Locking Mechanism and New Handle for Original School Bus Door
My wife and I are keeping the original folding bus door for the aesthetic and character. However, the handle mechanism takes up quite a lot of space, and it can only be unlocked from the inside.
Has anyone modified the door opening mechanism to be much simpler than the whole three point handle? Or has anyone created a way to unlock the door from the outside? I'm kind of thinking of an elaborate block and tackle mechanism, but I'm not sure if it's even worth it.
Wondering same. What I did in the mean time is a bolt hinge that is welded to the door that drops through the bottom step. Then waist height, inside, I welded ears, with holes to the doors and put a rod through the holes making a double lock.
Can you fit an external "button" like the highway coaches have? We live in an MCI which has this button on the front (with a hole in the shaft for a padlock). Pushing it shoves the inside door opening handle past the lockover point, then you pull the door open.
Some of our other coach buses have either pull rods or buttons, too.
I tried to upload a video of me pressing it, but I guess it's not a valid file type...so imagine a palm pressing this.
Funny all us Girardin owners are thinking along the same lines. That opener and related supports sucks up valuable short-bus space! My son wondered if we could retrofit an electrically operated door control. Has anyone done this? Push button inside, key on outside.
Linear Mode
