Non-affiliated buses for sale - thread

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by plfking

Not a 4x4, but the seller claims it will "go anywhere".

https://duluth.craigslist.org/snw/d/...684123121.html

pretty cool!

[Asetechrail]

Craigslist offering

https://kpr.craigslist.org/rvs/d/97-...716782157.html

[Hotpuppy]

Originally Posted by Asetechrail

Craigslist offering

https://kpr.craigslist.org/rvs/d/97-...716782157.html

How are these for clearance? Any high center issues or driveway issues generally speaking? National Forest Service Gravel Road issues?

Sure is a sweet looking coach from a conversion standpoint. Only way to make it better would be if it had a Webasto.

How tall are the belly bays on these usually?

[Willie_McCoy]

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

How are these for clearance? Any high center issues or driveway issues generally speaking? National Forest Service Gravel Road issues?

Sure is a sweet looking coach from a conversion standpoint. Only way to make it better would be if it had a Webasto.

How tall are the belly bays on these usually?

Just got off the phone with the seller, this bus looks pretty promising. Rebuild on the Cummins 20k ago and the trans (he thinks it is a 643, 5spd, push button) was done 4k ago. Claims there isnt much rust at all and the tires are about 50% Not sure about the clearance issue, it is a good point that I hadn’t considered. I have a large speedbump looking berm at the end of my driveway that it may have trouble clearing. Its a 44hr drive away from me but it does check all the boxes. Gotta start working on the logistics now.

[Hotpuppy]

Do look at the clearance. My current coach is great for highway..... but everything from crowned roads to steep driveways can be challenging. Overhang and center clearance are a big deal if you leave the pavement. I've never been high centered but I have managed to scrape the front a couple of times. Even in relatively flat Houston I can scrape the front leaving my driveway which is hardly steep.

It's one of the primary reasons I'm considering selling my coach and jumping to a Skoolie.

[Willie_McCoy]

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

Do look at the clearance. My current coach is great for highway..... but everything from crowned roads to steep driveways can be challenging. Overhang and center clearance are a big deal if you leave the pavement. I've never been high centered but I have managed to scrape the front a couple of times. Even in relatively flat Houston I can scrape the front leaving my driveway which is hardly steep.

It's one of the primary reasons I'm considering selling my coach and jumping to a Skoolie.

How much clearance do you have in the midsection? More or less than this bus looks to have? What about wheelbase, these RE busses seem to have much longer wheelbase than the conventional or FE units and that seems like it would make high centering more likely off-highway. Anyone on here have a setup similar to this? I am going to ask the seller what the clearance is under the belly boxes.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Willie_McCoy

Just got off the phone with the seller, this bus looks pretty promising. Rebuild on the Cummins 20k ago and the trans (he thinks it is a 643, 5spd, push button) was done 4k ago. Claims there isnt much rust at all and the tires are about 50% Not sure about the clearance issue, it is a good point that I hadn’t considered. I have a large speedbump looking berm at the end of my driveway that it may have trouble clearing. Its a 44hr drive away from me but it does check all the boxes. Gotta start working on the logistics now.

If it is a 5 speed push-button shifter in a 1997 then it is an MD3060.

Rebuilt 8.3, MD3060 for $3500........ Looking like a pretty awesome bus.

[Njsurf73]

I have a bluebird ar3 (re all American) and I have no issue with my steep driveway or high crowns.. I bottomed out one time the day I drove it home... But it was a terrible dip on a 60mph highway. Nothing since.
Only damage I did was knock off the rotted muffler... It sounds really nice now!

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

How are these for clearance? Any high center issues or driveway issues generally speaking? National Forest Service Gravel Road issues?

Sure is a sweet looking coach from a conversion standpoint. Only way to make it better would be if it had a Webasto.

How tall are the belly bays on these usually?

[Hotpuppy]

How tall are the belly bays on a typical RE bus? Could you get something that was 2 feet tall in there? Or are they shorter than that?

[calebjj]

Originally Posted by Willie_McCoy

Just got off the phone with the seller, this bus looks pretty promising. Rebuild on the Cummins 20k ago and the trans (he thinks it is a 643, 5spd, push button) was done 4k ago. Claims there isnt much rust at all and the tires are about 50% Not sure about the clearance issue, it is a good point that I hadn’t considered. I have a large speedbump looking berm at the end of my driveway that it may have trouble clearing. Its a 44hr drive away from me but it does check all the boxes. Gotta start working on the logistics now.

I started looking at buses a couple months ago and I actually drove 2 hours to look at this one. It does have the MD 3060 transmission. I took it on a test drive and the belly did drag a tiny bit when leaving the owners driveway. I don't think it caused any damage but it just goes to show it has a low clearance in the middle. The engine does have an oil leak that I noticed dripped onto the ground where it had been parked. I also noticed oil residue in the engine bay that looked like it came from the dipstick hole... the dipstick end/cover was damaged. The bus did have minimal rust, one of the side windows was cracked. It did run well and shift well. RPM's were about 2,500rpm's at 60mph. The seller did not have any paperwork to show the engine and transmission work, he mentioned he had checked with the school district shop to get the information about the rebuild.
It does seem like a decent deal for the driveline setup. It was the second bus I looked at in my search and decided to pass for now. Let me know if you get it.

[Hotpuppy]

Out of curiosity...... what was the fuel tank capacity?

I noticed this one has the curved windshields..... I would expect those to be more expensive to replace than the flat ones. One of the achilles heels I have experienced on old coaches is that the glass is either very expensive or unobtanium.

I had a 69 GM New Look Fishbowl with an Origami Windshield. I learned that there were two kinds of rare in the world. Windshields for my bus and undiscovered Picasso paintings. Both were equally valuable.

I love my current coach for so many things..... the glass is not one of those things. I has the largest windshield I've ever seen on a vehicle. Fortunately it's not as rare as Picasso art. Unfortunately NeOPLAN left the USA and I did not realize that until I had bought the bus and got it home. Such is life. Windshields are $5K plus install and have a 6 week lead time from Europe. Side glass is $2k plus install and also has a 6 week lead time from Europe.

Those are just best guestimates.

I encourage folks to research maintenance costs before buying.

One of the major advantages for skoolies is that parts are reasonably easy to get and tires are very standard. Tire prices double for coaches. It's either unusual, uncommon, foreign, or custom on coaches by the time they hit the RV universe.

[calebjj]

I don’t remember exactly what the capacity was. I think it was less than 100 gallons but more than 50 gallons. It had a full tank of diesel according to the gauge.

[Hotpuppy]

I think 60 and 100 are the standard options. So if it was less than 100 it's pretty safe to assume it was 60.

Motorcoaches (road buses) typically start at 100 and go up. I've got 200 on my current coach. It gives you long legs to step around high prices...but you cry at the pump when you put $500 of green genie in there.

I don't trust the fuel gauge any further than I can push the bus, so I limit my travel to a calculated 3/4 of a tank. I also keep a paper log of mileage and fuel purchases so I can go back and look at my consumption. I do a paper log because phones and computers can run out of power. It's easy and cheap.

Besides, nobody puts the fuel pick up on the bottom of the tank and nothing good is down there. The pickup is usually some distance from the bottom but close to it.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

Out of curiosity...... what was the fuel tank capacity?

I noticed this one has the curved windshields..... I would expect those to be more expensive to replace than the flat ones. One of the achilles heels I have experienced on old coaches is that the glass is either very expensive or unobtanium.

I had a 69 GM New Look Fishbowl with an Origami Windshield. I learned that there were two kinds of rare in the world. Windshields for my bus and undiscovered Picasso paintings. Both were equally valuable.

I love my current coach for so many things..... the glass is not one of those things. I has the largest windshield I've ever seen on a vehicle. Fortunately it's not as rare as Picasso art. Unfortunately NeOPLAN left the USA and I did not realize that until I had bought the bus and got it home. Such is life. Windshields are $5K plus install and have a 6 week lead time from Europe. Side glass is $2k plus install and also has a 6 week lead time from Europe.

Those are just best guestimates.

I encourage folks to research maintenance costs before buying.

One of the major advantages for skoolies is that parts are reasonably easy to get and tires are very standard. Tire prices double for coaches. It's either unusual, uncommon, foreign, or custom on coaches by the time they hit the RV universe.

Some parts for school buses are unobtanium as well. Even for buses that aren't terribly old. Try finding a WC door seal for a 1998 AmTran!

[Hotpuppy]

What is a WC door seal? I keep thinking it's a Water Closet Door Seal, but then my mind is like , WHAT? School Buses don't have toilets.

I see your unobtanium and raise you a pig's tail on the cat-horse-unicorn.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

What is a WC door seal? I keep thinking it's a Water Closet Door Seal, but then my mind is like , WHAT? School Buses don't have toilets.

I see your unobtanium and raise you a pig's tail on the cat-horse-unicorn.

Wheel Chair

[Hotpuppy]

Oh, your bus seals? Then how would the wind get in while you drive? Wouldn't that be like trapping evil spirits inside the bus?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

What is a WC door seal? I keep thinking it's a Water Closet Door Seal, but then my mind is like , WHAT? School Buses don't have toilets.

I see your unobtanium and raise you a pig's tail on the cat-horse-unicorn.

The wheel chair door. On AmTran/IC they have crazy, thick, proprietary door seal that isn't available. It does a horrible job and its a horrible design. Apparently there are 2 door sizes and they only have the short one.

My 04 has regular generic weatherstripping around the opening instead of on the door like the 98 had.

[BlueFish]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-Gillig...3/392144248645

[BoxGods]

Originally Posted by BlueFish

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-Gillig...3/392144248645

As a bonus you get an extra 10,000 pounds of GVW to work with as compared to a skoolie.