BusTalk

HwyHaulier · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 932 Location: Harford County, MD

T.D. - Et. Al. -

The tip to the California thinking, and the highway coaches built to satisfy local conditions? Get your own
State "Driver's Manual" for commercial vehicles. Consider what is required with Bridge Formula length,
weight, and axle spacing requirements.

The method, and what is now National law and regulation, dates to 1944. It roots in earlier efforts with
cargo carrier, C F W Y to make peace with Oregon State Legislature. At the time, the State had some very
good highway engineering people, all concerned with vehicles loadings, and related to specific designs of
equipment. As time went on, the method became more recognized and accepted, "...and the rest is history...".

The Bridge Formula method reduces to consideration of some vital design limits. Practice with it, and the
concerns of weights on axles, and spacing of axles are key. Experienced hands at it (as applies to cargo)
know: Watch the per axle weight loadings. There are limits to tire engineering and design which enter here.
Spacing out distances between axles is your friend.

In bus design, it is all the engineers can do, in a product which "...gets it right..." on the weight loadings per
axle. In a related, well meaning mentoring of an acquaintance, I can't get it through his head he is not going
to get a low profile steer axle tire on modern day low floor designs. Tire engineering can't deliver the tire product.

........................Vern....................

Q65A · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:50 am Post subject:

It's definitely not an easy feat to engineer a vehicle that can meet all state and local requirements.

HwyHaulier · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 932 Location: Harford County, MD

Q65A · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:19 am Post subject:

Vern, you make a very good point. Truckers have more options to meet axle loading requirements than do busmen. Trucks can have sliding 5th wheels, sliding tandems etc. but the geomteries of bus axles are fixed.

HwyHaulier · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 932 Location: Harford County, MD

Please to excuse if I should labor the obvious, but... The mechanical ploy with the "4801" and "C-49" types? It did throw more
weight on the rears, and take it off the steer axle. Both builders were pushing the letter of California Code of the time...

........................Vern..................

Q65A · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:27 pm Post subject:

Precisely, all these engineering efforts were performed in order to comply with California's 18,000 pound axle loading requirement.

HwyHaulier · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 932 Location: Harford County, MD

Q65A · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:36 pm Post subject:

I agree completely, Vern. Fans can look but do little else; business must roll on Smile

traildriver · Joined: 26 Mar 2011 Posts: 2704 Location: South Florida

Then there's the story of the (carrier name deleted) driver coming to the NJTP toll booth in his new PD4903. Back then we had charge cards to have validated at the entry booth, and collected by the exit booth.
Eagle and Scenicruiser driver's used the the ones with the three stripes (signifying the number of axles), and the 4104, 4106, and Suburban driver's used the cards with the two stripes.
So this unnamed driver pulls up to the booth and hands the collector the two stripe card. The collector looks at the new type bus and says this card is no good, you've got three axles. The driver realizes his mistake, and then remembers the 'special button'. He tells the collector to look again. The collector looks, and to his astonishment, now only sees one rear axle.
"Sorry, driver, my mistake", he says as he hands the card back. The driver grins and takes off. But as he gets a length or two away, he lowers the hidden tag wheels again, wishing he could see the look on the collectors face. Razz

Q65A · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:19 pm Post subject:

LOL; great story!!! Laughing

HwyHaulier · Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 932 Location: Harford County, MD

T.D. -

LAUGH RIOT of an "On The Road" story! Had the coach operator been a quick witted comic, there was more material here.
Should have dryly noted to the NJTP associate to, "Call the Police! Someone stole it while we were talking!" (Yeah, yeah!
It "...fell off the bus!..." <G>)

.....................Vern...................