commercial vehicles and pull the mail trailer for millions of miles.
They are rear engine buses, and that mail wagon is not light.
Your not going to unload the front tires on a 40ft bus. Leverage is to your advantage.
RE buses are all flat nose. I like the look of them as well.
I don't under stand why someone would want to use a short MDT with smaller brakes, engine, frame, axles, ect, over a long RE HDT. The HDT has lager of everything. The shorter the tow vehicle, the bigger the chance of unloading the front tires.
Most RE HDT (Heavy Duty Truck) buses are also air ride. One more plus for towing.
A 1000 pound hitch weight is not really that much. I tow more than that with the 2002 Dodge pick up truck sometimes.
Furthermore, if the 1000 pound hitch weight sounds like too much, then balance the trailer differently.
Same with the bus. All us people with front engine buses try to add more weight to the rear, behind the rear axle. This is due to the bus not being balanced from the factory.
The rear engine bus is already balanced quite well. However there is no room to add tanks, ect to the rear, everything must be mounted ahead of the rear axle. This all helps with keeping the RE bus balanced when towing.
This becomes evident when you drive kids around. My old FE dog nose bus, I would make kids sit at the back to make the bus ride better. My 03 RE they can sit where ever without it making much issue.
Now from state to state, province to province here in Canada, we have different legal limits of length for tow vehicle and trailer.
In Alberta I'm allowed 65 feet. So take 40 feet for the bus, that leaves 25 feet for trailer, including the tongue. Tongue will need to be around 5 feet min, so that gives you a 20 foot trailer.
Now to carry 14,000 pounds, the trailer will need to be a tri axle single wheel. A single tire tri axle will always out perform a duel wheel tandem.
Trailers also perform far better with torsion axles VS springs riding on axles. I won't pull a spring sprung trailer. They are just crap in comparison.
I used to drive MDT tow trucks. We got to tow almost everything on the road from the MDT down to scooters. Rear wheel lifts are some of the biggest tongue weights ever experienced in a towing situation. Much experience was gained from this job. 1000 pound tongue weight is nothing on a 40 ft long bus.
This thread is starting to crack me up. Too many people that have no clue running their mouths. Pull your head out of the sand people.
Nat