[diyguy]

You guys are scaring me. I am booked into Shamasardar on 14th night from Bangalore to chennai by sleeper. Had taken a KPN last month and was pretty good except for attitude of drivers and dirty linen, can't really expect business class from them. I have travelled extensively by Olivea but lack of full sleeper has made me switch to KPN/Others..

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

hehe.. but you will think twice before booking a sleeper again right?

I always believe in destiny and so I think about the bus operator and not about the type of bus - meaning when you are travelling with new operator you do not know the timing and quality of bus.

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Not long before the Chennai-Pollachi sleeper accident(KPN), i traveled in the same bus(my sleeper bus experience for the first and last time). And half the journey i was wondering what to do if there was an emergency.

I was supposed to travel by the KPN - Sleeper bus to Pollachi in the same trip. Reason why I chose was, it was a newer bus and wanted to try. But I did'nt get ticket and so settled in ARC. I saw the bus the same day in Omni bus stand before it departed. But in next few hours, I have nothing to say.
There are several incidents like this have taken place in my life since childhood - in both road (including personal mode of travel) and rail. So I dont break my head and stick to a particular mode as a safer mode.
What ever should happen will happen and What should not happen cant hapen.

Having this feeling in my mind, I dont particularly go and invite the trouble but still have some preference wrt convenience and comfort,that's it. So after travelling several times, now my order of preference is still sleeper and then only a seater.

[silversteed]

Deviating slightly about the safety aspects, I see quite a few sleeper buses built on the TM LPO1618 chassis these days. For example, SRM, Kesineni. Any idea how different the ride is, compared to the sleepers built on AL 12M or Viking?

[urzdeepu]

Previously we had sleepers which looked to be more taller than regular seater. But now a days ac sleepers(especially built by Prakash and Veera) seems to be of same height of a regular ac bus. I guess the body builders are more concious about centre of gravity as well as aesthetics for these buses though non ac buses do follow the same old height or principle.

[sibi6613]

I had booked an AC Semi-sleeper from Chennai to Erode with Air Indiaa travels (yes, with two a's). The boarding point was SRM University, Kaattangulathur. I expected the bus to be late but not late by 2:30 hours. But the bus that arrived was an AC Sleeper. I settled in my berth, lying next to an unknown guy. The journey was literally a roller coaster ride. I did not sleep even for 30 minutes. I'm just 5'3 but still the legroom was not enough for me to stretch my legs! The bus felt unstable and it was continuously bouncing up and down. I have had far more comfortable journeys in Volvos semi-sleepers. That was my first and will be my last time on a sleeper ever.

[SchumiFan]

Always have taken the sleeper when traveling back to work. Feels a lot better to stretch completely than having to sit with little amount of calf support.

I am not sure if I don't notice it or maybe I take the variations better, but I feel it better than Volvo for the same route. I have at least 4-5 hours of sleep in a sleeper coach compared to the 2 hours at max in Volvo semi's.

Also the sleeper coaches travel a lot slower than the Volvo's (around 7+ hours for CHN-BLR travel compared to 5-6 hrs for Volvo's). So it helps to get an extra hour or two of sleep before work.

Main advantage is the 1+2 arrangement leading to a lot more width in the seat/berth.

[Mpower]

Does Volvo offer a factory built sleeper? How does that perform?

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Last week I was travelling to Palani in SRM sleeper. There should be some issue with respect to suspension, and hence the ride was not settled since begining. There was heavy throw and sway. But some how I managed to sleep, but was getting disturbed on and off. But suddenly there was a feeling that, bus was going off a hill slide.

Originally Posted by Gansan

I had a single berth positioned lengthwise, with my feet facing forward. I found the repeated braking /acceleration/swerving/ body roll very disturbing, unlike the smooth movement of a train. And I, who will sleep right through a bus journey if I had a comfy seat, could hardly sleep!

Were you guys in the upper berth when you experienced this unstable behavior?

Have you traveled the same route in a regular bus (at approx same speed) and not felt this?

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

If they don't put the luggage on the top, then where do they put it in a sleeper coach bus? Is there enough place between the wheels to accomodate the luggage as well as the lower berths/seats of passengers? If that's the case, wouldn't loading the luggage between the wheels add more weight to the lower levels of the bus ? (and thus reduce the centre of gravity of the bus?)

All RE (Rear engine) integral chassis buses have huge cargo area in the belly. Deck height is also higher in these buses so as to maximize cargo volume

Roof carrier is ancient way of carrying luggage and also dangerous (and now illegal as someone pointed out) Its the FE buses built on truck chassis that tend tend to have these

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Does Volvo offer a factory built sleeper? How does that perform?

They do not offer a factory built Sleeper. All the Volvo sleepers you see are post-market modifications. Some operators bought new unfurnished shells from Volvo and got the sleeper built inside, while some refurbished their old buses and converted them to Sleeper config. Same goes with Mercedes Benz and Scania.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Does Volvo offer a factory built sleeper? How does that perform?

Were you guys in the upper berth when you experienced this unstable behavior?

Have you travelled the same route in a regular bus (at approx same speed) and not felt this?

The Shell option is currently given only by Volvo. Scania and Mercedes(the newer one) is yet to offer. Volvo in this case is crap especially in the rear portion as the berths have very low head room and lower berths are almost in the floor.

I travelled in upper berth and there will be difference in the comfort level for an upper and lower berths.

Originally Posted by Mpower

...
Roof carrier is ancient way of carrying luggage and also dangerous (and now illegal as someone pointed out) Its the FE buses built on truck chassis that tend tend to have these

There is no buses built in India on a truck chassis.All these are Front engine Bus chassis and that's it.
Not just luggage at roof, even at its belly is illegal excepting they are carried by passenger.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Does Volvo offer a factory built sleeper? How does that perform?

AFAIK, they do not offer a sleeper coach, but the buyer can specify not to have the interiors done so as to assemble sleeper berths and associated gadgetry inside, by another body shop such as SMK or Veera. Kallada has/had one running in Bangalore-Tvm route (the pairing bus was a Merc)

Its the FE buses built on truck chassis that tend tend to have these

You'd find roof carriers only on non-AC buses, as the AC unit prevents loading anything on the roof for AC buses. I reiterate what I'd posted eons ago - it'd be impossible to find any bus built on a truck-chassis these days. All home-grown manufacturers have separate chassis for bus and truck applications, and these chassis have differences wrt the suspension setup, specs of aggregates such as axles, shafts etc., gear ratios, just to name a few. Some marketing genius at Volvo came up with a USP of "true bus chassis" vs "buses built on truck chassis" of AL and TM when they started their bus business in India - and the internet savvy average joe believed this blindly.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by silversteed

AFAIK, they do not offer a sleeper coach, but the buyer can specify not to have the interiors done so as to assemble sleeper berths and associated gadgetry inside, by another body shop such as SMK or Veera. Kallada has/had one running in Bangalore-Tvm route (the pairing bus was a Merc)


You'd find roof carriers only on non-AC buses, as the AC unit prevents loading anything on the roof for AC buses. I reiterate what I'd posted eons ago - it'd be impossible to find any bus built on a truck-chassis these days. All home-grown manufacturers have separate chassis for bus and truck applications, and these chassis have differences wrt the suspension setup, specs of aggregates such as axles, shafts etc., gear ratios, just to name a few. Some marketing genius at Volvo came up with a USP of "true bus chassis" vs "buses built on truck chassis" of AL and TM when they started their bus business in India - and the internet savvy average joe believed this blindly.

Thanks guys and I stand corrected. I guess I should've said 'truck like' chassis because its still based on the classic front engine RWD ladder frame architecture

Another thought, did the accidents happen on hilly/ghat routes with lots of dangerous turns? Hard to imagine anything going wrong in a straight road

Originally Posted by Ashley2

The Shell option is currently given only by Volvo. Scania and Mercedes(the newer one) is yet to offer. Volvo in this case is crap especially in the rear portion as the berths have very low head room and lower berths are almost in the floor.

I travelled in upper berth and there will be difference in the comfort level for an upper and lower berths.



There is no buses built in India on a truck chassis.All these are Front engine Bus chassis and that's it.
Not just luggage at roof, even at its belly is illegal excepting they are carried by passenger.

[SchumiFan]

Took the Sleeper coach from Adyar last night and whatever I mentioned as 'good' in my previous post were all gone.

The bus started at the right time but was delayed at plenty of places (10-15 minutes at most boarding points) even before leaving the city.

Then came the real trouble. The driver was very enthusiastic and was driving it as if he was riding a bike. The bus was swaying a lot (and I was in the lower berth) and he didn't slow down much for broken patches as well. I was in the last single berth and was lying in the direction opposite to which the bus was traveling.

A lot of late brakes and quick left rights. The only time I shut my eyes was to pray for this not to be my last day on Earth.

Got dropped at 5:30 in the morning. Had a bad day at work owing to this adventure and the fact that I had to keep my legs in a frog like position due to the lack of length in the final berth.

Not going to book the sleeper if I don't get a seat in the front and maybe will switch between Volvo and Sleeper on the alternate weekends.

High time drivers understand that it is just not only his life that is at stake on a travel.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Were you guys in the upper berth when you experienced this unstable behavior?

Have you traveled the same route in a regular bus (at approx same speed) and not felt this?

1) Yes.
2) Many times, regular or push back seats, never experienced any problem, except a crick in the neck next day. But I will sleep 9 hours in a 12 hour journey and even have dreams!

That was my only journey by a sleeper bus, and I never opted for it again.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by silversteed

..... Some marketing genius at Volvo came up with a USP of "true bus chassis" vs "buses built on truck chassis" of AL and TM when they started their bus business in India - and the internet savvy average joe believed this blindly.

Volvo does the same "buses built on trucks globally".
As rightly said, many who claim to be tech savvy, speak in a way the FE buses are crap and Volvo is the true bus chassis.

Thank fully Mpower stands corrected.

[Anwesh]

The AIS52 bus code does not allow a roof carrier. That is why all the new MSRTC buses hitting the road now are without one.

Regards,