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AFAIK, the sleeper buses are simply AC sleeper and do not run Volvo engines. (Experts, please correct me if I am wrong), the reason being, in the Volvo buses, the luggage storage is in the side compartment while the AC sleeper has luggage storage at the rear giving an indication that the engine is not at rear.

During my recent travel between Chennai and Hyderabad, I didnt feel comfortable with AC sleeper bus due to bad roads. However, my experience with AC sleeper between Pune and Hyderabad was pleasant.

There are Sleeper buses build on Volvo platform. You are talking of the normal Ashok Leyland/TATA Sleeper buses - that is the normal body-on-chassis design built on a Front engine chassis.

Volvo sells unfurnished shells for conversion into sleeper - VIBC has authorised Prakash to do the job as well.

This is a Volvo Sleeper (the very bus that I traveled in):

Good to know Binai, Thanks for the information. How does one recognize a Volvo sleeper, does these buses still host the Volvo emblem in the front? Does these buses still powered by Volvo rear engines? Just curious to know and hope somebody runs Volvo sleeper between Hyderabad and Chennai. :)

One way to identify volvo sleepers is to look for a black/any color stripe running the entire length of the window.Like the one shown the the above pic. This strip basically conceals the upper berth bed so as to give privacy

Wow, this one looks way better than the AC sleeper buses I have traveled, from the look of it, one would expect a "Comfortable" travel and a nice sleep stretching our back and legs. It is unfortunate that you had to travel sweating with hot air. :Frustrati

Thanks Sagar, it indeed makes sense to have the strip in place to give some sort of privacy and hopefully it does cut out light from outside for the passengers inside.

Thank you folks.:thumbs up

Volvo does not have any official body builder for sleeper.It takes no responsibility for any claims on body also. They supply shell (like what chassis supply of AL ,TML) and its customers scope to build body outside. Infact Veera has done more number of sleepers than SMK.
Once AC request is given, engine rpm raises to 800 rpm. It cant go below it. The cut off should be given only when its running more than the upper rpm band.

Volvo indeed has an official agreement with Prakash, and Volvo honours warranty for sleepers built at Prakash.

The cut-off I was talking about is a preventive measure. When the driver lugs the engine by the means of driving in high gears at very low rpm, the compressor automatically cuts off and it does not switch on even after the engine rpm comes back to normal - I was told by a Thermoking engineer that its a new protective step adopted in newer models. In the earlier versions, the Compressor used to start off again - not anymore.

In the case of the bus I traveled in, the driver went to such low rpms that the engine almost shut down in two occasions, and in one occasion the engine just went dead. The driver was a new guy (recently trained) and he wasn't maintaining rpms properly.

The engine has so much torque, at any RPM, that many drivers get away with excessive lugging. Forget newly trained guys, how about the 'i-am-addicted-to-torturing-the-engine-because-lugging-is-my-hobby' driving by the well-trained, well-experienced, luggerjacks from KaSRTC ? :deadhorse

Azad is official builder for Mercedes-Benz buses is it? I have seen a few semi-sleeper buses of Volvo, the multi axle ones from Azad.

The normal sleeper buses I have seen are all by Prakash. Not the Volvo ones. To my feeling all sleeper buses must be multi axle types for a better ride comfort. Why don't they start migrating to the multi axle types.

Cheers,
Anurag.

Sutlej is the builder for Merc. Isn't it? Azad built Volvo buses in the initial days.

This is a trend i have seen with many drivers across various Govt STU & Private undertakings. The drivers are reluctant to shift down and they try to accelarate from the current gear iteself. They dont downshoft unless its absolutely neccasary.

On the contrary I have seen many drivers who revv the engine to its limits before upshifting. For that matter while returning from Chennai to Hyderabad I had taken Orange travels. Both the drivers who were incharge were revving the engine to it's limit and only then changing the gears. The second driver used engine braking very effectively and never gave a feeling as to whether the bus will stop or not. Within minutes the bus is picking up speeds.

One more thing is the dip the suspension takes on braking, it sends the passenger out of the seat, this gets very uncomfortable when decelerating from high speeds.

Cheers,
Anurag.

I came to Bangalore by a KaSRTC Volvo from Ernakulam yesterday. It started from Ernakulam bus stand at 8.35 pm - it was a driven by a familiar driver (a baldy, don't know his name) whom i had seen couple of times in the same route. He is known for his rash driving, excessive horn usage and relentless light flashing. I was seated right behind the driver's seat and i could clearly see his dash-board. The dashboard showed a warning triangle sign - and it read WARNING !! CHECK BRAKE AND ENGINE OIL ! While off-boarding the bus, I asked the driver what that warning message meant - he told me its a fake and can be ignored.

Is this a random error which can be ignored ? or is it something that the vehicle staff need to stop and check ? Volvo is known for its efficient vehicle monitoring systems and its very unlikely to give fake warnings. Anyone here have encountered the same situation ?

Hi Anurag,

How was the journeyin Orange travels? what was the travel timings? it would be helpful for many as there are many negative reviews about orange travels off late.

Hi Venki.bala, I recently traveled through Orange travels from Chennai to Hyderabad (10 days back) and posted my review (post 2723), in short;

Positives for Orange travels;
1. Shorter duration of travel
2. Water bottle and snacks - NICE
3. Clean blanket

Negatives for Orange travels;
1. Bumpy and aggressive driving - tosses the passengers inside
2. Too much use of Horns
3. Most importantly lack of leg room on the first row seat

Cheers
Balaji