I Want to Buy a Bus

[blunttech]

Considering you're driving a house with wheels and getting 12mpg and my old Cherokee I had got 14mpg, that's not bad at all. Nice rig btw!

Thanks man These things are dirt cheap as nobody wants them. Ive had a blast in this one. Upgraded to new flat screens and big audio and have been going all over. But its like "lolcantjudgemileage" says ...Everyone thinks they are so expensive to run and they are if youre driving them non stop. but take it to the ocean and park it and live there a while then move somewhere else

[Keith M]

I agree with RJ and Steve in that the price drops like crazy after they are a few years old. My 30' Itasca was about $50k new and picked it for fraction of that.

[mrsleeve]

The thing is though if your going to keep them a while Going up market to what was the very best of the best top of the line Luxo market line when sold new 20 years ago you get something that is much better quality wise, than the newer Fiberglass Fantastic's made today.

For me it makes a little more sense to look in that direction since I will be more or less Full timing it for most of the year, and in all climates so the heated tank bays and tanks and hot water heating and other things like that are the draw for me. But for the money quality even though it older is less fixing and more tailoring to how you want your bus too be though as well

[Keith M]

I agree. My dad dropped $85k on a huge 5th wheel and it's been in the shop numerous times for warranty work, the biggest problem is with the slide outs. The new ones have great features and lots of room but the build quality is sketchy.
Mine is a plastic fantastic, non-slide out model and doesn't have any issues so far and I'm pretty happy with it. The first job I took with US Fish was four months in the Nevada desert and I did it with my 12' A-Liner. My motorhome is so spacious by comparison. Haha.

[mrsleeve]

HAHAHA 12' Oh NO WAY IN HELL could I do that for more than a week - 10 days for a actual camping trip.

[Keith M]

A tent with wheels! It was just a place to sleep for the most part. Spent 3 months traveling to Alaska in it as well.

[george graves]

[IMG]http://api.ning.com/files/QT2QozHJ2DSTJiWjaAg*ji-Izdq0KxTJ8hBXoIoJNWeLIs5346O*nTrjTmgYxawQurNhX1oZN p9QZUbxFh0rHhGuHJXRknNy/InternationalBusConversioninterior.jpg[/IMG]

[z31maniac]

The bus with flat on back for a race car would be a perfect rig for me.

Unfortunately no room to put it on my property.

[Vtec?lol]

George, are all those school/coach conversions? ^ That bed setup is bad ass. So are the modern counter tops in the coach

And yeah, now the question is do I want a pusher or a front engined bus.

I've ruled out buying an RV and coaches simply because of the higher initial cost. That and the fact that almost 90% of the buses about to hit the market down here are powered by 5.9 cummins and Allison 6spd with the 6th programmed off.

They get exceptional mileage filled with kids and 5.9's last a good while so I've read and heard from everywhere and everyone. ever.

A pusher 40+ passenger goes for 4-6k with 70-100k miles. Most are decommissioned by this time. Easier to maintain and better for building up as a camper/RV since you can lower the floor with no driveline in the way. The con to this is I can't chop the back off and make part of it a hauler. There's always trailers I guess.

A regular front engined bus has the same engine and trans and they go for a few grand more. Not sure why. I can chop the back off and mount the tanks and batteries under the sides. This is what I'd really like to get. I just love the hippie nostalgia it gives off. Proper paint and interior. I can build it how I want.

Everything will have to be recycled parts. It would end up being a low budget project. Most of the mechanical and electrical stuff I can score for free from the school district. Even roof mounted carrier AC. The wood and insulation would be the biggest expense. As well as new and spare wheels, tune up stuffs and paint.

Check out Skoolie.net It's a bunch of cheap asses that do it right. It's amazing how far they can build a bus with just $5k and some determination.

[matthugie]

Bangbus?

[F34R]

Now I want to convert a bus haha!

[george graves]

George, are all those school/coach conversions?

Don't know about all of them. Just a google image search.

I also really like the look of the 70-80's Greyhound buses.

[G-Man the Visionary]

From my phone, let's see if it works... Don't have any interior shots right now...

[G-Man the Visionary]

[G-Man the Visionary]