Is this a good Bus?

[theskooleylife]

Hey all,

I'm new to the forums but have done a lot of conversion research. I'm finally looking into purchasing a school bus and I want to get your opinions.

It is a 2005 IC 72 Passenger Bus, runs on diesel and has a 6 Litre International Motor. There is little to no rust on the exterior and can come with a safety and e-test (for an additional cost). It caps out at 110KM per hour, and has about 235,000K in KM on it. The current owner has informed me that it runs great, and no maintenance is needed right now.

The asking price is $5,495.

As I don't know much about busses themselves, I've come to you guys. I'm looking for the best advice I can get.

[bus-bro]

About half, or less, I'd say. But you're in Canada, so different ball game.

[Jdawgsfanasty]

Originally Posted by theskooleylife

Hey all,

I'm new to the forums but have done a lot of conversion research. I'm finally looking into purchasing a school bus and I want to get your opinions.

It is a 2005 IC 72 Passenger Bus, runs on diesel and has a 6 Litre International Motor. There is little to no rust on the exterior and can come with a safety and e-test (for an additional cost). It caps out at 110KM per hour, and has about 235,000K in KM on it. The current owner has informed me that it runs great, and no maintenance is needed right now.

The asking price is $5,495.

As I don't know much about busses themselves, I've come to you guys. I'm looking for the best advice I can get.

Gonna be computerized...so anytime you need maintenance you check the computer 1st...not always bad, just a necessary 1st step...prices are the biggest variable...

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by theskooleylife

Hey all, I'm new to the forums but have done a lot of conversion research. I'm finally looking into purchasing a school bus and I want to get your opinions.

It is a 2005 IC 72 Passenger Bus, runs on diesel and has a 6 Litre International Motor. There is little to no rust on the exterior and can come with a safety and e-test (for an additional cost). It caps out at 110KM per hour, and has about 235,000K in KM on it. The current owner has informed me that it runs great, and no maintenance is needed right now.

The asking price is $5,495.

As I don't know much about busses themselves, I've come to you guys. I'm looking for the best advice I can get.

Got any pics or links to pics? IMO, within reason overall condition determines price; when was the bus taken out of service and what's it been doing since then?

Buslandia has some decent basic advice on choosing a bus style and what to look for when looking at a bus.

I'm assuming it's a 34ft dog nose with a back door and no funky handicap access stuff? How many people would be living on the bus; would it be fulltime? If the bus is in nice shape and its what you've been looking for... go for it.

[bluebird90]

If it has the 6 liter V8 like whats in ford pickups... RUN! Those engines are so badly designed there is an entire industry developed to fix the problems.

[Twigg]

If that engine is the Navistar V365, I would think very long and hard before buying it.

It's a good engine, once you have spent $2000 "bulletproofing" it. In its standard form you will completely wreck it with one serious over-heating incident.

[theskooleylife]

Here’s some pictures of the outside of the bus. I do plan on building it completely off grid, with shore power plug in capabilities.

I would only be using it for travelling so I wouldn’t be living in it 365 days a year, but generally it’s meant for full time living while on the road.

The ad specifically reads “2005 IC 72 pass, 365 diesel, auto, hydraulic brakes” and as you can see, it is a dog nose. I’ve been told it’s 38ft bumper to bumper.

[Twigg]

V365 and hydraulic brakes.

I'd pass.

[jjhwick119]

Originally Posted by theskooleylife

Here’s some pictures of the outside of the bus. I do plan on building it completely off grid, with shore power plug in capabilities.

I would only be using it for travelling so I wouldn’t be living in it 365 days a year, but generally it’s meant for full time living while on the road.

The ad specifically reads “2005 IC 72 pass, 365 diesel, auto, hydraulic brakes” and as you can see, it is a dog nose. I’ve been told it’s 38ft bumper to bumper.

my international dognose is also 38 ft, but i would pass on that one as well. Id stick with pre 2004 due to emissions, and after having looked into it more before purchasing a bus, would definitely go with air brakes, especially if the bus will sit for periods of time which could happen if your not full timing. Will hydraulic work? yes. but i feel like air will have less issues over time, and they arent that hard to get used to. I drove home 500 miles never having driven a big vehicle or used air brakes and it was no problem

[theskooleylife]

Originally Posted by Twigg

V365 and hydraulic brakes.

I'd pass.

What would you recommend?

Originally Posted by jjhwick119

my international dognose is also 38 ft, but i would pass on that one as well. Id stick with pre 2004 due to emissions, and after having looked into it more before purchasing a bus, would definitely go with air brakes, especially if the bus will sit for periods of time which could happen if your not full timing. Will hydraulic work? yes. but i feel like air will have less issues over time, and they arent that hard to get used to. I drove home 500 miles never having driven a big vehicle or used air brakes and it was no problem

I really prefer a dog nose over a flat, so that's my priority. My uncle is going to teach me how to drive the bus as he used to work as a driver. The only thing I'm worried about is the bus being too old. I don't want it to give out before I've even had the chance to take it anywhere, I want it to last, being my main concern.

The only thing that sucks for me is that I don't have many options here in Canada, most of the very minimal listings that I've seen (roughly less than 50), have been pre 2000's, need tons of mechanical work, or are heavily rusted. The hardest part will be finding a bus that works well. I'm pretty sure we don't have any local auctions that deal busses, either

[theskooleylife]

Another bus I've been looking at is this one.

It's a 2003 International 3800 T444E.

As far as I'm aware, it has air brakes, minimal rust and only 160,000KM. It's diesel.

It's had recent work done to the fuel line and injector, but it does however need brake lines, pads and springs.

[ben2go]

If you have to buy one or the other, take the '03 and ask the bus barn to complete the work needed before purchasing. If not, you may need an expensive tow home or to a shop. I have to ass-u-me it has hydraulic brakes since they claim it needs brake lines. Air brake systems usually use nylon lines and aren't as susceptible to damage and decay.

That first bus, they'd have to pay me to remove it from their lot.

[Twigg]

As you asked ...

I found what I was looking for, but it's a lot more bus than you are looking at.

If I were looking for something slightly less high-spec, I'd want at least a DT466 engine (they fitted that engine in all types of buses), any gearbox but the AT545 (although it wouldn't necessarily be a deal-breaker) and air-brakes.

I found it helpful to make two bus specs.

The first had a wishlist of everything I wanted in a bus.

The second had my minimum spec in every area I had listed.

I looked hard at every bus that didn't detract from my ideal bus in more than two areas, and didn't fall below the minimum in any area.

At a glance I was able to rule out nearly every listed bus, but when the right one appeared, it jumped off the page.

[Thomas1985]

Yeah 2003 or before is usually the goal so you don't have to worry about emissions controls