Freightliner FS-65

Freightliner FS-65
1999 Blue Bird/Freightliner of Shelby County, Alabama
Overview
Manufacturer	Freightliner LLC
Production	January 1997-December 2006
Assembly	Gaffney, SC
Body and chassis
Class	Type C (conventional)
Layout	conventional 4x2
Body style(s)	Cowled chassis school bus commercial bus specialty vehicle
Vehicles	see listing
Related	Freightliner FL-Series
Powertrain
Engine(s)	Caterpillar 7.2L 3126 I6 Caterpillar 7.2L C7 I6 Cummins 5.9L ISB I6 Mercedes-Benz 4.3L MBE904 I4 Mercedes-Benz 6.4L MBE906 I6
Transmission(s)	5-speed Fuller manual Allison 2000 automatic Allison MD3060 automatic
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

The Freightliner FS-65 is a Type C conventional bus chassis that was manufactured by Freightliner from 1997 to 2007. Used primarily as a cowled chassis for school bus applications, the FS-65 was developed from the Freightliner FL-Series medium-duty conventional.

While developed before the sale of the Ford heavy-truck line to Freightliner at the end of 1996, due to the ties of the two companies, the Freightliner FS-65 would serve as an indirect successor of the Ford B-Series bus chassis. After the shutdown of Ford medium-duty truck production in 1998, the Freightliner school bus chassis would take over much of the market share owned by Ford.

The FS-65 chassis was assembled in Gaffney, 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 December 2006.

Model history

1997-1998 Crown by Carpenter body on an FS-65 chassis

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. 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; the first Freightliner bus rolled off the assembly line in January 1997.

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, the Caterpillar 3126 became the Caterpillar C7 (as part of an emissions upgrade). Additionally, the gauges of the instrument panel were redesigned, using the instrument cluster shared with the M2 and Sterling truck lines.

In 2001, Freightliner introduced the second-generation Businesss Class, the M2. In 2004, the Thomas 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 on December 13, 2006.

Alongside severe-service trucks, the FS-65 marked the end of the FL-Series, as medium-duty production ended after 2004.

Body manufacturers

At its 1997 launch, the FS-65 was widely available to manufacturers throughout the industry with a notable exception. AmTran did not offer the FS-65, but it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International, one of the largest competitors of Freightliner.

After 2002, availability of the FS-65 would become limited to Freightliner subsidiary Thomas Built Buses. In 2001, Carpenter went out of business; in 2002, Corbeil ceased production of full-size buses and Blue Bird dropped Freightliner as a chassis option (in favor of its own Type C chassis, the Vision).

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). In tandem with the sloped hood, to aid driver visibility, the design of the chassis used a raised platform for the driver's seat. 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.

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	1997-1999 2000-2001	1997–2002	1997–2007
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.

Powertrain

Freightliner commercial bus (with a party/limo bus body)

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 3116 /C7	7.2L inline-6	2004-2007 (C7)	seli	190-250 hp	5-speed Fuller manual
Cummins ISB	5.9L inline-6H	1997-2007		185-250 hp	Allison 2000 and MD3060 automatic
Mercedes-Benz MBE900	4.3L inline-4 (MBE904) 6.4L inline-6 (MBE906)	2002-2007		MBE904: 190 hp MBE906: 190-250 hp

References

Freightliner Custom Chassis: School Bus Specifications | FS-65 Spec Sheet -archived

See also

• Freightliner Trucks - chassis manufacturer
• Thomas Built Buses - primary body manufacturer
• School Bus
• List of buses