[dkamath]

Saw a new Eicher LCV near Agara junction this morning. The front looks like the HVC series now, ie. rectangular headlamps instead of the twin round ones used earlier.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by hanmust

Seen two Volvos broke down at NH 212 - Wayanad Ghat section. The first Volvo seems to have some serious problem like clutch or gear box failure.

Broken down Volvo in Bombay-Pune express way.

The Shivneri Volvo i was travelling doing 120 km/hr. [kidding]. The speedometer was not working.

I recently travelled from Dadar to Pune in a Shivneri Volvo. The condition of the bus was really bad. I think this may be one of the first batch of Volvos in Shivneri fleet. Also i have seen quite a few Volvos, in pathetic condition (Kottayam and Bombay). I guess such expensive buses need better maintenance. I was told by one of the bus operators; with AL buses, they could afford to replace the bus every year, but with Volvo, they need to run it couple of years to recover the money. With the Indian road conditions and driving habit, that is a tall task.

[Trapezio]

Agree with Teamvee, I had traveled on a few Volvos which made me remember the good old days of Tata and AL! Some of them are pathetic. My advice to fellow travelers - please verify the buses before booking tickets rather than going by Volvo name alone.

Once I had a particularly bad experience of travelling on a Volvo bus (the operator ironically owns a official Volvo service outlet also) from Mumbai. The bus was rebuild to accommodate sleepers above the seat! Which means that the blowers are just above my forehead and I am 6ft tall. The vibrations, the cold blast of air etc meant many passengers did not sleep through the night. At around 1:00 am quite a few complained to the driver who promptly tinkered on the console. But nothing really changed. Finally somebody had an idea of stuffing the ac vents with newspapers to reduce the air blast. Although I hated the idea I finally succumbed to temptation at 3:00am and stuffed the ac vents with papers and got a quick wink!

Another instance a nine month old Kallada broke down on the way to Bangalore. The vehicle would not shift up from first gear! They tried many things and finally drove the bus in first gear to the next town where we were all shifted to an ordinary bus.

Volvo or Ashok, maintenance is the difference between heaven and hell.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by dkamath

Saw a new Eicher LCV near Agara junction this morning. The front looks like the HVC series now, ie. rectangular headlamps instead of the twin round ones used earlier.

Eicher recently introduced the E2 Plus series. These trucks come with rectangular headlamps, and a slightly different front design.

Check this page on the Eicher website for more details.

[fx45]

the only differnent i could see visible on the new Eicher series is just squared off headlamps. rest is the same 20 year old design

[sajo]

Isuzu seems to have taken cue from Mercedes-Benz , whose buses have "Travel with the star" emblazoned on its sides.
Isuzu has "Travel with Japanese Technology" written on them now.

The body for Isuzus are made by Prakash.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by fx45

the only differnent i could see visible on the new Eicher series is just squared off headlamps. rest is the same 20 year old design

The front grille has changed completely, plus the design of the area around the headlamps have also been changed.

I'll try to get some pics..

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Trapezio

Another instance a nine month old Kallada broke down on the way to Bangalore. The vehicle would not shift up from first gear! They tried many things and finally drove the bus in first gear to the next town where we were all shifted to an ordinary bus.

A typical B'lore - Kerala bus would run 600 KMs a day. Assuming 100% utilisation, that would be 600 x 30 x 9 = 1,62,000 KMs.

Far too less. A heavy commercial vehicle's gear box [w/sh]ould last at least 6-9 lakh Kms.

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

A typical B'lore - Kerala bus would run 600 KMs a day. Assuming 100% utilisation, that would be 600 x 30 x 9 = 1,62,000 KMs.

Far too less. A heavy commercial vehicle's gear box [w/sh]ould last at least 6-9 lakh Kms.

The gearbox may be ok. Instead the clutch (plate) may have got worn out. Normally one can smell a burning smell when this happens.

Thanx
/Venkat

[Trapezio]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

A heavy commercial vehicle's gear box [w/sh]ould last at least 6-9 lakh Kms.

I agree that its a little too less. It was obvious that Kallada was not expecting anything like that

Originally Posted by vharihar

Instead the clutch (plate) may have got worn out.

I simply do not know the technicalities. I was standing near by while the driver was frantically following the suggestions given by somebody from Volvo on his mobile. I could not smell anything pungent. I was not standing too close anyways. The driver was not having his best day. Didn't want to add to his agony!

[dkamath]

Saw these Mysore Nagara Saarige buses from JnNURM, along the Srirangapatna-KRS-Hunsur stretch. The construction looks similar to the new blue JnNURM buses in BMTC. Sorry for the poor image quality.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by fx45

the only differnent i could see visible on the new Eicher series is just squared off headlamps. rest is the same 20 year old design

Originally Posted by binaiks

The front grille has changed completely, plus the design of the area around the headlamps have also been changed.

I'll try to get some pics..

Promise Fulfilled. Here are some images. Compare the front grille of the new one, with the ones of old models.

[amit V8]

eicher is really making some good looking models. i saw this new truck a cople of days back. today however saw the Skyline Deluxe, Skool and the Hercules chasis.
the Skyline is really good compared to the vintage tata starbus. the seats are plush and the interiors are roomy enough. could not snap the interior though.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by amit V8

eicher is really making some good looking models. i saw this new truck a cople of days back. today however saw the Skyline Deluxe, Skool and the Hercules chasis.

Are you sure that is the Hercules Chassis? AFAIK, Eicher sells its truck chassis with the front cowl (like the TATAs).

Its 20.20 Bus Chassis is sold like the one in the image. I doubt that is the Bus Chassis, not the Hercules/Galaxy.

[amit V8]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Are you sure that is the Hercules Chassis? AFAIK, Eicher sells its truck chassis with the front cowl (like the TATAs).

Its 20.20 Bus Chassis is sold like the one in the image. I doubt that is the Bus Chassis, not the Hercules/Galaxy.

there was nothing written on it. it can be a bus chasis but it was too long for a bus.