Thomas Minotour
| Thomas Minotour | |
|---|---|
Minotour on 1997-2003 GMC Savana chassis
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| Overview | |
| Type | Bus |
| Manufacturer | Thomas Built Buses |
| Also called | Thomas MyBus |
| Production | 1980-present |
| Assembly | United States: High Point, North Carolina (Thomas Built Buses) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style |
School bus MFSAB (Activity bus) |
| Platform |
Ford E-Series (1980-present) Chevrolet Van/GMC Vandura (1980-1996) Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana (1997-present) |
| Chassis | Cutaway van chassis (see notes) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Thomas Mighty Mite |
The Thomas Minotour is a bus body manufactured by Thomas Built Buses since 1980. The smallest vehicle sold by the company, the Minotour is a bus body designed for cutaway van chassis. Primarily sold for school bus usage, the Minotour is also produced as a MFSAB (activity bus) or in specialized configurations specified by the customer.
The only current Thomas Built Buses vehicle not to use the Saf-T-Liner nameplate, the Minotour is manufactured alongside the full-size Thomas school bus line in High Point, North Carolina.
In the 1970s, the design of small school buses underwent evolution. As the redesigned Ford Econoline and Chevrolet G-Series/GMC Vandura were introduced, the full-size van segment saw the advent of a new type of commercial vehicle: the cutaway van chassis, a van chassis with bodywork unfinished beyond the front seats. In the context of school bus manufacturing, this allowed practical small school buses that were no longer adapted from passenger vans or full-size SUVs.
In 1973, the first cutaway-chassis school bus was produced by Wayne Corporation; the Wayne Busette was a body built on a Chevrolet/GMC van chassis. In 1975, Blue Bird introduced the Blue Bird Micro Bird. While not the first cutaway-chassis school bus, the Micro Bird introduced several features that were adapted on virtually all subsequent models; it featured a full-height entry door and additional glass ahead of the entry door to aid loading visibility for the driver.
In the 1970s, Thomas Built Buses produced small school buses with two versions of the Mighty Mite. Initially produced as a narrow-body version of the Saf-T-Liner Conventional, it was replaced in the mid-1970s by a bus (a Type B configuration) produced on a stripped chassis produced by Chevrolet; it was produced with relatively few changes until 1995.
In 1980, seeking to supplement the Mighty Mite and replicate the success of the Busette and Micro Bird, Thomas introduced the Minotour on both Ford and General Motors chassis.
The Minotour body is produced in three different versions: one for single rear-wheel chassis along with standard and extended lengths for dual rear-wheel chassis.
Since its 1980 introduction, the body of the Minotour has seen relatively few changes. During the 1990s, a floor-level rub rail was added. In the early 2000s, the front bodywork above the roof was modified to improve body aerodynamics. In 2008, the taillights were updated (to share a similar design with the Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 and Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX). Following various chassis redesigns, the window forward of the entry door has grown in size.
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Wikipedia