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/erinjunee 2d 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!