All coaches have breakdowns.  Old ones due to wear and tear and new ones due to complexity (usually electronics). If you do have a breakdown then what happens next may have a major impact on your tour.  At Jumbocruiser we try to predict breakdowns and believe in preventive maintenance but sometimes it can all go wrong and sometimes things cannot be predicted so it is then down to what happens next as to how it affects your tour.  Below are actual reports to help you judge whether or not you feel comfortable having Jumbocruiser handle your tour.  We do have as good a backup as any other company but sometimes private workshops or breakdown agencies let us down and we then rely on mutual assistance from our competitors.

June 07 Hydraulic pipe feeding cooling fan split at 02.00 in Latvia No-one offers a 24 hour breakdown service in Latvia. In the morning people just wanted to tow us in so I arranged a bus company to take people and backline 186 miles to Riga. Bus company suggested a local workshop who sent someone out and built a new pipe. Bus arrived 2 hours after band. All OK.
June 07 Low pressure turbo feed pipe failed near Cologne at 09.30 on a Sunday - oil everywhere. DKV passed us to Mercedes breakdown.  Seven hours and loads of calls later Mercedes told us there was no guarantee of payment (despite DKV giving them one) so MZ got us a local workshop to go out who fixed the pipe within 2 hours.  We thought we had until the next day to get to gig but TM had forgotten to mention that gig had been brought forward one day.  At no time did I get a call from him or could I contact him on his phone so was in blissful ignorance otherwise we would have got a replacement coach out to band. Band missed gig but management agree it was not our fault.
June 07 Air stuck at 4 bar instead of 8 bar at 01.00 Sunday near Coventry DKV gave 2.5 hrs for a mechanic but I was at a hotel 20 minutes from breakdown so arranged the local Evobus fitter to come out.  He thought he had fixed it but next night it went again but band not on bus so all OK. Next day sent mechanic from our yard but was not a permanent fix so bus limped it to Portsmouth where finally we made a permanent fix.. Not the best breakdown management but did not negatively affect band. Band made gigs just  fine.
June 07 Alternator failed We carry spare alternators - called out DKV who fitted the spare. All OK
1 July 07 Fan belt failed. Replaced by driver but main belt also badly frayed.  Arrangements being made to replace when bus arrives at destination.  Did not make destination.  Other bus on job transported people to hotel 30 miles away.  This bus ready for pick up at time required OK.  Turned out to be a partially seized pulley so pulley replaced.
1 July 07 Blowout on front tyre Michelin replaced front tyre under service contract. Blow out damage panels around wheels but OK for rest of journey.  Lost 3 hours but OK.
11th August Air conditioning Bus losing gas. MAN agent testing with nitrogen managed to blow the condensor.  Bus had to be switched at Oslo.
17 August 07 Air conditioning Sent our associated company to festival site inBelgium. Identified burnt out wiring. Replaced. Problem resolved. Identified leaking compressor gland for later repair next week.
10th Oct 07 Electrical Dash lights not coming on and no starter. Drivers checked fuses and relay. DKV called out DAF recovery at 23.30 who would not accept DKV Guarantee of Payment so we gave them our local dealer.  Local dealer's computers down.  At 06.30 someone at DAF had the bright idea to call another branch of same dealership who gave approval right away and electrician turned up at 10.30.  Problem was merely a wire fell off the ignition barrel and bus picked up at hotel 30 minutes late.  Again a minor breakdown screwed up by the dealer network and sleep lost due to daring to break down at night at a weekend.
22nd Oct 07 Split radiator Passenger was complaining of nasty dusky smell while vehicle was in motion that was affecting his breathing. Experiments determined it was a split in the top of the radiator drying out the anti-freeze and sending fumes into the bus.  We swapped out the bus and had the radiator repaired at our leisure.
11th Nov 07 Split hydraulic pipe The pipe from the clutch fluid reservoir to the master cylinder was weeping. Driver was able to replace by using the overflow pipe off the radiator header tank and continue his journey.
17th Nov 07 Alternator failure Our electrician drove the 200 miles to the bus with replacement alternators but could not get the pulley off the existing alternator.  As bus ending tour in 2 days we decided to swap the plugs thus making the secondary alternator the main one and continue like that until the bus gets back to the yard.  Main alternator required for some services like retarder and interior fans.
18th Nov 07 Wiper spindle stripping. Windscreen repairer failed to tighten up the wiper arm such that it stripped the spindle. Got our own man out in van to fix it.
24th Nov 07 Diesel leak 3 minute job tightening up a connector on injector.
27th Nov 07 Collapsed suspension strut On a new coach the day after the manufacurer reports a recall. Fortunately coach just came in off service and parts being flown from factory for next day.
12th Dec 07 Serious oil leak at engine Had arrived at base at end of tour when turbo feed pipe failed. (Lucky).
18th Dec 07 Lost all fan belts Loose pulley. Lost 2 hours at roadside. No passengers on board.
15th Jan 08 Clutch fluid on cab floor Zurich: Pipe to clutch fluid reservoir come loose. Man came out and managed to knock something so that all the display lights would not work if the retarder connected (probably an earth problem).  Unable to work it out at roadside so decided to swap out buses in Paris. Of course elctrical problems fixed themselves by the time bus got back to yard.
2nd Feb 07 Loss of engine power reported with EDC light coming on when power was reduced Brussels: Driver called DKV about power loss but an electrician was sent out (probably thw word "power" confused them). Electrician then called out main MAN dealer who failed to bring a laptop but merely changed the fuel filters - a complete waste of time.  We made arrangements for another MAN dealer to meet bus in Paris but he did not have the correct connector so arrangements were made for him to return next morning.  MANCAT reported the cause of the EDC light coming on as low turbo pressure and it was identified that the clamps on the turbo inlet pipe were failing and replaced.  Also while the MANCAT was on they identified a restriction in the exhaust return system caused by a siezed butterfly valve which they have now cleared so hopefully we will get more power using less fueld.  Interestingly that prompted us to check si,ilar engines and we found another one seized.
16th April 08 Puncture London: Bolt in tyre. Driver calls Michelin UK and they have never heard of us (good start) so he calls Michelin Europe and they arrange a new tyre.  Unfortunately, despite breaking down in London, all the garages either have a tyre and no fitter or a fitter and no tyre. In the end ATS drove 70 miles each way to Ramsgate to pick up a bog standard Michelin tyre.  5 1/2 hours were lost in total
9th May 08 Loss of clutch fluid Driver thought it was a master cylinder leaking. Sent our fitter to Bournemouth where he found that it was merely a loose clip on the fluid reservoir
9th May 08 Belts thrown on second alternator Sent fitter to Reading to find out why short belts throwing.  Identified slight alignment problem of alternator. Will ned to be aligned by re-welding a bracket at end of tour.
14th May 08 Sun roof falling apart Fitter sent to Birmingham. Bolts had bent but we think now fixed adequately until end of tour.
14th May 08 Retarder light will not go off and no engine power to pull away Budapest: Advised driver to unplug computer to retarder for now.  Will book in to Voith in Denmark in 2 days. No trailer being pulled.
12th May 08 No 3-phase landline air conditioning Sheffield: Suggested relay replaced but not fixed problem. Driver going to workshop in 2 days for proper repair. Meanwhile has some single phase air.
May 08 Engine would not turn. Amsterdam: Starter had been making noises previously (not reported by driver).  Local repairman took off starter and checked at workshop.  All OK.  Identified that for some reason starter was still engaged in flywheel when driver had released the key when starting so rigged up system for driver to manually control the electrical power until returned to base to identify true cause of fault. Very eccentric problem.
May 08 Unpredictable gear selection when pulling away. Bus with ASTronic gearbox acting unpredictably when pulling away.  Is supposed by default to start in 3rd gear unless on a slope but could now start in any gear. A specialist is meeting this bus in London in a few days to put laptop on and analyse faults and fix. Meanwhile driver can drive around the problem.
May 08 EDC light comes on randomly. No other symptoms so waiting until we get to Dublin where the local Evobus and MAN dealers will work between them, to read the memory and resolve the problem.
May 08 Retarder light staying on and no engine power Same problem as other bus but different cause. Driver disconnected control box which meant no retarder in order to continue journey. Arrangements made to visit Voith when in Oslo who identified a wiring fault and a faulty sensor, both replaced and all fixed.
Jun 21st 08 Suspension ferry lift valve failed, bus too low Mentor had no capacity so sent our own fitter up to Sheffield fit new part
June 22nd 08 Truck runs into side of bus, breaks side window while leaving ferry off-ramp

05.30 on Saturday morning so rather than risk no-one having any side glasses in stock in the Calais region we drove one out and arrived at 2pm for local glass people to fit.  Unfortunately band had delayed departure which gave no margin to get in a day bus and get to gig on time so gig was lost this evening.

Footnote: Man turns up to do the job Saturday afternoon alone (all coach glass requires two people) and even though the mechanic who drive the glass to France offers to help he declines the offer and says we have to move bus to his workshop to do the work on Monday which of course was totally useless.  He just was not interested.

We have a small interest in a company in northern Belgium so we were able to drive to that location and they did the repair in 90 minutes (it does require a few hours to cure though before the bus can be driven).  Two hours wasted waiting for man to turn up to tell us he would not do the work.

Meanwhile the band (The Foals) apparently got some electrical power form the Port authority and did an impromptu gig !!!!

June 08 Rear roof vent collapses. Sent up man in van to Manchester to repair.
22nd June 08 Fanbelt idler pulley bearings collapse Failed just outside Sheffield on a Sunday.  Called the amazing Heavy Duty Parts out of hours number who arranged to meet Johnson Brothers at their warehouse in order to hand over a selection of possible pulleys, who then came out to bus and fitted new pulley - all within around 1 hour.
27 June 08 Cooling fan hydraulic oil cooler leaking Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal: Tried crimping but no good so called out Pirtek to bypass and no problems. Missed train but got to gig on time.
26 June 08 Can not select gear - sticks in 10th with error on display Mid Germany: Amazingly the electrician sent out discovered that the wires leading to the gear lever were held on by crocodile clips instead of being crimped into a proper plug at manufacture.  Lost 5 hours waiting for electrician to wake up and go to work but no gig lost.
28 June 08 Driver sees a cloud of smoke at back of bus and aircon stops working Ancona Italy - Saturday. Cloud of smoke was all the aircon gas blowing out when a hose burst.  Fortunately bus ws 9 miles from the local Thermobus agent who promptly fixed the hose and regassed the system.
3rd July 08 Air con blower f ans stop working downstairs We are assuming it is because we have just driven along awful Albanian roads.  Have checked all fuses and relays and nothing found.  Am reluctant to go straight to battery in case we damage a circuit board.  Decide to fly our aircon specialist out to Sofia who fixes it in 15 minutes when he finds a well hidden "secret" fuse holder has burned out.
5th July 08 Loss of air con

Taken bus to Thermoking in Gdynia who pressure test and find several holes in condensor.  They have brazed up the condensor but I prefer to get a new condensor fitted.

7th July: Sutrak have sent us to their agent near Warsaw who seems totally uninterested and decided to go home at 4pm without looking at the bus. Worse - he has locked the buses in his yard so our drivers can not drive to where there is food.   Watch this space. OK next day did some more repairs and gassed up again.  They lasted 4 days.  We have now ordered the ONLY stock condensor in Europe so will keep gassing up until we get the bus back.

17th July.  I get a text from the driver at 05.20 telling me the aircon has failed again.  He is on his way to the Dour Festival at Brussels. I have an interest in a company near there so send out an engineer who identifies that the bus has been overgassed and the system has automatically cut off the compressor to prevent damage.  By removing some gas the system is working well again.  I have written a letter of complaint to Sutrak.
July 08 Engine sluggish We had taken bus to a significant bus and coach agent near Sheffield for a service and safety check (cost £900).  The next day we have to send our service van to London because of sluggish running and the mechanic replaces the pre-filter that had not been touched in the service.  Say no more !