This article is about the conventional-style (Type C) school bus. For the series of transit-style (Type D) school buses, see Thomas Saf-T-Liner.
This article is about the former school bus produced from 1997-2006. For the line of school buses produced from 1972-2002, see Thomas Saf-T-Liner Conventional.For the current Type C school bus, see Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2.
The Thomas Saf-T-Liner FS-65 (often shortened to Thomas FS-65) is a bus manufactured by Thomas Built Buses from 1997 to 2006. The first cowled-chassis bus designed by Freightliner for Thomas, the FS-65 served as an indirect successor of the long-running Ford B series chassis, which was discontiuned by Ford in 1998.[1] Produced primarily as a yellow school bus, the model line is also produced for commercial use and other specialty configurations.
Thomas manufactures the FS-65 school bus in High Point, North Carolina, while the chassis is built in Gaffney, South Carolina, which was opened in 1995.[2] After a total of 62,764 units of the FS-65 chassis were produced, with most bodies were built by Thomas, the final Thomas Saf-T-Liner FS-65 was delivered on December 13, 2006 to Maryland-based O'Brien Bus Service, Inc.[3]
Design history
Last FS-65 Produced
The last Saf-T-Liner FS-65 was produced in November 2006. Owned by O'Brien Bus Service, Inc. based out of Maryland.[1]
Following the 1991 introduction of the Business Class medium-duty trucks, Freightliner Trucks began development of a school bus chassis based upon the vehicle; this bus chassis used for the Thomas FS-65 was designed in 1995.[1] In May 1996, the first Thomas FS-65 prototype was unveiled.[4] The first completely new school bus chassis introduced since the 1980 redesign of the Ford B-Series, the Freightliner Freightliner FS-65 was scheduled for mid-1996 production;[4] the first FS-65 bus rolled off the assembly line in January 1997; this bus was a Thomas.[5]
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).[4] In tandem with the sloped hood, to aid driver visibility, the design of the chassis used a raised platform for the driver's seat.[4] 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.
During its production run, the FS-65 chassis saw relatively few changes. After 2001, all Freightliner FS-65 chassis wore Thomas bodies. The FS-65 is easily distinguishable from a regular Saf-T-Liner by its 4-piece windshield; the standard Saf-T-Liner Conventional used a smaller, 2-piece windshield.[6] 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). A redesign of the instrument panel adopted a new instrument cluster, shared with the M2 and Sterling trucks.
In 2002, Freightliner introduced the second-generation Business 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.[7] In November 2004, Thomas delivered its first Saf-T-Liner C2, the successor of the FS-65, to Durham School Services.[8]
On December 13, 2006, Thomas delivered its final FS-65 bus model to O'Brien Bus Service of College Park, Maryland, owned by Gary O'Brien. The 2006 discontinuation of the FS-65 marked the end of the FL-Series (alongside its severe-service variants), as medium-duty production ended after 2004.[1][6]
Powertrain
At its launch, the Caterpillar 3126 and Cummins ISB diesel engines were the standard engines. The FS-65 comes standard with an Allison 2500 automatic transmission with an Allison 3000 automatic transmission as an option. The Saf-T-Liner FS-65 is the only school bus in North America offered with a manual transmission; a rarely ordered option is a Fuller 5-speed transmission.
1234"Freightliner -- News". January 18, 1998. Archived from the original on January 18, 1998. Retrieved February 9, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑"Freightliner -- News". January 18, 1998. Archived from the original on January 18, 1998. Retrieved February 9, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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