Hello everyone,
I've been reading your posts for a few months now and still cant believe the wealth of info this forum represents. Lots of carzy ideas and amazing projects. Feels just like home
So after much deliberation, we are going ahead with our skoolie project. We are shopping for the bus right now and will hopefully have it home before summer to start the conversion. The plan is to take it, with my girlfriend and two boys, for it first 5 weeks trip from home (Quebec City, Canada) all the way to Vancouver Island in the summer of 2015.
So with that said, I would love to have some input on the type of vehicle to look for. I know this has been asked a hundre times on the forum but I thought I'd give you my "specifics".
About the only thing we know for sure is we are looking for a flat nose. That is mostly an aesthetic issue but what can I say, I do design for a living. We also consider belly cargo space a must. Otherwise, there is not much that is set in stone. We're thinking of a 72 passengers even though the idea of driving such a Big Bertha stresses my girlfriend out. I read somewhere that the difference between a 72 and a 54 in terms of "feel" is'nt that big. Is that right?
What I'm mostly worried about is getting the right mechanics and drivetrain. Considering we'll be doing mostly highway and getting across the Rockies and back a few times, is there something specific I should be on the lookout for? Can I simply tweak the ratio from any bus to be "highway efficient"? I'm really comfortable with the conversion part but a little (OK a lot) ignorant about all the mechanical stuff. So any cues that can help us make a sound choice in terms of the bus itself would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance guys and cant wait to put some pics up.