bus dimensions?

[swinada]

Since we are trying to make a decision on what size of bus we should by was i looking for dimensions.
Would it be possible for somebody of maybe posting the different Buses with their actual inside (usable space) dimensions?
what is the inside dimension for a 54 passenger? What other sizes do they come in?
You can tell I am new to buses.
I was looking through some floorplans,however on most of them there is no dimensions given, the pictures are nice but measurements would even make it better.

 

[Elliot Naess]

Just some quick first thoughts off the top of my head...

...after... Hey, welcome aboard!

School buses have been built for as many as 97 passengers (abbreviated "pax").
But that's counting children, at six kids per row -- three on each seat. And the maximum
length is 40 feet bumper to bumper.

A 40 foot flat nose bus with the engine either in front or in back will carry around 84 kids.
84:6=14 rows. My bus has the engine up front, next to the driver, and this
driver/engine/stairwell area takes up about 5 feet. So I have 35 feet usable
space. 14 rows = 35 feet. That comes out 30" per row -- and I just measured
it to a tad under 29. So this is ballpark.

Also, the windows tend to match the seats -- somewhat. So once you get familiar
with these silly things, you can learn to eyeball the length of a bus by counting
windows.

54 pax? 54 : 6 = 9 rows. 9 x 2.5 feet = 22.5 feet. Very roughly. Probably a bit less,
as a practical matter.

That get you started? Others will chime in with more precise information soon.
Keep asking. And search and read -- most things have already been discussed
somewhere around here.

 

[KC10Chief]

Yep. Most buses are approximately 7.5' wide on the inside, and you can figure about 2.5' in length for each window. I have a 10 window bus. 10 x 2.5' = 25 feet. And that's exactly what I have for living space inside. 25' x 7.5'. That's 187.5 square feet! WOO HOO! 8)

 

[the_experience03]

My 65 pax (11 windows*6 per window=66 minus one for a garbage can seat in the back) is 36 feet from tip to tail with 28 feet of floor space from behind the driver's seat to the rear wall. It is 87 inches wide from inside of seat rail to inside of seat rail with 90 inches of overall interior width.

 

[GoneCamping-SKO]

The figure for 2 ½ feet per row is about right for mine too, I have a 12 window flat nose bus, that means 30' of usable space, another 3' for the driver & stairway area....outside measures roughly 34' long....

I learned early on to count windows....

The measurement you really need to pay attention to is inside height, especially if you are NOT vertically challenged. While I'm sure each bus manufacturer has their own set of specs, there is a close proximation you can use to figure inside height by looking at the bus from a distance.

There are essentially 3 different interior heights, and you can spot this from outside the bus by looking at the roof line toward the front of the bus. Most of them tend to start a little higher just above the front, then drop a little and go straight back, others will be straight/same height all the way, and some will actually rise up right after the front.

The low one usually is around 6' 0" inside height
The straight one is around 6' 3" inside height
The raised unit will about about 6' 6" inside height

Since I'm only 5' 7" it didn't make a lot of difference to me, I can fit in it just fine, but with only 6' clearance in the center I have friends that will have trouble in here...and I'll probably loose over an inch with ceiling and floor treatments...

 

[sportyrick]

size matters

1976 flatnose Bluebird, interior height 77" (roof has kickups front and rear to facilitate overall roof extension, everyone who has been in it says it's the tallest they have ever been in, will accomidate a 6'5" person), interior width 90.5", overall length bumper to bumper 38', probably @ 6' off that because of dog house, front and rear walls and bumpers so usable space is @ 32', 14 windows not counting drivers window, 14 rows of seats x 2 = 28 seats, rated 84 passengers (56 adults) by the sticker in the front. You can't get enough room so go with a large one. sportyrick

 

[DizzyIzzy]

14 window = 30x7.5 = 225 sq. ft

Mine is only 5'10" inside. That is 1" taller than me. There are only 2 major snags with my height. 1. Too Short for rooftop A/C. 2. I have long hair and the ribits on the ceiling grab my hair.

 

[Train-train]

Mine is a seven window handicap. I have twenty feet from the back of the driver's seat to the back door. I have 77" of vertical clearence which is necesary because I am 6' 3". By pacing it off, I think my bus is 28' bumper to bumper.

 

[pete c-SKO]

any body ever been to a 3rd world country? I saw a bus in alexandria, egypt, mighta been a trolley, actually. anyway, I don't know how many windows or seats it had, but, I am fairly certain it had atleast 27.5 kids/people/livestock per row. There had to be well over 100 bodies on that thing. Fortunately, I walked most places there. I sometimes ran as well.....to the nearest toilet!!!!! Remember, bottled water and prepackaged food is your friend.

sorry about the thread hijack, sorta. But bus capacity mention always reminds me of that place.

 

[Big Rick-SKO]

I believe this is the exact thread I was looking for. I'm starting to plan for my future skoolie and my first step is to do a floorplan v1.0 (I'll start a thread once I get the floorplan together a little better) . Its gonna be a bike hauler/camper. I was hoping to be able to do 1/2 and 1/2 garage/living space and carry 4 bikes but it looks like thats probably not gonna happen (unless I have only small bikes) Based on what I've seen here I might be able to get 3. I can always put more on a trailer if necessary. I have another dimension question. Can anyone measure their rear emergency exit doors for me? I'm hoping to do a U-Haul style ramp to load the bikes through the rear exit door. I'm just worried that it won't be big enough...but I guess I can expand the doorway if necessary...thats just a lot of fab work that I'd rather not have to get into. Help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[phillbus914]

I also was able to get my bike through the rear door, but it was a 600cc sport bike. Like jimmy said ya might have to walk the handle bars through one at a time. The Hawg Wagon seems to fit a larger bike through it's rear door.

I've hauled a 2nd bike on my rear deck once, it works but I think a trailer is a lot more user friendly than a rear deck. My rear deck is about 3.5 feet off the ground, unless you can find a hill to back up to it's nearly impossible to load and unload a bike. I park next a hill at my house and mainly use my rear deck for my quad (the ramps for loading are nearly level) when I get to where I'm unloading it I just pull it off the deck with no ramps and let it drop to the ground.

 

[Big Rick-SKO]

Right on. I was more worried about crash bars or saddle bags fitting. I guess another good dimension to know would be the height from the floor of the bus to the ground, just in case you can't park at a hill. I might be able to figure out some sort of curved/hinged/something ramp to make it work with a low riding bike.

 

[phillbus914]

Measured my rear door today for ya, it's 52.5" tall and 37.5" wide

 

[phillbus914]

I believe this is the exact thread I was looking for. I'm starting to plan for my future skoolie and my first step is to do a floorplan v1.0 (I'll start a thread once I get the floorplan together a little better) . Its gonna be a bike hauler/camper. I was hoping to be able to do 1/2 and 1/2 garage/living space and carry 4 bikes but it looks like thats probably not gonna happen (unless I have only small bikes) Based on what I've seen here I might be able to get 3. I can always put more on a trailer if necessary. I have another dimension question. Can anyone measure their rear emergency exit doors for me? I'm hoping to do a U-Haul style ramp to load the bikes through the rear exit door. I'm just worried that it won't be big enough...but I guess I can expand the doorway if necessary...thats just a lot of fab work that I'd rather not have to get into. Help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey Big Rick did you see this bus on ebay? Looks like a good start for what you're looking for... price seems right too.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981INTE ... enameZWDVW

 

[Big Rick-SKO]

WOW! that does looks like a pretty awesome start (esp with the ramp)...theres a problem tho...I'm currently working on building funds for the bike to put in the back so I don't really have the money for it yet...and I def. don't have a place to keep a bus at the moment (living in a historical neighborhood in a town with retarded rules...can't wait to build a house out in the middle of nowhere lol)...

but yeah...its got all the tint done and new tires (that apparently you can damn near lose a quarter in the tread lol)...thats $1500(probably more) right there

Def thanks for the heads up!

 

[lbranin]

This post is a few years old but I have been trying to figure this out too!
Excellent. Thanks.
It will make the internet search so much easier. We do not have our bus yet, but are shopping.
We are going to have to tow a Jeep behind the bus and don't want a huge bus but need some room inside. The floorplan I came up with we need at least 13-14 feet.
Thanks
Leslie

 

[Crazy]

Wow, this thread has a lot of the old guys.

 

[S1.]

I would like to get a conformation from anyone here regarding interior height of some of these buses. I just texted a seller about a bus that is a 1000 miles from me about the interior height. They replied that it was 7'2" floor to ceiling. The buses are all original (UN-modified) 1991 and a 1998 Thomas RE flat nose school bus. Is this measurement correct? Or maybe a typo on the part of the seller. This thread seams to indicate that the TALLEST of school buses are only 6'6" on the inside.

 

[S1.]

Here's a pic of the bus in question.

[URL=http://s127.photobucket.com/user/SMYDA/media/01616_GL8f34uZeu_600x450_zpsa5419823.jpg.html]
[/URL]

 

[cdn_downunder]

Here's a pic of the bus in question.

[URL=http://s127.photobucket.com/user/SMYDA/media/01616_GL8f34uZeu_600x450_zpsa5419823.jpg.html]
[/URL]

I suspect its a typo, all the Thomas buses I have looked at come in 72" (6') or 78" (which is the tallest bus around), I'd gather their's is the 'standard roof' (i.e. 6') rather than the 'high roof' option.