Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 09-21-2015, 09:18 AM   #41
Skoolie
 
OMGIBoughtABus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: The Lovely PNW
Posts: 145
Year: 1986
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner
Engine: Cat 3208
Rated Cap: 84 px
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRanger2015 View Post
Thanks. I was hoping for more. Like hauling a small machine/wood shop.
What about an articulated transit bus, live in the front, workshop in the back?

Or a double decker bus, live on the top, workshop below?

__________________
����
OMGIBoughtABus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2015, 10:38 AM   #42
Moderator
 
crazycal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NUNYA
Posts: 4,236
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT408, AT545
Rated Cap: 23 500 gvw
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kubla View Post
if you are going to tow 14k pounds, you will need something more robust than either the AT545 or MT643 and you will need to install a tranny cooler on whatever you get

Nothing wrong with a MT643. It's rated GVW is double that of the AT545.
__________________
I'm hungry!

You Gotta Let Me Fly
crazycal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2015, 10:47 AM   #43
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
I can't say that I have ever seen a single commercial tow rig that was rear engined.
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2015, 11:08 AM   #44
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 27
For some reason I was thinking that a RE or pusher was the way to go. Silly me. I do like the flat nosed style. I have thought that the drive shaft length would be an issue in the long run. I am not too keen on a short bus though ... wanted more space.
RoadRanger2015 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2015, 11:16 AM   #45
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
I can't say that I have ever seen a single commercial tow rig that was rear engined.
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
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."

Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
nat_ster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2015, 11:52 AM   #46
Bus Geek
 
EastCoastCB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
I can't say that I have ever seen a single commercial tow rig that was rear engined.
I haven't either.
EastCoastCB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2015, 12:20 PM   #47
Bus Nut
 
charles_m's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Denver
Posts: 489
Year: 1982
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: International S1800
Engine: DT466 Trans: MT643
Rated Cap: 65
The MT643 has lockup in both 3rd and 4th, but other than that, Nat is 1000% correct. Take his advice.
That said, I do have some rear engine buses with mechanical 8.3s and MD3060s. They are super rare which is why I'm asking over 5k for them, but they are worth every cent.
Welcome! also cant wait to see your skills
__________________
Patina enthusiast and professional busman
www.bustoshow.org
Blog: www.lookatthatbus.com
Instragram: @lookatthatbus
charles_m is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 11:01 AM   #48
New Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
I haven't either.
That's because it isn't the ideal set up unless you are flat-towing which is nothing even similar to a trailer/tongue setup in terms of weight transfer. I've been driving MDT/HDT trucks for years and most of that was towing.

Also, my 20 years of experience has taught me that just because a vehicle CAN tow 14,000 lbs, doesn't mean it SHOULD. Towing (tongue weight), stopping, and steering are all factors in towing and that is why you don't see RE tow vehicles.
Bodyworx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 11:13 AM   #49
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Welcome Bodyworx

Unless you have been driving a rear engine bus for 20 years, I disregard anything you say.

There are no similarity to the experience of driving a front engine HDT and a rear engine HDT, so any experience you have is not valid.

Again I will mention that Grey Hound Buses are rear engine, and pull 15,000 pound mail trailers millions of miles.

Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."

Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
nat_ster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 11:24 AM   #50
New Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by nat_ster View Post
Welcome Bodyworx

Unless you have been driving a rear engine bus for 20 years, I disregard anything you say.

There are no similarity to the experience of driving a front engine HDT and a rear engine HDT, so any experience you have is not valid.

Again I will mention that Grey Hound Buses are rear engine, and pull 15,000 pound mail trailers millions of miles.

Nat
I was responding to the issue of not seeing many RE tow vehicles, not trying to enter a masculinity contest. I know what i know and you know what you know. If i were towing a 7 ton trailer, i wouldn't pick a RE bus as the 'IDEAL' vehicle to do it. Carry on.

not at all saying it CAN'T be done, just saying it's not ideal.
Bodyworx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 01:09 PM   #51
Moderator
 
crazycal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NUNYA
Posts: 4,236
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT408, AT545
Rated Cap: 23 500 gvw
Be nice guys.
__________________
I'm hungry!

You Gotta Let Me Fly
crazycal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 04:15 PM   #52
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Posts: 1,001
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: International
Engine: TE 444
Rated Cap: 12
I used to drive for greyhound, there is a big difference between a greyhound bus and a school bus, we did not pull trailers in the US so I do not know what kind of setup they are using
Kubla is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 04:47 PM   #53
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 27
Woof Woof!! To the Alpha Dogs !!

You guys are full of some interesting view points. I appreciate all of what you have to offer.

As for the towing aspect, I have learned a lot and a BIG THANKS for that.

As I get closer to narrowing the available field, this has certainly been a learning experience. Such is life. With out your feedback, I would be lost. Thanks again.
RoadRanger2015 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 05:03 PM   #54
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Salt Lake City Utah
Posts: 1,635
Year: 2000
Chassis: Blue Bird
Engine: ISC 8.3
'Round here (in the US generally) we'd probably run the risk of being arrested for possible terrorist activity or other such nonsense for attempting to photograph the mechanicals of a public bus like that.

I wish you luck; I think it'd be interesting to see what the frame and hitch arrangement looks like there. IE do they have a dropped sub-frame for the engine cradle area, or is it single-piece, and how's the hitch arranged. If buses towing mail trailers is really so commonplace there, it wouldn't surprise me for said buses to have been designed for that purpose. Their construction would then be different to the RE school buses we're talking about, which makes it an unfair comparison (designed for towing vs retrofitted). In any case there could be some things we might learn by looking at their example.
family wagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2015, 10:06 PM   #55
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Posts: 1,001
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: International
Engine: TE 444
Rated Cap: 12
I drove for greyhound in 1990 and 91, so I drove MCI 8's and 9's 8's had 8v71's rated at 270 hp and the 9's and the 102a3's had 6v92s rated at about the same
MCI 8's and 9's weighed about 28,000 pounds empty, they actually had concrete poured in a channel under the center aisle to lower the center of gravity but with air ride on all corners, body lean was considerable but they will go around a corner faster than you think
Kubla is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:01 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.