School Bus Garage Tour

Garage Tour Notes It wasn’t too long ago that we had our shop totally done over by the painting crew. It doesn’t take long for a bunch of greasy mechanics to get it back to the old look…at floor level anyways. All in all the garage we have is very adequate to suit our needs.… Continue reading School Bus Garage Tour

C2 School Bus Mechanic Tip – Axle Installation

Installing Rear Drive Axle With Air Operated Differential Lock When we started working on this 2008 school bus it was supposed to be a basic brake job on the rear axle. As it turned out the passenger side wheel seal was leaking so the hub assembly needed to be removed. The video shows you how… Continue reading C2 School Bus Mechanic Tip – Axle Installation

International CE School Bus Improvements

Improved Battery Tray International announced some new changes with their 2015 conventional school bus. The battery box will now be frame mounted instead of being secured to the the body. The new assembly will have a heavy duty drawer style design compared to the original weld type rollers. This change will allow easier sliding out… Continue reading International CE School Bus Improvements

The Blue Bird Micro Bird School Bus

The Micro Bird School Bus I would like to tell you about the 10 to 30 passenger Micro Bird school bus that is manufactured by Bluebird Bus Micro Bird by Girardin. It’s a bus model that you may not see much of and since we have one in our fleet I can share my experience… Continue reading The Blue Bird Micro Bird School Bus

The PacBrake Used On A School Bus

Exhaust Brake For Cummins ISC Since our bus fleet uses medium duty diesel engines around the 250 hp range engine exhaust brakes are not available. Exhaust brakes are the only retarder device we can use on the buses. They work more efficiently at higher rpm…..1,800 to 2,000 rpm is best. The throttle position has to… Continue reading The PacBrake Used On A School Bus

School Bus Training Seminar Report

One Day Seminar Thomas Buses The day started off at 6 am with myself and 2 fellow Mechanics driving to Kelowna a couple of hours out of town. A quick stop at Tim Horton’s for a coffee and breakfast made the morning complete. We arrived just after 8 am and met up with one of… Continue reading School Bus Training Seminar Report

Thomas School Bus Training Seminar

Thomas School Bus Training Seminar Tomorrow three of us from the shop are going to attend a Thomas bus seminar which will cover navigation of the accessfreightliner website, servicelink and the thomasbusonline website. The accessfreightliner allows us to log in and enter the VIN of any one of our buses where we can find chassis… Continue reading Thomas School Bus Training Seminar

School Bus Safety – Unloading Practices

School Bus Safety – The 8 Light Warning System I can guarantee that every school district in North America has trouble with traffic passing a stopped school bus when the red lights are flashing. These red lights are the 8 light warning system that starts off with amber lights before the bus comes to a… Continue reading School Bus Safety – Unloading Practices

HDX School Bus Tips

Thomas HDX School Bus Tips and Advice I want to share some areas of the HDX Thomas school bus that our shop has experienced that you may have already dealt with or have not seen it happen yet. They are a very comfortable bus to drive mainly because of the engine weight in the back… Continue reading HDX School Bus Tips

Thomas School Bus Manufacturing Tour

Witnessing The Manufacturing Of Thomas School Buses Thomas school buses are built stronger than any other vehicle on the road with extremely high standards set by the FMVSS (federal motor vehicle safety standards). I found this excellent video covering the manufacturing process. I had the privilege of going down to the Highpoint North Carolina factory… Continue reading Thomas School Bus Manufacturing Tour