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I know that most all of the heavy-duty towers that handle buses, run into problems with them. It is a given fact. There is no magic way to tow them, and no one piece of equipment that does it all. But I will try to cover some important points in the towing procedures that I have discovered over the years of towing buses.
Low clearance, long overhang, tall vehicles, had to get at drivelines and air hook ups, are some of the problems,
That and given the fact that you have several kinds of buses, ranging from airport shuttles, school buses, transit buses, to tour buses and converted buses. You know the problems with them all. So lets run through some of the problems that there are out there.

       
First you have transit buses, these will have wheelchair lifts, or kneeling buses to allow the passengers to enter the front or side doors. Then you have some that have an articulated section that allows the bus to act like a tractor-trailer. Bike racks on the front are problems also. Some older buses have water filled bumpers on them, and if you contact the bumper you can pop the fill plugs or damage the water cell on the bumper. Now if you are lucky, you might have a mechanic on scene sometimes, so that you can get some assistance on removing axles or supplying air. But this is not very common. But if you ever can get with the mechanics you might learn a few tricks and areas of concern.


A lot of the older buses have been converted into motor homes, and then you can have many different obstacles to overcome. Not only are there long reaches, but sometimes the owners during conversions want to install leveler jacks and on a already low vehicle you might have a problem getting the unit lifted without hitting anything.
Ok, I know that there are several ways to tow the buses, and this is one that depends on what kind of equipment you have. Using the truck tow bar is the way to cause the most damage, as you will be applying lots of pressure to the front bumper area. This can lead to cracked or popped out windows or bent dash supports. So any ideas of towing buses like we tow semi’s is out of the question.


If you have the any of the sets of “ bus bars “ that are commonly used, you are transferring the pressure to points away from the front bumper. But these can and have caused damage to the bus. A lot of damage can be caused if you do not properly hook them up. General Motors made some models that had special eyes that allowed you to hook to the axle, and then install a pin into a lifting eye, forward of the axle that transferred weight and pressure to the frame. You then hooked the bus bar to the truck bar via the internal chains and you lifted. Great system, but heavy, and if you did not hit it just right, you could spend time getting it into place to install the pin.
Another method is the drawbar method, where a solid bar is attached to the front of the bus and the back of the truck. This requires a driver to steer the bus while in tow, and seems to be used by the transit companies to get there buses in.


Ok now onto modern lifting systems. Using an under lift and reaching the axle is something that you might be able to do with certain brands. But you will only have a few inches of clearance between the front bumper and the rear of the truck or boom. Sharp corners or bumps and dips in the roadway can cause you to bend the units bumper or worse cause the boom tip to punch out the windshield. Hooking onto the front torsion bars can cause damage via bending or kinking the tubes. These tubes are just like leaf springs on a truck, only they are round. It is hard to secure the unit from sliding this way, because of the forward and rearward motion of the bus while on the tow fork. They are various sizes, so you almost have to have several forks that will allow you to make a good fit on the tube to prevent lateral motion also.
       

The use of a wheel lift style grid lifting system is great, and most likely the best way to tow, but there are some inherent dangers here. As with any wheel lift system you have a portion of the tire hanging below the grid system. If the tire was to contact the ground during turns or bumps, you can cause it to “ flat spot “ the tires, or even climb out of the tow system. It can, and has happened while the restrainer straps are in use. The tire can not roll in a grid system.
       

Now before some of you say what about using trailers. I want to add, the trailers are great, but they have their drawbacks also. With some units you have to load the bus onto the trailer backwards, and if you are on the interstates you can not be traveling against traffic. This is because of the weight of the engine in the rear of the bus that can cause the trailer tires to be damaged or ruined.
Now for anyone that has loaded a bus backwards, this is a trick in its self, as you have almost no side clearance on the trailer. As the tires will be riding the edge of the trailer and even with a remote you are going to be making a lot of adjustments to the steering wheel while winching the bus onto the trailer. Been there and done that! And the overhang off the rear of the trailer can cause you to have a few problems chaining down the bus. You will have to fight the lack of clearance and the fact that the front tires will be right on the rear edge of the trailer.
Also of concern is the height of the bus while on the trailer. Legal height is 14 feet and when you have a 3 foot tall deck height trailer, you can have problems. If you are real close to the legal limits, you can lower the air suspension or deflate the tires to get the needed inches, but this can also allow the vehicle to contact the trailer.


Ok lets say you have the unit hooked up and in the air. Now what?
The most common and easy way to tow is with the axles removed. This will require a lot of work. You also have to consider that when you pull axles, you allow the grease to leak out, till you get the covers installed. Two things to consider here. One, how to keep the grease off the rim and eventually the side of the bus. This is just like pulling axles on the truck. Use a catch pan to contain the fluids. And use good axle covers. But a bus might have a different axle bolt pattern design so you have to make covers for some types of buses.
I have a set of 10 bolt axle covers that I made out of plywood, and I also use old campaign signs as an additional cover. This way I form a bit of a gasket behind the actual axle cover. Plus when I get to the destination I can take off my plywood covers and leave the sign there. It does keep the axle covered and also allows for some degree of neatness and professionalism on our parts. No grease running all over the floor of the shop.


The second problem is, some buses are driven by ONE axle only. You will find that it is the power side, and the other side of the axle is just a dummy axle. It works like a limited slip rear end, but you only will have 1 that transfers power to the ground. I have never liked to figure out which it is and I can not keep track of all the buses and systems that are used, so I pull both axles. I also keep some extra axle grease to refill the axles, to prevent a low fluid level causing bearing damage
Now if you are feeling thin and strong, you can slide under the bus and remove the driveline. But you will be faced with a real short and heavy driveline, in a area that does not allow you much room to work. It can be done and I recommend it when needed. But remember to use safety stands and wheel chocks to keep the bus from falling or moving while you are under it. A lot of drivers have been killed while hooking up buses because they fell on them.


Now about releasing the brakes. Buses are a funny breed, because they have air brakes, BUT you will not have any room to install “caging“ release bolts. This is due to the limited room and design of the suspension. When faced with this problem I have backed off the slack adjusters, until I have the brakes released. BUT REMEMBER you have done this, because if you set it down and forget, well it is either going to come crashing into the back of the tow truck, or roll away and into something behind you. It is possible to pipe air to the system, but you have a few areas that you can do that to. On some buses, behind the logo on the front of the bus, you will have an air hookup connection. This dates back to the method of towing buses via the drawbar method of towing. Great access and such but not that common. In some buses, you will have a air fitting under the drivers area in the access panel. This fitting controls only the air suspension on some buses, and some for the whole air system.
       

I usually head for the rear of the bus with my air lines. I remove the fill fitting and install my quick connect fitting with a shut off valve in the right rear compartment on the bus. I then run the hose out through a hole in the compartment floor and up into a slightly opened window or though the restroom service hatch. BE CAREFUL though as the air hose needs to be routed so it will not drag on the ground or have anything rip it loose. I prefer to keep both my air and light cords in the bus and the reason is that there is not place on the side of the bus to hang the lines. I feed them out though the small window by the driver, and then back to the truck.

       
Now I know this subject seems long winded, but I will cover a few more points and I will include some pictures ( I hope ) of buses in tow with different tow systems in next months article. Till then be safe and keep on your tows.