What sort of driving license do you need to drive one ? can anyone drive one ?

How many miles they do to the gallon ?

How much to insure ?

Are they generally pretty reliable ?

Anyone converted one to carry a car or motorbikes ? i.e. cut the back off to make a door and some detachable ramps etc

Hair brain idea for LeMans for me and some mates and so we can all go to Nurburgring and have luggage space and have a laugh travelling together, and room for my precious 7 to travel in...err...style without breaking down or getting wet and room for some motorbikes.

might be talking complete arse here so someone who knows what they're talking about correct me, but...

i thought it was something to do with the number of seats, and if it seats less then 12(?) then you can drive it on a lesser license, like a mini bus license or something. Not entirely sure.

You could contact Michael Caine... in the Italian Job they had room for 3 Minis and a load of blokes... oh, and some gold and some beer

quote:

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Originally posted by Humbug
You could contact Michael Caine... in the Italian Job they had room for 3 Minis and a load of blokes... oh, and some gold and some beer

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if it is small (like transit or less) with more than 7 seats you can drive if not for gain (ie not getting paid for it ).

anything bigger and you will need a PSV liscence unless you have no passengers and you have a HGV licsense

fatherinlaw was a bus mechanic and sais that busses are very reliable aslong as they are serviced regulary and properley. but bear in mind 100,000 miles a year is not unusual.

yeah its about weight aslong as its less then 7 seats and depending when you took your test you may already ba able to i think ... i dont know to be honest i know dad was thinkign about converting one into a campervan tho

I passed April 94. I found on DVLA website that with a normal license I can only drive one if Im taking it to be repaired or testing it following repair and the only passengers I can carry are those connected to the repair work, bummer

i belive you can (if over 25 ish and passed test before a certain date)you can drive on a car licence if passengers dont pay and it has a been converted to transport cars etc,best check with plod tho

What kind of bus are we talking about, single decker, double, coach or mini-bus?
What chassis is it on, is it rear engined, mid or front? A big proportion of buses are rear engined these days and so would be useless as a transporter. Only things suitable for conversion would be coaches. The fuel consumption is slightly better on these as well. A typical bus will do around 5 - 10 miles to the gallon depending on engine size.
Buses are useless at distance work as well as they do not go very fast and are very noisy above 40mph.

You would need a PCV licence to drive one if there are more than 6 passenger seats and/or you will travel more than 40 miles. Distances under 40 miles come under domestic rules. Above come under EU rules and will need tacho. If the vehicle is converted into a camper or transporter you will need a HGV licence.

Terry

There was a big red london double decker at Le Man this year.

I think there is pictures on http://www.beermountain.com if you go on their forum, someone might know who it belongs to and have some contact details, im sure they would know the ins and outs of it all.

My brother and a few mates from his football team are planning on taking one over to the world cup next year. I think he said someone who has the right licence is taking it to dover for them. Maybe once on the continent you only need a lesser licence, I know one of his mates has a licence for driving bigger stuff, not entirely sure though.

Nice idea.


If you are talking something like routemaster, I would think logic would dictate you dont hop from driving a car to driving a 30ft 12 tonne 8 1/2 ft wide bus on the RHS of the road in france withour some kind of formal training.

Cliff Richards was just lucky, and we were not

atb

steve

some specs.... (interesting to see its got less power than a fireblade!)

http://ticketslondon-online.biz/vintage_buses.htm



Wheel Base 19 Feet 5791 mm
Turning Circle 69 Feet - 21031 mm
Height 14feet 4 ½ inches 4358 mm
Length 30 feet 9144 mm
Width (excluding mirrors) 8 feet 2438 mm
Maximum GVW 12 tons 6cwt 12500 Kg
Unladen Weight 7 tons 14cwt 8120 Kg



Engine Scania D9 42A 21S (115 bhp)
9 litre vertical 6 Cylinder Diesel
OR
Cummins C 8.3 (160 bhp)

Fuel Capacity 29 Gallons 131 Litres

Transmission AEC direct selection 4 speed + reverse
Electrical control & air operation

Rear Axle Eaton - Ratio 5.22:1

Tyres 10R 22.5

Steering power assisted, hydraulic ram

Braking System Continuous flow power hydraulic

Suspension Independent front via coil springs

Electrical System 24 Volt
Batteries 4 x 6 Volt or 2 x 12 Volt
Alternator 100 Amp
Body All aluminium stressed skin

Chassis Two separate steel sub frames. Front A frame carrying engine
Rear B frame carrying rear axle & rear suspension

[Edited on 12/12/05 by steve_gus]

found this too... from the link i posted earlier

Just about answers ALL of your questions!!

Even road fund license free! 10mpg not so good tho






Prices and Engines
£6,500 to £10,000 in 3 groups: Depending on type of engine etc.

A) Iveco: £6500-8000 +VAT
B) Cummins’C’ Series £7000-9000 +VAT
C) Scania £8500-10,000 +VAT

Prices vary in these groups based upon length of MOT, general condition (exterior and interior) taking into account such things as graffiti and scratched glass. At the top end price you could expect one with clean glass, no graffiti and a long/ new MOT.

There are also some 2002 re-engined Cummins ‘B’ Series vehicles with Allison Electronic gearboxes that are available but in limited numbers. These start from £10,000.

Body type
All bodies were manufactured by Park Royal Vehicles in two basic models. The 64 seat RM and the 72 seat RML. Generally both are available but the higher capacity version is now by far the most dominant left in London.
.
Driving Licences
If you have held a British car drivers licence for 3 years or more, you can drive your bus on it providing:

a) The driver does not get paid.
b) The passengers do not pay to ride.
c) The passengers are not paid to ride.
d) Only 8 passengers can be carried.
e) The bus must not be used for hire or reward.

All other commercial uses will require the driver to have the appropriate licence and the vehicle to be taxed in the correct class.

Road Fund Licence
Exempt if for private use, otherwise payable in the appropriate class.

Fuel Consumption
Around 8-10 mpg.

Painting and bodywork
All types of work can be carried out by us. A guide price figure for repainting a Routemaster in one colour with a central relief band in a second colour would be £2000 for a basic repaint that includes replacing damaged panels etc. However buses can be bought up to ‘concourse condition’ should this be required and prices can be quoted on a per bus basis to bring the finish up to any standard.

Insurance
Try Adams Tingle on 01536 486700.

[Edited on 12/12/05 by steve_gus]

Don't think you even need to be able to drive round here!

There awful are the bus drivers, catch curbs insides of roundabouts, can't take corners etc

Anybody else noticed that lately?

[Edited on 12/12/05 by MkIndy7]

I think you will have to watch the weight with a car on board as max all up on a normall licence is 7.5 tones but I have seen busses marked up on the side a lot lower than this and one you rip a load of the seats out might be ok.

It's Sir Cliff, Steve Isn't it legal to convert one to a motorhome and drive on a normal car licence provided you passed driving test before they changed regulations?

if the unladen weight is 7 tons and you rip all the seats save 8 out and say the wooden flooring and all the other things you dont need you wont save much over 100kg i wouldnt have thought so then with a full tank and a car and a couple of bikes youd be pushing it to keep it under 7.5 tons wouldnt you ?

might need to chop some more stuff out of it

it wasnt 'sir' when he made the movie!

btw - the spec has the bus at 8120 Kg
as standard, so it wont ever be below 7.5 tonnes. As the link I posted was from a company selling buses, i would have expected them to know the law...... and they said it was legal....perhaps you could just call them and ask?


atb

steve

[Edited on 12/12/05 by stephen_gusterson]

Graceland on this forum was a bus driver if that helps.

Alan Jeffrey (www.enginetuner.co.uk)used to use a bus as a transporter ..




Cheers

G

Busses are built on truck chassis. I commissioned a rolling road in a truck factory a few years ago. Older trucks might average 4MPG whereas newer ones can get 2 or 3 times this.

Busses are the same except that they rarely leave urban areas.

I was looking at coaches to avoid confusion, the sort that Wallace Arnold tours use sort of thing, not a town bus. Few on ebay for only a couple grand. Typically nobody else I know is interested in doing daft stuff like this so its never gonna happen, my housemates would never talk to me again if I park a bus...sorry coach in the yard aswell !

Interesting pic of Alan Jeffery's bus, thats the same spelling as my surname maybe he is a distant relative...

Hi,I think that you would be much better looking for a 7.5 ton lorry to convert.
20 to the gallon and much easier to drive.

Most big engines are good for 4-7 mpg only and also you are much better getting in touch with the M.O.T or swansea to find out rules and regs,most non traffic police are not clued up enough on HGV's as the subject is a minefield.

I manage a couple of municipal maintenance contracts with 90 vehicles in
total so I am dealing with compliance issues every day.

I fancied one of the larger Mercedes vans to convert into a motorhome and tow the Indy,but you can see them at not too much money already built in "Motorsport".
So you might be as well buying a conversion already built.

Dean.