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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 20:28:30 GMT
Hi everybody,
I'm new here so please be gentle!
I work for Bullocks Coaches in Manchester and we are in the process of buying 10 ex Arriva DAF AXL400 double deckers.
I have reserved fleet numbers DLA357 through to DLA366. From what I can see and have read off pictures on Flickr, they all got refurbished around 2011.
I have a couple of questions:
What are they like from a drivers/passengers point of view?
Are they reliable?
What are the interiors/bodywork like?
Are they warm in the winter?!
Did they get new interiors when refurbished by Hants & Dorset trim shop?
We are expecting them to be towed to Manchester at the end of the month.
They will be used by Bullock's mainly as school buses and will probably keep the London Red colour scheme. The only alterations we will have to do is disconnecting the centre doors.
Bullocks operated the first low floor double deckers in Manchester back in 1998, they were DAF Optare Spectra's so we are not a stranger to the DAF working gear.
Thanks in advance for any comments/answers.
Cheers
Mark
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Post by Danny on Jan 9, 2015 21:01:09 GMT
Hi everybody, I'm new here so please be gentle! I work for Bullocks Coaches in Manchester and we are in the process of buying 10 ex Arriva DAF AXL400 double deckers. I have reserved fleet numbers DLA357 through to DLA366. From what I can see and have read off pictures on Flickr, they all got refurbished around 2011. I have a couple of questions: What are they like from a drivers/passengers point of view? Are they reliable? What are the interiors/bodywork like? Are they warm in the winter?! Did they get new interiors when refurbished by Hants & Dorset trim shop? We are expecting them to be towed to Manchester at the end of the month. They will be used by Bullock's mainly as school buses and will probably keep the London Red colour scheme. The only alterations we will have to do is disconnecting the centre doors. Bullocks operated the first low floor double deckers in Manchester back in 1998, they were DAF Optare Spectra's so we are not a stranger to the DAF working gear. Thanks in advance for any comments/answers. Cheers Mark
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Post by ServerKing on Jan 9, 2015 22:59:04 GMT
As a passenger, very comfortable, the DB250's have been reliable, the ones in question were mainly used on a fairly high speed route, the 34, but I never heard of many breakdowns. Interiors might need a little more than a run over with a J Cloth, but these buses would still be in use had Arriva retained the route. Bodywork seemed okay
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Post by snoggle on Jan 9, 2015 23:22:20 GMT
From a passenger viewpoint I've always thought they were pretty decent. I'm not a driver so can't comment on how they drive.
Clearly they're not brand new so you may get the odd breakdown but I've not seen many conked out. As already said much of the batch has run on the 34 service which means they have "stretched their legs" a bit on the North Circular rather than plodding through Central London at 5 mph for much of the day. I've always thought the vehicle performance was decent with a good level of torque from the engines. They can certainly sound melodic!
Not sure the interiors were "brand new" when refurbed - new seat cushions, new moquette, colour contrast hand rails and a general tidy up is what I think was done but don't quote me!
Not sure about the heating - the one thing that happens with Arriva buses is the centre doors rot at the bottom and lose their "brushes" which means you can get the cold and wet coming in that way.
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Post by M1104 on Jan 10, 2015 2:16:33 GMT
Having euro3 spec'd engines (253bhp when new) their performance 'on average' should be relatively decent for steep inclines, in any case an improvement on London's euro2 engine versions (DLA1-321).
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Post by vjaska on Jan 10, 2015 3:58:09 GMT
Hi everybody, I'm new here so please be gentle! I work for Bullocks Coaches in Manchester and we are in the process of buying 10 ex Arriva DAF AXL400 double deckers. I have reserved fleet numbers DLA357 through to DLA366. From what I can see and have read off pictures on Flickr, they all got refurbished around 2011. I have a couple of questions: What are they like from a drivers/passengers point of view? Are they reliable? What are the interiors/bodywork like? Are they warm in the winter?! Did they get new interiors when refurbished by Hants & Dorset trim shop? We are expecting them to be towed to Manchester at the end of the month. They will be used by Bullock's mainly as school buses and will probably keep the London Red colour scheme. The only alterations we will have to do is disconnecting the centre doors. Bullocks operated the first low floor double deckers in Manchester back in 1998, they were DAF Optare Spectra's so we are not a stranger to the DAF working gear. Thanks in advance for any comments/answers. Cheers Mark From a passengers point of view, they are comfortable and have decent legroom. The suspension is pretty solid but I'd watch for any chassis defects as the ones at Arriva The Shires seemed to be plagued by chassis defects. They are quite reliable - I've not seen loads of DLA's broken down unlike other types such as Tridents The interiors aren't bad but the bodywork might be a bit battered from their time in London where ill parked vehicles and stupid drivers can cause issues I wouldn't say they are too cold during the winter so should be okay. Some were refurbed earlier than others and so the earlier refurbed probably look rougher than the ones done more recently. Arriva refurbs are generally just touch ups and usually include new seat covers, a repaint and the wall panels to be given a cheap coat of paint.
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Post by ServerKing on Jan 10, 2015 6:41:32 GMT
They are very quick, I hasten to add There shouldn't be any restrictions on them, there are loads of youtube videos of DB250's, even the older Euro2 ex London ones being driven at 60 and above There's also the DLP Plaxton version with different bodywork. The 52 reg are 2003 February
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 7:15:21 GMT
Thanks for the response guys.
Fingers crossed I have picked the best of the batch!
We do have a couple of school routes that use the motorway so knowing they are not restricted to 40mph will please my drivers.
We are not fans of the Dennis Trident at all. We had lots of trouble with them when we operated buses before Stagecoach took over our stage carriage division. Saying that, we currently have two on hire until the summer. These have the AXL400 body with we are impressed with. They seem quite solid, especially compared to anything with East Lancs bodywork!
Am I right in thinking these vehicles are now running on the 125 route?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 8:27:39 GMT
Can anybody tell me which depot these buses are based at?
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Post by Trident on Jan 10, 2015 9:22:49 GMT
Can anybody tell me which depot these buses are based at? The DLAs are currently out stationed/based at EC.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 9:32:56 GMT
Is that Edmonton?
Sorry, I'm not familiar with London garages!
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Post by Trident on Jan 10, 2015 9:49:18 GMT
Is that Edmonton? Sorry, I'm not familiar with London garages! Yes you're correct
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Post by YY13VKP on Jan 10, 2015 12:22:16 GMT
Am I right in thinking these vehicles are now running on the 125 route? Yes, they do run on the 125. the route transfers to Metroline at the end of the month.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 12:11:01 GMT
As a passenger, very comfortable, the DB250's have been reliable, the ones in question were mainly used on a fairly high speed route, the 34, but I never heard of many breakdowns. Interiors might need a little more than a run over with a J Cloth, but these buses would still be in use had Arriva retained the route. Bodywork seemed okay No they wouldn't. The new contract specifies, Euro IV DDs at a bare minimum.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Jan 21, 2015 13:42:03 GMT
Hi everybody, I'm new here so please be gentle! I work for Bullocks Coaches in Manchester and we are in the process of buying 10 ex Arriva DAF AXL400 double deckers. I have reserved fleet numbers DLA357 through to DLA366. From what I can see and have read off pictures on Flickr, they all got refurbished around 2011. I have a couple of questions: What are they like from a drivers/passengers point of view? Are they reliable? What are the interiors/bodywork like? Are they warm in the winter?! Did they get new interiors when refurbished by Hants & Dorset trim shop? We are expecting them to be towed to Manchester at the end of the month. They will be used by Bullock's mainly as school buses and will probably keep the London Red colour scheme. The only alterations we will have to do is disconnecting the centre doors. Bullocks operated the first low floor double deckers in Manchester back in 1998, they were DAF Optare Spectra's so we are not a stranger to the DAF working gear. Thanks in advance for any comments/answers. Cheers Mark They generally are better than the early euro2 versions and once moving and with kickdown switch enabled are very fast. They have 3 speed Voith gearboxes so not the best for Motorway work, but would easily make 62.5mh on Motorways. They do get warm in the winter, although one or two of the cab heater matrix on them needs changing as it barely just blows warm. The passenger saloon has a switch in the cab for the lower deck blowers which is two speed and usually warm with the lower saloon blower motor on the offside rear wheelarch area. The upper saloon has bar radiators, you have to have the taps in the engine bay fully opened and the at the back seat on the upper deck to the nearside, there is a hatch, open that then turn the thermostat dial from * . 0 1 2 3 4 5 to the heat setting desired. Driving they held the road good, although one or tow of them do pull slightly at times. If overloaded with passengers a light in the cab would come on to reflect this and bus would crawl at flywheel speed. Brakes were good and strong with discs up front. Only the chassis auto levelling could get irritating at times. Although suspension is very good and better than the Trident and Volvo B7TL from my opinion driving them. It has VERY good steering lock, although the steering wheel being so huge can feel a bit cumbersome. If they have a faulty wastegate on the turbo it would barely move, but once sorted they would be a rocket. When they got refurbed, it was just the usual, repaint, and seat cushions replaced. at the time they were done, Arriva subcontracted a lot of work out to Hants & Dorset as Enfield was too full of work. They also got the combined LED indicator/LED side light changed at the front, the one that went Hants & Dorset. And also engine bay fire surpression kits fitted. I have attached some pics of DLA362 from June 2011 after it came back from refurb and on route 34. They do have there breakdowns from time to time like any bus does. Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deleted
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