How tall is your bus from the ground to where you would scrape the highest point on your bus? There is a reason for this question which I will share with everyone who responds, but I don't want folks to get off track with more details than what we are looking for.
It would be nice if you listed the Year, Make and Model of your bus as well as the height in feet and inches to see how they vary across bus types.
I.e. 1983 MCI MC-9 11' 9"
I will tally up the results and publish them at a later date.
Thanks for your support in this research project.
http://mci102.com/mci_specifications.htm#SPECIFICATIONS____BELOW (http://mci102.com/mci_specifications.htm#SPECIFICATIONS____BELOW)
1980 GMC h8h649 11feet, 11 and 3/4 inches.
My 1991 Prevost XL Mirage scares the heck out of 13 feet with Winegard Satellite Dome sitting on top, up front.
1987 Plaxton Paramount 3200 = 3.2m tall, Paramount 3500 = 3.5m tall, Paramount 4000 = 4m tall (double decker)
Mine is a 3200 + 7" roof raise + another 6" or so on the roof. Measured at 11' 10"
Jeremy
1987 Newell
12 feet to top of the roof airs.
MCI102A3 To top of AC units 11 ft 11 inches.
Please do not include general technical specs for buses. We have several books and other resources for that already.
We only need to know the total height of your bus including any roof mounted A/C systems, Domes, Fan covers, Refer covers etc. so we will basically know how low of a bridge you can pass under without scratching up your stuff. Technical specs will not do us any good for this project.
We need to keep this simple to compile this info easier and to provide the info we need.
86 102a2 is 11 feet 11 inches to the top of my ac. My 65 mc 5 is 10 feet 6 inches with nothing on top.
The Custom Coach MC9 I used to own was 12' 4" to the top of the sat dome. Dennis
1968 Silver Eagle M01 12'6" to top of AC's. That is if I measured correctly while standing on a ladder! ;D
1966 GM 4107
Bus is just under 11' and AC (tallest point) is just under 1' tall.
So we might probably scrape some paint @12'.
We avoid anything ~13' and take an alternate route.
Model D with roof raise and Penguins Ac 12ft 10 inches
1981 MCI MC9 12 feet 6 inches
12' 7" with roof airs MCI 9 with a 9" roof raise.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
3.3528 meters +/- a centimeter or two
13' 1" (highest point is the KVH Satellite.
85 Prevost 12'-0"
85 Prevost 12'-5" to top of airs.
When I first pulled it into shop, it looked like it wouldn't clear so up with step ladder. It cleared by the thickness of a credit card! I had the entrance to the shop regraded slightly for more clearance.
MC8 with roof airs and roof raise -- Air bags fully inflated 12'9"
Melbo
1988 MCI-102 A3 12'3" to Roof Airs.... Have a 12ft door and have to deflate airbags to get it in the bus barn.
If you are trying to come up with a safe distance between the bus roof area and the bridge structure you better give it at least 6" of a safety zone. Some old bridges may have a clearance that looks good with a good approach zone but some roads start to rise when coming out from under. So as the nose of the bus starts to rise up the middle may take a hit. We had a bridge that looked good going into it but many box trucks and trailers got stuck half way through as the cab started rising coming out from under the bridge. They ususally had to pull them out from behind after letting the air out of the tires to take the stress off the vehicle. The feds and railroad have since rebuilt the bridge but raising it up and lowering the road some, now they have a water issue at times when it rains real heavy for long periods, pump system to keep the water from building up.
1991 Cityliner 11' 6" at normal ride height.
To clarify what we are looking for in this thread; someone called me and said they are building bus barn to service buses and wanted to know what the highest point on buses is that he may have to service to determine how high of a door he should install. But please do not go into detail about why you would choose a certain height door as that is another topic in itself. All we need to know now is they total height of your bus.
The info about bridge clearance is a very interesting note, but now that we have clarified the purpose of this thread, lets stick with the simple answer as well as anything that may affect the height of your bus if applicable. However notes about the height of buses as they apply to bridge clearance would make a great separate thread by all means. If you want to discuss bus barns, plz start a separate thread for this topic also.
Quote from: Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM on March 10, 2016, 08:45:05 AM... they are building bus barn to service buses and wanted to know what the highest point on buses is that he may have to service to determine how high of a door he should install. ...
My bus is right at the 13'6" legal height (this applies to about 35 states east of the Rockies in the US and a few Canadian provinces; the western US and most of Canada is 14').
Thanks for the very helpful info Bruce,
I didn't realize that the max legal height of a bus in the US is 13'6" in some states and 14' in others. That was another question the caller asked me which I couldn't immediately answer.
Does this height restriction apply to where your bus is registered or where you drive it? I.E. if I live in CA and have a 14' high bus, can I drive it through NYC? Or is like most restrictions, that you are okay until are involved in an accident then all hell can break loose as they claim that you exceeded their states height restrictions?
Also, I assume this is for privately owned bus conversions or is this for commercial passenger buses or both?
The feds require all over and underpass have a 14 ft the minimum clearance on federal funded highways most are 16 ft.We moved a forklift from Barstow Ca to my place that was 14ft 3in tall on the loboy Ca or Az didn't require us to buy a permit was I ever happy
Something to keep an eye on is the signage directing to any certain lane for a height difference. This I have seen as bridges center lane almost always higher, but again over passes connecting some rock areas are many times minimum on one side and absolute no worry on other side/lanes, this is pretty common I believe. And as mentioned all new construction have there minimums. Is there going to be some cool maps being made electronic or is google gonna drive a bus : )
Floyd
Quote from: Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM on March 10, 2016, 10:15:16 AM
Thanks for the very helpful info Bruce,
I didn't realize that the max legal height of a bus in the US is 13'6" in some states and 14' in others. That was another question the caller asked me which I couldn't immediately answer.
Does this height restriction apply to where your bus is registered or where you drive it? I.E. if I live in CA and have a 14' high bus, can I drive it through NYC? Or is like most restrictions, that you are okay until are involved in an accident then all hell can break loose as they claim that you exceeded their states height restrictions?
Also, I assume this is for privately owned bus conversions or is this for commercial passenger buses or both?
The "legal maximum height" is the max that you can DRIVE it without a permit. I don't know how stringent they are on measuring any vehicle (judging by the number of haywagons I see knocking down phone lines, I'd say "Not Too!!!"). That max height applies to all vehicles and is mostly applied to tractor-trailer trucks since few buses even get close but other loads (such as a forklift on a flatbed) are covered, too. If a bus (or a stick-and-staple motorhome) is near the max, you might get measured and if you're found over, you could get tickets or made to get a permit (and maybe hire an escort vehicle, etc.); doesn't matter commercial or not.
I applies to any permanently fixed item like a vehicle's roof, an air spoiler, a part of the load being carried, etc. You'll sometimes see "OverSized Load" or "Wide Load" banners on flatbeds hauling big stuff. The "Oversized" can be too wide or too tall, the "Wide" is only too wide; of course, the only way they can run is with a permit.
As you might expect, a lot of states and localities have different detailed regs but those basic heights cover the two big areas.
Quote from: luvrbus on March 10, 2016, 10:42:33 AMThe feds require all over and underpass have a 14 ft the minimum clearance on federal funded highways most are 16 ft. ...
That's correct, except for where it isn't. :'( ??? On I-95, southbound into Richmond VA just before the I-64 West interchange, there is an underpass that's signed 13'9'' (which opens the whole can of worms about standards for height signs -- I've been told that the legal limit in NY State is 13'6" and every clearance that measures out to 14' or under is marked 13'6". but I'm not sure that's true.)
Frequently I come across a low hanging bridge that I am not sure if my bus will clear or not. But I figure if no cops are around, why not go for it. If they don't see you, they can't ticket you. ;D
You just need to get up some speed in case the bridge catches one of your A/C units so it will not make you come to an abrupt stop such that you will be pinched under there for a while such that you will get caught.
Don't let this happen to you...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTclRCQrrKE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTclRCQrrKE)
I can't believe the cars that are following so closely behind.
Of course, if you want to perform a simple experiment just for fun as shown in this professional bus driver applicant video. Then there will be no doubt if your bus will make it or not.
Study this video hard then let me know which is the safest seat in the bus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD10Bhpdvcs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD10Bhpdvcs)
I don't mind the basement level seating :D
Mopowr
On a side note a lot of the signage is because overlays / re-pavement of asphalt.
Got to have some maintenance, and reasons why milling of bridge decks and such.
That stuff adds weight and reduced height - x 2
Well since we are off topic I will share what happened to me once.
I was going thru Chicago with a load of cars on a carhauler and came up on a traffic jam, looked at the atlas and saw a way around it and took off, long story short I went under an unmarked 12 ft high bridge with a 13' 6'' load! :o
That was an expensive trip!
Wes
Well, it was on only a car hauler. Truck should have been okay. :D
My bus is 12'-9" tall to top of rooftop A/C unit. Dina Viaggio if it matters.
I have seen some really crazy bridge height signs out on the Interstates. I have seen a bridge marked as 19 feet clearance and another that was marked at over 20 feet clearance. Do we really need to waste money on signs for bridges that high? Any truck that needs that much clearance is going to need permits and they will know the clearance of every bridge along the route.
Probably a CYA thing. If some over height load ever did hit it, they would have grounds for a lawsuit for the jurisdiction NOT posting the height?
1984 Eagle Model 10 (not raised) - 11' 3", as soon as I take off the 14 1/2" Datron Satellite Dome