| Author |
Message |
Karl Stevens (The_wanderer)
Registered Member
Username: The_wanderer
Post Number: 1
Registered: 9-2007
Posted From: 75.178.183.41
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 - 3:41 pm: | |
i currently own a blue bird tc2000, and am looking to upgrade to something a little more refined, larger interior, possibly better towing, etc.
i have the need to tow a 14-15k lb. load on most of my trips. how well do transit/coach type buses tow? i've searched a lot and read all about the engine cradle debate, so i don't need any input there. i'm looking strictly for opinions on power, braking, etc. the bus i'm considering is an mc8 with a dana 4 speed and the 8v71. |
Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Registered Member
Username: Cowlitzcoach
Post Number: 166
Registered: 4-2001
Posted From: 204.245.250.7
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 - 5:24 pm: | |
If you truly want to tow a load in excess of 10K I think you would be better served if you started looking at converted over-the-road trucks rather than a bus.
An MC-8 in good shape is going to overheat on steep hills when the weather gets hot. Installation of misters, etc. will allow you to go further up the hill before overheating but the fact is MC-8's overheat when it gets hot or when you pull long steep hills.
Even if you don't take overheating into the equation, an MC-8 with an 8V-71 is going to live in the slow lane on any long hill. Add 10K+ on behind and you will really be in the slow lane. Increase the ambient temperature to over 85 degrees and you will be stopping several times before you get over the top of the hill.
Greyhound of Canada put into service several C3's that were set up to pull trailers. Outside of those few buses, most buses are not designed and built with the idea that they will be pulling heavy trailers. Since they were not designed to do so, they don't pull heavy trailers very well.
You don't say how large your TC2000 is. A 40' TC2000 has almost the identical amount of interior volume as an MC-8.
A 40'All American RE with a Cummins ISC will make a much better tow vehicle than an MC-8. With a proper paint job and window removal an AA will look very similar to a Wanderlodge.
If you are bound and determined to use a coach I am sure you will find a way to do it successfully. But I would look at a much more modern design with which to start than an MC-8. Just remember--Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder and very subjective.
Mark O.
Castle Rock, WA |
Ron Walker (Prevost82)
Registered Member
Username: Prevost82
Post Number: 337
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 208.181.210.47
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 - 8:46 pm: | |
Prevost will tow up to 15K with factory design. I doubt if a MCI will tow over 10K other that the Greyhounds in Canada that have been setup to tow a trailer ... but I don't think it's much over 10K
Ron |
Justin Griffith (Justin25taylor)
Registered Member
Username: Justin25taylor
Post Number: 49
Registered: 4-2007
Posted From: 71.155.170.72
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 - 10:26 pm: | |
I have towed a 28' Wells Cargo trailer with a XLII Prevost loaded to the roof with sound equipment.
I had no problem whatsoever. It had to weigh 10K.
Of course the bus had a 60 series DD. |
Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Registered Member
Username: Buswarrior
Post Number: 1079
Registered: 12-2000
Posted From: 74.12.73.134
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 29, 2007 - 7:24 pm: | |
I'll second the comments posted above:
1) Consider a truck conversion
2) move up to the four stroke buses
There are a smattering of "large car" tractor trailers out there, with those monster 140" Indiana sleeper boxes on them, which have very narrow commercial viability beyond their original purpose due to only being able to pull shorter trailers.
Get one, re-fit for your trailer and hitch set-up and fill the rest of the frame up with an extension of the sleeper box.
A cautionary note, remember what a bus load of 47-56 people and a bunch of suitcases weigh... and a careful conversion has some capacity left between full load and empty shell...a 10K trailer strapped onto an empty shell would be no different...
FYI, those Greyhound trailers aren't run that heavy. It's only bus parcel express, not a trucking company. If it can't be humped onto the counter by the customer, they aren't taking it. They run the dual axles more for redundancy than being loaded for bear.
happy coaching!
buswarrior |
Kevin Black (Kblackav8or)
Registered Member
Username: Kblackav8or
Post Number: 77
Registered: 8-2005
Posted From: 138.163.0.43
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 6:41 pm: | |
A Crown with a 10 speed and a Cummins will do it. Otherwise do the truck conversion option. Check over on Escapees. Plenty of them over there. |
Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Registered Member
Username: Cowlitzcoach
Post Number: 167
Registered: 4-2001
Posted From: 204.245.228.224
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 10:05 pm: | |
As much as I am of a Crown Supercoach aficiando, a Crown no matter how it is equipped would be a poor choice for a tow vehicle.
The rear trunk area of a Crown was designed as a crunch zone. Outside of some sheet metal there is nothing of a structural nature from the rear of the rear spring hangers to the bumper below the floor level. Consequently, building a trailer hitch capable of towing anything more than a few hundred pounds poses as much of a challenge as it is to design and build a trailer hitch on a GM transit or palor car.
Rear engine Type 'D' school buses built by Thomas, Blue Bird, I-C, and Gillig all have been built with big HP engines with transmissions able to handle the load.
But even those are buses rarely had engines with more than 275 HP. Moving a 30K+ bus and a 10K+ trailer is going to require a lot more HP than 275 HP if you want to be anywhere except for in the slow lane.
I have seen a long chassis Freightliner conventional that had been converted. The van box had been married to the factory sleeper cab. The whole package looked as if it had been factory built. It had a Cummins BCIV 400 under the hood with a 13-speed Road Ranger. Out back it had a car hauler fifth wheel hitch set up to pull a modified and enclosed car hauler trailer.
I guarantee you that rig never spent anytime in the slow lane unless they wanted to slow down to look at the scenery.
Because that rig left the factory ready to pull heavy loads it was more than capable of pulling such a "small" load as an RV. Overheating issues were never a problem for the owners.
It is going to be your rig so you will decide to do what is best for you. But IMHO, using any kind of bus to move a trailer the size and weight you contemplate is inadvisable.
Just my two cents worth.
Mark O.
Castle Rock, WA |
Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Registered Member
Username: Sffess
Post Number: 714
Registered: 1-2002
Posted From: 66.38.120.219
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 05, 2007 - 1:45 pm: | |
The question is how to attach the hitch and adequate brakes. I know of a Prevost that used to tow a 20 ft trailer loaded full with Harleys converted to Chevy 350 V8 power. It had to be over 15,000 lb. |
Steve (Steve)
Registered Member
Username: Steve
Post Number: 77
Registered: 9-2004
Posted From: 69.19.14.34
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 14, 2007 - 10:04 am: | |
My neighbor builds the coaches on freightliner chassis They will pull 20,000lbs If you need more info I can put you in touch with them. |