Non-affiliated buses for sale - thread

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Njsurf73

It seems some (a lot?) states have a mandated age for school busses. NJ used to be 8 yrs, but now it's 15. So the late 90 early 2000 busses retiring now makes sense. Except those dang crowns. Wish more of them were around. I have to say, I like thier style and the durability.

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Yeah those Crowns were built so dang well, over here in the east the best we can do is a mid-90's mechanical bus if shopping local. Plus the folks like me who are raising roofs and stuff aren't as likely to want to pay the Crown premium and get it all the way home just to tear it apart and stuff.
A mechanical Dt466 or Cummins 8.3 are as good as gets for 99% of us, which is just fine. I really lucked out, as I had no idea how rad ABS, auto slack adjusters, air ride, and underside storage would end up being!

I've gotten lucky with the air ride. Both my buses were bought assuming they didn't have it, and I've been pleasantly and comfortably surprised both times now! It really makes for less drama on bad roads and stuff. None of that crazy rear hopping action.

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Yeah those Crowns were built so dang well, over here in the east the best we can do is a mid-90's mechanical bus if shopping local. Plus the folks like me who are raising roofs and stuff aren't as likely to want to pay the Crown premium and get it all the way home just to tear it apart and stuff.
A mechanical Dt466 or Cummins 8.3 are as good as gets for 99% of us, which is just fine. I really lucked out, as I had no idea how rad ABS, auto slack adjusters, air ride, and underside storage would end up being!

I've gotten lucky with the air ride. Both my buses were bought assuming they didn't have it, and I've been pleasantly and comfortably surprised both times now! It really makes for less drama on bad roads and stuff. None of that crazy rear hopping action.

A crown with a 10 speed... You might could fly home.

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[Elliot Naess]

Please do not rely on automatic brake slack adjusters. They fail to adjust quite routinely.

When adjusting an automatic slack adjuster with a wrench, DO NOT MAKE IT TIGHT. It's a ratchet that you can not simply turn back a quarter turn -- you must disassemble it, more or less.
So sneak up on correct clearance.

[WIbluebird]

Vehicles — Tiny Visions, Inc.

I'm 99% sure the 3 Thomas pushers at the top of the page are former MoCo buses. $5K is a lot to pay when you could simply wait a few more months and only pay <$3K to get one directly from Montgomery County.

[cadillackid]

some carpenter older mechanical DT360 / AT545 busses here if you are looking for simplicity and not power...

https://www.onlinepros.com/servlet/S...?auctionId=943

CyFair has an auction but no busses this time around..

-Christopher

[ourmefa]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

some carpenter older mechanical DT360 / AT545 busses here if you are looking for simplicity and not power...

https://www.onlinepros.com/servlet/S...?auctionId=943

CyFair has an auction but no busses this time around..

-Christopher

Thank you for that link!! Had not seen that site before! Found this huge list of Thomas buses - many with 5.9 - but there are a few Genesis's in there with the DT360 - https://www.onlinepros.com/servlet/S...goryName=Buses

[cadillackid]

that site handles a lot of texas skoolies... many times when I search it though I find non-runners.. but theres a few gems nestled in occasionally..
-Christopher

[ourmefa]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

that site handles a lot of texas skoolies... many times when I search it though I find non-runners.. but theres a few gems nestled in occasionally..
-Christopher

When they list as possibly non-running - do you think this indicates an actual engine issue, or just the fact that the bus has no batteries or dead batteries?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by ourmefa

When they list as possibly non-running - do you think this indicates an actual engine issue, or just the fact that the bus has no batteries or dead batteries?

for the most part you will see in the description it may say engine - runs, batteries - dead.

so they list the auction as possibly need to be towed as to let the buyer be fully aware that the bus may not start..

you can also ask questions and if they know anything they will usually tell you... they dont always know...

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

I just gotta keep my eyes peeled for a 5 window with 466, high headroom, and air ride.
Hopefully, a bunch of em will pop up this summer somewhere nice out west.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I just gotta keep my eyes peeled for a 5 window with 466, high headroom, and air ride.
Hopefully, a bunch of em will pop up this summer somewhere nice out west.

Yeah that's what I'm talkin about.. even a slightly newer 444e hightop 6 window with Allison 2000, I could rock right out of the box.. ESP if it's insulated at all like redbyrd ..

I wonder if there's actually a different insulation spec for air conditioned busses.. I know that the chassis or bus body manufacturer doesn't install the air but seems AC busses are insulated better.. or maybe a package like your shortie that is made for very cold weather.
Christopher

[cailenwaddell]

NC State Surplus has a 97 Thomas FE that was a mobile classroom. 4 Roof A/C and Satellite Dish(?!). 37' ish long. Sink, Fridge, Toilet... Under 5000 miles. Looked at it this am, last passed inspection in Dec 2016. Could be a nice start for someone....

Link

Curious - is the super low mileage a concern in anyway?

[Darett]

1995 GMC 3500 Converted RV LOW MILES with 6500 Onan generator Sleeps 2 | eBay

[EastCoastCB]

The "Lemons" auction seems really high priced now.
A 95 with dt408 is already up to nearly 7 grand!?!

https://www.onlinepros.com/servlet/S...8&itemId=29839

[cadillackid]

that bus sold almost 2 years ago..


the mechanical satuff gets ripped apart by exporters at those texas auctions..

in the auction I got my shorty from there were old beat up waynes with mechanical DT466's. and I think 545's that got bid crazy... when I went to pick my bus up the same group of guys was picking up all those waynes.. I got lucky to get my shorty for what I did.. actually all the shorties in that auction went reasonable but the long busses went High.. ..it seems the T-444E stuff does go cheaper.. maybe alot of people are afraid of them.. which in a long bus they would be underpowered.. .. even the DT-466E stuff commands high prices.. I havent looked to see if any of the DT-360 auctions are going high or not..
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Dang, I didn't notice the dates.
But those prices sure caught my attention.

[cadillackid]

and notice a lot of the same bidders won... the bidder '1911' was bidding on a lot of the busses when I got mine ... when i got mine he put a bid in on every single bus in the auction but only went up high on Mechanical 466 stuff.. .. which for dognose busses is the cream of the crop powerplant.. be interesting to see if they have any busses this year.. and what gets bid up, im gonna guess there wont be many mechanical DT's..

-Christopher

[DoubleO7]

when the exporters can't find anymore 466 mechanicals, you think they will go after the 466e busses and convert them to mechanicals?
If possible, using the parts from the busses they already have.

[cadillackid]

Tough to convert an E to a mechanical.. its rare that something fails in the short block / hard parts of a 466.. the heads are different, an 'E' has no injection pump, i suppose you could use an E for a crank or cam.. perhaps the block though im not sure on that.. and of course the rest of it... pistons, gaskets, bearings are all part of an In-Frame kit..

-Christopher

[cowlitzcoach]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

Yeah that's what I'm talkin about.. even a slightly newer 444e hightop 6 window with Allison 2000, I could rock right out of the box.. ESP if it's insulated at all like redbyrd ..

I wonder if there's actually a different insulation spec for air conditioned busses.. I know that the chassis or bus body manufacturer doesn't install the air but seems AC busses are insulated better.. or maybe a package like your shortie that is made for very cold weather.
Christopher

I had a 1987 Thomas Westcoaster RE that was never a school bus.

It was purchased by one of the mines in WY or NV or UT that used it as a crew shuttle bus.

It had factory coach A/C and I think it had to have a lot more ceiling and wall insulation in addition to the darkly tinted glass. It also had spray foam insulation under the floor. You could not see any of the floor stringers underneath the bus because there was that much foam insulation sprayed on under there.

What I do know is on the warmest days it was not nearly as warm inside as the inside of the bus sitting next to it in the parking lot. On cold days was that bus was always warmer than any other bus sitting out in the cold.