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second.flood
Top Member
USA
640 Posts |
 Posted - 04/28/2014 : 11:27:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by bwest
quote:
Originally posted by Fastback
quote:
Originally posted by second.flood
I'm amazed that your school board would interject themselves into the bus bid process, to me that is outside the scope of their responsibility. School board members are supposed to set policy, hire and evaluate the super, oversee collective bargaining etc., NOT micromanage.
I would think if the school board has the power to say the districts buildings will be air conditioned that they could also mandate that same environment would exist for the students while they are being transported in school vehicles.
Politics as they are, sometimes you just have to let the powers that be have what they want in order to get what you want.
 You got it! 
A lot may be the difference in size of districts. My school board would never be involved to the extent of requesting options on school buses.
They hire good people and let us do our jobs. Maybe the little districts are different. |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2014 : 12:03:06 PM
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That would be the key! I do believe that board members mean well. I also believe that a small district, for the most part, is a better way to educate a child.
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Bryan |
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Fastback
Top Member
1500 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2014 : 05:22:29 AM
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| When it comes to items perceived to effect student comfort or safety such as A/C, video camera's or seat belts, its hard to believe that any school board, no matter the size of the district, would not make their wishes known. Also no surprise that the people who maintain the buses would tend to drag their feet on items that might increase their hassle factor and work load or drive up the cost for new buses to the point that you get fewer new buses. |
Why yes, the ORIGinal CHARGER is a Fastback |
Edited by - Fastback on 04/29/2014 07:38:40 AM |
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second.flood
Top Member
USA
640 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2014 : 09:29:52 AM
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School boards should not micromanage day to day operations of a system.
Reminds me of the "what" , "how" rule.
School board members are supposed to legislate the "what" (eg. safely transport students), and the administration/staff is supposed to set the "how" (determine the methodology to safely transport the students).
20+ on one side and 12 years on the other side can give a unique perspective.
From everything I see here about Bryan, he is an exceptional employee and technician. If I was a school board member in his district I would be doing my constituents a disservice by not allowing him and his manager to run the transportation department as they see fit.
I also realize that once something is implemented, such as a nice convenience like A/C, it is tough to go back.
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2014 : 09:37:56 AM
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| Edwin, you'd make an excellent board member! lol Thanks for the complements! |
Bryan |
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4544 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2014 : 5:12:56 PM
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Thought of you today bwest, when my must-have handicap hauler came in with alarms screaming and "SCR FAILURE" on the display.
Why do I love diesel again? |
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C.HARDY
Advanced Member
354 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2014 : 4:57:28 PM
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| I got to look up close yesterday at a 2015 Vision propane. Im very impressed with the bus as far as performance but still on the fence otherwise. Im just not sold on the Bluebird... |
"Hardybusman" |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2014 : 05:38:38 AM
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Yeah Thomasbus24, I was asking myself that question when others on here were complaining about EGRs.
C.Hardy, If I were a BB salesman I'd want to know why you are "not sold" on BB. lol Not sure I could be a salesman. lol |
Bryan |
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4544 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2014 : 11:52:13 AM
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| Blue Bird really isn't any worse than the other two. All three big players churn out half-assed junk nowadays! |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 05:27:02 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Thomasbus24
Blue Bird really isn't any worse than the other two. All three big players churn out half-assed junk nowadays!
I don't know if I'd go as far as to say "half ass junk" but I agree they are not what they were a mere ten to fifteen years ago. I would speculate that they are "racing toward the bottom". Many districts that purchase buses are only keeping them 5 years so they are looking at initial price instead of longevity. So, as a result, the people who keep these things for the long haul, suffer.  Of course, this is my two cents and I may be totally wrong and these are just the best buses that have ever come from a school bus factory in history. lol |
Bryan |
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aaronwilmoth80911
Top Member
538 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 06:45:42 AM
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| We got three new Blue-Bird Visions this year,(not propane) and I would have to say that we were not impressed by the quality of work put into them. The last two buses we got were Visions, which was last year, and the quality of workmanship over a years time fell off quite a bit. Nothing too incredibly major, but all the little things add up real fast. Not sure I would consider them "half-ass junk", but they definitely were not whole ass quality. Rather disappointing. |
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TEKbus
New Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2014 : 5:55:27 PM
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I have two on order right now. Should arrive mid-July.
These are 77-passenger, with A/C. (Some of you look at A/C as an option - here in the desert it is pretty much mandatory)
The big district around here (Mesa USD) is going propane big time. You may have seen their directors smiling face in the Blue Bird literature. They really like them. I had a test drive in one about 2 years ago and was very impressed. Quiet, smooth, powerful. Then Blue Bird had one at our summer conference in Flagstaff, AZ. They took a group of us up to the the Grand Canyon in it. About forty adults, A/C on, cruising along with no problem. The elevation change is only a few hundred feet overall, but there were some sizable ups and downs along the way.
Currently, I have 5 almost ten year old IC200's with the infamous VT365.  And 3 2012 IC's with Maxxforce DT's.
So far, the DT's have not had major issues. Which is an improvement over the VT's.
Given the ever increasing cost/complexity/hassle of diesel, I thought it would be worth it to take a shot at propane. Fueling plans don't include onsite fueling - that idea was shot down. So we will be contracting to have it delivered as needed, or use commercial station if necessary. Fingers crossed. |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2014 : 08:01:50 AM
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| TEKbus, how many stations do you have locally? |
Bryan |
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BLUEBIRD1965
Active Member
12 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2014 : 05:59:07 AM
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I only have one thing to add, we have about 40 V10 buses, and out of those buses, only two or three have failed. IE: dropped a cylinder, this due to over rev when going down hill. No2, Broken bolts in cross member. quote:
Originally posted by Fastback
One concern might be is that there is no track record for aluminum headed full size school bus engines.
The Cummins ISB and the MaxxForce DT are approved for use in vehicles with far greater GVWs than the Ford V10 which in reality is not much more than a 5.4 liter pickup truck V8 with 2 additional cylinders.
I also can't help but note that all the propane delivery trucks around here are diesel powered, if anyone can buy propane at wholesale prices it would be those folks and yet...........??
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Not the best mechanic, Just Know where to hide extra parts. |
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eshover
Senior Member
146 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2014 : 07:22:14 AM
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| I had an opportunity to visit the assembly facility for the Roush CleanTec propane systems last week and it was a very interesting tour. It is located in Lavonia Michigan. Very good view of the quality control that they have on the system being built. Also went to see Jack Roush personal car collection of a lot of different cars that he had built and race cars. We visited the building where they modified Mustangs and Ford Raptors with the Roush package. Pretty interesting stuff. |
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bwest
Administrator
United States
3820 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2014 : 08:14:05 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by eshover
I had an opportunity to visit the assembly facility for the Roush CleanTec propane systems last week and it was a very interesting tour. It is located in Lavonia Michigan. Very good view of the quality control that they have on the system being built. Also went to see Jack Roush personal car collection of a lot of different cars that he had built and race cars. We visited the building where they modified Mustangs and Ford Raptors with the Roush package. Pretty interesting stuff.
Wow, that would be a neat tour. |
Bryan |
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Topic |
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New Propane Buses
