Creative Bus Ideas

[Seangie]

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?



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

[dukegrad98]

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

[luvrbus]

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

[Jeremy]

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:



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:



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

[Seangie]

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

[TomC]

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

[Jeremy]

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.

[Oonrahnjay]

     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

[Jeremy]

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/

[Oonrahnjay]

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/

    Yes, sad isn't it???

[Jeremy]

Worth watching:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fh3yn

[Oonrahnjay]

Worth watching:
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.   

[lvmci]

Hi All, Alexander Dennis are the Las Vegas public transport, two level, accordion and citizens area transport buses, most CNG, lvmci...

[Jeremy]

    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

[Iceni John]

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

See, where there's a will there's often some demented genius proving there's a way.

John