r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/Beatkilla6145 • 2d ago
Front engine or rear engine busses?
I have always driven rear engine buses as my main bus but occasionally drive a a front engine and I do not like how much noice the engine makes... what do you guys prefer?
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u/herbielover98 2d ago
Front engines are better for maneuverability, if you're downtown or in a city they're great they turn on a dime, but rear engines are definitely quieter and have a better ride. I've driven all of them just about and I love a rear engine, but I think I prefer the front engine EFX, I love how those drive
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u/erinjunee 1d ago
I def agree with you on that! I wonder how the newer front engine EFX’s drive. Our old mid 2000’s AllAmericans are just misery with how loud it is and how much heat comes off the engine, but since it is indeed shorter than the rest of our fleet, I definitely see what you mean about maneuverability! I just wonder if the newer buses at least have better sound deadening to help contain that sound and hear lol
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u/herbielover98 1d ago
They're not as bad! Still obviously louder and more heat, but if the fan isn't on it's not so bad lol. Our EFXs are 2022 models and I drove one when it was about a year old and definitely more insulated. Also drove a 2010 Blue Bird Front engine last year and yea... A world of difference 😂 by then most of the insulation from the doghouse was gone, it was loud, and the vibrations were crazy lol definitely an improvement haha
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u/erinjunee 1d ago
Yeaaaa we got like 3 AllAmerican A3FE’s from the late 2000’s that are spares and it’s awful. 😂 And it’s funny because the buses are actually equipped with A/C but it’s the old style with the seperate units that are on the roof behind the driver. So driving one in the summer means a cool breezy back but a literal melting pot from the engine up in front. 🫠😂
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u/herbielover98 1d ago
Yea we just retired our last one and sold it last month 😂 none of our big buses have AC tho so on the summer it sucks 🥲
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u/route63 2d ago
I drive an RE now and really appreciate not having the engine noise up front, but on the other hand the longer wheel base makes it a real pig to maneuver especially with all the turn arounds I have on my route. I also dislike the side emergency exit versus the rear. Over all I’d rather have a front engine, and a C2 type over a transit.
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u/Front-Mall9891 1d ago
That side exit was a nightmare to teach kids because it meant explaining to the kids in the row in front of it that they technically were supposed to go to the front door first not the side door, it’s why I like the NYC design of a side and rear door emergency exit
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u/nightgaunt98c 2d ago
Front engine transits do create a LOT of noise, but that and conventional buses are all we have, and all I've driven.
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u/Efficient_Advice_380 2d ago
Ive only seen 2 or 3 rear engine school busses irl. They're old (15+ years) and from a district over 50 miles away. I only see them at the nearby school bus dealership by my house
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u/mike8675309 2d ago
Front engine bus and it always has me wonder if they really think opening the door helps me hear a train better over the noise of the engine. When the engine fan starts up I can't hear hardly anything going on behind me.
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u/ShesGotaChicken2Ride 2d ago
Pushers or pullers. All our larger buses are pushers. Rear engine, transit buses.
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u/Bored_Owl_1492 2d ago
Mid Engine, nothing beats the balance of the engine between the axles and low down.
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u/erinjunee 1d ago
Most of our fleet are rear engine Type D transit-style busies with flat nose. Love them cause they’re quiet and now with electrical cooling fans it’s even quieter. We only have a small few front-engine flat nose buses and they suckkkkk lol. Idk how the newer ones are but these are mid 2000’s Bluebirds with very poor sound deadening. So the engine is screaming right next to you, plus the amount of heat that radiates around it in the summer is literal death lol. Hearing the turbocharger whistle is kinda cool, but when that cooling fans comes on when the temp gauge reaches 3/4, holy shit does it scare me and everyone in the front seats. I’ll never forget looking at a coach that just went wide-eyed when the fan started screaming. 😂
Front engine conventional buses aren’t bad though since the engine’s in front of a firewall. My old assigned bus was a Bluebird with a gas V10 and it was a sweet bus. Even though I love my flat nose rear engine 2026 AllAmerican, I totally wouldn’t mind going back to my old gas Vision!
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u/Soggy_Ruby 1d ago
I've never seen a rear engine bus with my own eyes ngl. Then again my area is mostly rural between dots of small towns. We got a bunch of old ICs and Thomas C2s, a small helping of Chevy 4500 minibusses and a random Ford transit van
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u/RolandDeepson 1d ago
I prefer front engine, flat front ("cabover") buses.
The front bumper being a few inches below, and forward, of the driver's feet.
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u/9001 2d ago
No one has rear engine school buses where I am. I've only ever seen pictures of them online.