[Brent]

The huge difference is access. A bus has to be over a pit or up in the air. Then just the simple task of checking hub levels means a lot of time is spent just getting the hub caps off and worse, lining up the screws to get them back on after checking levels. On a truck you have two and usually they are visible, or have the baby moon caps you can just pop off the wheel.

Something simple like draining the air tanks in succession takes time. Unless I do something while the air is coming out of the tank I am just standing there and that is 5 minutes shot. The coolant hoses are not exclusively at the engine. They are everywhere because the typical coach uses coolant for several heating purposes. Even with the coach over a pit there are some coolant hoses in the bays as well as near the Websto or Aquahot.

Checking things like tie rod ends takes time. You have to raise the wheel then get a big bar to see if you have any king pin, ball joint or bearing issues. the get under the coach and try to move the wheel side to side and look for play at the tie rods. The drag link is a hard one to check but it has to be done both from beneath and from the steer compartment. I bet I spend 45 minutes with all the screwing around that takes.

I wish Jeff would jump in, but I believe the $360 is a gift. I take about 5 hours to do a routine service. From a pit and I know exactly what tools I need and they are with me so once I get in the pit I don’t have to be running up and down for anything. Someone not used to a bus is going to waste a lot of time just getting the right tools.

I used to have to do the brake check, but for at least 15 years we have had the Knorr=Bremse brakes on the coaches and there is nothing you can check or adjust except to inspect the pad thickness and check the discs for cracks.