Who has owned a bus conversion

I am looking at picking up a bus for my tow vehicle, my wife has problems traveling in a regular vehicle, along with reduced accommodation and food bills it should work out ok.

I need diesel to tow the race car and trailer, I don't want tiny or stupid big. I am keeping it grassroots so looking to spend around $6k or less for a running driving vehicle. I do not need a lot of power, enough will do for this job.

I have become enamored with the classic bus conversions. Particularly the GMC 4104. Has anybody got any first hand knowledge on these super cool haulers.

Sample of bus only http://www.rvmotorized.com/rvdetail224906.htm

I have been doing my intraweb homework but would like to hear from any of you guys I trust so much.

Steve

http://www.skoolie.net/ great site , I would look for a 90 s school bus I got mine for $1256 dollars at auction . 7.3 ltr diesel and its bulletproof . put in a full john and stand up fibreglass shower . Als put a skytower on roof for watching races or shooting deer or hogs . Lotsa room got bunk beds and a futon in it . Tv shelves , full kitchen counter with sink . This kinda stuff should be pennys on the dollar with the economy right now . http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f246/racetearoffs/?action=view&current=013-1.jpg

how much are you paying for insurance?...

my wife still thinks i'm nuts but I want to do a conversion myself... have for years...

Karl La Follette wrote: http://www.skoolie.net/

I hate you for this link.

I want this:

http://www.skoolie.net/gallery/v/Skoolies/JeepBus/

I will have titled as a classic and keep the cost down in that manner.

I prefer a coach to a skoolie, the following for these vehicles is staggering

Steve,

A quick search yeilded:

http://www.classicbusdepot.com/

and

http://busconversion101.com/Buses_For_Sale.htm

Jay Leno's mechanic (Bernard?) was restoring one for him and his wife....might want to check out Jay's Garage, there was a video of it.

Good Luck,

If I come across anything decent and cool, I'll forward it on to you.

-John

I had a 1948 GMC 3751 coach, split window, converted to MH, great unit criuse 70mph noprob., and an actual 10mpg ,my new coach gets 7mpg,, go figure!!

sold the HOUND as it was called,ex greyhound bus, to a movie company, for about 5 times what i payed for it.

...in panama city there was an old transit bus like this

they where working on converting... never got to chat with them but it was neat driving by and seeing what kind of progress they made...

I could swear we had a thread about this subject not terribly long ago... a couple of things I vaguely remember from the discussion:

One - how much do you plan on spending for fuel? Despite being a diesel, these things get dismal fuel mileage. City buses are geared for city driving... not hwy driving...

Second - I'm not sure I'd have much faith in a $6K bus. Mainly the engine - which I'm betting will be well-used by the time the bus is that cheap. Maybe if you're a diesel mechanic it might not be so bad, but in my somewhat limited experience (owning two diesels), a "cheap diesel" is scarier than a "cheap Porsche".

Karl La Follette wrote: http://www.skoolie.net/ great site , I would look for a 90 s school bus I got mine for $1256 dollars at auction . 7.3 ltr diesel and its bulletproof . put in a full john and stand up fibreglass shower . Als put a skytower on roof for watching races or shooting deer or hogs . Lotsa room got bunk beds and a futon in it . Tv shelves , full kitchen counter with sink . This kinda stuff should be pennys on the dollar with the economy right now . http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f246/racetearoffs/?action=view&current=013-1.jpg

It was totally unnecessary of you to force me to spend my evening on that website. Thanks. :)

In reply to Ian F:

one.....the buses were used for both inner city and across the country (Greyhound) driving, different diff ratios of 3.5 and 4.1 apply, with the 3.5 you can cruise at 72 mph but will slow on the inclines a bit. They are known to get around 11.5 mpg when sorted which isn't much more than my E150 van when towing. Then after you remove the cost of eating at restaurants and $100 per night to stay in a motel and the comparison is starting to look attractive

two....The 6 cylinder Detroit diesels are pretty simple and bulletproof from what I see, spares are readily available. Remember it is a non turbo straight six diesel from the 50's, this means very low tech and built to last.

Not too worried by the maintenance or repair costs as they were plentiful and even body panels can still be purchased new.

Coolbus:

http://www.skoolie.net/gallery/v/Skoolies/HotRod/coolbus.jpg.html

After spending a half hour looking at peoples bus conversions, I have to say that I thought this was going to be a thread about sticking a water cooled subie engine in a VW bus.

TJ wrote: After spending a half hour looking at peoples bus conversions, I have to say that I thought this was going to be a thread about sticking a water cooled subie engine in a VW bus.

Glad to see I'm not the only one.

GRM did a story on Motorhomes for track use and car hauling. One thing Tim pointed out that I never thought of is it's old stuff being vibtrated down the road. Electrical and plumbing gremlins turn up where you least expect it when you can least afford it.

Otherwise I'm all over an older conversion, more character. There's a big Dodge near me that I've been coveting for a while but he won't sell.

Dan

If I were going to do it I look for the newest MCI that I could afford, preferably a project someone gave up on. Things are going to go wrong and finding parts for a 50 year old GMC can be a bit tough. I would avoid a city bus, especially an artic like Donaldson posted. When we sell ours, they usually go for scrap price, and are overpriced at that. Being low to the ground packaging things like holding tanks and generators is a bit tougher than an over the road coach. What ever you get keep in mind that 2 stroke Detroits were the most popular bus engine pretty much ever, but need to be cared for a little differently. Check the oil at every fuel stop, they burn some like any two stroke, and use the recomended oil. I've heard of several seized up with the wrong type of oil. The sixes make nice power and sound good, but if you can go with an eight cylinder. You can never have too much power.

Edit: A higfhway coach will have a much better ride than a city bus. Some of our buses are truly a handful at 50 mph.

Well... As I've gotten older, I've come to accept the limits on my time... and know good 'ole Murphy all too well... so I guess one thing that makes me hesitant about such a thing as an old bus-RV is that by nature, grass-roots race cars are "projects" you're constantly working on... and well... I'd want my transportation for said car to be as dead-nuts reliable and boring as possible - just load it up and go. I don't want it to be even remotely "project-like", beyond simple maintenence.

Believe me, I agree the idea sounds great and would be totally cool... I just think some of you are underestimating the amount of time and money involved...

Karl La Follette wrote: http://www.skoolie.net/ great site , I would look for a 90 s school bus I got mine for $1256 dollars at auction . 7.3 ltr diesel and its bulletproof . put in a full john and stand up fibreglass shower . Als put a skytower on roof for watching races or shooting deer or hogs . Lotsa room got bunk beds and a futon in it . Tv shelves , full kitchen counter with sink . This kinda stuff should be pennys on the dollar with the economy right now . http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f246/racetearoffs/?action=view&current=013-1.jpg

They have a whole section there on Short Bus conversions.

I actually was bidding on 2 and 3 k buses and didnt win those I won the $1256 one . It had no seats in it I ripped out the floor from behind the drivers seat back and redecked with Fibreglass resin plywood ,PUT ON NEW front steer tires ! put in the shower and crpper grey and black water tanks and drove the crap out of it . From crystal river Florida I have road tripped it to The Mitty twice , Barber mtrsports park << parked up where all the high dollar rigs park >> Daytona , Sebring many times , homestead , and my hunting camp Keaton beach . My only break was an alternator that I replaced in Stone mtn ga state park . These vehicles are maintained constantly and its cheap and , it sure the hell beats a $25 k plus motorhome , payments insurance and all that goes with keeping up with the Joneses . I am using a 50/50 blend of french fry diesel /reg diesel . Oh yes driving a school bus with a trailer and my manx and a canoe on top of it may not look cool but saving money doing it camping and having a blast feels cool . PS my bus is 24 ft long not short , but i still drive with a football helmut on .

http://www.citrusguide.com/tropical3/

Make sure it hasn't been abused too much http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn75esRxOsw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fhome%2Ephp&feature=player_embedded

Busses=grassroots RV

School buss's are underpowered. Suck for towing.

School buses are underpowered, but they're based on diesel platforms with huge potential; Cummins ISB and 6BT, DT444 and DT466, small detroits... plenty of potential.

School buses are also DIRT cheap. My only problem towing with a school bus is the very long distance from the rear axle to the hitch point. school buses are stiff and ride hard. Little steering inputs tend to make big sway, especially with shorter trailers.

One thing I can say about the larger motorcoaches like MCI, Prevost, Eagle, VanHool and GMC is that nothing is more expensive than buying a cheap one. Buying an old 2-stroke 8V92 coach means you will be getting insanely bad mileage, pay through the nose for parts, and they're not the easiest to work on. Comparing a school bus to a motorcoach is like comparing a 74 chevy to a Ferrari. They tend to be complex, they have large amounts of automated/electronic parts, and cramped working spaces. School buses are trademarks of simplicity and reliability.

aussiesmg wrote: In reply to Ian F: one.....the buses were used for both inner city and across the country (Greyhound) driving, different diff ratios of 3.5 and 4.1 apply, with the 3.5 you can cruise at 72 mph but will slow on the inclines a bit.

The 4100 that he looked at is an intercity (Greyhound type) coach. An inner city of suburban model would generally be a 4500 or 5100 series depending on length. They look similar but the city models are lower, heavier (steel bodied instead of aluminium) and often have a set of rear doors.