Drivers platform in coach bus

[BELMARR]

Hi. Has anyone raised the driver's platform in a coach bus to the same level as the rest of the bus? In this case it would be an early 1980s Prevost Le Mirage. How would the steering column be altered to meet the new height?

[Coach_and_Crown_Guy]

Not easily done at all. Many vehicle controls and systems are under the floor not to mention the structural members involved. Consider, Shift linkage mounts and control rod routing, Air brake valve and lines. Throttle pedal mounts-linkages-cable routing, Steering gear box mounted under the floor and various other components carrying the motion to the steering wheel and much more. Not to mention the dash and instrument/switch clusters having to be raised in order to retain any semblance of a usable or proper driver to controls geometry and human factors engineering interface. Way too many variables to rationally consider this. Coaches have a raised passenger level to increase the height for the under floor luggage compartments. If you don't like the driver position then you might consider getting a Transit bus with a typical low floor configuration where the driver shares the same level as the passengers, which is obviously what you seek, or a School bus of some kind. As I've always said.... Coaches are different for many reasons and usually much more expensive and proprietary in nature. They're designed for a type of service and those of us who choose to convert them must accept the reality of their inherent layout and adapt that to our new service paradigm without destroying the underlying vehicle reliability, functionality or usability in the process.

[chadspeer]

I think the steering column would be the easy part.  You'd probably just need a longer 3/4", 36-spline shaft.  The brake treadle valve and accelerator pedal would be my first concern.  In my 1984 Prevost, the shifter would be easy.  I have an electric Stone-Bennett shifter for an automatic transmission.  If you build a false floor that is level with the rest of the bus, you now have to find a way to make sure the driver seat is securely mounted to the frame.  I wouldn't even consider moving the original floor itself, due to the number of systems components mounted to the bottom of it in the steer compartment.  It's all more than I would tackle, but I'm mostly just a hack who learns from YouTube videos.

[freds]

On my 80 prevost it has an air throttle.

Get someone to weld you up an extension platform for the seat and then fill in a build up area around it.

I have thought about this myself and then have the drivers seat swivel so it can double for entertaining in the cabin.