 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Freightliner FS-65 | |
|---|---|
 2004Thomas Built Buses FS-65 ofCalvert County, Maryland | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Freightliner Custom Chassis (Freightliner LLC) |
| Production | January 1997 – December 2006 |
| Assembly | Gaffney, SC |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Type C (conventional) |
| Layout | conventional 4x2 |
| Body styles | Cowled chassis
|
| Vehicles | see listing |
| Related | Freightliner FL60 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engines |
|
| Transmissions |
|
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 150–276 in (3,810.0–7,010.4 mm) |
| Curb weight | 18,000–35,000 lb (8,164.7–15,875.7 kg) (GVWR) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Ford B-Series(indirect) |
| Successor | Freightliner C2 |
TheFreightliner FS-65 is a cowled school bus chassis (conventional style) that was manufactured byFreightliner from 1997 to 2006. Derived from theFreightliner FL-Series medium-duty trucks, the FS-65 was produced primarily forschool bus applications, though commercial-use buses andcutaway-cab buses were also built using the FS-65 chassis.
While developed by Freightliner before its acquisition of the Ford heavy-truck product range at the end of 1996 (and medium-duty truck lines were not included as part of the sale) the FS-65 would go on to serve as an indirect successor of the long-runningFord B-Series chassis. After 1998, Ford concentrated bus production towards van-derived chassis, leaving Freightliner to acquire much of the market share of full-size bus production owned by Ford.
The FS-65 chassis was assembled inGaffney, South Carolina by the Freightliner Custom Chassis subsidiary of Freightliner; as an incomplete vehicle, the chassis was shipped to body manufacturers for final assembly of a bus. After a total of 62,764 units were produced, the final Freightliner FS-65 chassis rolled off the assembly line in September 2006, and was delivered on December 13, 2006 to O'Brien Bus Service, Inc. based out of Maryland.[1]
Following the 1991 introduction of the Business Class medium-duty trucks, Freightliner Trucks began development of a school bus chassis based upon the vehicle. In May 1996, the first prototype (with a Thomas body) was unveiled.[2] The first completely new school bus chassis introduced since the 1980 redesign of the Ford B-Series, the Freightliner school bus chassis (later named the Freightliner FS-65) was scheduled for mid-1996 production;[2] the first Freightliner bus rolled off the assembly line in January 1997.[3]
The FS-65 distinguished itself from other school bus chassis by the standardization of hydraulic anti-lock brakes at the time of its introduction (two years before their requirement in 1998).[2] In tandem with the sloped hood, to aid driver visibility, the design of the chassis used a raised platform for the driver's seat.[2] Although the FS-65 was designed alongside Thomas Built Buses (a company which Freightliner acquired in 1998), the Freightliner chassis was made available to other body manufacturers. As a result of the driver's platform, many bus bodies saw revisions to their designs to accommodate the FS-65 chassis, including windshield redesigns or the standardization of high-headroom bodies.
During its production run, the FS-65 chassis saw relatively few changes. For 2002, the Mercedes-Benz MBE900 diesel engines were added to the powertrain line as an option. For 2004, theCaterpillar 3126 became the Caterpillar C7 (as part of an emissions upgrade). A redesign of the instrument panel adopted a new instrument cluster, shared with the M2 and Sterling trucks.
In 2002, Freightliner introduced the second-generation Business Class, theM2. In 2004, theThomas Saf-T-Liner C2 was introduced as the school bus variant of the M2. Sold alongside the C2, the FS-65 remained in production into the 2007 model year; the final Thomas school bus based on the FS-65 was produced in November 2006.[1]
The 2006 discontinuation of the FS-65 marked the end of the FL-Series (alongside its severe-service variants), as medium-duty production ended after 2004.
At its 1997 launch, the FS-65 was widely available to manufacturers throughout the industry with a notable exception.AmTran never offered the chassis with its bus body (as the company was owned byNavistar International, one of the largest competitors of Freightliner).
Following the 2001 closure of Carpenter and the 2002 withdrawal of Corbeil from full-size bus production, Blue Bird ended the use of Freightliner chassis (in favor of a proprietary chassis, theVision), leaving Freightliner subsidiary Thomas Built Buses the sole user of the FS-65 chassis for school bus production.
| Freightliner FS-65 body manufacturers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body Manufacturer | Blue Bird Corporation | Crown By Carpenter (later Carpenter Industries, Inc.) | Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil, Inc. | Thomas Built Buses |
| Model Name | Conventional | Classic (Crown by Carpenter) Classic 2000 (Carpenter) | Conventional | Thomas/Freightliner Saf-T-Liner FS-65 |
| Production | 1997–2002 | 1997–2001 | 1997–2002 | 1997–2006 |
| Notes | Discontinued in 2002. | Crown by Carpenter Classic: four-piece windshield Carpenter Classic 2000: two-piece windshield (only version sold in that configuration) | Corbeil/Freightliner buses were sold only in Canada. | After 2002, the FS-65 was sold only with a Thomas body. Sold alongside Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 after 2004. |
The Freightliner FS-65 is notable as the first all-new school bus chassis in North America sold exclusively with diesel engines. Initially available with Caterpillar and Cummins diesel engines (shared with the Saf-T-Liner transits), in 2002, the FS-65 introduced the Mercedes-Benz MBE 900 diesels as an option.
An Allison 2000 automatic transmission was the standard transmission sold with the FS-65, with the Allison MD3060 as an option. A rarely-ordered option included a Fuller 5-speed manual transmission, making the FS-65 one of the last school buses sold with a manual transmission.
| Freightliner FS-65 powertrain | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Configuration | Production | Fuel | Output | Transmission |
| CAT 3126 /C7 | 7.2 L inline-6 | 1997–2006 | Diesel | 190–250 hp | 5-speed Fuller manual and Allison 545 automatic |
| Cummins ISB | 5.9 L inline-6 | 1997–2002 | 185–250 hp | Allison 2000 and MD3060 automatic | |
| Mercedes-Benz OM 900 Series | 4.3L inline-4 (OM 904 LA) 6.4L inline-6 (OM 906 LA) | 2002–2006 | OM 904 LA: 190 hp OM 906 LA: 190–250 hp | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Freightliner Custom Chassis: School Bus Specifications | FS-65 Spec Sheet -archived
Media related toFreightliner FS-65 at Wikimedia Commons