It’s apropos that Don Harder took the route less traveled to become a school bus mechanic. That’s how he’s lived his entire fantastical life. A movie should be made, and in fact one probably already has him in it, somewhere.
Harder carved out his little place in his own zany world with his bare hands, precariously hanging—and sometimes falling—off the likes of the El Capitan and Half Dome in the Yosemite National Park. It’s in his blood to take the obscure path, literally not knowing which crack or crevice to grab ahold of next. But that makes reaching the summit that much more enjoyable, right?
“I misspent a lot of my youth in the ‘70s living in Camp 4 in Yosemite as an itinerant climber,” said Harder, now the fleet manager for Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District in northeast. And he’s not joking. When they weren’t scaling rock, many in his crew are renowned for their dumpster diving and partying, much to the chagrin of the National Park Service and other campers, as is chronicled in the 2014 documentary “Valley Uprising” on the birth and rise of the Yosemite Valley counterculture.
Harder is truly the most interesting man in the world, or one of them, and as such he speaks with an ease and a straightforwardness that is instantly disarming. He’s your crazy, loud uncle who says inappropriate things at family gatherings. But everyone adores him for it. Bill Walton comes to mind, and like the former NBA player Harder is larger than life and extremely intelligent, befitting of his nickname, “Mastadon.” He also has enough years of college under his belt for several degrees, if only the credits transferred, he laments.
Not much else fazes him, and to say he’s a character is an understatement. That’s what happens when one almost dies more than a few times, the latter as recently as four years ago after a 25-foot fall from Middle Cathedral Rock across from El Cap. He spent 10 days in intensive care for that one. But for all the bumps, bruises, broken bones, punctured lungs and comas, he’s also had more than his share of fun along the way. And he’s not letting up anytime soon.
One of his favorite sayings is, “Whatever, dude,” followed by a hearty chortle. As in his response to: “Hey Don, congratulations on School Transportation News selecting you from among 105 ‘Garage Star’ nominations to don this month’s cover!”
“Whatever, d-u-u-de.”
So how did this guy get into school buses? Just like navigating one’s way up Tempest on El Cap’s Southeast Face, it’s complicated. Harder’s humble school bus beginnings were borne from, of all things, a Volkswagen Bug, back in those early Yosemite days. A native of Seattle and the son of a University of Washington business professor, Harder and his friends sought escape from their middle-class lifestyles and the Pacific Northwest winters to live life on their own terms in Yosemite, where they could conquer rock and take after climbing pioneer Jon Salathe, mixing the technical skills of his student Royal Robbins with the maverick audaciousness of Robbins’ nemesis Warren Harding.
Along the way, Harder bought the aforementioned VW, and that meant he also had to learn how to maintain it himself. As it’s a challenge to make a living as a mountain climber, not to mention continue living, Harder turned to the ski slopes to apply his other burgeoning craft, namely that of servicing ski lifts, resort vehicles, tour buses, snow equipment and golf carts. After more than a quarter-century on the slopes—10 years at Lake Tahoe’s famous Alpine Meadows Ski Resort and another 15 at nearby Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Area—“yellow” was something Harder generally wanted to avoid, especially when found in the snow.
But it was the yellow bus that soon became his next professional mountain to climb when Tahoe-Truckee came knocking. Not knowing much about school buses, he faced a steep vehicle learning curve, but his previous experience served him extremely well. For one, he was used to managing a staff of 120 at the ski resort, so it was an easy transition for him to work with just three mechanics, two service workers and far fewer vehicles. He also implemented a bus replacement program and started a capital replacement fund, replicating the success he had at the ski resorts.
Find more Garage Stars profiles in the August magazine edition
He brought technology to the district, such as Telma retarders that mount on the drivelines of vehicles to improve braking on the steep mountain slopes. The equipment uses electromagnetic pulses to slow the drive and complement the brakes for safer operation. He also fully embraced GPS and the suite of Zonar System software solutions, including Electronic Vehicle Inspection Reporting, and GPS to track all the buses and other vehicles, perform speed checks and run path reports. He boasts of setting a geo-fence around the local McDonald’s to thwart would-be driver runs for a high-caloric meal.
Harder is especially proud of the computerized maintenance program the school board allowed him to purchase. He said it has resulted in more than 10,000 closed work orders, and he can look up any of the district’s 38 school buses or 40 other “white fleet” vehicles and obtain maintenance history, parts, warranty information and more, actually allowing the district to perform statistical analysis of the fleet.
“I can do amazing graphs,” said Harder. “You can predict where maintenance is going to head, do asset tracking for depreciation. It’s pretty cool. I love that stuff.”
Nanette Rondeau, Tahoe-Truckee’s director of transportation, explained that district buses average more than 500,000 miles a year, and each one is on the road six to eight hours a day. She credited Harder’s forward thinking for keeping the fleet in top shape.
“We maximize our fleet and the resources,” she added. “Utilizing a small fleet to produce that many miles is quiet an endeavor, and he makes that happen.”
That maximization has been buoyed by nearly $1 million in grants Harder applied for and has received to purchase two new buses, replace 23 diesel particulate filters and secure a DPF filter oven and filter blaster.
“I had to lock myself in my office for a couple months to get them written,” he recalled.
Of course, the ascent of school bus technology has required Harder and his mechanics to also learn various computer software programs to diagnose issues. “It’s no longer you pull wrenches all day and change tires and stuff,” he added. While Harder said he still enjoys working on buses and helps out in the shop whenever he can, a good portion of his day is spent maintaining the district’s digital video camera systems and reviewing footage to identify instances bullying and vandalism.
Not surprisingly, Harder confidently takes on any challenge presented to the garage. In fact, Rondeau said “no” is not in Harder’s vocabulary. Instead, he builds relationships. “Our school community knows that Don is always a person you can count on.” she said.
Find the full list of STN Garage Stars in our Maintenance & Technology section
For example, like most districts, Tahoe-Truckee is experiencing a mechanic shortage, but Harder said his staff is so good at what they do that any challenges keeping up with the work are negligible.
“They are the A-Team. I couldn’t do it without them, and they know it,” he added. Recently, mechanic Jorge Abac was named classified employee of the year by the California Association of School Transportation Officials.
“Don’s management style is one of empowerment,” added Rondeau. “He encourages staff to enhance their skills through exploring their creativity and ongoing training and professional development. Don truly exemplifies the team approach. Don also believes everyone has value and appreciates diversity.”
At 62 years old, there are still many mountains left for Harder to climb, literally and figuratively, as he’s in love with his garage and staff and he’s having too much fun to slow down, whether that be out in nature or in his garage. His philosophy in the shop and in life keeps him sharp, motivated and open to the possibilities.
“There are four things I’ve learned,” he said. “I’m not always right. I don’t always get my way. Other people have great ideas, and you best listen to them. And there is more than one side to every story.”
Whatever, dude.
