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Bus Boy 39
Top Member
USA
1315 Posts |
 Posted - 11/01/2007 : 3:11:13 PM
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| How many districts/contractors are still running gas powered school buses? |
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2007 : 3:24:41 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Bus Boy 39
How many districts/contractors are still running gas powered school buses?
We still do. 24 of our 37 regular route buses are gasoline-powered Blue Bird GMCs (1998-2003s). We made the change over to diesel-powered units in 2004 with the addition of an IC RE-300 along with a handful of IC CE-200s, and we've remained with IC Corp. products since. |
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Bus Boy 39
Top Member
USA
1315 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2007 : 4:45:11 PM
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| We still have three spare 1995 GMC's.........They run better then the diesels........ |
I'll show you my air brakes if you show me yours. |
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dem84skeeprollinup
Top Member
USA
888 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2007 : 7:20:31 PM
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| Besides one of our gmc microbirds none at all. Were all 466 powered for full size besides our tc which has an isb. Then our newest type a's are duramax and powerstroke 6.0. |
Do the world a favor and bring back GMC and Ford conventional chassis......
 
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thomas86_a
Top Member
USA
4413 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2007 : 7:40:14 PM
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| The rumor I heard was that Blue Bird was going to start offering a gasoline engine in the Vision. |
If you have an International, you NEED customer service. |
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NWCROWN
Advanced Member
USA
461 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2007 : 9:48:29 PM
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For what it's worth, Kelso purchased two new type A Chevy gas-powered buses earlier this year, after buying only Ford diesel type A buses for years.
Also worth noting, Laidlaw still has quite a few GMC Blue Bird conventionals, with what I assume to be the 366 (definitely not diesel) in service for the Portland School District. I saw many of them driving around when in Portland a few days ago.
I have not seen a gas-powered transit in operation since 1990 when Kelso retired the last of the Wayne and Carpenter RE's they had. With the exception of Portland, I think the districts around here that have gas buses remaining in the fleet use them only as spares.
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dem84skeeprollinup
Top Member
USA
888 Posts |
Posted - 11/01/2007 : 11:03:03 PM
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Gas powered school buses will make a comeback whether you like it or not. The teetertotter of costs between gas power and deisel power is going to switch after the 2007( Edit:2010)EPA emission standards kick in. There would be something like a 10-15k initial cost difference on purchase and diesel engine vs. gas engine. Diesel per gallon price is trending towards equal or will be higher than gas soon and it could be a permanent switch. I'm not a huge fan of gas but i dont mind them. I bet if they came up with a fresh engine design it would have about equal or better fuel economy. I would hate to have to say this usualy, but have Japan come up with a bus gas engine . Hell, back in the 70's Ford had a fuel squeezer gas engine for semis that could get 8-9 mpg.
Expect seeing the return of the gas powered type C as early as next NAPT conference and type D gassers possibly by the 2011 model year. |
Do the world a favor and bring back GMC and Ford conventional chassis......
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Edited by - dem84skeeprollinup on 11/01/2007 11:12:01 PM |
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Thomas Ford 85-16
Top Member
USA
4177 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2007 : 06:24:02 AM
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| Two or three school districts local to me run entirely gas, except for one Vision that they had to get with a diesel. They don't put more than 200,000 miles on their buses, the gasolines are cheaper to maintain (esspecially since some school districts don't have an on-staff mechanic), and gasoline for the past few years has been way cheaper around here. Last Friday, gas was $3.099 and diesel $3.549. |
Mike's Bus Yard - http://buses.zwebpages.com - Since 1999
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Steven A.Rosenow
Top Member
USA
1926 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2007 : 11:29:06 PM
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For what it's worth, my Kenworth-Pacific was in service until 2004,and it ran on (er, still runs on) gasoline power.
It'd sure be interesting to see some gas powered type Ds today! |
http://www.gilligcoaches.net |
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busgeek++
Advanced Member
United States
253 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2007 : 07:14:04 AM
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| How many miles on that Kenworth? |
Buses are not a way of life, they are life |
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Steven A.Rosenow
Top Member
USA
1926 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2007 : 10:06:10 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by busgeek++
How many miles on that Kenworth?
It's a 1955, and it served a daily route for 49 years.
The original odometer isn't in it anymore, so I can't really tell. In fact, I just got a call from the district that it came from yesterday (right outta the blue!!) so when I return their call Monday, I'll ask. The current odometer in it was installed in the 80s, and it currently reads about the same as my Taurus, which is now at 270K miles. Judging from that, I suspect maybe around 600,000 miles or so since it was one of only about five buses in a single, full-county district.
-Steve |
http://www.gilligcoaches.net |
Edited by - Steven A.Rosenow on 11/03/2007 10:23:52 PM |
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busgeek++
Advanced Member
United States
253 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2007 : 10:00:37 AM
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| Impressive for something gas powered |
Buses are not a way of life, they are life |
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03CV200
Top Member
United States
740 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2007 : 12:06:27 PM
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| We still have 8-10 left as daily runners, and alot for spares, they range from 1998 thru 2003 Blue Bird Chevys. Its hard to have more in service since route buses can't be more than 12yrs old. |
-Dave |
Edited by - 03CV200 on 11/04/2007 12:10:33 PM |
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baptistbusman
Advanced Member
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2007 : 2:23:23 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by truck451
Not many.
Gas engines are just as obsolete now as they started to be in the '80's, with diesels lasting longer, being cheaper to maintain, fewer moving parts, and better mileage, in addition to the heavy amounts of wear and tear that school buses face.
Any engine is going to last a long time if properly maintained. Most people that say that a diesel engine last sooo much longer than a gas engine has hardly any experience with a good gasoline burning engine. Maintaining a gasoline engine is way easier, they are way easier to work on. They may not get as good of mileage per gallon, but the amount of maintenance costs are so low, it definitely makes up for the lack of mileage.
I've had gas engine's that go 250,000+ miles plus. All they take is a nice 9 to 10 qt oil change every 3000, new plugs and wires every other year, new belts, fuel filter and that's basically it, with the exception of a major equipment failure. But then again, it's way cheaper to buy a new distributer or IAC than a new pump or spend hours trying to put a new fuel line on a cummins.
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1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. |
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busgeek++
Advanced Member
United States
253 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2007 : 2:58:14 PM
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| True in that all well-maintained engines last, but how many gas engines in the world are WET SLEEVE? |
Buses are not a way of life, they are life |
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baptistbusman
Advanced Member
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2007 : 3:18:59 PM
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| True, but then again, how many diesels are besides a DT466? |
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. |
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busgeek++
Advanced Member
United States
253 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2007 : 10:30:19 AM
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DT360, higher end CATS, DT530/570, Cummins ISC and larger, many others
EDIT: Also forgot DT408 |
Buses are not a way of life, they are life |
Edited by - busgeek++ on 11/07/2007 12:55:26 PM |
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Steven A.Rosenow
Top Member
USA
1926 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2007 : 3:02:16 PM
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The CAT3208 is, in my knowledge, the only diesel engine that was NOT a wet-sleeve design. Every other diesel engine I've ever heard of in an industrial application has been wet-sleeve.
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http://www.gilligcoaches.net |
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BusFreak
Top Member
USA
798 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2007 : 3:27:06 PM
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| The only ones I've heard of in today's school bus applications that ARE wet-sleeve design are the DT466 and the ISC. |
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Rich
Top Member
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2007 : 3:42:13 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Steven A.Rosenow
The CAT3208 is, in my knowledge, the only diesel engine that was NOT a wet-sleeve design. Every other diesel engine I've ever heard of in an industrial application has been wet-sleeve.
In school buses (non Crown and Gillig applications), the only wet sleeve diesels ever available were the DT360, DT466, and Cummins ISC.
On large trucks, I believe almost all of the current offerings are wet sleeve. |
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busgeek++
Advanced Member
United States
253 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2007 : 3:54:36 PM
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| Also, the DT408 was offered in the mid-nineties, and the DT570 was available in the IC-RE |
Buses are not a way of life, they are life |
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Topic |
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Gas
