2001 Amtram possible purchase help

[Sage93]

Hey there! New to the forums, forgive me if this isnt the proper place to post this.

My girlfriend and I intend on fulltiming in the near future and were still trying to find an option.

We are looking at a 2001 amtran with a dt466 and an allison transmission for $4500, which from all my research is quite good. The issues weve found is that all the tires are at about 50% tread, and something with the axle that causes a clunking sound when we made turns while test driving. It is already painted, titled as an rv, 220k miles, and gutted but thats it.

So, does anyone with more knowledge mind weighing in? Am I going to need to replace the tires immediately? Is the axle issue reasonably cheap to fix? Is this bus worth the money?

Thank you anyone who takes the time to respond. Your help is immensely appreciated.

[Tango]

An '01 dt 466 is a very good engine. No EPA/emmissions garbage to deal with. Find out exactly what Allison it has. If a 545, it is considered by many a boat anchor but can be replaced with a locking tranny with more gears if you have some spare bucks. As for mileage...220K is getting close to the "get ready for some serious maintenance" sometime soon season most likely, but that engine can go much further if it was properly maintained. See if you can get hold of any maintenance records. They can tell you a lot. As for price, that sounds more like a $3500 bus to me but then prices have been spiking lately.


Anyone else care to chime in?

[o1marc]

Similar to the one I have (99), if you're lucky there's a 3060 in it. It's a grand more than I paid, but less if you figure in the $1500 in fuel getting it home. Mine has zero issues with over 250k on it and is in remarkable shape. I'd be concerned about clunking noises in the axles or rear end. Depending on how much actual driving you plan on doing tires may last you awhile. But check the dates on them, they usually date out before wearing out, so likely yours are out of date. I'd offer them $3500 like Tango thought.