Driving the Mercedez-Benz Tourrider Bus in a Convoy

[@Qrail]

I made a comment on James’ channel about you. You are at 23 were I was in 1977. I already had my chauffeurs license. (Since 1972) I really hope you can make a career out of your love for transportation. I will assure you it will be fun. I gave up my CDL yesterday, because at 70, it is time to get out of the pool, and dry out. Here is an idea. Track the number days you work, the number of miles you go, and see how long you can go without a chargeable accident. I quit counting after 1.5 million miles, I quit counting passengers after 10 years, and I drove 11655 days without an accident. You can have lots of fun. Enjoy the good trips, and learn how to do line service. Be happy when you get a good tour guide that makes your job easier. And finally, collect reminders of your career. I have a Rose Bowl, and 2 Super Bowl pennants.

[@alblua]

Wow, that's an impressive career! I have a spreadsheet that I've been tracking my miles, but I never thought about keeping track of passengers too.

[@Qrail]

@@alblua I think it was easier for us old timers. We had a paper logbook. So it was easy to add the miles at the end of the month. The passenger count, I put on each daily log that I turned in. Practice, practice, practice. Then remember it is all incremental. One step at a time. If your company doesn’t do it, have a written checklist. For pre trip, for overnight bag, for necessities you keep on the bus &, post trip. Remember, your CDL is yours, don’t ever risk it by doing something illegal. Don’t let anyone tell you to do something you are uncomfortable doing. Like taking your bus under a low bridge because the coach or group leader knew a shortcut.

[@BusMaster99]

Man I'm jealous of these buses. I drive for Ideal Charter and I really love my job. Sometimes I see Peoria Charter buses as I'm driving.

[@alblua]

I see y'all on the road! We're privileged to have some special buses for sure 😅

[@BusMaster99]

@@alblua All I can say is I'm glad I gave up school bus driving for this. The motorcoach industry has drivers that look out for one another!

[@alblua]

We are all one big team in this industry!

[@joebutchko2223]

The dash board on all these different busses amazes me when I compare it to the old fish bowels- a speedo and an air gauge, a couple of knobs on the side window sill. Also I noticed that the tourrider was not a rattle trap- or at least not yet.

[@alblua]

There's a lot more data being shown now! So far the Tourriders have survived a Midwest winter season and potholes galore

[@football11248]

I hope James buys more Mercedez-Benz Tourrider buses!!!

[@Thoughts_AviationAndSirens]

We have to convince him on his channel

[@berylwhite2983]

You know I'm envious I drove mass transit I drove articulate buses I drove school buses. There was never any place to park them they expect me to fold them up and put them in my pocket 😉. It is a very nice job it was a great trip. And the restaurant at Covington is more than an excellent. I know it cost but it's worth it just for the rolls.. I took Hope you took your little friend long for the ride for the good luck. Keep up the good work I'm proud of you.

[@alblua]

Sure is difficult finding parking for any bus all the time! The rolls were definitely worth it. My penguin buddy always sits up front on all my trips! 🐧

[@berylwhite2983]

I'm proud of you for taking your penguin buddy! I love your videos You're doing a great job..

[@MercyRavengai]

Hpjbvzz

[@MercyRavengai]

​@alblu😢🎉a

[@flh5959]

You're making me miss driving these coaches.

[@alblua]

Oops! 😅

[@kevinb7810]

I am new here and loving your videos and the fact that you’re 23 is pretty darn amazing… But if you want to talk convoy, then you need to come down to Annapolis Maryland and see the entire brigade of USNA Mids head to Philly for an Army - Navy game

[@alblua]

Ooh! I believe Academy usually runs that convoy. I've seen lots of videos of that, it's a looong line of buses!

[@okboi2513]

those tourriders looks cleann🔥

[@tonyvlip7645]

REALLY LIKE THE POST EDIT SCREEN COMMENTS... NO NEED FOR AUDIO... ALSO LIKE THE CAMERA ON THE HAT TO SEE YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL... VERY WELL DONE

[@alblua]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@berylwhite2983]

Well I thought I'd watch it again give you a hard time! You're a good kid as long as you got your little penguin with you. Be good. And I hope somebody else paid for the steakhouse at Covington I think you better got James for that one PS One other question I know your talented but how are you driving the lawn mower down the sidewalk and the tour bus same time! Lmao😂 Believe it or not The beef house at Covington Indiana used to be a little itty bitty restaurant. But it was oh so good

[@alblua]

Haha, the per diem helped cover some of the cost! The lawnmower was perfectly timed 😂 The Beef House must have really grown over the years.

[@brad_Ca]

I drive a really older MCI and I must say, the Tourrider makes me a little envious. 😅

[@alblua]

Tourrider is definitely very nice, but older MCI's are still golden to me too!

[@meatball1324657980]

I drive a Freightliner Cascadia. The Tourrider has basically an identical dash, other than the tach being on the left. Something about a tach on the right side drives me nuts lol

[@alblua]

Yes, they have the same dash! There are several other commercial vehicles out there with the same dash under the Daimler brand

[@meatball1324657980]

@@alblua makes sense. Why have a different dash for different vehicles? No different than Prevost using the same cluster as a VNL

[@rogerr.7228]

Sweeeeeet! Convoy with the Tourrider!

[@alblua]

💪💪💪

[@RafaRadityo7]

Im guessing the tourrider rides better than the other buses? Because here in Indonesia we use the big three Volvo, Scania and Mercedes and they sure do ride better than those Van Hools and MCIs ive been on in the US. But here we use local body manufacturers to build the bodies so thats where things change (I havent been on a lot of coaches here) but the city buses also use the same chassis as coaches. It really matters what bus I'm on because hard suspension+loose plexiglass does not = quiet ride. The mercedes buses are better than Scanias

[@alblua]

Yes, the Tourrider has a smooth ride quality compared to most other buses, although I personally think the Prevost is a slightly better. I've only been a passenger on body-on-frame buses in Asia, never driven one, but I am curious in the difference of how they handle. A loud bus ride is definitely an unpleasant experience!

[@RafaRadityo7]

@@alblua Ive never driven a bus but the Mercedes ones defenitely ride better than Hinos or Scanias

[@robertfinley6288]

Great video and a great job of driving. Where were you going to and from, and who were your passengers. It looked like a summer camp Except for the logo not being centered, what is your opinion of the Tourider? Have you made the big UofI haul for summer vacation?

[@alblua]

I quite like the Tourrider! It rides smooth and is very quiet. I choose not to share specifics about my trips for everyone's safety. Yes, we made it through the big move out season!

[@trevon-jb1fu]

good camera quality at 4:59

[@user-gk8gg1zt7l]

Great video. 😁 Like me

[@mtk52983]

Maybe it is just your audio capture, but the Tourrider seems to rattle much less than the MCI over road imperfections.

[@alblua]

Yes, the Tourrider does ride smoother and quieter than an MCI J4500

[@indboy8040]

Bro how come us model gets torque converter zf gearboxes while rest of the world has to do with AMT gearboxes? Is it a six speed transmission? Gear shirts are smooth😍🥵

[@alblua]

It's actually an Allison 6-speed B500R transmission! The B500 series is currently the dominating choice (and typically the only choice now) for motorcoaches in the US.

[@ScottysAir]

What are you doing for today? Are those three charter bus today? Where are you taking them to? To the park?

[@alblua]

The trip was a while back! I deliberately keep trip information vague for my own, fellow driver's, and passenger's safety, so I won't share specific trip details

[@aaronhalliday4269]

I look forward to possibly driving for Purdue. But I DO NOT want to drive one of the Tourriders.

[@alblua]

Hahaha, that's okay! I'll take the Tourrider 😂

[@lelelosooelelelosooe-pj7dx]

Hi sir can you tell me about the company how many fleets are there and did you guys got new buses each year or yall company still uses old buses and whats the requirements for being bus driver of this company and does it require degrees im just wondering sbout this company its seem so good i hope i get wn response

[@alblua]

We have a little over 40 vehicles in our fleet with both old and new. Every year, we do make a few additions to our fleet. The minimum age is 23 years old for our company. Our buses require passing a DOT medical exam, Class B CDL, passenger endorsement, air brakes, and charter endorsement. We do provide paid training to prospective drivers that pass the interview to obtain all the required licenses and endorsements.

[@lelelosooelelelosooe-pj7dx]

​@@albluathanks sir for the information is this an private company or public company so if I need the training means I have to pay for the training curses ?

[@lelelosooelelelosooe-pj7dx]

The only question I may also have is that is this company still hiring new drivers and is it only looking for high school degree or bachelor or college? or superior

[@alblua]

Peoria Charter is a private company. If you pass the interview, you are paid during training. We are always looking for drivers!

[@lelelosooelelelosooe-pj7dx]

So is the company only looking for high qualified drivers meaning after passing the interview and training can't drive the buses until I'm fully trained? And is the company has strictest rules ?

[@arafatridwansaad6276]

Need regular!

[@alblua]

Regular?

[@ag6371]

Same engine as Cascadia

[@LifeOnCoach]

✌🏾

[@discatcher]

I think being a little less aggressive when it comes to tilting the steering wheel and using the door key would be in order.

[@alblua]

Steering wheel tilt retracts at that speed when released the lock is released for the Tourrider and our door lock was recently replaced, requiring extra force due to its stiffness. My videos follow the popular Asian POV vlog style of no talk with captions to read for talking points. There are many other channels out there that would you would perhaps find more interesting.

[@discatcher]

@@alblua all I’m saying is that just because that’s the speed it retracts it doesn’t mean that you can’t hold it and ease it back into position. I’ve been driving Setra’s for 8 years now, essentially the same bus with the exact same pneumatics, I always hold it and ease it back. If every driver on your roster does the same thing, how long do you think that mechanism will last?

[@alblua]

I fail to understand your reasoning. I'd expect the mechanism to last. Failure would mean a faulty part or poor engineering. If the steering column cannot withstand the small impact of retraction, how can it withstand on the road driving? Driving on the road induces much greater forces when you consider Newton's second law F = ma; the acceleration may be reduced with the suspension, but the mass is significantly greater acting upon the steering wheel. The standard Daimler steering wheel used on the Tourrider, Setras, and Freightliners is ~10 lbs; the Tourrider GVWR is over 50,000 lbs. Considerable force is enacted during steering as well. Like a typical vehicle, the Tourrider steering system is mechanically linked and you can still turn the wheel should the steering servo break, albeit significant effort required (per Tourrider manual, this will not break the system and the driver should expect to feel like the steering wheel is locked). The Tourrider uses the ZF Servocom for steering as well. Per ZF manuals, system pressure should be at 15+1/-3 bar, or 217.557 psi. I'm not specifically familiar with the ZF Servocom, but in a normal car, pressure typically increases during active rotation at slow speeds as well. The formula for pressure is P = F/A, therefore, force is directly proportional to pressure. A non-insignificant amount of force is enacted on the steering mechanisms on a regular basis.