OT ARRG you thought BMW's were expensive...

[tdgard]

I rent sh*t for a living & this is one of my toys.

'01 VanHool coach. It broke down 2 days ago 150mi N of Las Vegas. Had it towed to Detroit Deisel & busted transmission is the verdict.

Towing$2000
Allison 510 trans$8900
Trans cooler$1200
Labor$5000
Fly driver home$500
Let him sit on his ass while staying in Vegas while awaiting the verdict$1150
Fly out to pick this pig up when it's done~$200
Lost rental$2500

Bitch is I think the driver caused this problem. He said he ___ rigged a cooling line several days before in Utah. Midway through Nevada the bus stopped (the electronics in these transmissions are fairly complex) and started spouting off errors. He then put 31 quarts into the trans (it only holds 35) and then drove it another 1/2mi. before it quit for good.

So $20,000 later, I get to go out and drive this thing back to Atlanta whenever it is finished.

AMEX loves me--end rant.

[t_marat]

Never drove buses that big. Would love to try

[tdgard]

Never drove buses that big. Would love to try

These things could seriously rival the top speed of our cars. It's just scary driving this thing without cruise control. You'll be doing 90MPH & it's sitting at 1350 rpm. Worst part about it is the engine is 45' behind you and you have no sensation of speed or acceleration. It's so slow off the line that you do not realize your accelerating.

[calmloki]

Dang. Ouch. Note to self: don't whine to tdgard when a tenant mucks up one of our apartments. Also why I got out of fixing cars for a living and shifted to renting out apartments and houses: fewer moving parts, easier troubleshooting, always local. Betcha your ROI/week is (normally) WAY better than ours though!
Tom

[trumpetr]

I rent sh*t for a living & this is one of my toys.

'01 VanHool coach. It broke down 2 days ago 150mi N of Las Vegas. Had it towed to Detroit Deisel & busted transmission is the verdict.

Towing$2000
Allison 510 trans$8900
Trans cooler$1200
Labor$5000
Fly driver home$500
Let him sit on his ass while staying in Vegas while awaiting the verdict$1150
Fly out to pick this pig up when it's done~$200
Lost rental$2500

Bitch is I think the driver caused this problem. He said he ___ rigged a cooling line several days before in Utah. Midway through Nevada the bus stopped (the electronics in these transmissions are fairly complex) and started spouting off errors. He then put 31 quarts into the trans (it only holds 35) and then drove it another 1/2mi. before it quit for good.

So $20,000 later, I get to go out and drive this thing back to Atlanta whenever it is finished.

AMEX loves me--end rant.

A buddy of mine, has two SETRA coaches, of around the same vintage as yours,,and he has been plagued with (allison) tranny issues.
The last time, was a valve that went bad, and grenaded a 9k tranny- lucky for him he was driving and it was a fairly local run- still,,,spendy.
Sorry to hear of your bad luck.

[tdgard]

Dang. Ouch. Note to self: don't whine to tdgard when a tenant mucks up one of our apartments. Also why I got out of fixing cars for a living and shifted to renting out apartments and houses: fewer moving parts, easier troubleshooting, always local. Betcha your ROI/week is (normally) WAY better than ours though!
Tom

I sure do try to keep it that way. This thing has been snakebitten from the inception though. On the 4th of July the last driver (read fired) sent this thing under a 13' bridge. It's 13'6". It did not hit the roof but did take off everything else. It's not in the picture, but there are 4 air-conditioners, a mobile satellite dish, and all kinds of other **** up there. There are skylights on top that stick out about 3" from the roof--these were sheared off. $14,000 later all is well.

[tdgard]

A buddy of mine, has two SETRA coaches, of around the same vintage as yours,,and he has been plagued with (allison) tranny issues.
The last time, was a valve that went bad, and grenaded a 9k tranny- lucky for him he was driving and it was a fairly local run- still,,,spendy.
Sorry to hear of your bad luck.

Only nice part is I get to take a short vacation of sorts. Wifey has never been to the Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon. I'm going to force her to hike all the way across(it will be my 4th time).

[Jon K]

I wish you had a bus like that with a built in trailer :)

[tdgard]

I wish you had a bus like that with a built in trailer :)

There was a 20' trailer attached when it broke down--hence the 2k towing bill;)

[tdgard]

Never drove buses that big. Would love to try

There is a position open.:p

[VentoGT]

tdgard--how much do you rent that thing for? I'm in Atlanta and if we could get a driver to take us up to Athens and back for the Georgia Tech game at a decent cost I'd be interested to rent from you...pictures of the inside at all? Thanks!

[Cor-Man]

I feel your pain man. We have a 98 Prevost XL entertainer which I do most of the maintenance on. Luckily we havent had any major breakdowns yet but just keeping these things on the road can break you!! Your coach looks nice by the way...

[genphreak]

Ouch. You really need to be pally with the tranny guys, I'd spend some time on that if I were you...

Re the driver, as much as they might be a little short on diligence, try not to suspect them unless you have real good reason. You want a win-win relationship with your employees, if they show they learn from such problems then they will often surprise you pleasantly later on. It is easy to let one's imagination run away with conspiracy theories... but on the other hand if your gut tells you something, don't ignore it. Bottom line is that despite $20k there is no need to be a bastard without good reason- however you do have to trust your drivers with rigs like this. Do you train them on what to do in such cases or provide them a manual that they should follow? 31 quarts of fluid seems somewhat outside of an official course of action... Nice rigs those!