Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-22-2018, 07:30 AM   #1
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Billings, MT
Posts: 9
Year: 2002
Chassis: International
Engine: DT530, Allison 3060
Rated Cap: 77 Pass
He's Here!!!!

After waiting two months, our baby finally arrived yesterday, and I couldn't wait to show it off to the people who understand our excitement about a school bus sitting in the driveway

Meet Oliver, a 2004 77 Pass IC with a DT530 and Allison 3000, and 134K miles on it. Fresh off his school route last week!

Not going to lie, it was both thrilling and slightly scary to drive it off the lot and into city traffic. Any driving tips for the newbs?






__________________
Tawny
Gym Owner + Blogger + Vegan Foodie + Personal Trainer + Coffee Addict
https://www.theyogideadlifter.com
mtmcvay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2018, 10:00 AM   #2
Bus Nut
 
Yukon Cornelius's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Barrie ON
Posts: 440
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 72
Nice looking rig, the smiles in the pics says it all.
__________________
Yukon

Handyman and Shenaniganizer
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/97...ion-22324.html
Yukon Cornelius is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2018, 10:18 AM   #3
Skoolie
 
eethan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Indiana
Posts: 176
Year: 2002
Coachwork: International
Chassis: AmTran
Engine: DT466
Rated Cap: 54
Nice bus! Should be a great base, since the DT530 with an Allison 3000 is a monster combo. Relatively low mileage as well!
eethan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2018, 10:20 AM   #4
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Eastern WA
Posts: 6,401
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: All American RE (A3RE)
Engine: Cummins ISC (8.3)
Rated Cap: 72
Awesome bus!

That is a fantastic drive trane and only 134k miles.

You are starting out with a great platform. We are looking forward to your build and lots of pictures.

Good luck.
PNW_Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2018, 11:12 AM   #5
Skoolie
 
Tryonis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: GA
Posts: 129
Year: 1998
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: TC2000 RE
Engine: 8.3 Cummins
Rated Cap: 78
Nice bus! Congratulations.
Tryonis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2018, 11:24 AM   #6
Bus Nut
 
Rovobay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Damascus, OR
Posts: 681
Year: 2004
Chassis: International
Engine: T444e w/ 2000 Allison Trans
Rated Cap: 35
Congrats, looks nice. Did you buy through an auction or directly through the school district or...? If you don't mind, what was the final price?
__________________
My Build: https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/sk...doo-22140.html

Follow our build on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/skoolie_doo/
Rovobay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2018, 11:33 AM   #7
Bus Crazy
 
Johnny Mullet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,494
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E 7.3L
I remember that same excitement and joy when I got my bus and everytime I do more to it, the more the excitement grows. Congrats on the bus!
Johnny Mullet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 03:18 PM   #8
Skoolie
 
milkmanchip's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 130
Here's a tip square off your corners pull straight through the intersection until you hit your pivot point and then turn. You will learn where your pivot point is pretty quick. Leave your self a lot of space for stopping it's a heavy rig and it doesn't stop on a dime. My last bit of advice is take all the room you need to make your corners and get to where you're going, If this means Crossing solid white lines yellow lines it doesn't matter you need to take all the room it takes. [emoji39][emoji41]
milkmanchip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 04:06 PM   #9
Bus Crazy
 
Drew Bru's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Grayson County, VA
Posts: 1,428
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466
Rated Cap: 65
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtmcvay View Post
Not going to lie, it was both thrilling and slightly scary to drive it off the lot and into city traffic. Any driving tips for the newbs?
Watch out for that tail swing!

__________________
Our Build: https://dazzlingbluebus.wordpress.com/
Drew Bru is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 04:47 PM   #10
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Billings, MT
Posts: 9
Year: 2002
Chassis: International
Engine: DT530, Allison 3060
Rated Cap: 77 Pass
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rovobay View Post
Congrats, looks nice. Did you buy through an auction or directly through the school district or...? If you don't mind, what was the final price?


We paid 5K through iState motors here in Billings, MT. We were hoping to keep it under 4, but finding that size with that engine/Tran combo pushed us over.
__________________
Tawny
Gym Owner + Blogger + Vegan Foodie + Personal Trainer + Coffee Addict
https://www.theyogideadlifter.com
mtmcvay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 04:47 PM   #11
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Billings, MT
Posts: 9
Year: 2002
Chassis: International
Engine: DT530, Allison 3060
Rated Cap: 77 Pass
Quote:
Originally Posted by milkmanchip View Post
Here's a tip square off your corners pull straight through the intersection until you hit your pivot point and then turn. You will learn where your pivot point is pretty quick. Leave your self a lot of space for stopping it's a heavy rig and it doesn't stop on a dime. My last bit of advice is take all the room you need to make your corners and get to where you're going, If this means Crossing solid white lines yellow lines it doesn't matter you need to take all the room it takes. [emoji39][emoji41]


Thank you! I have indeed learned where the pivot point is [emoji55]
__________________
Tawny
Gym Owner + Blogger + Vegan Foodie + Personal Trainer + Coffee Addict
https://www.theyogideadlifter.com
mtmcvay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 04:51 PM   #12
New Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Billings, MT
Posts: 9
Year: 2002
Chassis: International
Engine: DT530, Allison 3060
Rated Cap: 77 Pass
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew Bru View Post
Watch out for that tail swing!



That was super informative, and led me to about fifty other related videos! Thank you!
__________________
Tawny
Gym Owner + Blogger + Vegan Foodie + Personal Trainer + Coffee Addict
https://www.theyogideadlifter.com
mtmcvay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 05:33 PM   #13
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Central MN
Posts: 191
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC RE
Engine: 8.3L
Nice find! Well worth the extra $$'s. Looking forward to see what you do with such a great platform. Welcome to the madness.
__________________
GaryC
Gustav is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2018, 10:31 PM   #14
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Winlcok, WA
Posts: 2,233
Since the bus came from MT with the big engine and transmission you may be lucky and already have the 6th gear unlocked.

The vintage also suggests to me that you have air ride suspension in the rear at least. And if you are lucky you might have front air ride as well.

As far as learning to drive, find a church parking lot during the week or a school parking lot on a weekend and practice going around corners.

Go to a liquor store and get a bunch of boxes to act as cones to mark a course out so you can learn your reference points, your tail swing, how large an arc it takes to get around a corner, etc.

Also practice backing around a corner and parking to a line. Learning where the back end of the bus is can be very important later on down the road.

Good luck and happy trails to you!
cowlitzcoach is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:47 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.