A leading West Australian coachbuilder has completed the conversion of a Hino 500 Series GT 1322 to a 34-seat off-road bus to service a growing demand from mine sites.
Remote Access Vehicles engineers built the custom four-wheel drive bus from Hino’s medium-duty off-road truck chassis in response to growing demand from mining companies to improve safety by reducing light vehicle traffic.
Manager of Remote Access Vehicles Josh McKenzie said the 500 Series GT provided an excellent base to build on, ensuring driveability and reliability throughout its service life.
"We identified the Hino as a good-value, reliable base for our designs compared with other products on the market,” he said.
"The GT drives extremely well, and the high GVM definitely works in our favour when fitting the cabin.
"Our customers know the Hino brand and feel very comfortable using Hino’s four-wheel-drive products.”
Remote Access Vehicles began building truck-based buses after recognising a large demand from local mine sites and mining contractors.
"There is a definite move to these vehicles for safety purposes on mine sites and in mining applications,” said Mr McKenzie.
"There has been a big demand in the past six years due to the mining boom – there are a lot of mining staff who need to get around.
"If there are too many light vehicles on site it creates a hazard – this is where a sturdy off-road bus really comes into its own.
"Reducing the number of vehicles on the road by transporting workers in one vehicle really makes sense, and the Hino GT-based bus is perfectly suited to this purpose.”
Karratha-based Northfleet Bus and Vehicle Hire recently took delivery of the custom four-wheel drive bus.
Managing Director Michael Simm said that in his experience the demand for capable mass transport had grown rapidly over the past 10 years.
"We’ve been servicing mines since 2002 – there’s been a huge increase in demand since then,” he said.
"We have a fleet of 140 buses at the moment. We run Hinos for our four-wheel drive units because they’re great to drive and have a better ride than the competition.
"I’m a truck mechanic by trade, and I’ve found that Hino’s are the easiest to work on, they’re the most reliable and have the easiest access to parts,” Mr Simm said.
Hino’s 500 Series GT 1322 features a selectable 4x4 system with low range, cruise control, drivers SRS airbag, heated and electrically operated external mirrors and an ISRI 6800 drivers seat with a integrated safety belt.