If you’re navigating the adoption of electric school buses for your district, you’re probably wondering what happens afterward. Am I on my own? What if something goes wrong? What does service on my new electric bus even look like? How do I train my service technicians to work on these new vehicles? At Sonny Merryman, we’re here to guide you through the entire process, long after your purchase of the Saf-T-Liner® C2 Jouley.® So here’s what you should know:
Where do I start?
We have good news. The amount of maintenance on an electric bus is relatively low. The simpler design means less mechanical failure compared to traditional vehicles. And because there are fewer components – think oil, filters, etc. – there are fewer items to swap out and replace (and less frequently, such as brakes). Additional features like comprehensive vehicle monitoring via telematics and predictive, real-time vehicle diagnostics help districts stay on top of maintenance cycles.
But just like any other regularly used piece of machinery, even electric vehicles need occasional maintenance and repair on brakes, power steering systems and HVAC. This means (at minimum) recommended annual servicing to keep the vehicles stay in outstanding condition.
What kind of training is available?
With no current industry standard for electric vehicle maintenance training, it can be a bit confusing to understand what resources are available to you.
Here at Sonny Merryman, we follow a multi-tiered high-voltage training program and curriculum, designed by Thomas Built Buses in conjunction with parent company, Daimler Truck North America (DTNA).
Daimler’s High Voltage Safety Organization (HVSO) is a three-tiered training program designed to provide universal governance and a set curriculum with dealers and customers.
HVSO Training
The first level of training (HV1) focuses on awareness and is geared toward drivers, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the many features and differentiators of owning and maintaining an electric vehicle. This level is required to operate any Thomas Built electric bus.
The second level of training (HV2) goes a few steps beyond that, with a high emphasis on safety. This level is for technicians servicing low-voltage systems on the vehicle, training them how to work with these parts and around the high-voltage systems.
The final and most advanced level (HV3) focuses on high voltage and de-energizing the BEV (battery electric vehicle). This is specifically for those who are working closely with high-voltage systems inside of the bus, centered around decommissioning those systems. Not all electric bus maintenance requires decommission, which is why this level is not required for all.
To date, Sonny Merryman service trainer Daniel Droog has conducted HV1 and HV2 training at more than 15 Virginia school districts that operate Jouley electric school buses.
Currently, HV3 training is reserved for all Thomas Built Bus dealers, who will work with your district to service any high-voltage components, if they require maintenance or replacement.
What if my district wants to handle maintenance in-house?
That’s great! We are still here to support you along the way.
We have rolled out HV1 and HV2 training to all districts with a Saf-T-Liner® C2 Jouley.® If your district has its own service technician on-staff and wants to handle everything in-house – including the service and maintenance of high-voltage systems – Sonny Merryman and our partners at Thomas Built Buses can work with you to provide HV3 training to suit your district’s needs.
What else should I know?
Thomas Built Buses and DTNA have a robust dealer network with more than 70 service locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, providing customers more resources and more than 225 technicians for EV servicing needs. No other OEM can promise this.
Sonny Merryman is the exclusive Virginia dealer with four service locations across the state for convenient, local service for our customers. Most Virginia customers are within a one hour drive to their nearest Sonny Merryman location.
To learn more about service and maintenance as well as training for Jouley electric school buses, contact our electric school bus team at jouley@sonnymerryman.com.