We met these nice folks in San Simeon on our way up the PCH. Why tow 4 down when you can just drive your vehicle right up onto your bus?
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F05%2F29%2Ftyvuhy4u.jpg&hash=6fc08eb3e9581cde014640cbec44ba2498ee94c3)
He said they can cruise along at about 65mph no problem with the jeep on the back. He had to weld up a support frame and is looking at adding airbags to help support the weight.
If I could do this with a 45' coach it might be tempting.
-Sean
Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org (http://www.herdofturtles.org)
I've given something like this a lot of thought myself. But with all the "big buses" having their drivelines at the very rear, getting the vehicle (and in my case, low-clearance sports cars, not jacked-up 4x4 off-roaders) into the middle of the coach chassis is a bit of a head-scratcher. Still, it would make a great car-hauler. A schoolie is very easy for something like this idea.
Cheers, John
There was a Eagle at one of the Bus Conversion rallies that had a hatch back the owner carried one the small Japanese 4x4 drove the thing in there let the hatch down and you never knew it was there, and it should be in one of the conversion magazines
Plenty of "big buses" out there with mid-engines and racing teams in the lower formulas still frequently use converted coaches as combined crew buses and car transporters.
Going one step further, why not put them on the roof:
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3086/2297606947_c574a6f9de.jpg)
The vehicle in the photo above was no-doubt built for the purpose, but just to prove that a standard bus roof can take the weight:
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs1.ibtimes.com%2Fsites%2Fwww.ibtimes.com%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fv2_article_large%2Fpublic%2F2012%2F04%2F15%2F262737-dangerously-overloaded-transports.jpg&hash=583191fbda679fda4e97679634145a6d96b2c540)
I've given serious thought to whether I could transport my Fugitive rail buggy (which weighs very little) on the roof of my bus - haven't yet figured-out a satisfactory way of getting it up there yet though, short of uglifying the back of the bus with a commercial taillift
Jeremy
Jeremy - you always find the most interesting pictures to post related to the thread.
I would love to own that first bus. I dont need two cars...but the vehicle is definitely interesting. Any more information on it?
Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org (http://www.herdofturtles.org)
This is why I'm using a truck for my 40ft conversion-40ft so I can drive anywhere and without special license. Then in the back I have a separate 13ft garage with my bedroom overhead with 5ft headroom. Then I can pull a boat behind to explore all the inland waterways we have. Good Luck, TomC
Quote from: Seangie on May 29, 2014, 08:17:58 AM
I would love to own that first bus. I dont need two cars...but the vehicle is definitely interesting. Any more information on it?
Apparently it's an Alexander body on a Commer chassis. Commer isn't around any more but Alexander is still a prolific bus builder here in the UK. That particular vehicle was built for the Jaguar racing team and is quite famous in it's own right - there are photos of it all over the internet. Here's a description from one website:
The team had relied upon a pair of venerable converted coach transporters through the 1950s but once David Murray's D-Type Jaguars had not only won their second consecutive Le Mans 24-Hour race in 1957, but had also come home first and second in that latter year's Grand Prix d'Endurance, membership of their Ecurie Ecosse Association supporters club absolutely boomed.
Collectively, Association members were keen to help the team's racing efforts. The weakest link in the Merchiston Mews chain was plainly transportation, as identified by Alastair Cormack, managing director of James Ross & Sons Motors, Rootes Group agents. He had been a prominent racing driver with Alta cars pre-war when he competed most notably at Brooklands and Donington Park.
Another Association member was Ronnie Alexander, managing director of Walter Alexander and Company of Falkirk, specialist truck and bus coachbuilders, and he offered to have a one-off transporter designed and built by his company. Further support for the project was offered by British Aluminium (paneling), Dunlop, Joseph Lucas and Wilmot Breeden. Machining and other services were also donated by companies such as John Gibson & Sons, and so work began on the team's brand-new transporter in 1959 with substantial funding provided by the Ecurie Ecosse Association.
Jeremy, all the old (and long gone) British motor companies you noted in your post reminded me of my time with Norton Villiers at Wolverhampton 1972 - 1978. Sort of pulled at the old nostalgic heart strings ... thanks (and RIP British motor industry ...)
Bruce H s/eastern NC USA
To be fair, at least four of the companies mentioned there are still going - Alexanders, Jaguar, Lucas and Dunlop. Alexanders are even still British-owned and operate factories in several countries (and they own Plaxton).
http://www.alexander-dennis.com/ (http://www.alexander-dennis.com/)
Quote from: Jeremy on May 29, 2014, 02:59:56 PM
To be fair, at least four of the companies mentioned there are still going - Alexanders, Jaguar, Lucas and Dunlop. Alexanders are even still British-owned and operate factories in several countries (and they own Plaxton).
http://www.alexander-dennis.com/ (http://www.alexander-dennis.com/)
Yes, sad isn't it???
Worth watching:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fh3yn (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fh3yn)
Quote from: Jeremy on May 29, 2014, 04:15:56 PM
Worth watching:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fh3yn (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fh3yn)
Oh, yes, I feel much better now! That's a stirring collection of Japanese, French, German, Italian, and Indian vehicles -- and American "diggers"; oh, and Morgans. Yes, not sad anymore. :-\
Hi All, Alexander Dennis are the Las Vegas public transport, two level, accordion and citizens area transport buses, most CNG, lvmci...
Quote from: Oonrahnjay on May 29, 2014, 04:52:08 PM
Oh, yes, I feel much better now! That's a stirring collection of Japanese, French, German, Italian, and Indian vehicles -- and American "diggers"; oh, and Morgans. Yes, not sad anymore. :-\
In fact I used to think
exactly that myself - that it was where the owners lived which mattered. But that's just ego - I was eventually convinced (by a friend who has worked in the industry all his life) that the nationality of ownership is almost entirely irrelevant - by every meaningful measure the only thing that actually counts in any way is where the factories are and where the workers live.
The perception of the public on this kind of thing, irregardless of whether it's a positive prejudice or a negative prejudice, is usually 40 years out of date anyway. The man in the street will always think of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Land Rover, Mini etc as being entirely British marques, regardless of which country the holding company is registered in. And cars with Honda, Nissan or Toyota badges will always be entirely Japanese (and will be completely ignored by Top Gear films), regardless of the fact that huge numbers of them are built in Britain each year. And I'm sure that exactly the same is true in every other countries where the same situation exists, even if, for example, that 'Japanese' car then has a Chevy badge stuck on it. And Prevosts and MCIs and..and..and... It's almost impossible to name a national marque from one country which
isn't owned by someone in another country. Egos apart, the only thing that matters is where the factories are.
Jeremy
Quote from: Jeremy on May 29, 2014, 09:38:28 AM
Apparently it's an Alexander body on a Commer chassis.
How could genuine 2-stroke enthusiasts like us here not like the Commer engine - three cylinders, six pistons and one crankshaft (work that one out!). They were the Detroit's baby cousin. Mind you, the British liked making weird 2-stroke diesels - how about 18 cylinders, 36 pistons and 3 crankshafts (one of which rotated the opposite direction to the other two), and not a single valve. Wonderful!
Here's an idea from the Antipodes for keeping your toad close by, OK, under the bed: http://www.hobohome.com/the_motorhome/moke_in_motorhome.php (http://www.hobohome.com/the_motorhome/moke_in_motorhome.php)
See, where there's a will there's often some demented genius proving there's a way.
John
Quote from: Iceni John on May 30, 2014, 10:45:00 PM
Here's an idea from the Antipodes for keeping your toad close by, OK, under the bed: http://www.hobohome.com/the_motorhome/moke_in_motorhome.php (http://www.hobohome.com/the_motorhome/moke_in_motorhome.php)
You know, I could almost do that with my bus with barely any modification - the rear boot (trunk) is almost long enough front-to-back already, and could easily be extended forwards towards the rear axle if I put the water tanks somewhere else. It's plenty high enough as well I think. The only problem is that I'd never be able to bring myself to drive a Mini Moke, even though you can still buy new ones here from several replica manufacturers.
But the modern electric version - I could live with one of those, especially if you could tie it into the bus battery bank when it wasn't being used (I notice that the battery bank in one of these is 'only' configured to give 48v, which is much lower than most electric vehicles. I reckon you could used 48v on a bus quite easily - 48v inverters are certainly commonplace).
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fzerocars.biz%2Fwp-content%2Fgallery%2Flittle%2FP1130888.jpg&hash=fb2401f38517e6622db7c54209b05e2fa8171069)
Jeremy
PS - Wow, this thread has really drifted around!
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Wch6PJb9698%2FUqa5uC30sFI%2FAAAAAAAAAPk%2FnyZsaX8HLX4%2Fs1600%2FCapture.JPG&hash=e263ad00014896fb481bfd61721453d073b2f2f8)
TJ had this image on his blog.
I have been expecting something like that from Kyle.
Hey Scott I have one of the old TS4 Rootes/Lister engines in the hanger in Scottsdale really is a unique engine I gave a 100 bucks for it on the Texas coast repaired the starter hooked a battery and a fuel supply to it and the damn thing started in about 10 turns, I have a 2-51 GMC (Detroit) that has no valves also it's different ::)
Look up the Napier-Deltic. Triangular shaped engine with 3 banks of 6 cylinder with 36 pistons. For a design from the 50's, was way ahead of it's time. Now, a very dirty burning engine that could be cleaned up with better piston sealing technology and using common rail electronic injection with up to date after treatment.
The whole reason for the Deltic was a light weight, compact engine that put out a lot of power. But-we have 4 stroke engines that putting out just about the same power to weight as the 2 strokes. Good Luck, TomC