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Old 11-25-2016, 01:44 PM   #1
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Last minute - should I buy this bus?

Hi all, thank you for the invaluable advice, reading tons of threads here in the past month.

I'm looking to pull the trigger on this super short bus in the next 24 hours... is that a terrible idea?

Chevy C3500 Cab w Thomas School Bus Body 20 Seats - $4000



It'll be myself and my lady, using it for road trips and 5-day boondocking stints. Simple setup, composting toilet, propane stove

Thanks to Sojakai's suggestion to use floorplanner, I have this here


*Mop = Marine solid fuel stove

All initial "You're insane!" advice welcome!


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Old 11-25-2016, 02:48 PM   #2
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I'd want specifics on the tranny and rear gearing along with what speed at what rpm on the highway. Probably OK for highway use but you occasionally find units that top out at 45-50 and need new gears. Oh yeah...how are the tires (all 6 of them)?

Not a big fan of v-8 diesels but that is a personal thing. Anyone here familiar with this particular DD?
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Old 11-25-2016, 03:18 PM   #3
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In know this is the skoolie forum but couldn't you just buy a RV that size for that much money and be off? It looks very clean. I think of having a skoolie as in the big busses even if its just a short one. The idea for me is that you get all that heavy duty rear ends big dulleys and tires suspension. You get non of that with this and I would say you actually end up with a big heavier rig if its steel and not fiberglass.

You can get that many windows with a full size and I cant imagine how it could ever were it out.
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Old 11-25-2016, 04:05 PM   #4
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The price is a bit high-but the fact that there is a maintanence paper trail is a big plus. And that oil analyst is very promising.
The size makes driving easy-if you can fit everything you need inside.
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Old 11-25-2016, 05:23 PM   #5
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The body structure is much stronger than an RV, and less prone to water leaks (which rots most RVs in short order).
These short buses often command higher prices than "real" buses, since the demand is higher -- more people have space to park them. In that light, the price may be fair. And again, higher popularity means easier resale.
Otherwise... what the others said.
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Old 11-25-2016, 05:46 PM   #6
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Thanks for the quick replies all!

Tango - The tires are about 70% tread, 1-2 years old I believe. I don't know about the transmission and I'm not sure that the seller does either. If anyone has knowledge on this I'd be grateful, my searching didn't turn up anything beyond "GM"

sdwarf36, I also liked the paper trail. The story on this is it was decommissioned a bit early due to changing requirements on passenger seat height. And it will come down to $3500 at least, but yes still expensive for this mileage of a bus.

Geo Jeff, I understand and have questioned the logic here too. It definitely isn't all practical, sometimes you just want to build it yourself. I appreciate the perspective, though.

I believe I've accounted for all the 'stuff' we'll need, propane tank, fresh and gray water, composting toilet, portable shower, two burner stove, efficient fridge, solar in the future. Just barely fits our requirements, but the other requirement is getting the project started and to have the maneuverability of a smaller rig.
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Old 11-25-2016, 06:00 PM   #7
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Pretty sure the transmission is a 4L80e GM and the top speed unless governed will be over 70 mph. 4th gear is .75 overdrive and it most likely has a 4.10 rear
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Old 11-25-2016, 06:01 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by jschulz View Post
...and to have the maneuverability of a smaller rig.
I dunno, my rear engine 35 foot Thomas transit-style bus is pretty manueverable... won't quite turn on a dime but pretty darn close to it.
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Old 11-25-2016, 06:46 PM   #9
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... all the 'stuff' we'll need, propane tank...
Propane tanks ought not to be inside the bus (think "fuel-air bomb") and ought not to be behind the bus (for rear-end accident excitement). Might want to go with the tiny bottles. More expensive but safer.
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Old 11-25-2016, 11:15 PM   #10
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Personally...I like DOT approved propane tanks (like Manchester) tucked inside the frame rails.
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Old 11-25-2016, 11:33 PM   #11
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The 6.5L in a G-series chassis is an orphan that has virtually zero parts support. There were not enough of them out in the consumer market for the after market companies like Summit and Banks to have anything 6.5L/G-series specific. There is some 6.5L aftermarket for C/K-series. But for the cramped quarters of a van, not so much.

The Thomas body and G-series chassis is not a bad combination. Much better than the Collins and Blue Bird IMHO.

But for me, the 6.5L is a real deal breaker for me.
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Old 11-26-2016, 05:31 AM   #12
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I agree. The 6.5L is a run-away, not a walk-away. If it had the older, but much more common and more reliable 6.2L, then I'd be all over it.
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Old 11-26-2016, 07:18 AM   #13
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There certainly seem to be plenty of 6.5's out there.

Other than the ecu mounting location, I've not heard any horror stories. But Cowlitzcoach would know better than me.

For the prices I've seen a few of them go for on GovDeals, I'll snatch one up some day in my area when the deal is right. Certainly HAS to be easier to keep one of these going than a 6.0 ford. The 6.0 would be the "run away".
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Old 11-26-2016, 07:48 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Tango View Post
I'd want specifics on the tranny and rear gearing along with what speed at what rpm on the highway. Probably OK for highway use but you occasionally find units that top out at 45-50 and need new gears. Oh yeah...how are the tires (all 6 of them)?

Not a big fan of v-8 diesels but that is a personal thing. Anyone here familiar with this particular DD?
I never was a fan of V-8 diesels till I got one... that little T-444E in my shortie runs like a champ and gets me right up to 65 without even trying... and thats BEFORE doing any work to it... I havent yet tuned it or swapped injectors or done anything more to it than fresh fluids... now im learning why the ford guys still like the 7.3 better than any of the the rest..

-Christopher
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Old 11-26-2016, 07:50 AM   #15
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There certainly seem to be plenty of 6.5's out there.

Other than the ecu mounting location, I've not heard any horror stories. But Cowlitzcoach would know better than me.

For the prices I've seen a few of them go for on GovDeals, I'll snatch one up some day in my area when the deal is right. Certainly HAS to be easier to keep one of these going than a 6.0 ford. The 6.0 would be the "run away".

I think the 6.5 is a pretty decent engine.. some say its a bit underpowered when its in the bread-truck style busses like the mini-bird but in a cutaway like that I think it would be fine.. and yeah gotta keep that computer cool...

the ford 6.0 is a great engine if you have the mechanical ability to fix it before it breaks.. but if you have to send it to a shop for upgrades then its a no-brainer to run from a 6.0 ford... ironically im learning that other than destruction-by-over-heating the IHC VT-365 doesnt suffer alot of the fates of the ford 6.0..

-Christopher
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Old 11-26-2016, 07:53 AM   #16
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Not a big fan of the 6.5 either--but then again considering how little actual use a bus gets once it falls into "our"hands - it should be a walk in the park.
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Old 11-26-2016, 08:04 AM   #17
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Not a big fan of the 6.5 either--but then again considering how little actual use a bus gets once it falls into "our"hands - it should be a walk in the park.
LOL unless they are driving like me... ive put 11.5k on one bus and 2.5k on the other since early spring.....

-Christopher
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Old 11-27-2016, 10:44 PM   #18
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I did read a bit about the history of the 6.5, and I understand this was a hack job to meet the ECU requirements. We have some timing constraints to finish this build in two months, so I may have to go with an imperfect start and hope I don't regret it too much! Live and learn.

Thanks, Dapplecreek, for the admonishment on propane, I will definitely find a spot and research the DOT approved bottles as Tango mentioned. I appreciate these sanity checks, it means a lot!
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