Bus Body on AE 12M and Viking Chassis

[ascertain]

We are planning to acquire an AL 12M chassis and a Viking Chassis for our transport company which operates from Mysore,Karnataka. Our earlier fleet consisted of AL Vikings, which are now over 10 years old.
Would anyone happen to know the cost of the new 12M chassis?, and the latest pricing of the Viking?.
We run 3 intrastate town to town buses from Mysore, and 1 interstate service.
Can anyone guide me to the best Bus body builders on these chassis from the Karur/Salem Area?. I prefer ones with reliable construction history/ good build quality and cost effectiveness.
Another issue facing us is the increased wear and tear on the bus seating- is anyone aware of good tough material that can withstand the stress better than ordinary rexine?.

Would any of the members be owning transport buses?, If so could anyone provide me their IDs so that I may PM them?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by ascertain

We are planning to acquire an AL 12M chassis and a Viking Chassis for our transport company which operates from Mysore,Karnataka. Our earlier fleet consisted of AL Vikings, which are now over 10 years old.
Would anyone happen to know the cost of the new 12M chassis?, and the latest pricing of the Viking?.
We run 3 intrastate town to town buses from Mysore, and 1 interstate service.
Can anyone guide me to the best Bus body builders on these chassis from the Karur/Salem Area?. I prefer ones with reliable construction history/ good build quality and cost effectiveness.
Another issue facing us is the increased wear and tear on the bus seating- is anyone aware of good tough material that can withstand the stress better than ordinary rexine?.

Would any of the members be owning transport buses?, If so could anyone provide me their IDs so that I may PM them?

AL 12m costs around 14 ~ 14.5 lakhs.
Viking, are you looking at 210 or 222 wheelbase?
AE (Pollachi), PEETEE (Karur) are well known for their reliable bodies.
However, there are plenty other who does good job like Shakthi, Maaruti, Gemini, Tiger, Rayal, TVR, etc. But most of them are busy with TNSTC's work, you may need to pay a visit personally to check the schedules.

You can contact our member raj_5004 (check for his thread in page 2).

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...-page-7-a.html (6 Cyl. Turbo + 410 Nm Torque + 7 Wheels = ? EDIT: Pics on page 7!)

[ascertain]

thanks for the reply V1kram, sure appreciate all the help. We were looking at a viking 222. Do these bus body builders have a set design that they adhere to?.. or is there scope for customization?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by ascertain

thanks for the reply V1kram, sure appreciate all the help. We were looking at a viking 222. Do these bus body builders have a set design that they adhere to?.. or is there scope for customization?

Will check the price of 222 and let you know.
Body builders do have some standard design (mostly present/updated designs) and keep changing them at regular interval, but again if you have some design/customization, most of the karur based builders are flexible.

AFAIK, they will have few designs from which you can select directly or you can request them for modifications as per your wish.