Have any of you gents built a Skoolie?

In reply to bearmtnmartin: I worked for Caterpillar for years and I know that the V8 was considered a throw away motor because it costs nearly as much to rebuild it as to buy new. I saw enough trucks, buses etc. hauled in to realize how common serious problems were. Short haul heavy work and they seldom got over 200,000 miles Of course I'm comparing it to the old 3406 motor which was the first real million mile motor. The C10 and C20 while not million mile motors often get close to 500,000 miles.

I don't have as much personal experience with Cummins (except the one in the bus I drive now) but I've heard very good things about them as well.

Individual experiences with various cars/parts and etc. vary so much there is always exceptions..

aussiesmg wrote: Mongo has a tired Detroit 8V71, is a manual, runs all day at 75mph until it hits a hill, the size is not a big deal when towing down a highway. Detroits hate going uphill though.

It needs a pair of turbos and 4 valve heads, the rest is driving technique. Put a brick on the throttle and keep banging gears! :^)

In reply to oldopelguy: The DT series diesel is the only IH I've had experience with. 10 years old and some wouldn't start even in the summer with new fresh charged batteries unless they were plugged in to block heaters. That usually indicates a worn out engine. Some drivers said once warmed up they had 10 pounds of oil pressure or less at idle. Most were usually pretty junked by the time they got to 15 years and about 250,000 miles. They'd crank and crank and crank and never even pop.. Sure you could squirt ether and get them to fire off but careful, just a little too much and you buy a set of head gaskets..
Not to mention some used oil by the gallon and left clouds of blue smoke behind..

Whereas the Cat six with a lot more mileage and 14-15 years old would start on the battery in 30 below weather, use maybe a quart of oil between changes and was faster. Plus the Cat six would pull a load of football players with greater ease than the Corn binder V8 will

First Student, a British owned Bus company (one of the really big players in buses) sells off their old buses regularly. I've seen some sell cheap and their new owners drive them south to the border or head to the nearest port. Prices on 10 year old buses plummet since most states have rules regarding how old a school bus can be..

After some more digging, I'm thinking this is going to happen. The RVs that are available are either OMG expensive or complete junk. The middle ground is filled with mediocre examples with Ford V10s for power.

The bid I have in at the moment is for a International 3800 that I'm pretty sure I won't win. It's within $200 of my bid, with 16 days to go. I'm going to let that one go.

I've read about 2 dozen build threads, it looks like the flat nose buses layout better as far as living quarters, but the engines look like a nightmare to work on. They are either buried under the front of the bus or crammed in a tiny box in the back, so I'll be looking for a dog nose bus.

I think I'd like to stay with a DT series International engine. The 466 I know is great engine. I'd also like to stay with the pre 95 engines to stay away from the electronic injection systems and the emissions crap. Simple is good and cheaper to maintain.

More to come, but it's probably going to be after Christmas before I start seriously shopping for a bus.

Anyone want to buy a Alaskan Camper?

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5333408261.html

http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/5345312546.html

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5344117162.html

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5337815235.html

In reply to Toyman01:

Id love to swap a DT466 into my ford v10 powered RV. But I will wait to watch your build unfold. I looked at doing a mini skoolie, but stumbled onto my RV cheap.

frenchyd wrote: In reply to bearmtnmartin: I worked for Caterpillar for years and I know that the V8 was considered a throw away motor because it costs nearly as much to rebuild it as to buy new. I saw enough trucks, buses etc. hauled in to realize how common serious problems were. Short haul heavy work and they seldom got over 200,000 miles Of course I'm comparing it to the old 3406 motor which was the first real million mile motor. The C10 and C20 while not million mile motors often get close to 500,000 miles. I don't have as much personal experience with Cummins (except the one in the bus I drive now) but I've heard very good things about them as well. Individual experiences with various cars/parts and etc. vary so much there is always exceptions..

What problems did you see? I have had three personally and they were all excellent. One finally threw a rod after being run completely out of oil(rear main leak) but it had over 400 k by then. I still have the Wanderlodge and it runs beautifully. I have never heard of intrinsic problems in the low power truck versions. 425 hp marinized twin turbos were a different story.

Don't forget also that it is really rare for an RV to put big miles on. 250,000 miles would be huge for an RV.

"Seldom got over 200,000 miles"

That's a lotta miles if you take it out of the context of being driven many miles 5-6 days a week for years.

Well, I'm still winning the auction. That's might not be a good thing.

My loving wife, might not be so loving, if I have to tell her I need to go to GA to pick up a school bus.

The silver lining is if I do win it will be stupid cheap. These things depreciate like a 740 BMW.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/5317403377.html

Converted gillig?

I'm surprised he gets 64mph out of that. Most of those are geared for city use and slow.

That's cool, but too rich form my blood and too far away.

I'm still high bidder on the one in GA, with 4 days to go. My wife might be a little miffed if I buy a bus two days before Christmas. Lucky for me it's sitting right at my high bid. It's sure to take a jump just before close.

In reply to bearmtnmartin: At the Cat dealership I worked out of I'd go close enough by the shop often enough to hear what the Shop said to owners/operators and I heard that comment often enough that I accepted it.. The 3406 on the other hand usually garnered comments like, "Well, it's approaching 15 years and 700,000 miles so I suppose a valve job is called for".....

School Buses are driven flat out from stop to stop usually. Every block or so they come to a complete stop to load and then have to hustle to stay on schedule.. Parents don't want their kids to be in a bus for too long. Plus school starts on time and traffic, weather, or anything else won't be an excuse for the bus not dropping kids on schedule..

Drivers are paid a modest wage, start well before the sun's up, can't collect unemployment during the summer or any time school isn't in session.. Plus the list of rules has to be seen to be believed. It's everything the PTA dreams up, the school district, the Bus company, Lawyers for all the above and busybodies everywhere. .. Break any of them and chances are darn good you'll be looking for a new job.. (Better not have an accident that is your fault either)

All that means is turnover is 25%+ per year. Some buses may get 10-20 or more different drivers per year.

In reply to oldopelguy: You are correct about the IH Diesel V8 being a fuel hog.. On average it got about 4MPG and required filling it's 65 gallon tank every other day. I've heard of worse with the Cat V8. The Cat C10 or C20 is an in line six with 4 valve per cylinder.. expect about 7.5 MPG That's on stop and go routes It's not uncommon to see 10-12 MPG on Charter trips. Realize that is a 8 foot wide by 12-15 feet tall, up to 18,000 pound box with giant mirrors hanging all over it. Speed wise ungoverned the IH V8 is typically at red line (2100rpm)around 67-68 mph The Cat Six seems very happy at 2300RPM and 72-73MPH

I was finally outbid on the bus. It will be interesting to see how much it goes for.

We'll look into this again after the first of the year.

In reply to Toyman01:

You really dodged a bullet on that one.

I think finding the gears is the biggest issue. Changing them isn't too bad. I say this working on busses and such through college. The busses are super simple get something without a whole lot of Logic circuits. They aren't hard but you will kill yourself trying to find what the issue is. Just remember, every single part is 10x the size and weight of your daily driver at a minimum.

You get strong throwing around 22.5's and rear drums on these things though....

In reply to Toyman01: I'm always fascinated by the bidding process.. It seems to me it insures they get the most for their item rather than the market value..

The "winner" is he who pays the most for something? You're happy if you get it for the "Most" you will pay?

Toyman: If you get one let me know. The aux heating system is probably a Webasto heater. I can help you with that if you need it.

Hmmm, another bus just came up with a 8.3 Cummins. It's at $100 but they say is doesn't run.

Any of you gents know anything about a 2001 8.3 Cummins? This one is close enough to run down and take a look at.

thats a good motor.. Not as good as an M11, power is weakish and mileage is OK, but reliable. They use them in the MWRAPS and RV's. Look around for ISC reliability.

In reply to Toyman01:

The electronic fuel injection will on occasion burp and as a result you will need a new board for it.. None of the mechanics ever saw the cost of the board but the service manager tried every thing else before getting one so it may not be very cheap..

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: thats a good motor.. Not as good as an M11, power is weakish and mileage is OK, but reliable. They use them in the MWRAPS and RV's. Look around for ISC reliability.

Power is still better than the 5.9 / ISB a lot of the buses got!

Many moons ago we widened one for a circle track car. The bus company I drove for had a car we raced and it just made sense to convert a bus. We widened the whole body about 8" to fit the wide car, cut the back off and hinged it on the side, and then put toolboxes up front. I wish I had pictures but this was back in about 1993. Turned out pretty sweet, but we had trouble getting ramps long enough to get the car all the way up into the back. We fabbed some from steel but they were about 12' long and really heavy. We looked for aluminum loading ramps, but they are bloody expensive.

The bus I was bidding on went for $2900. Hmmm.

This is a little less than twice the money, fairly local, and the conversion is already started. I bet I could talk him down some also.

http://charleston.craigslist.org/cto/5357053925.html

Then again, it's about 10 years older too.