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Old 01-31-2018, 08:16 PM   #101
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Originally Posted by GreenLightNowBegin View Post
Yep, you'd mentioned and I'd noted. They've got 3 coming in March they suggested putting a deposit on, but I think I'm just gonna see if they're alright with me poking about their yard for a short time at some point. Just spend some time around buses, take some measurements, identify what the good, bad, and ugly look or feel like up close and personal. Waste of their time if they need to accompany me on the lot and if that's the case I'll leave 'em be, I just want some up-close inspiration and understanding. Can do all the research in the world but nothing like being in it, no matter what it is.
I 100% agree with poking around!!! I did alot of that when i got my DEV bus.. the RedByrd I bought off auction but I was already pretty familiar with Bluebird since id had one before so I knew what to expect body-wise.

if you do decide to look at an auction you may find a forum member that will go and view the busses for you at the auction.. most here wont snipe you for a bus that they know you are bidding on ..

ast least going to the dealer to look you can get an idea of what type of bus you think will fit your needs and wants the most even if you decide not to buy there.

-Christopher

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Old 01-31-2018, 09:33 PM   #102
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Thanks for being my first reply!

Oh yeah, I've definitely realized by now through research that insulation is vital, especially as we do intend on living in it full time. We are excited partially because we're planning to avoid the cold as much as possible because we're both string beans who lose our toes in a matter of minutes (5 degrees with 7 inches on the ground here right now, I'm miserable) but we also want to spend a lot of time in the south west where we'll have to fight the oven factor. Though I'm personally pretty comfortable up to 120 degrees dry heat as long as I've got water, dunno what that's about, both my brothers are cold weather folks. Maybe it's because they've both got about 30-60 pounds on me. But yes, insulation as the very first piece of advice directly given, that certainly drives the point home!

While I'm here, I have been looking at this... What do folks think?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...69412596474617
Great looking bus...I like the color...you might not...noticed your in Bloomington, iN...lol, I got folks in Morgantown and bean blossom...grew up in Owensboro...welcome to skoolieville

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Old 01-31-2018, 09:43 PM   #103
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Thanks for the encouragement! Glad I'm not the only crazy kid embarking on this adventure. Seems like a lot of this community are post 30's, which can be discouraging when comparing stability, knowledge, and prep time, so love hearing that there's others who are just absolutely winging it.

Good on you for going into this rather alone, that's impressive. Having a partner to help has been a huge boon, they've been handling a lot of the figuring and research regarding how to remain profitable and secure while I've been tasked with the more hands-on stuff, hence my presence here. I'm a doing kinda guy though so all this research is getting me really amped/frustrated to get my hands on something though, dunno how long I can hold out, hahaha. Already learned a lot just from the couple hours I've been browsing! Kinda to be expected I might say considering we've only been hedging on this for...a month now? Wasn't even in the pipes before but we're pushing through. I might need to get back on my ADD meds though, lol.

Alright, that's two direct "INSULATE, FOOL" advices, gonna erase that from the requirements and write it in even bigger. It was already pretty huge, too, oh boy!

Oh, speaking of floor plans, I'd like to share our very first mock-up of the floor-plan! Also have a side-side split down the middle mockup but haven't uploaded it yet. Hand-drawn since I'm still figuring out my little brother's copy of AutoDesk Fusion 360. Glad I've got my contractor dad to help with that when it comes to it. I'm sure we made some glaring error somewhere in here though and would like anyone's input before we do the next draft!
Anything you put out back is easier to steal...how about these kinds racks? Idk if you can even get them...

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Old 01-31-2018, 09:45 PM   #104
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Better to be "... young, broke, maybe a little dumb and ambitious", than



old, broke, maybe a little dumb and ambitious.



Trust me on this.
Lol...

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Old 01-31-2018, 09:47 PM   #105
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https://www.sportworks.com/products/transit-bike-racks

You can get them.

You may be able to get much cheaper elsewhere.
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Old 01-31-2018, 09:51 PM   #106
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A 1969 Ford Thunderbird, asking $6000
Some body might wanna trade dreams...you know? Car far bus

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Old 03-26-2018, 05:25 AM   #107
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I haven't given up! Just trying to get my money together, part of which is by taking up a position as a local school district bus driver.

Anyway, wanted to see what people thought of the value of a 1990 Ford b700 partial conversion, RV title, no idea on miles but has 7.8 Ford New Holland engine with manual transmission and air brakes, comes with 8 240 watt solar panels, pre-installed insulation and 1/2 inch plywood subfloor, also comes with uninstalled RV toilet, 25 gallon freshwater tank, apartment refrigerator, and a couple other items.

I personally think they're asking price is currently a bit high but they seem motivated to sell so thought I'd get approximate estimates from the very knowledgeable folks here.
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Old 03-26-2018, 05:51 AM   #108
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I haven't given up! Just trying to get my money together, part of which is by taking up a position as a local school district bus driver.

Anyway, wanted to see what people thought of the value of a 1990 Ford b700 partial conversion, RV title, no idea on miles but has 7.8 Ford New Holland engine with manual transmission and air brakes, comes with 8 240 watt solar panels, pre-installed insulation and 1/2 inch plywood subfloor, also comes with uninstalled RV toilet, 25 gallon freshwater tank, apartment refrigerator, and a couple other items.

I personally think they're asking price is currently a bit high but they seem motivated to sell so thought I'd get approximate estimates from the very knowledgeable folks here.
New Holland engine? Idk...but the RV title is a big plus...lots of factors to consider...biggest being your personal desires...do you like it's look/stance? You absolutely sure you want to always be shifting gears? Do you trust what is being said about the work that's already done?

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Old 03-26-2018, 08:00 AM   #109
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Originally Posted by Jdawgsfanasty View Post
New Holland engine? Idk...but the RV title is a big plus...lots of factors to consider...biggest being your personal desires...do you like it's look/stance? You absolutely sure you want to always be shifting gears? Do you trust what is being said about the work that's already done?
Yeah I mostly hadn't seen much about that engine. And yeah I liked the title, I do like its look and stance, and I much much prefer driving manual to automatic personally for both feeling the engine and feeling the drive. And I'm starting to trust the work a little more, he says he's got a conversion of the same with a million miles. Also already has a 750 watt inverter to the batteries to be able to monitor health.

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Originally Posted by GreenLightNowBegin View Post
I haven't given up! Just trying to get my money together, part of which is by taking up a position as a local school district bus driver.

Anyway, wanted to see what people thought of the value of a 1990 Ford b700 partial conversion, RV title, no idea on miles but has 7.8 Ford New Holland engine with manual transmission and air brakes, comes with 8 240 watt solar panels, pre-installed insulation and 1/2 inch plywood subfloor, also comes with uninstalled RV toilet, 25 gallon freshwater tank, apartment refrigerator, and a couple other items.

I personally think they're asking price is currently a bit high but they seem motivated to sell so thought I'd get approximate estimates from the very knowledgeable folks here.
He's asking $8k but accepting "reasonable" offers. Has 250k miles on it, tires sound good though rears are re-tread, drive are "practically new." He's glowing about how it shifts. IDK, I'd wanna hear more opinions on the engine before jumping on it. It's also well outside my intended price range but I had pretty much given up on finding a manual trans, that combined with the included items and already being titled to drive are all big pluses I think. Time for more research!
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Old 03-26-2018, 01:33 PM   #110
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IDK, I'd wanna hear more opinions on the engine before jumping on it. It's also well outside my intended price range but I had pretty much given up on finding a manual trans, that combined with the included items and already being titled to drive are all big pluses I think. Time for more research!
From what I'm hearing it's a solid engine, just a little sluggish (but less so with the turbo) and a pain to find parts for. He also believes it has standard air brakes, not the Lucas Paininthekeister or whatever. Says he paid $250/piece for the panels and has tested them to spec. Hmm. Might go for it if I can come up with more money...
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Old 03-26-2018, 09:59 PM   #111
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From what I'm hearing it's a solid engine, just a little sluggish (but less so with the turbo) and a pain to find parts for. He also believes it has standard air brakes, not the Lucas Paininthekeister or whatever. Says he paid $250/piece for the panels and has tested them to spec. Hmm. Might go for it if I can come up with more money...
Good luck...New Holland is Ford in the ag world

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Old 03-26-2018, 10:26 PM   #112
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Amen to that. I'm trying to scrounge good, decent quality tools on a pension. It gets tight.
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Old 03-26-2018, 10:50 PM   #113
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Amen to that. I'm trying to scrounge good, decent quality tools on a pension. It gets tight.
Man, you sure right...

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Old 03-27-2018, 10:46 AM   #114
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The New Holland engine is the Brazilian Ford diesel engine.

It is a good engine with performance not that different from the IHC DT360 or the Cummins 6BT. In most cases the HP was limited to under 200 HP.

The problem with the Brazilian is it is totally non-supported by the Ford truck dealer network. Any parts and pieces need to be sourced from Brazil or from a Ford/New Holland tractor dealer. IIRC it is still being installed in new or newer tractors and other farm equipment so it is relatively common.

What can complicate matters for owners of Ford buses with the Brazilian Ford diesel is there are some parts and pieces that were specific to the truck/bus chassis that are now made of unobtainium.
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Old 03-27-2018, 11:03 AM   #115
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The New Holland engine is the Brazilian Ford diesel engine.

It is a good engine with performance not that different from the IHC DT360 or the Cummins 6BT. In most cases the HP was limited to under 200 HP.

The problem with the Brazilian is it is totally non-supported by the Ford truck dealer network. Any parts and pieces need to be sourced from Brazil or from a Ford/New Holland tractor dealer. IIRC it is still being installed in new or newer tractors and other farm equipment so it is relatively common.

What can complicate matters for owners of Ford buses with the Brazilian Ford diesel is there are some parts and pieces that were specific to the truck/bus chassis that are now made of unobtainium.
Thx for info...

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Old 05-27-2023, 10:11 AM   #116
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Necro after 5 years, I'm sure that's not a record but it's gotta be close.

This stranger's back around again, re-embracing the dream after a break-up after dropping it after a break-up. Life moves in funny circles, and I'm hoping this time I stop the cycle of putting others' dreams ahead of my own. Anyway, not what I'm here for:

Y'all think this bus is a good deal? ~$7k, 2004 International RE300 84pax, pre-emissions DT466E, Allison MD3060 automatic transmission, one (would now be two) owners. 11k hours, 136k miles. Very mild rust for the midwest and I'm not scared of spending time remediating. From what I've gleaned, the seller has two skoolies of their own (very funny if they read this!) and snatched this one up to resell to a skoolie dreamer.

Price seems a little high but drive-train seems ideal, it's as massive as I'd want for my new full-time home, and I'm not aiming to hit the mountains except on a 2nd vehicle anymore. Wanna buy once cry once this time, there's a plethora of "what have I done to myself" busses in my area if I'm trying to go cheap. Just wanted to ask and see if the experts wanted to weigh in, appreciate y'all's time!

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Old 05-27-2023, 08:29 PM   #117
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Actually, while I've seen less info about this drivetrain (none of it has said stay away that I've found yet,) this strikes me as more bus for the money and it looks very clean, though there's no pics of the undercarriage. I haven't seen/can't find a thread on the built in AC systems, any reviews? I'm sure I'd need to augment while parked or on horribly hot days. I like that it's got the underbelly storage and am undecided how much I like the rear door. Have always thought it'd be nifty to have a light motorcycle as the 2nd vehicle that could be lifted right in.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/573723811570634/?mibextid=dXMIcH
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