4108 - Weight

richard5933 · September 09, 2018, 08:18:36 AM

Anyone know where I can find the weight of a 4108 when it was in service as a seated coach? Would be nice to know the figures that Greyhound and Trailways used on the bus for empty weight and max capacity when loaded with passengers & luggage.

windtrader · September 09, 2018, 09:00:30 AM

MCI has a document called an FVR (Final Vehicle Report). It details many of the components as delivered but weight is not included. Maybe GM has something similar but includes weight as it varies depending on how outfitted.

richard5933 · September 09, 2018, 02:58:48 PM

Apparently there's supposed to be a sticker on the left-hand windshield post facing the driver with some of the information, but of course mine is no longer legible. Maybe someone out there has a 35-foot buffalo that still has a legible sticker/certificate on the windshield post?

luvrbus · September 09, 2018, 04:28:25 PM

Good luck on your search,I have never saw those attached to a bus,I have saw a few in the operators manual with the attached copy of the final report for curb weight

richard5933 · September 09, 2018, 05:27:16 PM

Operator's Manual - who would have thought. I just looked and found a few facts...

The 4108 is listed as:

GVWR: 30,000 lbs
Front GAWR of 11,000 lbs
Rear GAWR of 19,000 lbs

Oddly, the front end of the 4905 is listed as 12,000 lbs, even though it appears to have the basic components. All of this is calculated with G-rated tires.

We weighed the coach recently with full water (90 gallons) and fuel tanks (165 diesel & 2x 30lb propane). Results were:

Front axle: 11120
Rear axle: 18460
TOTAL: 29580

Since then we've probably added another 300-350 pounds of gear to the bus. I'm sure we're still under the 30,000 GVWR listed in the Operator's Manual, but the front axle is heavier than they list by about 500 pounds. But, it's still under the 12,000 lbs listed for the 4905.

Do I need to put the coach on a diet? We're running on L-rated tires instead of the G-rated discussed in the manual, so I'm not worried about overloading the tires. My worry is more about the axle capacity, handling, etc. Should I be worried?

BTW, I'm planning to run the bus across the scales on our way out east later this month to verify the accuracy of our last weigh in.

dtcerrato · September 09, 2018, 06:19:04 PM

IMHO the GM design engineers we're the best of the best, they ironed any flaws out during WWII & if your GVW is 30,000 lbs. then you'd be able to carry 40,000 lbs. But instead of it giving a service life of 60-70 years, you may cut a decade off of that. Not literally but just saying I think your splitting hair. I totally respect what you have witnessed & been involved in with bus ownership - just throwing my 2c in...

richard5933 · September 09, 2018, 06:22:14 PM

Quote from: dtcerrato on September 09, 2018, 06:19:04 PM
IMHO the GM design engineers we're the best of the best, they ironed any flaws out during WWII & if your GVW is 30,000 lbs. then you'd be able to carry 40,000 lbs. But instead of it giving a service life of 60-70 years, you may cut a decade off of that. Not literally but just saying I think your splitting hair. I totally respect what you have witnessed & been involved in with bus ownership - just throwing my 2c in...

Thanks Dan. That's what I was assuming but it's always nice to have confirmation.

luvrbus · September 09, 2018, 06:57:15 PM

Two axle buses the way buses are designed are easy to over load a front axle with baggage bays ,think of a 1in plank on 2 cinder blocks and set a block in the middle of the 1in plank that is the same affect you have.I know you don't like buses with a tag axle but those of us that have a tag axle can adjust the weight on the front axle up to a certain point with air pressure you on the other hand will need to move things around,no more than you are over I wouldn't even worry about it JMO

TomC · September 09, 2018, 09:16:49 PM

I guess people weight more than suitcases-because my 40ft AMGeneral transit bus has a 36,000lb GVW-13,000lb front and 23,000lb rear. But-I only weigh 31,000lb- 10,500lb front and 20,500lb rear. Even pulling my 3,750lb car behind, I'm still not over gross weight. And I bet, the axles are exactly the same as on your bus. Good Luck, TomC

RJ · September 11, 2018, 07:11:06 PM

Richard -

I just looked in my 4108/4905 parts book and discovered something you might find interesting:

The front axle for both coaches has the same part number! So do the spindles, radius rods, air bellows, bump stops and other miscellaneous axle parts.

FWIW & HTH. . .

chessie4905 · September 11, 2018, 07:56:41 PM

Probably the same as 4104 and 4106 also. Btw, the front axle housings are filled with kerosine or light oil. Quick way to tell if hsg is cracked by wet area on hsg.

richard5933 · September 12, 2018, 03:48:50 AM

Quote from: RJ on September 11, 2018, 07:11:06 PM
Richard -

I just looked in my 4108/4905 parts book and discovered something you might find interesting:

The front axle for both coaches has the same part number! So do the spindles, radius rods, air bellows, bump stops and other miscellaneous axle parts.

FWIW & HTH. . .

That was what I thought when I looked but couldn't tell for certain. Thanks for the confirmation. Not sure exactly why the difference in capacity then, other than those models with the tag axle.

richard5933 · March 25, 2019, 04:00:06 PM

I know that this is an older thread, but I discovered something today I think is worth noting.

There was a thread on another bus conversion site about a GVWR plaque on an MCI which got me thinking of this again. Now that it's warm enough, I went to the bus and looked carefully at the pillar next to the driver. Lo and behold, there under the paint, I found the plaque. In this case, it's more of a typewritten piece of paper held on by a clear plastic sticky film.

It took awhile to clean off the paint - I used a piece of painter's tape to carefully pull the paint of the plastic layer. I can see why they painted over it - it's not pretty. But, I now have a legible GVWR 'plaque' should I ever need one.

Of course, as discussed earlier, I'm a few hundred over the front axle rating. But since that was based on G-rated bias ply tires and not the L-rated radials we have on their now, I'm not too concerned. (Plus all the other things we discussed last fall.)

Since it is so unattractive, I'm thinking that I might make some type of cover for it from a sheet of magnetic sheet. It will be out of sight, but I can access as needed.

pd4501-771 · March 25, 2019, 05:23:23 PM

I don't think that is unattractive. That's historic gold! I love finding stuff like that. That could easily be reproduced. The few guys restoring seated Buffalos would be interested I would think.

richard5933 · March 25, 2019, 05:38:16 PM

Quote from: pd4501-771 on March 25, 2019, 05:23:23 PM
I don't think that is unattractive. That's historic gold! I love finding stuff like that. That could easily be reproduced. The few guys restoring seated Buffalos would be interested I would think.

You're probably right - after I did some paint touch-up around the 'plaque' it doesn't look quite as bad. Really surprising to me that the thing was typed out like that on a plain piece of cardstock and just stuck to the pillar with the clear laminating sticker.

I've got a typewriter from the proper era to reproduce this if needed. You're correct - it would not be difficult.