Hard to break. Easy to fix.
Tough, reliable, innovative…
We’re not going to promise you that the Minotour
will never require service. Your school demands
a lot from its fleet and, after thousands of miles
A
and hundreds of hours, even a high-performing
Thomas Built Bus is going to need a little care
and maintenance. We do promise that when you
buy a Minotour, you’re getting a bus that’s
durable, reliable and, when the time comes,
easy to repair. Built on either a GM or Ford
chassis, the Minotour can conveniently be
serviced at your local GM or Ford dealer. In
addition, Thomas has factory-trained service
personnel in every state and province to help you
THE MINOTOUR
maintain the bus body, which gives us one of the
most extensive customer service networks in
North America.
1408 Courtesy Road, High Point, NC 27260
Tel 336.889.4871
Fax 336.889.2589
thomasbus.com
Competitive financing available through DaimlerChrysler Services. TBB/MC-M-022. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Thomas Built Buses is registered to ISO9001: 2000. ©2005, Freightliner LLC.
All rights reserved. Thomas Built Buses is a member of the Freightliner Group. Freightliner is a DaimlerChrysler company.
BP 10M 9/05
®
The right side Saf-T-Vision™ window offers 306 square inches of glass to view boarding passengers
Once again, we’ve built
the toughest Type A bus
on the market.
Single Rear Wheel, Chevy Chassis
bumper to the other, the Minotour doesn’t
just meet the requisite Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards (FMVSS), it exceeds them.
And this should come as no surprise. Since
At Thomas, we’re our own toughest critics.
1936, Thomas has been designing the tough-
Our bus components must first pass through
est and most reliable buses in North America.
the rigors of our test lab and the durability
That’s a long time to be the benchmark in an
track. So when we talk about how strong and
industry as important as ours, and this proud
reliable our buses are, we know what we’re
tradition of innovative engineering isn’t a coin-
talking about.
Dual Rear Wheel, Chevy Chassis
cidence. Decade after decade, our company
has followed one simple philosophy: design
Our Type A bus begins with a dependable
and build the kind of childcare bus that we’d
GM or Ford chassis, on which we build
want our own children to ride in every day. It’s
our unique steel cage body. Our engineers
a simple idea and it works. Today, one out of
know school bus cargo is precious, so they
every three kids who takes the bus to school
designed a rugged framework of one-piece,
rides a Thomas.
skirt-to-skirt roof bows and heavy-duty crash
Bumper-to-bumper protection
for the people that matter
most: your passengers.
The Minotour® may be the smallest bus we
make, but don’t be fooled by its size. Into
20* feet of compact maneuverability, we’ve
packed all the safety features and rugged
engineering of our bigger bus. From one
12-gauge steel wrap-around, double-profile
rails built to withstand the rigors of every-
Dual Rear Wheel, Ford Chassis
day use. Once this steel cage is in place, we
fasten the 16-gauge aluminum side panels
and continuous roof sections. Besides adding
to the structural integrity of the Minotour,
single roof sheets from side to side mean
fewer rivets. And fewer rivets mean fewer
potential leak paths.
* Model 041 DRW measured bumper to bumper
Dual Rear Wheel EL, GM Chassis
Engineered to be the best bus you’ll ever buy.
Because the little things
make a big difference.
durable rubber floor covering, together with
mar-proof Galvalume interior walls, helps
It only looks small from
the outside.
We wanted the Minotour to be the best Type
keep this bus clean and corrosion resistant
From the inside, however, the Minotour
A bus on the road, but we also wanted it to
for years to come.
provides comfortable, spacious seating for up
be the most innovative. So we asked our
to 30 passengers. When designing the frame
customers about the kind of features they
The electrical system was designed with
of this bus, our primary considerations were
would like to find in their next Type A bus.
your convenience in mind. Removable panels
strength and durability, but we also wanted
After talking to school districts, childcare cen-
and printed circuit boards located above the
to provide as much extra room as possible.
ters, assisted living facilities, church groups
driver’s seat provide quick and easy access
With optional track seating, the floor plan can
and experienced drivers, we designed a bus
to the LED diagnostic and circuit breaker,
easily be adapted to suit your changing needs.
that was not only safe, but easy to maintain,
electrical components and wiring. The lights
Passenger seats can be quickly removed to
comfortable to drive and durable enough to
in our highly visible eight-light warning
allow for additional wheelchair securements.
withstand the rigors of everyday use.
system are recessed to resist impact from
rocks and other hazards.
From a comfortable, adjustable seat, the
driver has a commanding view, including a
For passengers, a full-height outward
306 square inch visibility panel forward of
opening entrance door and a padded door
the entrance door. Adding our optional Child
header make for easy coming and going. A
Minder ensures that the driver won’t leave
spacious center aisle and a wide variety of
a child behind on the bus. Easy-to-read
seating configurations provide ample room,
instrument panels and responsive handling
and a quickly accessed emergency door
make the Minotour a pleasure to drive, and its
provides an easy exit.
Standard storage above driver area for safety
equipment and personal items
Driver switch panel within easy reach
Driver-friendly interior and instrument panel
Easy-to-access electrical components
featuring LED circuit boards
Safety's not an option, but
nearly everything else is.
The Minotour comes standard with all the
safety features, years of reliability and high
level of innovation you would expect from a
company like Thomas Built. Beyond that, you
have some options: a gas engine or diesel, single
Optional seats available with integrated toddler restraint, 3-point passenger seat belts
or split seats with arm rests
or dual rear wheel, air conditioning, interior
It's not just a bus; it's also
the law.
book racks, stereo systems and wheelchair
lifts, to name a few. And we offer custom floor
plans that accommodate everything from six
Daycare centers and other institutions across
wheelchairs to seating for up to 30 passengers.
the country choose the Minotour for good
Each Minotour is designed and built to meet
reason. Unlike a 15-passenger van, our bus
your unique set of requirements.
exceeds all school bus Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards, which makes it a better
Institutions across the country choose the
transportation alternative. In fact, federal law
Minotour for good reason. It’s the smartest
prohibits the sale of 15-passenger vans for the
way to carry precious cargo. And, as the
purpose of carrying school-age students to
toughest Type A vehicle in the market, the
Minotour has become the leading choice in
Built tougher than it has to be
and from school. And as a “multifunction school
activity bus” (MFSAB), the Minotour is exempt
small bus transportation for any group that
from traffic control requirements. You get all
needs to provide safe, reliable transportation.
the features and peace of mind that come with
a Type A school bus, minus the flashing lights
and stop arm. That’s why the Minotour has
become the leading choice for any group that
needs a safe, reliable means of transportation.
Continuous 14-gauge
rafter from skirt to skirt
Steel or aluminum
side sheets riveted to
a welded steel frame
Steel exterior rub
rails for additional
reinforcement
Deep concave steel
rear bumper
Don’t forget the bells and whistles.
STANDARD FEATURES
OPTIONAL FEATURES
• Walk-in entrance door with 2 steps
and handrail
• Wide center aisle
• One-piece roof bow, skirt to skirt
• Roof crash rails concealed between
roof sheet and interior sheet
• Steel structure with aluminum skin
(14K EL = steel skin)
• One-piece Saf-T-Vision™ window
• 12-gauge or 3/16" concave rear bumper
• Rear emergency door with lower glass
• One-piece composite front and rear
caps for better appearance and
aerodynamics
Optional radio with cassette or CD player
Optional acoustic tile headliner reduces
interior noise
• Modular electrical system with
circuit breakers and LED diagnostics
• Mar-proof interior walls
Backpack racks above seats
Optional rear air conditioning unit; recessed model shown here
CUSTOMIZE YOUR BUS
On the outside, the sky is the limit. From logos
to messages to eye-catching color combinations, you can turn the Minotour into a rolling
advertisement for your institution. Either buy
the Minotour in solid white and have your
choice of graphics applied locally, or let us
do it for you. In partnership with Motorsports
Designs, a top vehicle graphics company, we
Flat floor with recessed tie downs
will take your ideas and deliver a bus that
looks exactly how you want it.
Custom graphics available
The Minotour has a wide center aisle,
high headroom and a full-height entrance door
(just don’t call it small).