Flat nose 466 + non at545 trans

[KGZ91]

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...31&acctid=7198
is this bus ok ? i cant find any other shorties with stronger combos all around =/

[Robin97396]

That's basically what I'm driving, except mine is a bluebird. I'm right at 26', with the lift and 5.9, 19.5" wheels, flat floor handibus, 170k. Runs fine. Some things need to be caught up mechanically but this one is a sound bus.

Your selection sounds very similar. I didn't see much specific information.

These buses turn on a dime allowing you to get around in parking lots easier than most buses.

[KGZ91]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

That's basically what I'm driving, except mine is a bluebird. I'm right at 26', with the lift and 5.9, 19.5" wheels, flat floor handibus, 170k. Runs fine. Some things need to be caught up mechanically but this one is a sound bus.

Your selection sounds very similar. I didn't see much specific information.

These buses turn on a dime allowing you to get around in parking lots easier than most buses.

my main concern was weight wise to not get fined by dot or state troops.
right now i run my f450 with 15k gvwr 17-21k all the time,yet didnt caught in 2 years but feels unsafe and kinda costly with those blowouts suspension,transmission swapouts.so i decided i need small but beefy bus.
and based on ya suggestions and searchs i dont see dt466 + md 3060 or something else in flat nose style.ive found long one.
but i wont be able pull in driveway.
i dont want to buy dump trailer because i will need to spend 4k on transmission to beef it up while i can grab those buses for 4k and be safe for much more margins.

[Robin97396]

It sounds like you know what you're looking for. All good choices.

[peakbus]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

That's basically what I'm driving, except mine is a bluebird. I'm right at 26', with the lift and 5.9, 19.5" wheels, flat floor handibus, 170k. Runs fine. Some things need to be caught up mechanically but this one is a sound bus.

Your selection sounds very similar. I didn't see much specific information.

These buses turn on a dime allowing you to get around in parking lots easier than most buses.

Another Newb. here. I've been looking at a 1995 Carpenter 27' Flat -front. From reading all I could here in the last week, everything looks great (Cummins 5.9; no rust, 6'-4+ headroom, seats out, Titled as RV already) except the omni-present AT545. Sounds like working around this with governor adjustment or rear end swaps are not good options.

For a bus of this size, is the AT545 a deal breaker? I'm in Idaho and travel through mountains regularly. Thanks for all your shared knowledge!
Chris

[Robin97396]

I live in the coastal mountains and I bought this thing for cruising the logging roads. I've got few complaints about this buses performance, and yes it has a 545. The transmission issues seem to be something I notice more driving on highways and freeways while going down steep grades. At higher speeds going downhill you do feel like you're freewheeling, as if it was in neutral. There is some resistance from the drivetrain, but not much. I also drive on very steep roads on gravel at lower speeds on the logging roads and don't seem to have a problem.

For mountainous terrain I'd much prefer to have a stick shift, but for driving on the highways I'd rather have an automatic. The 545 does fine. It's not one of the preferred transmissions, but there are lots of them out there and parts or replacements are easy to get.

All in all, the maximized floorspace of 21' to the back of the driver's seat, and no interior wheel wells (flat floor) makes this style bus quite appealing.

[peakbus]

Thanks for the quick reply. What is it like climbing hills at highway speeds? Are you crawling, or able to keep a reasonable pace? When I test drove the bus I didn't climb any hills. Maxed out speed on the flat was about 57-58. That's not crazy slow, but I don't want to do 35 climbing a grade on the interstate.

[Robin97396]

Some of the highway hills I climb do knock me down to 35 or 40 on the steeper hills.

The way I look at it is we have the same engines that are put in pickup trucks, but we're pulling about four times as much weight. If you had a pickup truck with near 20,000 lbs of load to pull up that hill you wouldn't expect it to do much more than 35 or 40.

I'd certainly like more power, but realistically we shouldn't be passing people with a bus just because we have enough power to do it. As far as the long steep hills go, I'm certainly not the slowest vehicle in the slow lane. After a while I simply got used to taking a hit on speed on those long hills. It's not that big of a deal.

I can pull 65 easy enough on the flat. I can pull most hills at 50. Don't be in such a rush.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Some of the highway hills I climb do knock me down to 35 or 40 on the steeper hills.

The way I look at it is we have the same engines that are put in pickup trucks, but we're pulling about four times as much weight. If you had a pickup truck with near 20,000 lbs of load to pull up that hill you wouldn't expect it to do much more than 35 or 40.

I'd certainly like more power, but realistically we shouldn't be passing people with a bus just because we have enough power to do it. As far as the long steep hills go, I'm certainly not the slowest vehicle in the slow lane. After a while I simply got used to taking a hit on speed on those long hills. It's not that big of a deal.

I can pull 65 easy enough on the flat. I can pull most hills at 50. Don't be in such a rush.

In my 500 mile drive home, I passed exactly ONE car. I think it had broken down

[Robin97396]

That is absolutely true. It's rare for me to pass a car, but it does happen. Grandma driving slow, sometimes an overloaded truck.
Most people ignore the speed limits. Since I'm going the speed limit, maybe +5 mph, most people are passing me. The slow lanes are welcome so the cars can get around me and back to 65+ mph. If I'm crossing a long straight desert 65 would be fine, but with curves and hills 65 if often too white knuckle for me.
It's a process of adapting to the vehicle. This ain't no car.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

That is absolutely true. It's rare for me to pass a car, but it does happen. Grandma driving slow, sometimes an overloaded truck.
Most people ignore the speed limits. Since I'm going the speed limit, maybe +5 mph, most people are passing me. The slow lanes are welcome so the cars can get around me and back to 65+ mph. If I'm crossing a long straight desert 65 would be fine, but with curves and hills 65 if often too white knuckle for me.
It's a process of adapting to the vehicle. This ain't no car.

My family think I'm weird, and they may have a point. On the Interstate I generally set the CC at 5 mph below in the car.

On the bike I set it at +5 or +7 mph, depending on the ride I am doing.

On the bike I am usually going a long way .... 1000 miles plus. Adding 5 mph saves a great deal of time over 1000 miles, time I can use sleeping.

[peakbus]

What's your downhill strategy?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by peakbus

What's your downhill strategy?

With an AT545 mine would be simple.

On a steep downgrade, set your target speed. Brake until 10 mph under that speed and in the lowest practical gear allow the vehicle to run downhill until you are 5 mph over your target, then rinse and repeat.

[johnbloem1974]

Originally Posted by Twigg

With an AT545 mine would be simple.

On a steep downgrade, set your target speed. Brake until 10 mph under that speed and in the lowest practical gear allow the vehicle to run downhill until you are 5 mph over your target, then rinse and repeat.

That's exactly what we do (have an AT545). On the steepest grades, 1st gear will hold me at around 25-30 without revving too high, and leaving me enough "wiggle room" to use the brakes very sparingly to maintain a safe speed...

John

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Robin97396]

At low speeds I feel like I do get some compression resistance on steep hills. At freeway speeds, not so much.

[KGZ91]

so i bought that bus from govdeals for 4750
i hope i dont need to invest too much to fix it.
ur mindset about speed sounds reasonable,i think i will need to fix attitude too

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

At low speeds I feel like I do get some compression resistance on steep hills. At freeway speeds, not so much.

Yes ... Even a non-locking torque convertor has some drag through the transmission. Enough that, at a speed low enough, it will stop the over-speeding and allow you down the hill with just occasional brake use.

It depends on the target speed you set yourself, and you wouldn't feel much effect at freeway speeds.

[Robin97396]

It does take a change of attitude while driving a bus. You might as well relax and enjoy the ride.

That's not the hard part. There's still cars out there that want to show you some road rage. Regardless that a bus is largely unaffected by vehicle under 3k lbs, they seem to get in front of me and slow down. I'm not exactly sure what the message is they're trying to get across.

That reminds me of a guy on a motorcycle that got in front of my x-wife's car and locked up his brakes. I'm still wondering if he thought that through before he did it. I'm also a motorcycle rider, but locking up the brakes in front of a much heavier vehicle isn't something I'd do if I got angry. Seems more like a suicide to me.

I haven't had the nuggets to go over 130 on my bike.

[Robin97396]

Originally Posted by KGZ91

so i bought that bus from govdeals for 4750
i hope i dont need to invest too much to fix it.
ur mindset about speed sounds reasonable,i think i will need to fix attitude too

Well congratulations on your bus purchase. I hope it's in good shape too. Chances are it may have an issue or two, like the rest of us find. Still, you're a bus driver now.

[KGZ91]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Well congratulations on your bus purchase. I hope it's in good shape too. Chances are it may have an issue or two, like the rest of us find. Still, you're a bus driver now.

thanks man,i will post pics once i complete ultimateroofingtruck