As a kid I thought they had a flush toilet that sent it out on the road. By the same token I thought the same was true for airliners. So when a plane passed overhead, I feared the same thing would happen as a bird flying over me.
25 years ago I used the Greyhound bus to change my pad on the bus while parked at the bus transfer station & I saw it on the ground of the bus parking when the bus took off.
@@DJinniKing Question is, why you did this on the bus, clogging the filtering system as you didn’t need the bus right after anymore. Why not find a proper bathroom?
I was on a trip once, and my English teacher who came along ended up stinking up the lavatory so bad, she was the reason we had to dump the sewage in a ditch.
James, thanks for the shout out for my father and I, I know he would be proud. I agree with you about the lavatory on the "D" coach being the largest, but with the in-ward swinging door if someone has a problem and falls you can’t open the door. You probably know the new "J" coach have a quick release to remove the door.
I agree with you 100% on the van hools. Just a terrible design. Dumping the lab while on the road is tough, most RV dump stations don’t have the pit needed for it.
Fond memories of buses that I rode in the early 1980's. Many of them were MCI's but there were still a few GM's. A few times each year, I would take a trip that was about 4-6hrs in duration, depending on what day, time, and run I had a ticket for. Either I'd be on a milk run which made EVERY stop, or the "Express" which made 1 or maybe 2 stops along the way, or a Super-Express, which went non-stop to destination. So my parents would make sure I had sandwiches, drinks, and maybe a book or a magazine. Eventually I got a knock-off Walkman one Christmas, so I'd have the radio or tapes to listen to. Inevitably, after being well-behaved for a few hours, sitting still, and minding my own business, it would be time to head to the back of the bus. Nothing worse than doing the walk of shame, only to find out that the can was occupied. It was cool when the builders put a little light up top that would light up while the door was locked, indicating "occupied". Anyways, once you got inside, most buses then had no glass (or painted-over glass) to the outside, but many had a little flap door in the back corner, and it was often loose and flapping. I always assumed that it was a way for the odours to get vented out, but now I suppose that it was a way for service personnel to insert fresh water hose(s) during service intervals, perhaps vacuum hoses for vacuuming the floor of the bus, pressure wash hose to really loosen the grime, or even a stationary steam cleaner supply/return hose for cleaning upholstery, all tasks that could be dung, whoops, done while the bus was at a service facility. Of course, during actual charters where a trip was made from high school, the running gag was that everybody who went in to the can wasn't going in to use the facilities, they were going in there to wave at the traffic that the bus would pass, or possibly chuck objects out the tiny little flap/door. Fond memories of the automotive trip to a GM plant to see Pontiac 6000's, STE's, Olds Cutlass Ciera's being built. Naturally, the bad-boy crowd brought all manner of prohibited beverages, sneaked on board in duffel bags, back packs, Adidas bags, etc., and guess where the empty cans, bottles, and other garbage ended up? Yep, right in the can. I'm sure that the driver appreciated having to clean up THAT mess. After the alcohol was all gone, the GM plant tour concluded, and the bus was finally pointed homeward for the 4hour return journey, it was a LOT quieter than it had been on the way up. And for whatever reason, the decision was made to hit a McD's at about the half-way point home, so nobody was going to get home at 11pm on an empty stomach. The bus driver was all smiles and completely agreeable, even stopped close to return destination to let off some students if the bus was passing close to their home anyway. While I didn't contribute to the foreign objects in the lavatory, I felt sorry for him either ending up dealing with it, or having to explain what the hell to the service crew if there was one, once the bus returned to its home terminal. Bus drivers, whether charter buses, city buses, school buses, tour buses, prison buses... often seem to get the short end of the stick, despite the hard work they put in just navigating and safely driving the darn thing around. I hope that there are some nice tips offered to bus drivers at the conclusion of trips :)
When I saw the notice about tonight’s episode it brought back all the wonderful memories of having to unblock plugged toilets from some people who thought it would be fun to block a bus toilet as well as going and having a smoke in the toilet so the bus driver wouldn’t know.LOL!!!!!
Actual topic. We have all the toilets midships. Part with a second tank for draining, and part with one. and the flush is done with dirty water filtered through a mesh. It is convenient in winter when antifreeze liquid is poured.
Its great to see in the US they are still using the blue tabs. The reason why the van hooll has this system is because in Europe we mainly have fresh water toilets that means we don't use the blue tabs, so its easier to dump the toilet since you can dump them above any sewer grate legally the formaldehyde ones have to be dumped at a rv dump and they are very rare in Europe. The spring loaded flap is supposed too work as a gasket seal to keep the smell out, and I always love when it gets stuck because that means I have to make it unstuck somehow because otherwise the entire bus will smell. Also dumping this system is a nightmare especially when all the fluids have been in there for 2-3 days in the summer, I always press the button and run away 🤣
I am a current motor coach operator for a company not far from you and I agree with you 100% about using the lavatory and how crappy the design is on the vanhool model coaches. I watch your videos as soon as they show up on my feed and look forward to your next video and maybe meeting you in person on a charter someday
Trains up until the 50s or maybe early 60s used to dump the toilets on the tracks. Yeah every time you flushed it went straight out the bottom, this is why restroom use was prohibited while the train was still in the station and they had signs in the restrooms stating this. Different world today!
I cleaned a restroom on an MCI and the restroom stunk really bad. So bad you could smell it from the outside. When I dumped the toilet and cleaned it, I found a to go plate in the toilet. I had to get gloves and fish it out of the toilet. It took 15 minutes of leaving the windows open to air out that restroom.
Thank you again James, for your editing work/time, if in an emergency, if someone falls against the doors that opens in, makes it hard to open, with the sick person is lying against the door...
This is an interesting topic for me. Here in Vietnam we have a lot of coach bus companies operate sleeper buses fit with an on-board toilet located towards the rear and at the near-side of the bus. I was curious to know where would the waste be disposed for these buses, now I know.
@@MotorcoachWorld and FYI I've been wanting to drive buses since I was like literally five years old.. however never would I ever expect to drive tour buses or other motor coaches ;) (I always wanted to drive school buses or the city buses... Flash forward 30 years, I'm like almost 4yrs on my heart transplant and I cant handle heat and humidity, which means school buses are a no bueno. I tried getting on the transit companies; one took me In and I ended up blowing it and the other wouldn't even accept me)
@@adventureoflinkmk2 Transit driving can be hard to get into. A friend here in Winnipeg applied with Transit. She passed the written class 2 and air tests, but failed the streets and routes recognition. They said, "Come back and try the whole thing again in 6 months". There would be no recognition that she'd already passed her class 2 and air. She would have to take it all again, just because she failed her streets and routes. And she never even got to sit behind the wheel of a bus, not even on the training course. And Winnipeg Transit is always complaining about having a shortage of drivers, even before the pandemic.
You took the words right out of my mouth about Vanhools! No one likes a smear pie! lol....I cut my teeth on a 1996 D and to this day the D model is still my favorite too.
the best coach toilet i had was on a trip with my school to Paris from my small city in the Netherlands. the bus was a Van Hool TX27 astromega and the toilet was quite big and comfortable.
“Emergency deuces”- lol, love it! I’m gonna use that one for our tours. I usually just say pee pee only but I gotta add emergency deuces allowed too, lol.
Glad to see you back! So strange for me though, since all the buses I drove and worked on dont have a head. Aircraft yes...and boy do I have stories with those. I bathed in 500 gallons of it...Yup, the dump valve failed before I could hook up the lav truck. Joy...
not sure if you ever heard of them or not but I did just book two tours on my local charter company...Abbott Trailways in Roanoke VA. on Aug 14 will head on a day trip to Mt Airy NC to see Mayberry Home of Andy Griffith then on Nov 10 will head to Biltmore Estate. Ive been to both but am really looking forward to bus travel again
I have use lavatory when Atlantic Express was operating X23/X24/AE7 (now SIM23/SIM24 under Academy which doesn't have lavatory), MegaBus double decker (from NY-DC or NY-Boston), Charter Buses (Academy, CoachUSA), etc.
True story. I took out a 45’ MCI for a bachelorette party. It wasn’t my first one unfortunately. After the 3rd stop I noticed one lady who wasn’t drinking. I told her round up all the hair ties you can find. Later tonight the other girls will be fighting to get to the toilet to throw up, you will need to tie up their hair and keep traffic moving. Let’s say I wasn’t wrong.
Hello, I saw this video on 11/30/23 at 5p est. It was about restrooms on motor coaches. I own a Van Hool. Your video towards the end mentions their issues regarding the restroom. My question is, the cover over the hole where the waste goes, can it be removed? If so, will it stop the toilet from working. It causes all the problems your video mentions when waste does not push the flipper open.
VanHool T-models has the SAME potties as a C-Model. Also, Setra shares potty parts with VanHool. Setra and VanHool air pressure flushers never ever have enough pressure to complete the task and the flapper springs never hold up. I agree that the MCI deep pit type toilets have always been the best and most hygienic.
Something tells me this video might be a little on the crappy side. Don't be blue that it stinks. Some youtube videos are just destined for the dump. Just keep your head up, move on to the next vid, and don't hide in the lav...
It looks like Van Hool is fixing the main pain points you talked about in their new 2023 CX coaches. Also means the end of the line for the TX series as most of its luxury features are now being incorporated into the CX.
Omg! And that D model you showed (at ~8:49) looks identical, right down to the color scheme of the one in drove today. Regrettably though, someone did choose to do number two ... I was literally nauseous dumping and cleaning the lav... 🤢
I've had no problems urinating standing up on Megabus Van Hools. If you aim with enough pressure, it keeps the flap open and all of the waste goes into the toilet.
@@MotorcoachWorld I do not expect a shout out. I was merely making a joke. I have sent you a pic of me and our new bus. I want to repeat. I do not expect a shout out.
Yeah mainly there's sanitizer dispensers on board coach buses now at least in the US. European model seems to still have faucets with gray water to wash hands
Interesting video I was actually going to request a video on this, because it’s a not commonly covered topic among bus videos. I admitly don’t have much experience with the Van Hool. Here in California, we roll in pristine brand spanking new Volvo 9900’s (built by Prevost) on the Amtrak Thruway buses (operated by American Trailways). Which are the coaches I most frequently find myself on (being both a bus fan and a rail fan). The 9700/9900’s have an similar set up to the VH system with a flush system probably using a recirculating system for the flush (the liquid from the tank is reused to flush with a sock like device preventing anything more solid from getting sucked in and damaging the pump). It does have a smaller shallow bowl like the VH bus featured in the video, but as our bus loving host point out, for best results sit down and remain seated for the entire duration of your visit and you shouldn’t have any issues. Shame that sinks have fallen out of style, I get the added weight tacked on to an already heavy vehicle and all, not to mention space constraints for the fresh water tank, heater for hot water, the added maintenance of the plumbing system (not to mention the fact nobody can wash their hand after using the bathroom if the fresh water pump fails 🤢) but I find the hand sanitizer goes way to quickly on long haul trips and driver rarely are able to resupply the restroom due to limited on hand supplies no matter how diligent the cleaning crews are. I find the flushing systems to be much nicer in both appearance (because come on, who want to look at the swirling, stinking mess in the tank on the straight drop toilets of the people before you), and make miles of difference in the biggest issues of on board restrooms being oder, and poor ventilation. Anyway just my two cents/experience with the subject.
Your personal opinion on Vanhool is a fairly popular one. I despise them. I've had too many trips where it just stops flushing. And that splashback for the dude's, after a few days on the road 🤮.
Have you ever had to do the driver’s walk of shame? 😅 Oh, man. One time it just hit me and I had to stop at a closed weigh station west of Bloomington on I-74, the first safe piece of pavement I found. Food on the road can do that to you.
@@MotorcoachWorld Luckily it was a men's soccer club in my case so I was like, "guys, I'm sorry..." I wonder if a dumbed-down version of a vacuum toilet from the airline industry would ever make it into a motorcoach?
@@mls515 I've seen blue liquid flush toilets in European buses. Not quite a vacuum toilet. I didn't try a number 2 in one of those, but they looked like they could function well.
@@mfbfreak That's the recirculating type. The blue juice recirculates as you flush it. They do okay until they get enough use to foul the fluid. Same concept as found in some airplanes.
I'm surprised people would sit next to the bathroom that don't have a mid-shift bathroom. I remember when buses in my country had bathrooms in the middle. it was such a luxury for a 11 meter bus. now even 14.75m double decker buses don't have a bathroom
The idea of a toilet at the rear, so that youll have to walk past every passenger to get to the toilet? Yikes. Feels so awkward to me. Like you said, here in Europe Ive only been on buses with a toilet in the centre.
Can Van Hool toilets be modified right after delivery? I’ve noticed many, though not all, Prevosts have a flush feature, some with a flap at the bottom of the bowl, but most with no flap above the holding tank. I haven’t noticed a flush feature installed on the MCI’s I’ve seen so far.
Hi, I've been a subscriber for sometime now and I can't seem to find any comments you may have on wheelchair users and how they are accommodated on the various model buses or what difficulties may be involved in serving those of use bound to wheelchairs. Thank You Kurt Corwin
I’ve never been on board a motor coach before I’ve heard some motor coaches have a sink and a flushable toilet like on an airplane do you know which ones have that I’m just curious
Do RV sites actually have pits to dump the lavatory? If I buy an MCI for conversion purposes but was crazy enough to keep the lab where would you go to dump?
Van Hool restrooms really are the worst! They have so little legroom (MCI J-series in certain configs are skimpy too), and the Astromega used by Megabus isn't much better either despite being a gigantic bus. I'm a compact guy and even I have trouble turning around in those restrooms. That D-series is fantastic though!
Some of the newer j models have optional rear windows but I'm. It sure if it extends to the lavatory... It may have also been a later model d or a vanhool
@corey Babcock the tank exhaust fan has a motor that is supposed to be running as long as the ignition is on. Some operators try using salt in the tank water as an anti freeze in northern climates. This can corrode the fan and motor, seizing it. The motor can overheat, causing a fire in the engine compartment. This was more of a thing on Mc9s up to 102dl3s.
As a European these toilet configurations seems very foreign. Sitting above that holding tank with all the “stuff” exposed seems kinda crude. Does it ever splash back up if the bus hits a pothole? In Europe, I’ve only seen coach buses with those downstairs toilets, and they all use vacuum toilets (like on airplanes), meaning that smell from old waste is if no concern to the insides of the bus.
My experience with coach busses lately have been in the touring band arrangement. I say this first because in that world there's a general ban on #2 for the reasons you mentioned. And secondly,' when the driving duties calm down again, a video about band busses might do well. Sleeping in the top bunk of a moving coach is not for everyone.
I was hopping to se something about the Prevost bus from the 80s because thats the one I have. There isn’t much information out there about provost buses which is unfortunate.
Most cities have at least one transit company that will have agreements with out-of-town companies, allowing them to dump, seek repairs, park if necessary. Often they will reciprocate, if not, they will just charge accordingly to the company from out of town. That way a bus company doesn`t have to set-up shop in every city they plan to serve. It`s very seldom that the service yard is even close to bus depots or terminals where multiple bus lines share office space and sell tickets.
This is the first I've heard that the premier feature is "extremely annoying". I get a lot of viewers that attend and they enjoy it... Can you elaborate on this a little more? What makes it annoying?
@@MotorcoachWorld personally (although I do know a subset of people feel the same) the premiere feature is antithetical to how UA-cam works. This place is for on demand videos, and the habit of clicking them now and watching them now is the point of the whole system. Premieres and trailers are reserved for the TV and Movie industries. Your premiere, which turned into your link to the video, was 20 videos down the list when it became available. This means that when your video went public, had I not known it was here, I would’ve likely missed it. Don’t take any of this personally. I absolutely love your channel, I rode on Peoria Charter when I was in High School and we had band trips, and I am fascinated by all things transportation. It would be worth it to see what your whole audience thinks, and maybe I’m just part of a small population that gripes against the majority. Above all else, keep up the good work, I appreciate what you bring to youtube, which is good, quality content! Thanks 😊 Edit: nice ABQRide cameo at 1:52 😋 I approve
Unrelated question, how strong is the windshield on the top of a double decker bus? Like let's say the driver slams on the break or crashes into something?
Not strong. Look up the Ottawa (Canada) double-decker crash. Driver mounted the curb and took out most of the upper deck with a bus station overhang. 3 dead, 20+ injured Jan of 2019. The trial for the bus driver is still ongoing as of 2021. Alexander-Dennis double-decker transit bus.
@@eriksejr9487 There was also a double-decker that crashed in Upstate New York, near Syracuse The MegaBus driver had gotten lost enroute, although apparently he had been doing the route about 2 months.
Актуальная тема. У нас все туалеты в миделе. Часть с вторым баком для слива, а часть с одним. и смыв идёт отфильтрованной через сетку грязной водой. Это удобно зимой, когда заливает незамерзающую жидкость.
As a kid I thought they had a flush toilet that sent it out on the road. By the same token I thought the same was true for airliners. So when a plane passed overhead, I feared the same thing would happen as a bird flying over me.
25 years ago I used the Greyhound bus to change my pad on the bus while parked at the bus transfer station & I saw it on the ground of the bus parking when the bus took off.
@@DJinniKing Question is, why you did this on the bus, clogging the filtering system as you didn’t need the bus right after anymore. Why not find a proper bathroom?
I was on a trip once, and my English teacher who came along ended up stinking up the lavatory so bad, she was the reason we had to dump the sewage in a ditch.
James, thanks for the shout out for my father and I, I know he would be proud. I agree with you about the lavatory on the "D" coach being the largest, but with the in-ward swinging door if someone has a problem and falls you can’t open the door. You probably know the new "J" coach have a quick release to remove the door.
Van Hool will now be forever known as Van Stool! Great video as ever 👍
I agree with you 100% on the van hools. Just a terrible design.
Dumping the lab while on the road is tough, most RV dump stations don’t have the pit needed for it.
Great video -- I always wonder how waste was handle for many years and now I know--Thank You
Fond memories of buses that I rode in the early 1980's. Many of them were MCI's but there were still a few GM's. A few times each year, I would take a trip that was about 4-6hrs in duration, depending on what day, time, and run I had a ticket for. Either I'd be on a milk run which made EVERY stop, or the "Express" which made 1 or maybe 2 stops along the way, or a Super-Express, which went non-stop to destination.
So my parents would make sure I had sandwiches, drinks, and maybe a book or a magazine. Eventually I got a knock-off Walkman one Christmas, so I'd have the radio or tapes to listen to.
Inevitably, after being well-behaved for a few hours, sitting still, and minding my own business, it would be time to head to the back of the bus. Nothing worse than doing the walk of shame, only to find out that the can was occupied. It was cool when the builders put a little light up top that would light up while the door was locked, indicating "occupied". Anyways, once you got inside, most buses then had no glass (or painted-over glass) to the outside, but many had a little flap door in the back corner, and it was often loose and flapping. I always assumed that it was a way for the odours to get vented out, but now I suppose that it was a way for service personnel to insert fresh water hose(s) during service intervals, perhaps vacuum hoses for vacuuming the floor of the bus, pressure wash hose to really loosen the grime, or even a stationary steam cleaner supply/return hose for cleaning upholstery, all tasks that could be dung, whoops, done while the bus was at a service facility.
Of course, during actual charters where a trip was made from high school, the running gag was that everybody who went in to the can wasn't going in to use the facilities, they were going in there to wave at the traffic that the bus would pass, or possibly chuck objects out the tiny little flap/door.
Fond memories of the automotive trip to a GM plant to see Pontiac 6000's, STE's, Olds Cutlass Ciera's being built. Naturally, the bad-boy crowd brought all manner of prohibited beverages, sneaked on board in duffel bags, back packs, Adidas bags, etc., and guess where the empty cans, bottles, and other garbage ended up? Yep, right in the can. I'm sure that the driver appreciated having to clean up THAT mess. After the alcohol was all gone, the GM plant tour concluded, and the bus was finally pointed homeward for the 4hour return journey, it was a LOT quieter than it had been on the way up. And for whatever reason, the decision was made to hit a McD's at about the half-way point home, so nobody was going to get home at 11pm on an empty stomach. The bus driver was all smiles and completely agreeable, even stopped close to return destination to let off some students if the bus was passing close to their home anyway. While I didn't contribute to the foreign objects in the lavatory, I felt sorry for him either ending up dealing with it, or having to explain what the hell to the service crew if there was one, once the bus returned to its home terminal.
Bus drivers, whether charter buses, city buses, school buses, tour buses, prison buses... often seem to get the short end of the stick, despite the hard work they put in just navigating and safely driving the darn thing around. I hope that there are some nice tips offered to bus drivers at the conclusion of trips :)
Great story mate!
I never thought this topic could be so much fun and informative as well. Thanks for posting this.
When I saw the notice about tonight’s episode it brought back all the wonderful memories of having to unblock plugged toilets from some people who thought it would be fun to block a bus toilet as well as going and having a smoke in the toilet so the bus driver wouldn’t know.LOL!!!!!
Lol 🤣
I’ll admit that I have plugged up the toilet on an MCI DL3.
@@sleepythespian1455 Ah so you were the one!! lol
Actual topic. We have all the toilets midships. Part with a second tank for draining, and part with one. and the flush is done with dirty water filtered through a mesh. It is convenient in winter when antifreeze liquid is poured.
My rule is that it should be for Extreme emergency use only.
Definitely
Its great to see in the US they are still using the blue tabs. The reason why the van hooll has this system is because in Europe we mainly have fresh water toilets that means we don't use the blue tabs, so its easier to dump the toilet since you can dump them above any sewer grate legally the formaldehyde ones have to be dumped at a rv dump and they are very rare in Europe. The spring loaded flap is supposed too work as a gasket seal to keep the smell out, and I always love when it gets stuck because that means I have to make it unstuck somehow because otherwise the entire bus will smell. Also dumping this system is a nightmare especially when all the fluids have been in there for 2-3 days in the summer, I always press the button and run away 🤣
Wow such a very effectual video and I really hope Van Hool concur and redesign their restrooms.
Only the real bus nuts geeks and enthusiasts will be watching this one
LOL you're probably right
My Presence Here disproves your Statement. . ... And for the sake of MCW's viewcount, thankgod lol!
@@MotorcoachWorld nope. not a bus nut geek or enthusiast here, (a fellow trekkie, actually.)
I'm watching this while breakfast...no problem at all 🤭
Guilty, as charged.
I am a current motor coach operator for a company not far from you and I agree with you 100% about using the lavatory and how crappy the design is on the vanhool model coaches. I watch your videos as soon as they show up on my feed and look forward to your next video and maybe meeting you in person on a charter someday
Setra is just as bad… really anything with a flush is awful
Trains up until the 50s or maybe early 60s used to dump the toilets on the tracks. Yeah every time you flushed it went straight out the bottom, this is why restroom use was prohibited while the train was still in the station and they had signs in the restrooms stating this. Different world today!
The 1 advantage of the E4500 I used to drive was it had a small window in the restroom! When I got my H3-45 that was a whole different ballgame!
I cleaned a restroom on an MCI and the restroom stunk really bad. So bad you could smell it from the outside. When I dumped the toilet and cleaned it, I found a to go plate in the toilet. I had to get gloves and fish it out of the toilet. It took 15 minutes of leaving the windows open to air out that restroom.
Ohhh man. There passengers for ya. They don't care
@@MotorcoachWorld that is so true.
@@MotorcoachWorld is a motor coach bus different or work different from a band tour bus ? when it comes to bathrooms
One time when I rode on a greyhound coach from Houston to Austin Texas. I had my first experience using a motor coach bathroom.
Ooooh i love you guys D4500s at 4:51. They're well kept up and in great shape.
Ah, the toilettes...been waiting a long time for this episode 😀
Thank you again James, for your editing work/time, if in an emergency, if someone falls against the doors that opens in, makes it hard to open, with the sick person is lying against the door...
This is an interesting topic for me. Here in Vietnam we have a lot of coach bus companies operate sleeper buses fit with an on-board toilet located towards the rear and at the near-side of the bus. I was curious to know where would the waste be disposed for these buses, now I know.
“I hope this video doesn’t ruin your appetite” you’re the UA-camr I watch when I eat lmao
You'll be glad to know I'm trying to get into the motor coach industry dude :) all I need to do is pass my CDL Driver's and skills tests
Hey best of luck man. It's a fun job and it's only for the passionate which you sound like someone who is.
Send me pictures of yourself next to your bus after you get the job I would love to give you a shout out
@@MotorcoachWorld actually I've got a selfie I took when I was hanging out on the coach :)
@@MotorcoachWorld and FYI I've been wanting to drive buses since I was like literally five years old.. however never would I ever expect to drive tour buses or other motor coaches ;) (I always wanted to drive school buses or the city buses... Flash forward 30 years, I'm like almost 4yrs on my heart transplant and I cant handle heat and humidity, which means school buses are a no bueno. I tried getting on the transit companies; one took me In and I ended up blowing it and the other wouldn't even accept me)
@@adventureoflinkmk2 Transit driving can be hard to get into. A friend here in Winnipeg applied with Transit. She passed the written class 2 and air tests, but failed the streets and routes recognition. They said, "Come back and try the whole thing again in 6 months". There would be no recognition that she'd already passed her class 2 and air. She would have to take it all again, just because she failed her streets and routes. And she never even got to sit behind the wheel of a bus, not even on the training course. And Winnipeg Transit is always complaining about having a shortage of drivers, even before the pandemic.
The Star Trek clip was iconic omg and thx for this video I always wonder how your busses and coach busse(?) worked
You took the words right out of my mouth about Vanhools! No one likes a smear pie! lol....I cut my teeth on a 1996 D and to this day the D model is still my favorite too.
the best coach toilet i had was on a trip with my school to Paris from my small city in the Netherlands.
the bus was a Van Hool TX27 astromega and the toilet was quite big and comfortable.
“Emergency deuces”- lol, love it! I’m gonna use that one for our tours. I usually just say pee pee only but I gotta add emergency deuces allowed too, lol.
11:01
I agree with that suggestion.
You’re in a moving vehicle after all (plane, train, bus, etc).
I love your Star Trek clips!
Love the uploads! We understand your schedule
Glad to see you back!
So strange for me though, since all the buses I drove and worked on dont have a head. Aircraft yes...and boy do I have stories with those. I bathed in 500 gallons of it...Yup, the dump valve failed before I could hook up the lav truck. Joy...
Can’t wait to see the traveling journeys again!
Great work great video
Thanks my friend
Such a great video very informative ! I’m glad you’re feeling better welcome back ! Good luck in the fall can’t wait for you’re next video !!! :)
not sure if you ever heard of them or not but I did just book two tours on my local charter company...Abbott Trailways in Roanoke VA. on Aug 14 will head on a day trip to Mt Airy NC to see Mayberry Home of Andy Griffith then on Nov 10 will head to Biltmore Estate. Ive been to both but am really looking forward to bus travel again
I have use lavatory when Atlantic Express was operating X23/X24/AE7 (now SIM23/SIM24 under Academy which doesn't have lavatory), MegaBus double decker (from NY-DC or NY-Boston), Charter Buses (Academy, CoachUSA), etc.
So that 10 day motor coach trip gives new meaning to roadkill.
Is there an exhaust fan in the bathroom? And what about the people who are sitting in the row of seats next to the shitter?
This is why I ride towards the front on coach buses. I don’t like being next to a smelly shitter.
Love the bus vlogs! Keep it up!
Welcome James it's good to see u again.
Thanks my friend!
@@MotorcoachWorld ❤️
Hey you didn't mention the Greyhound Scenic cruisers,with the bathroom behind the driver's seat
They Puff. Wow I did not know that! I will have to do one on the scenic cruiser.
True story. I took out a 45’ MCI for a bachelorette party. It wasn’t my first one unfortunately. After the 3rd stop I noticed one lady who wasn’t drinking. I told her round up all the hair ties you can find. Later tonight the other girls will be fighting to get to the toilet to throw up, you will need to tie up their hair and keep traffic moving. Let’s say I wasn’t wrong.
Lol that's called experience. You have passed the motor coach operators exam LOL
@@MotorcoachWorld what’s crazy is 1/2 reading this are thinking no way, the other half are saying been there done that.
Hello, I saw this video on 11/30/23 at 5p est. It was about restrooms on motor coaches. I own a Van Hool. Your video towards the end mentions their issues regarding the restroom. My question is, the cover over the hole where the waste goes, can it be removed? If so, will it stop the toilet from working. It causes all the problems your video mentions when waste does not push the flipper open.
You should really check out the restroom on the Volvo 9700. Best restroom in the biz by far 👍🏾🔥. All motor coaches 🚌 need to adapt it ASAP
Great video, and very informative.
VanHool T-models has the SAME potties as a C-Model. Also, Setra shares potty parts with VanHool. Setra and VanHool air pressure flushers never ever have enough pressure to complete the task and the flapper springs never hold up. I agree that the MCI deep pit type toilets have always been the best and most hygienic.
Great minds think alike ☺️. Thanks for the comment.
Agreed 100%. This is one of the main reasons we switched from Setra to MCI
Something tells me this video might be a little on the crappy side.
Don't be blue that it stinks. Some youtube videos are just destined for the dump.
Just keep your head up, move on to the next vid, and don't hide in the lav...
Lol ooo the puns
PUN CITY!!!!
It looks like Van Hool is fixing the main pain points you talked about in their new 2023 CX coaches. Also means the end of the line for the TX series as most of its luxury features are now being incorporated into the CX.
Doesn't it work the same way as an RV? It goes into a holding tank. Chemicals break down the solids.
"emergency deuces!" lol
Omg! And that D model you showed (at ~8:49) looks identical, right down to the color scheme of the one in drove today.
Regrettably though, someone did choose to do number two ... I was literally nauseous dumping and cleaning the lav... 🤢
Ooo can you send me pics??
Prevost, the dungeon!
I've had no problems urinating standing up on Megabus Van Hools. If you aim with enough pressure, it keeps the flap open and all of the waste goes into the toilet.
Just thankful my shout out did not happen this week!
Hey John! Wait... Did i miss something? Were you expecting a shoutout? I would gladly give you a shout out in one of the intros. Send me a pic!
@@MotorcoachWorld I do not expect a shout out. I was merely making a joke. I have sent you a pic of me and our new bus. I want to repeat. I do not expect a shout out.
I also use motion activated LCD lights in the Water Closet, which does not require the power on.
Surprised that so few of them seem to offer hand washing facilities
Yeah mainly there's sanitizer dispensers on board coach buses now at least in the US. European model seems to still have faucets with gray water to wash hands
@@MotorcoachWorld we were in japan and there was a hand washing sink
@@AshmewStudios yeah japan is not dirty like america
Only you can make 13 and a half minutes about the lavatory on the bus an interesting watch.
LOL Thanks!
Great video
I'm at my terminal now.. I think I'm glad I'm only a minibus driver, though I make less..
I went number 2 of a flight from Detroit to Nashville it was a weird experience knowing it would fly the last 30 miles with us
The new van hools have a bigger restroom design it’s actually nice they have two seats on the back instead of the three in the older ones
I seem to recall way back I the mid 80's taking a greyhound bus that the latrine had running water similar to an airline. Why did those go away?
Interesting video I was actually going to request a video on this, because it’s a not commonly covered topic among bus videos.
I admitly don’t have much experience with the Van Hool.
Here in California, we roll in pristine brand spanking new Volvo 9900’s (built by Prevost) on the Amtrak Thruway buses (operated by American Trailways). Which are the coaches I most frequently find myself on (being both a bus fan and a rail fan).
The 9700/9900’s have an similar set up to the VH system with a flush system probably using a recirculating system for the flush (the liquid from the tank is reused to flush with a sock like device preventing anything more solid from getting sucked in and damaging the pump). It does have a smaller shallow bowl like the VH bus featured in the video, but as our bus loving host point out, for best results sit down and remain seated for the entire duration of your visit and you shouldn’t have any issues.
Shame that sinks have fallen out of style, I get the added weight tacked on to an already heavy vehicle and all, not to mention space constraints for the fresh water tank, heater for hot water, the added maintenance of the plumbing system (not to mention the fact nobody can wash their hand after using the bathroom if the fresh water pump fails 🤢) but I find the hand sanitizer goes way to quickly on long haul trips and driver rarely are able to resupply the restroom due to limited on hand supplies no matter how diligent the cleaning crews are.
I find the flushing systems to be much nicer in both appearance (because come on, who want to look at the swirling, stinking mess in the tank on the straight drop toilets of the people before you), and make miles of difference in the biggest issues of on board restrooms being oder, and poor ventilation.
Anyway just my two cents/experience with the subject.
@motorcoachworld. Cant remember if you said but do you own the company.
I am a Co Owner. So partially.
Your personal opinion on Vanhool is a fairly popular one. I despise them. I've had too many trips where it just stops flushing. And that splashback for the dude's, after a few days on the road 🤮.
And you can’t ask them to sit either, because body parts will touch that bowl 🤮
Glad you're back and feeling better!
Do you do all the video work yourself? (Like shoot, edit, upload stuff like that)
Hey Nate. Thanks man. Yes I do all the work my self. Its a one man show LOL.
Have you ever had to do the driver’s walk of shame? 😅 Oh, man. One time it just hit me and I had to stop at a closed weigh station west of Bloomington on I-74, the first safe piece of pavement I found. Food on the road can do that to you.
LOL Good question... Yes i have LOL
@@MotorcoachWorld Luckily it was a men's soccer club in my case so I was like, "guys, I'm sorry..."
I wonder if a dumbed-down version of a vacuum toilet from the airline industry would ever make it into a motorcoach?
@@mls515 I've seen blue liquid flush toilets in European buses. Not quite a vacuum toilet. I didn't try a number 2 in one of those, but they looked like they could function well.
@@mfbfreak That's the recirculating type. The blue juice recirculates as you flush it. They do okay until they get enough use to foul the fluid. Same concept as found in some airplanes.
Finally! Last mystery of the. Universe is solved!!
I remember going on a old J series and using the restroom but I had to open the door a little and hold my hand on the wall.
What kind of bus would you say is best for a band when it comes to bathrooms ?
Prevost or MCI J model. Those two have decent restrooms and large luggage space
@@MotorcoachWorld thanks that helps a lot as a guitar player who hopes to be in a band one day
Hope you are feeling better
Thanks!
I'm surprised people would sit next to the bathroom that don't have a mid-shift bathroom. I remember when buses in my country had bathrooms in the middle. it was such a luxury for a 11 meter bus. now even 14.75m double decker buses don't have a bathroom
The idea of a toilet at the rear, so that youll have to walk past every passenger to get to the toilet? Yikes. Feels so awkward to me. Like you said, here in Europe Ive only been on buses with a toilet in the centre.
Can Van Hool toilets be modified right after delivery? I’ve noticed many, though not all, Prevosts have a flush feature, some with a flap at the bottom of the bowl, but most with no flap above the holding tank. I haven’t noticed a flush feature installed on the MCI’s I’ve seen so far.
Hi, I've been a subscriber for sometime now and I can't seem to find any comments you may have on wheelchair users and how they are accommodated on the various model buses or what difficulties may be involved in serving those of use bound to wheelchairs. Thank You Kurt Corwin
I’ve never been on board a motor coach before I’ve heard some motor coaches have a sink and a flushable toilet like on an airplane do you know which ones have that I’m just curious
Do RV sites actually have pits to dump the lavatory? If I buy an MCI for conversion purposes but was crazy enough to keep the lab where would you go to dump?
Hi I've just took delivery of a GL12 Yotong 2024 model in uk.
Some1 pushed the Alarm in the toilet.
Can u plz let me know do I turn it of.
Thank u
Van Hool restrooms really are the worst! They have so little legroom (MCI J-series in certain configs are skimpy too), and the Astromega used by Megabus isn't much better either despite being a gigantic bus. I'm a compact guy and even I have trouble turning around in those restrooms. That D-series is fantastic though!
Exactly!!! Glad someone agrees with me 😆
So, I’ve been on a coach bus that had a fully clear lavatory window. Is it an MCI J model with different spec?
Some of the newer j models have optional rear windows but I'm. It sure if it extends to the lavatory... It may have also been a later model d or a vanhool
Those seats next to the crapper should be cheaper.
The fan motor which draws the tank odours out has been the culprit of more than one MCI inferno.
@corey Babcock the tank exhaust fan has a motor that is supposed to be running as long as the ignition is on. Some operators try using salt in the tank water as an anti freeze in northern climates. This can corrode the fan and motor, seizing it. The motor can overheat, causing a fire in the engine compartment.
This was more of a thing on Mc9s up to 102dl3s.
I would think all #2s on a bus are emergency. No one actually wants to go #2 on a bus, do they? 😂
You'd be surprised lol
Or you could do like the Dave Mathews bus and just dump it in the river when you cross the bridge. Watch out for tour boats though !
Lol I mentioned that little incident
@@MotorcoachWorld I figured you might. Should have waited to see the show. Love your channel. Just like charter flying . . . only different!
As a European these toilet configurations seems very foreign. Sitting above that holding tank with all the “stuff” exposed seems kinda crude. Does it ever splash back up if the bus hits a pothole? In Europe, I’ve only seen coach buses with those downstairs toilets, and they all use vacuum toilets (like on airplanes), meaning that smell from old waste is if no concern to the insides of the bus.
My experience with coach busses lately have been in the touring band arrangement. I say this first because in that world there's a general ban on #2 for the reasons you mentioned. And secondly,' when the driving duties calm down again, a video about band busses might do well. Sleeping in the top bunk of a moving coach is not for everyone.
I was hopping to se something about the Prevost bus from the 80s because thats the one I have. There isn’t much information out there about provost buses which is unfortunate.
Love it!!!!
Do they have a place to dump in most cities? That way a bus can dump after an overnight drive while the passengers are at a theme park or whatever.
It usually is a problem finding a convenient place to dump.
Most cities have at least one transit company that will have agreements with out-of-town companies, allowing them to dump, seek repairs, park if necessary. Often they will reciprocate, if not, they will just charge accordingly to the company from out of town. That way a bus company doesn`t have to set-up shop in every city they plan to serve. It`s very seldom that the service yard is even close to bus depots or terminals where multiple bus lines share office space and sell tickets.
@@stanpatterson5033, as i mentioned above, it's usually inconvenient to find a place to dump for charter buses.
Thank you for this video. I'm cringing at this issue. Yeah, I know. Suck it up butter cup. :-)
Everything about your channel is awesome,
I really appreciate it! But please get away from the Premieres feature, it is extremely annoying!
This is the first I've heard that the premier feature is "extremely annoying". I get a lot of viewers that attend and they enjoy it... Can you elaborate on this a little more? What makes it annoying?
@@MotorcoachWorld personally (although I do know a subset of people feel the same) the premiere feature is antithetical to how UA-cam works. This place is for on demand videos, and the habit of clicking them now and watching them now is the point of the whole system. Premieres and trailers are reserved for the TV and Movie industries.
Your premiere, which turned into your link to the video, was 20 videos down the list when it became available. This means that when your video went public, had I not known it was here, I would’ve likely missed it.
Don’t take any of this personally. I absolutely love your channel, I rode on Peoria Charter when I was in High School and we had band trips, and I am fascinated by all things transportation. It would be worth it to see what your whole audience thinks, and maybe I’m just part of a small population that gripes against the majority. Above all else, keep up the good work, I appreciate what you bring to youtube, which is good, quality content! Thanks 😊
Edit: nice ABQRide cameo at 1:52 😋 I approve
AHEM ... James... just north of the border, we also use celsius.
Can you do one on the E4500
Unrelated question, how strong is the windshield on the top of a double decker bus? Like let's say the driver slams on the break or crashes into something?
Not strong. Look up the Ottawa (Canada) double-decker crash. Driver mounted the curb and took out most of the upper deck with a bus station overhang. 3 dead, 20+ injured Jan of 2019. The trial for the bus driver is still ongoing as of 2021. Alexander-Dennis double-decker transit bus.
@@eriksejr9487 There was also a double-decker that crashed in Upstate New York, near Syracuse The MegaBus driver had gotten lost enroute, although apparently he had been doing the route about 2 months.
Archie Bunker clogged the terlet on the Atlantic City tour coach! 🤣🤣
How are bus differ from plane lsvatories?
There's a reason why there is a driver shortage. Compensation.
Exactly thud I’d very disgusting
Hey do some history about Philippine buses pls next time.
Актуальная тема. У нас все туалеты в миделе. Часть с вторым баком для слива, а часть с одним. и смыв идёт отфильтрованной через сетку грязной водой. Это удобно зимой, когда заливает незамерзающую жидкость.
Спасибо за коммент! Я летал на Украину несколько раз с женой.