How much does your converted bus weigh?

[scapegoatwax]

Hey!


I'm doing some homework and trying to figure out if an EV conversion for a bus is possible/sensible, I have a thread about that in the electrical section... not too important to this thread, but I figured I'd explain why I want to know.


So, how much does your converted bus weigh?


What I'm going to try to do is compile all the info shared with me here into a Google Doc and share it with everyone including things like averages, minimum, maximus... and depending on how much and how granular the data I have to work with is, maybe I can give some other useful numbers.


Please, be as detailed as you can be! If you have weight before and after conversion, that's great. If you have model numbers, how many seats/windows the bus has/had... how much the wheelchair lift weighed, if it had one... all of that would be awesome info to have!


Thanks.

 

[somewhereinusa]

1991 Bluebird AARE GVWR 36,200

Seated with full fuel tanks (100 gl)
Front axle 8,720
Rear axle 15,360
Gross wt 24,080

Converted mostly done except for cabinet doors
Full fuel (100 gl) and fresh water (100 gl) driver in seat (180 lbs)

Front axle 10,640
left 5580 right 5060

Rear axle 17,440
left 9140 right 8300
Gross wt 28,080

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Thomas Saf-T-Liner 1999.

40', Cummins 8.3 and MD3060

Completely stripped of seats, walls, and ceiling:

Steer Axle: 6360 lb
Drive Axle: 12400 lb

Total: 18760 lb

 

[2kool4skool]

F 9640, R 9647 w/both of us on board.

 

[johnbloem1974]

Front 7200
Rear 12200
Trailer 4100
Total 23500

On our way up to Montana for the summer loaded with our stuff and towing our Ford Escape.

John

 

[2martins]

Thomas Saf-T-Liner 1999.

40', Cummins 8.3 and MD3060

Completely stripped of seats, walls, and ceiling:

Steer Axle: 6360 lb
Drive Axle: 12400 lb

Total: 18760 lb

My stripped 40' International is almost exactly this front and rear. I'll weigh again once it's done. The GVWR is over 26K - maybe 31? Can't remember.

 

[scapegoatwax]

Alright! This is a good start. I guess it's no surprise, but buses are quite heavy! Haha


Here's what I came up with so far off of these replies. Let me know if I can make this easier to read or more useful!



Do any of you happen to know what material your buses' frames are made out of? What about the wheels?


Another shot in the dark, but what about the weight of the engine/transmission, as those probably wouldn't be a part of an EV conversion. The transmission might stay.

 

[somewhereinusa]

Frame is steel, what else could it be? Wheels are steel. 40 feet long.

Cat 3116 engine dry weight approx 1085
Allison 643 trans dry weight approx 510

AARE is rear engine

 

[EastCoastCB]

I know a DT466 weighs around 1500lbs without the transmission.
With ALL the interior stripped out, the rolling shell weighed 17,900 lbs and it was a 40 footer FE.

 

[2kool4skool]

2K4S is 26', GVWR is 25500, front engine, TC1000.

 

[scapegoatwax]

Frame is steel, what else could it be?

I feel like I've heard somewhere that some buses (like, airport buses or city buses) are made of aluminum. But I haven't been able to find any so it's totally possible I made that up...



Thanks for the extra info, btw.

 

[roach711]

Ford E-450 Super Duty Cutaway with 7.3l Powerstroke diesel and 24' Eldorado Aerotech fiberglass body. Steel frame & wheels.

Vehicle rated GVWR - 14040 lbs.

As converted with full fuel (50 gal), water (35 gal) and 2 propane tanks (20 gal), food, camping gear, a rifle or two and two people.

Front axle - 4240 lbs
Rear axle - 7440 lbs
Total weight - 11680 lbs

 

[synestine]

I feel like I've heard somewhere that some buses (like, airport buses or city buses) are made of aluminum. But I haven't been able to find any so it's totally possible I made that up...



Thanks for the extra info, btw.

Some road busses have aluminum skins, but the frames are always steel. It's strong and cheap enough to be commercially viable.