Double Decker in NY

Crisfole · 07-25-2019, 10:11 PM

My name's Chris and my wife and I are thinking about converting a double deck Leyland Olympian (low bridge variety). I'll be headed to inspect the bus and maybe buy it in the next week or so.

We are hoping to escape not-so-sunny Syracuse, NY for several months in the winter, and perhaps someday full time in it a bit longer. Originally our plan was to buy an RV and use it for travel, but we have three kids, and they are really, really bad at sharing sleeping spaces, and there were no RV models that would work well for us.

So, after lurking here quite a while just introducing myself! Can't wait to get started, and looking forward to recording the process here and tapping into the hive mind.

Iceni John · 07-25-2019, 11:47 PM

Just remember that your bus will be higher than some of the bridges. When buses hit bridges, the bridge always wins. Also, check what engine's in it - if it's a O.680 you'll need to be sure about parts availability in this country. And don't rush the gearshifts if it has the semi-auto Pneumocyclic gearbox, otherwise you'll wear out the bands really quickly. The Olympian is still a decent bus (but I would prefer a Bristol VR!).

John

Crisfole · 07-26-2019, 05:45 AM

Engine's a Cummins, tranny's a ZF. Guy I'm buying it from says he can get any other parts for me, and he'll have his team strip the seats at the shop and he'll register it as an RV. (Three cheers for Alabama)!

It's supposed to be a low bridge model, so one of the 31'x8'2"x13'6". So in theory it should be fine on any non posted road in the USA. Not that I plan on driving anywhere without an RV gps anyway! Driving it back should be easy since home is all major roads from the highway to home. My only concern is at home... Will have to lift the utility lines to get it in and out of the driveway. Happily I know enough about the lines to kniw I'm safe touching the low ones.

Crisfole · 07-26-2019, 05:58 AM

Also theory and reality rarely align... So I'll be extra careful.

Native · 07-26-2019, 10:54 PM

Any photos yet?

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 05:55 AM

Just the ones from the seller.

EastCoastCB · 07-27-2019, 05:57 AM

Drive it before you commit.

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 05:58 AM

Plan on it.

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 06:00 AM

Photos:

http://ibb.co/x2Dh68H

https://ibb.co/cNpZ8D6

https://ibb.co/SKBYCXB

https://ibb.co/Kj87yZf

EastCoastCB · 07-27-2019, 06:02 AM

My bus is tall for a school bus. Its a smidge over 10'6".
Even at this height I'm scraping low branches and the occasional comcast cable.
At 13'6" its going to require a lot of careful planning and driving.

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 06:06 AM

Yeah. I've driven a super tall RV before. I plan on buying the RV subscription to Co Pilot to help in planning. At home I'll have to lift the Comcast wires to get in and out my driveway, but otherwise it should be a clear shot. We've got full size semis driving past our house every now and then.

Sorry the pictures aren't working... I used the IMG /IMG markup (with square braces) and it didn't work...

PNW_Steve · 07-27-2019, 10:19 AM

My Eagle was a tad over 13' at the top of the roof airs. I traveled 40+ states and managed to find a number of places that I couldn't go or had to go with extreme caution.

I had to replace the shroud on my forward a/c twice due to tree damage.

Traveling the country in a tall right is definitely doable but does require a little more attention to your routes.

One bad memory........ Denver..... 5:15pm......Friday...... 10'6" overpass.....

My wife walked behind the bus waving traffic away so I could back up to a spot to turn around. Took :45 minutes to get turned around.......

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 11:10 AM

Oh man! What route planning tool did you use? I hear a lot about Garmins for RV, but it also sounds like there's some Android apps I could take advantage of...

PNW_Steve · 07-27-2019, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crisfole

Oh man! What route planning tool did you use? I hear a lot about Garmins for RV, but it also sounds like there's some Android apps I could take advantage of...

Rand McNally Commercial Motor Carriers Atlas.

We didn't have GPS or Android. Some of us have been reluctant to embrace some of the newer technology. I reluctantly traded my Blackberry in for a Hemeroid three years ago.

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 11:56 AM

No shame in that! I'm only 5 years into "smart" phone ownership myself.

PNW_Steve · 07-27-2019, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crisfole

No shame in that! I'm only 5 years into "smart" phone ownership myself.

Until you find out what I have done for a living for a good part of my life....

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 12:00 PM

I can only assume you are also a software engineer! Lol. Welcome the small Luddite software crowd.

PNW_Steve · 07-27-2019, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crisfole

I can only assume you are also a software engineer! Lol. Welcome the small Luddite software crowd.

In the ballpark. Unfortunately my skill set is not that mobile. IT Director, first in the gaming industry in Nevada, later in government.

I got to decide what technology we supported

That's why I was able to hang onto my Blackberry so long. I ran our BES server

Crisfole · 07-27-2019, 12:14 PM

Excellent. Well, glad to know I have non silicon based options for route planning

Kubla · 07-27-2019, 03:37 PM

Truckers atlas, truck routes are all 13'6" or higher

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