Thread: Who knows about coaches?

My son in law had a truck in his factory the other day to fit some solar panels on it for the new owner.
It was 4X4 and was bought from a mining company. It was seriously capable. Looked like a Paris Dakar contestant.
I know it would not have the same amount of room as a coach but having driven tourmasters , it would not cost as much to run , nor would it have the frame rust problems either

Keep away from public transport buses. They usually are quite old and have done big heaps of kilometres. Lots of very worn bits hiding in them. In my Leyland days we regularly had converted ex- public transit buses towed in with a busted major component. The owners had usually spent all their brass on the conversion and kept just enough for their holiday. They learned the hard way just how expensive truck and bus parts are. The pneumocyclic gearboxes (known internally as the homosexual gearbox) are incredibly expensive and difficult to rebuild.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I did briefly consider a truck, but to get similar (but still less) living area I would be restricted to a Kenworth K 100. The cook would have access issues and I've never driven a cab over Kenny that was remotely comfortable. In my years on he road I've often cursed the converted old Leyland and Bedford school busses, ambling up the highway at 60-70 kph; I couldn't do it to my fellow truckies.
Arthur, the Mazda/Coaster etc. will not get the economy you are quoting at 100 kph or towing a Discovery and 350 kg motorcycle.

Mine sits on 100kph quite easily, even had it up to 115 (don't tell anyone ) and its very economical with just normal easy going driving.
Mind you, If I'm travelling, I'll be taking it slower, taking in the sights, however,,, I do pull over if I'm slower

Ian, if you find a good ex- highway coach with a 6V92TA or TTA go for it. Extra fuel cost if any will be negligible. You are not going to be driving 200,000 k's a year like on line haul fudging the log book and doing desperate overnighters. The sheer reliability, longevity, and low service costs of a Detroit two stroke would likely put you in front anyhow. And you will be able to maintain the speed limit not like the bloody grey terrorists and their caravans who could but won't.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I need a minimum of two metres head room, those who have met me will confirm.
Does the aisle sit between the chassis? Is the chassis a space frame? I have considered a deck and a half or double, heaps of space but at the expense of headroom. I certainly prefer the bulletproof simplicity of American running gear, it's easier for me to fix on the side of the road and get a country spanner man who knows about them. The two stroke can be very economical if driven gently.

Landseer & Tourmaster are less than 2m. I am 186 and with flat shoes I have about 2-3cm clearance, so 190-192cm.

Yes the aisle is between the chassis and the chassis is a space frame that is trussed including the bin floor. The euro chassis impede on the bin space (denning, austral, motor coach don't). In general if it has a EU engine (Scannia, Volvo, MAN) the short chassis was imported with engine trans, suspension in place. They stretched it to length and built the body over it. Coaches with US running gear are built from the ground up in aus, with the exception of a few US imports like MCI and Silver Eagle bought in by the original Greyhound in the 70&80s which are actually over width

Nearly all early Landseers (1985) either had 8v71 with 5 speed fuller or 6v92t with 6 speed spicer or 7 fuller, there was a few with 8v92t built for Scenars and also was a few odd exceptions. From late 86ish, nearly all had 6v92t with either 6 speed spicer or 7 speed fuller depending on who ordered it. ddec1 (electronic engine control) came out in about 1988, and gave heaps of problems due to incorrect wiring. Operators like McCaffertys order new without ddec and removed it from vehicles acquired 2nd hand. I don't remember of any built new with duel speed box, but happy to be corrected. Last one built in 92.

Double deck are further down on headroom.

Personally I wouldn't touch a Tourmaster due to the rust. Several had 10 speed road rangers, built for InterTour, and apparently with the tall diff good for 100mph, they ordered them for Darwin – Adelaide, and they paid the drivers' speeding fines.

A Silver 350 6v92t in a coach towing a vehicle at highway speed will not be economical (around 2km/L) – but it will go for ever. McCaffertys used to regularly see over 2mil km before rebuild, and that’s with fleet vehicles, they could see 2-3 different drivers in 24hrs. I remember they had several 7 speed fuller boxes (fleet was 5 or 7 speed fuller) with over 7 mil – untouched still going.

As mentioned there are plenty of options, many of the “day tour” coaches built in the 90s had taller head room with flat floor and wider stairs/door to allow everyone in/out in less time (but with smaller bin space). During this period operators were ordering for purpose and there was plenty of different versions built. Motor Coach and Apollo built heaps of them and Austral built a couple of cracker high decks for Murrays complete with the ugliest green seats ever seen. Operators like Murrays & Coachtrans had these built and they were lucky to do 40-50k/year

The idea mentioned of having bathroom down stairs is one reason I like the SunLiner Apollo High Deck. Would end up with a huge area for living, bathroom down, and the driver's room is a separate area below the passenger deck, fitted with a co-driver seat and bunk.

semi with an iso-hut on the trailer?

Originally Posted by harlie

Nearly all early Landseers (1985) either had 8v71 with 5 speed fuller or 6v92t or 6 speed spicer or 7 fuller, there was a few with 8v92t built for Scenars and also was a few odd exceptions. From late 86ish, nearly all had 6v92t with either 6 speed spicer or 7 speed fuller depending on who ordered it.different drivers in 24hrs. I remember they had several 7 speed fuller boxes (fleet was 5 or 7 speed fuller) with over 7 mil – untouched still going.

Ian, from about 1980 a lot of Spicer 1107 were used in buses. These were a sweet shifting box, would change like **** through a goose.
We even built a couple of Road Boss with them for one of the oil companies. Good choice of ratios which also forced drivers to use the whole operating range of the engine. Very strong and simple. Also built one for Brisbane-Darwin road train service for a Simon's subbie. It had an NTC400 with 1107 and a Spicer air shift P1241C auxiliary box behind. A brilliant combination. Had us wondering why other heavy haulers didn't follow suit.

So you are planning a career change to be a "Coach Captain"? Never a common "bus driver" on a highway coach. You will need to don the uniform, Walk shorts with braces, self belt shirt, highly polished slip-on casual shoes, long socks, bushy mustache.
Edit- I nearly forgot the thinning grey hair with Brylcreem.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

...

These were a sweet shifting box, would change like **** through a goose.
.....
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I agree, the Spicer 6 speed and 7 speed units were very nice in operation - most of the later Tourmasters have a 7 speed spicer. The Fuller is very notchy and you must be spot on in comparison. The Tourmaster has a much nicer gear shift mechanism with significantly less connections than the Landseer - down side is a longer throw due to the longer stick as it comes from the floor, where the Landseer has a console beside the driver with a much shorter gear stick.

Some one also mentioned air leaks and issues with dropping while camping long periods - most older coaches will drop within couple hours. IMO you would be very lucky to find one that doesn't leak, and if it doesn't now it will soon. It is not an issue they have very large compressors and if the system does't leak enough they actually dump air out every couple minutes, this also expels water from the system. If you fit a dump valve, when you get to camp, drop it down and it will happily sit on the bump stops when at camp.