Hit elk

[Mex-Busnut]

Several have mentioned a front guard. The Mexican truckers use them a lot. They call them "tumbaburros", very literally, "donkeys tumbler". (See the picture.)

Several months back one of our busnut buddies lost both legs in a wreck in his bus. (Sorry: I cannot remember his name.) At the time I was wondering why more busnuts don't consider improving their safety by:

   1. Putting on some kind of reinforced exterior front protection, such as a donkey tumbler.
   2. Or doing a tubular protection (think: roll bars inside of race cars) built into the dash area of the bus, invisible from outside.

My two pesos' worth.

[happycamperbrat]

doing a tubular protection (think: roll bars inside of race cars) built into the dash area of the bus, invisible from outside.

funny you should mention that! Just last night I was researching on doing this very same thing with both my RTS bus and VW bus! Apparently people have done it and they use 1 1/2" or 2" round steel bars.

[cody]

The drivers area of a bus has long been known as the 'kill zone' so I can see real merit in beefing up the area of the front, many of the trucks up here use the front racks and mow down deer and whatever else wanders out without damage, we should give it thought too.  I believe it was daniel that lost his legs in that wreck.

[lostagain]

Volvo advertises its new buses with driver protection now.

JC

[Mex-Busnut]

doing a tubular protection (think: roll bars inside of race cars) built into the dash area of the bus, invisible from outside.

funny you should mention that! Just last night I was researching on doing this very same thing with both my RTS bus and VW bus! Apparently people have done it and they use 1 1/2" or 2" round steel bars.

Do you have some website links for this? Thanks in advance!

[Jeremy]

Plenty of examples available of trucks with external roll cages around the cab, but I can't find any pictures of a bus with one. Whilst I absolutely understand the desire of making a bus more survivable, I suspect engineering a cage that actually worked, whether it be done internally or externally, onto a bus (either chassis'd or monocoque) would be tricky to say the least. Whilst it's not the same thing, there are many examples of 'fashion accessory' ironwork on the front of modern 4x4s which undoubably make the vehicle less safe by totally ruining the carefully-designed front crumple zone.

Here's an off-road camper with an external cage:




As has been said, lots of Aussie buses have bull-bars - even Greyhound use them:




Jeremy

[belfert]

Does the average coach even have anything stout enough to attach a front guard to?  Semis and pickups have frame rails they attach them to.  I've had more than enough close encounters with free range cattle to make it worthwhile to at least check into a front guard.  The fiberglass front of my vehicle would just shatter if I hit a cow.

[happycamperbrat]

I will search for the description of what can be done with a vw bus, they build it out of tube steel of about 1 1/2" or 2" and extend it across the nose, down the side of the driver's and passenger door, and up above the windshield. On the RTS I have 2 long frame type rails that extend out to my front bumper, those would be mounting points. This is basically a roll cage like is used in racing cars only it is build inside the coach and concealed with insulation, wood, maybe a steel dash, etc. For the bars that go outside, those are called "roo bars"

[Ed Hackenbruch]

One thing that you can do to decrease the odds of hitting an animal is to not drive at nite.   Not foolproof by any means, we had a deer run across in front of us in Texas in broad daylight and to this day i still don't know how we did not hit him. 

[happycamperbrat]

Here is the VW bus that was done http://www.akciddento.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=7 they have the same kind of problem we do (at least the pre 1973s) where the nose at impact level is just sheet metal 

[cody]

This is one area of thought I dealt with when I was looking for a bus back a few years ago, one strength factor I liked was that the iggle could be driven without siding, roof or even floor that the tubular framing had enough strenght to go down the road, with most other buses when you remove the side panels you'vbe taken away the strenght, I think iggles have a good starting point as far as that factor goes.

[jackhartjr]

Cliff, I was talking to a girl a while back...she said she is a vegetarian...I asked her if she hated meat...she said no, that she hated vegetables!  (Oh I am ssoo bad!)
Jack