A shuttle bus with a sound chassis doesn't have to be replaced. We strip the body back to structure at the Wakarusa factory and rebuild it with the same materials that go into a new HLE bus.
This one arrived looking presentable from the street. Under the panels: rotted wood framing, rusted floor structure, and a body quietly separating from itself. This is what year four looks like on a bus that was built to be disposable.
| Area | What happens |
|---|---|
| Structure | Body stripped to steel. Damaged framing cut out and replaced. Underside sprayed with protective coating before the new floor goes down. |
| Floor | Replaced with the same 5/8" PerformMAX 500 subfloor we put in a new bus. |
| Seats | Rebuilt — new cushions, new wrap. |
| HVAC | Rebuilt and leak-down tested by the system manufacturer. |
| Electrical | Checked and repaired through the body. |
| Testing | Every refurbished bus runs the same rain booth as a new build before it leaves. |
| Warranty | 2 years on the refurbished work. |
| Timeline | About 12 weeks — and no waiting on chassis allocation, because you already own the chassis. |
What we don't touch: engines, transmissions, and rear ends. If the powertrain needs work, have it handled first — or talk to us about doing it after the body is done.
Fleets with buses whose chassis still have life in them. Operators staring down a replacement budget they'd rather not spend. Anyone whose bus body gave up before the drivetrain did — which, on most shuttle buses, is exactly the order things fail in.
Send us what you're running and we'll tell you whether it's a refurb candidate. There isn't much we've turned away.