Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-31-2006, 08:42 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 36
1982 Thomas bus for sale

I am in the finishing stages of making my '82 Thomas Transitliner ER driveable. Events in my life have the timetable for building this bus no longer achieveable, so I will be pursuing a "regular" RV in the name of having a full time capable rig available. Because of this, the Thomas will need a new home.

It is a 35 foot Transitliner ER high roof with the Cummins 555T engine set to 225 hp.

The tranny is the Allison MT643 4 speed.

Top speed is 62 mph.

The bus has the air operated french style two piece outward opening doors.

I put $700 into the engine to replace a bad rear main seal that was also apparently causing a loss of oil pressure at idle when warm. As far as I can tell, the idle oil pressure problem was fixed with the seal replacement, but I haven't driven the bus any appreciable distance since getting it back from the shop last summer.

I had begun the process of removing the interior side panels due to them being rusty, and also the insulation behind them, which turned out to be caked with black mould. This process will need to be finished by the new owners.

A tree branch caught the window to the emergency door on the drivers side and broke it. The pane is still there, but there is a small spot that has a hole, with cracks eminating from that focal point.

All but two of the seats are out. One up front, and one in the back which is still holding the rear heater core. Its bottom cushion is gone.

A couple of the drive tires are still passable tread depth, but will require replacing fairly soon.

There is a dent on the right side of the bus just forward of the rear tires that was put there by one of the Texas A&M drivers.

I will be installing new batteries as the current ones are bad.

The running lights started flickering on the last stretch to my house when I originally bought the bus. Since some relay or something had just been replaced by the school, I suspect this to be a ground wire worked loose. I'll look for it and tighten it down if I find it, but if it's more than this, the problem will still require being searched for by the new owner.

Most of the dashboard lights for the guages are burned out, and the fuel guage bounces.

The bus has a full tank of fuel.

The bus is white with maroon vinyl stripes down the sides.

It has 440k on the chassis, 139k on the engine, and 130k on the tranny.

I will have pictures up for it as soon as I can get some fresh ones taken.

I'm letting it go to the first person who steps up with $1500 cash.

The bus is located one hour northwest of Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX., near the town of Paradise.

__________________
1994 Safari Sarengeti Edition 37' diesel pusher
1997 Ford F150
1998 Jeep Cherokee SE 4x4 (toad)
2006 Chevy Aveo LS
Wolfman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-08-2006, 04:25 PM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 36
The bus is now officially ready for sale. New batteries were installed as of 2.8.06.

Pictures can be seen here: http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/album56

What's been done:

New rear main seal on engine, and as mentioned new batteries.

All but one interior sheet metal panel on right side of bus removed. Exposed insulation removed. It is strongly recommended that the buyer finish what's been started, to finish removing the mildewed insulation behind these panels.

Rotten particle board cover removed from passenger compartment side of engine cover.

Heater box panels cleaned, sanded, primered and painted brown. I inadvertently bumped the top panel with the can, and there is a flaw in the paint where I hit it. The heater box should be removed to have a hole in it patched, and the same sanding/paint job done to it. The fresh air cable is not connected, as I forgot to reconnect it when I was reassembling the dashboard.

All seats removed execpt two - one holds the heater and it's seat bottom is gone, and the second one left there as I simply didn't get around to removing it.

Mechanical issues:

The steering box and/or front end NEEDS to be rebuilt. There is ALOT of play in the steering. If you grab the wheel at 12 o' clock, the wheel turns between 9 o' clock and 3 o' clock before turning anything. It can be driven this way, and I did drive it home like this, but it would not pass any D.O.T. safety inspection if it were to be subject to one.

When I originally bought the bus, the engine had trouble holding oil pressure at idle. It dumped alot of oil out of the rear main seal on the drive home. After the seal replacement, it seems to be holding 10 psi at idle. Anything above idle instantly picks up to 60 to 70 psi. However, I haven't driven the bus any appreciable distance since this repair was made.

The fuel gauge is inaccurate. I also believe that the tachometer is not accurate as well, and points to 3800 RPM running down the highway. I believe that the actual revs are alot less as at idle, it sits at 1100 rpm, when it's obviously running closer to 800 when in gear. Many of the instruments need new bulbs.

I found a couple of loose connections looking for the cause of the running lights flickering and going out while in motion. I've tightened these connections, but cannot verify if this fixed the problem as the bus is no longer insured, and its safety inspection is expired. Tags are good untill May 2006.

Coolant level will need to be watched initially to insure that all air was indeed purged from the system from my heater box removal.

The window was broken by a tree limb on the left side emergency exit door.

There are a couple of minor dents in the right front corner of the bus, and another just in front of the right rear wheel.

The price is $1500 firm. The bus is worth this even if it's only ever to be used as a storage building. If there are no takers here within one week, it will be listed on Ebay on a no reserve auction with an opening bid of $1500. If the buyer is close enough to stop by and look at the bus, they are more than welcome to do so, and I will make arrangements to be around. My schedule is that I work evenings. My days off are Wednesdays and Thursdays. All other days I'm available untill 2:30 pm.

I can be called at 817.925.3607. I have a voicemail if I don't answer, and will return any calls as soon as I can. I can also be emailed at mailto:bfoust@direcway.com. If the buyer is from out of state, I will be more than willing to pick them up at the airport to drive the bus home. The buyer MUST understand that this is a 24 year old bus. If something grenades on the drive home, they must fully understand and accept that risk - same as I did when I initially bought it.
__________________
1994 Safari Sarengeti Edition 37' diesel pusher
1997 Ford F150
1998 Jeep Cherokee SE 4x4 (toad)
2006 Chevy Aveo LS
Wolfman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2006, 10:11 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 36
My bus has now been posted on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... %3AIT&rd=1
__________________
1994 Safari Sarengeti Edition 37' diesel pusher
1997 Ford F150
1998 Jeep Cherokee SE 4x4 (toad)
2006 Chevy Aveo LS
Wolfman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2006, 09:13 PM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 36
The bus has been sold.
__________________
1994 Safari Sarengeti Edition 37' diesel pusher
1997 Ford F150
1998 Jeep Cherokee SE 4x4 (toad)
2006 Chevy Aveo LS
Wolfman is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
1982 Thomas 36' For Sale in Southern California DarkLotus Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 3 06-22-2012 11:55 AM
1982 Thomas Saf-T-Liner ER (pusher) for sale (WA State) Les Lampman Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 3 05-17-2008 10:43 PM
1982 Crown Diesel School Bus For Sale in OR-$5000 obo- Steve Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 0 03-14-2008 04:21 PM
1982 Thomas Safe-T-Liner "Illusion" Les Lampman Skoolie Conversion Projects 89 02-28-2007 07:41 AM
Thomas bus for sale frank-id Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 6 09-05-2006 09:29 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:39 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.