| Author | Message | ||
| peter river (Brightstone)
Registered Member Username: Brightstone Post Number: 3 Registered: 8-2009 Posted From: 24.234.166.174  Rating: N/A |
I see couple of coaches with million miles plus. is it advisable to purchase a bus with that many miles, even if they are well maintained? engine is 6v92, allison tranny. | ||
| John and Barb Tesser (Bigrigger)
Registered Member Username: Bigrigger Post Number: 251 Registered: 9-2007 Posted From: 24.183.22.6  Rating: N/A |
Most coaches that have seen passenger service could have a million or more miles on their chassis, however the components (engines, transmissions, etc ) will have been replaced or rebuilt several times during the life of the coach. | ||
| ED Hackenbruch (Shadowman)
Registered Member Username: Shadowman Post Number: 160 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 70.193.137.161 Rating: N/A |
My 68 5A has somewhere between 2 and 3 million miles on it according to the PO. He put 248,000 on it after he converted it. I bought it from a dealer who did not know the mileage and when i contacted the PO and found out how many miles were on it, i told him i might not have bought it if i had known that. He told me the body would go another 3 million miles, ( after almost 6 years of owning it i agree.) but that the drive train would have to be rebuilt or replaced a couple of times along the way. Also asked me if i thought i was going to drive it 3 million miles in my lifetime. :>) As long as the body and drive train are in good condition it doesn't really matter what year or model bus you buy, it is going to outlast you. | ||
| L James Jones Jr (Jamo)
Registered Member Username: Jamo Post Number: 89 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 74.79.238.160  Rating: N/A |
I always thought (heard it here??) that Greyhound unloaded their buses when they either hit 3 million miles or 10 years old...which ever came first. I also remember during my 4104 search that a Greyhound was the better bus to buy, as their maintainance was second to none. Some of those Mom & Pop tour companies may have had trouble with affording a proper maintainance schedule. So, less miles might not always be best, eh? Make sense?? My 4104 is an ex-Hound. I can see the orange stripe coming though the paint as proof... | ||
| Rob Norgren (Robsedona)
Registered Member Username: Robsedona Post Number: 64 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 75.209.152.83  Rating: N/A |
My 66 MC5A was sold in 87 from Greyhound and I'm sure in 21 years of service out west SF it saw at least 3 million miles its still in great shape Body will last and last Don't know how many rebuilds it has seen? It will still be around long after I'm gone and my Son has it He is Waiting! | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Registered Member Username: Chessie4905 Post Number: 1622 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.58.110.9  Rating: N/A |
In the early converted coach days, The people didn't want Greyhounds; preferred a Trailways or other. Many "for sale" converted coaches would state with their amenities,"never a hound". Also a while back, someone did the math to prove that the coaches of present rarely see 1 million miles or more. The thought was that probably on 04's, sometimes on 06's, and probably never on newer models. | ||
| R.C.Bishop (Chuckllb)
Registered Member Username: Chuckllb Post Number: 909 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 75.210.83.248 Rating: N/A |
On a million mile coach (mine was one...  ) theoretically, one has a couple more to go (million) B4 it is "up" to expectation....albeit, I'm talking vintage coaches. Have no idea about the "newer" ones. RJ and BW, hopefully, have a lot more to offer on the subject. In between a million, I should think there might be an in frame....or two..possibly a change out....or two....of any thing.... . I have a 5 to 6 inch maintenance file for mine, courtesy the prior owner...down to the last nut, washer and bolt; also a copy of the MSO. Best wishes...and ask lots'a questions ( maintenance logs???, etc). | ||
| clint hunter (Truthhunter)
Registered Member Username: Truthhunter Post Number: 474 Registered: 1-2009 Posted From: 24.129.237.52  Rating: N/A |
as far as the intercity coaches go, ( 300 days a year x 1,000 miles a day )x 10 years = 3,000,000 miles. Not a long stretch in regular route service with a major carrier such as hounds inc. ... some buses are were designed & advertised for 10 years/3,000,000 miles of service (service includes both hauling & service in the shop, pm, rebuild,restorations, abuse repairs, sheduled maintence etc ... -do your compete prepurchase inspection, that is the only way you will be making a slightly informed decission. | ||
| Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Registered Member Username: Buswarrior Post Number: 1683 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 76.68.122.156  Rating: |
Mileage is pretty much meaningless in choosing a coach for conversion. Condition is everything. It was often said MCI used to build a 3 million mile coach, back in the MC7/8/9/102 days, whatever that meant. There are seated coaches with 3 million miles on them that are in showroom condition, there are VIP coaches with 200 thousand miles that require major mechanical replacement. Ancient history, Greyhound's maintenance was thought superior because they established procedures for running and maintaining a cross continent fleet when there were none. They were amongst the first to recognize you had to do something organized to keep it moving across the continent through the hands of many service depots. Modern history, the 'hound has been under-capitalized ever since the coach industry destruction of airline deregulation, what, some 25 years ago? They squeeze every bit of life out of them, kicking and screaming and dripping and breaking down the highway all the way to sale date. According to some, the MC9's saw close to 5 million miles. And once a coach is in the hands of the 2nd/3rd tier operators, whatever maintenance that was done before quickly fades to meaningless. All moving parts are consumable and replaceable. Some more expensive than others. What condition are they in currently? Some body issues are curable, some are a death sentence. Each model has different ones. For the coach model you are interested in, pay someone knowledgeable to take a good look and weigh the pros and cons. happy coaching! buswarrior | ||
| Tom Christman (Tchristman)
Registered Member Username: Tchristman Post Number: 116 Registered: 1-2006 Posted From: 66.218.33.156 Rating: N/A |
Mileage is not a concern with a well maintained commercial vehicle. They are made to be rebuilt endlessly. As long as the chassis is sound without alot of rust or cracking, you can rebuild all mechanicals as long as you want. There are truckers out there still driving classic trucks making a living with trucks that have many millions of miles. Good Luck, TomC | ||
| FAST FRED (Fast_fred)
Registered Member Username: Fast_fred Post Number: 943 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 76.202.165.190  Rating: N/A |
Some of the modern engines like a DD Series 50 or 60 regularly do a MM before an overhaul is required. Hound yanked the engine tranny package ANNUALLY , regardless of the coach miles and went over everything. It was an overnight job for 2 wrenches , and I'm told by a guy that worked at MIA Hound that after midnight only the air cond compressor alingment was being finished up. Any coach that is 20-40 years old is for SURE not with its origional un rebuilt engine , unlerss it was in storage for the decades. Condition is King , as well as a good DOCUMENTED history of PM and service. Mileage , who cares? , RUST , big pain! FF | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Registered Member Username: Chessie4905 Post Number: 1624 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.58.110.9 Rating: N/A |
300 days a year x 1000 miles a day? 50 mph times average maybe 8 to 12 hours...breaks, stops, etc... I'd have to see and study service records of coaches. Remember what the speed limit was and quality of roads in the 50's before the advent of interstates. Probably more like an average speed of 40 mph for 8 to 10 hours. They were unionized; how many hours did they have to drive in a shift? Also as they aged, they were put on shorter local runs, maybe seeing only 100 to 250 miles a day maybe only 5 days a week, then downgraded to standby for fill in. When you start piling the miles on like your 1 million plus, if it is very accurate, you start getting body and drivetrain fatigue issues and run out of rebuild life. Tax laws did a lot to determine how long to run many coaches as long as they could be depreciated. Even airliners need retired after so many hours on the road. Don't want to get a big argument started, but at least consider these points. | ||
| David Lower (Dave_l)
Registered Member Username: Dave_l Post Number: 196 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 67.58.201.132  Rating: N/A |
It is not always easy to tell the miles on a old coach if you dont know its service history, such as ex hound mci's not all the older ones had odometers and they would change the hubometer when they did a engine swap. they would also paint the rebuilt engine a diferent colour depending on the year it was rebuilt. My engine was rebuilt in 81 and it still starts, runs and drives great. The P.O took the hubometer off mine as he did not like the looks of it. I put one on and service it regularly. Dave L | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong)
Registered Member Username: Rjlong Post Number: 1601 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 67.182.53.218  Rating: N/A |
John makes a good point about the operations side of a revenue service coach. Back before Greyhound was operated by the hotdog salesman and deregulation took place, whenever a new coach was put into service, it was automatically assigned the transcontinental runs: 7,000 miles in 10 days. From the E/W transcontinental runs, as the coaches added mileage, Greyhound would rotate them into the N/S long runs, still running several thousand miles in 10 days or so. Finally, near the end of their service life with Blue Pooch, they would work the local schedules and peak hour operations. As BW mentioned, back then Greyhound was considered the envy of the transportation industry in terms of their maintenance program. This was also in the days when they would replace 10% of their fleet every year. And, as a bit if trivia, Greyhound (and Trailways) never adjusted their running times on their schedules when the national 55 mph speed limit was in effect. In the '70's & '80's, these times (on the long haul runs) were an average of 50 mph. No wonder so many of us remember the Greyhound "thundering past"!! OTOH, transit buses often operate on a five-minutes per mile bases, or about 12 mph. Multiply that by about 18 hr days and 300 in-service days per year, time 12 years - the normal revenue-generating life of a transit bus. Yup, the chassis will have far fewer miles on it, but it will be beat to death compared to a highway coach, just from the different type of operation. Plus it will have had several powertrain transplants durin that time, too. My own 4106 has 1.2 million miles on the chassis. Last time I drove it in revenue service, it was at 985,000+ on the tachograph, which Fast Fred now owns. I remember it reading 200K plus when I shipped it to him a few years ago, after having turned over at the million mile mark. Perhaps he'll share a current reading?? FWIW & HTH. . . | ||
| FAST FRED (Fast_fred)
Registered Member Username: Fast_fred Post Number: 945 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 76.202.165.190 Rating: N/A |
Perhaps he'll share a current reading?? Happily ,(will go look) but I have a hard time keeping the tiny shaft that is between the output and gear box to turn the cable working. Sometimes it reads , sometimes it just looks at me. IF anyone has one of the discs that used to be inside to record the speeds (no I don't expect to find an unused one) I would like to add it , for historical purposes. FF | ||
| Dallas (Dal300)
Registered Member Username: Dal300 Post Number: 217 Registered: 3-2006 Posted From: 75.88.200.218 Rating: N/A |
Fred, I have an old tachograph on my junk bos, I think it still has a new chart in it. I'll try and check today if you want, Otherwise: eBay item 310101824917 | ||
| Rob Norgren (Robsedona)
Registered Member Username: Robsedona Post Number: 74 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 75.210.253.20 Rating: N/A |
Greyhound Ran the bus on and on One stop one driver get out the next gets on and drives so not 8 to 10 hrs then stay and wait for new driver I was on when we just got a new driver and off we went I rode some of the greyhound as a kid don't remember tailways until i was older used to go to my granddads on the greyhound Mpls to Portland was that fun at the time All of the way was 2 lane and stop in every place their was on and on the same bus went sleep on the bus only stopping to eat day after day same bus different driver all the way their and same all the way back took many of these trips may be I even rode in the coach I now Own WOW! It ended its Greyhound Life going from Seattle to LA, Owned By Greyhound SF West from 66 to 87! Its had a easy Life going from Pasture to Pasture every since Resting and having fun!!! Lets face it What Could Be Better The best of the House Car World is Ours to Have!!! Miles Matters Not to the Over Built Coaches Up Keep does!!!!!! Rob |
