It is official. I have taken the plunge.

[wrenchtech]

It is official. I have taken the plunge. I am now a bona fide member of the Schooley community. I have purchased a 2008 Thomas safety liner HDX . I am quite pleased with my purchase. I looked at buses for nearly half a year and came near to making some bad choices due to inexperience, but I waited and now I think I found a good buy.

The specifics:
2008 Thomas Saf-t-Liner HDX 48 passenger Activity Bus
CAT C7 300 hp w/engine brake
Allison 3000 6 speed auto (six gear is functional)
custom paint. (Not Shool Bus Yellow) professionally applied
passenger compartment A/C with two single evaporator units and ONE double unit, and two engine mounted a/c compressors
Tire are excellent condition highway tires (the driver tires are not traction type)
AIR RIDE! Suspension all around
217000 miles on the odometer
free of corrosion

The seller is a truck dealer in a small town, who purchased the buses from the local school district when they were forced out of service by the state bus inspector for having inadequate seat cushion padding for the passengers.While I was in town, purely by happenstance, I met the man who was in charge of the maintenance for the buses for the school district. It’s a small town. I also asked the dealer to see if he could get me the maintenance records for the bus, which he happily produced. I had heard a lot of stories about problems with the C7 engine, but apparently their operation in this application was uneventful for the duration aside from the need to replace one injector, which occurred recently. They let me drive the bus on a local route near their facility, and when the maintenance foreman, who rode along, was satisfied that I was competent, they got me a dealer plate and turned me loose. It is as big and wide open as any place in America near the dealership, so I went for a roughly 30 minute ride on a combination of County Roads and State Highways where I was able to work the bus through all six forward gears up to 80 miles an hour without much effort. I have to tell you, the air ride is sweet! The bus goes down the road straight and true with excellent composure and the air brakes scrub off that speed with little effort. The only negative that I can come up with is that the air conditioning does not work. One of the two air-conditioning compressors kicks on and off and the other does not come on at all. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that it is just a question of refrigerant leak.

I am hard-pressed right now, as far as getting a decent Internet connection goes, so I am unable to upload pictures at this time. I hope to remedy that situation later today or early in the evening.

[wrenchtech]

And if I do say so myself, I like the paint scheme pretty much the way it is. It will sure save me some time and energy not having to paint to cover up school bus yellow. I also forgot to mention in my first post that it is the bus with the extra headroom and it has under-floor storage accessible from outside on both sides. It’s not perfect, most of the windows don’t move freely, the main door is not responsive to the switches that should operate it, as well as the problem with the A/C. It is however, more bus than I had hoped to find.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

And if I do say so myself, I like the paint scheme pretty much the way it is. It will sure save me some time and energy not having to pay the way some school bus yellow. I also forgot to mention in my first post that it is the bus with the extra headroom and it has under-floor storage accessible from outside on both sides. It’s not perfect, most of the windows don’t move freely, the main door is not responsive to the switches that should operate it, as well as the problem with the A/C.

Sweet looking bus, congrats! I like that color scheme too, looks a little like an old Canadian transit bus I saw at a bus rally once.

[wrenchtech]

Thank you. I was thinking that I would be building a bus with a raised roof, but now I don’t know. This is such a good road bus that I would hate mess that aspect up.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

Thank you. I was thinking that I would be building a bus with a raised roof, but now I don’t know. This is such a good road bus that I would hate mess that aspect up.

We got a high-headroom bus, and even with a few inches lost to flooring and ceiling, I've still got 3+" to spare above my head. I'm 6'1. It's plenty comfortable for me.

[musigenesis]

Very nice. Are the windows just stuck or are they designed to not open?

I was also originally thinking I would have to raise my roof, but my bus is 6'7" down the center with the plywood flooring out so there's enough room for 2" of insulation on floor and ceiling and still not be banging my head.

[wrenchtech]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Very nice. Are the windows just stuck or are they designed to not open?

I was also originally thinking I would have to raise my roof, but my bus is 6'7" down the center with the plywood flooring out so there's enough room for 2" of insulation on floor and ceiling and still not be banging my head.

Thanks. The windows have release latches at each end of the window, so I assumed they were meant to open. This is also an extra headroom model.

[o1marc]

That paint job is a huge time/money saver. I'd love that bus, it would pay to be 5'8" to save the roof raise. I am in mine everyday working and never even think about head room, it's the sides that are closing in.

[TJones]

Congratulations! That is a NICE bus! What does it have in it for a rear axle ratio?

Ted

[Native]

Very sweet ride. I only wish ...

[Native]

That is a VERY sweet ride. Congratulations!

[wrenchtech]

Originally Posted by TJones

Congratulations! That is a NICE bus! What does it have in it for a rear axle ratio?

Ted

Not sure exactly. Doesn’t indicate anything on the build sticker. I did observe around 1800 rpm’s at 75 miles an hour . That is with 11R22.5 tires. I am not clear yet on the operating rpm range of the cat C7.

[wrenchtech]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

We got a high-headroom bus, and even with a few inches lost to flooring and ceiling, I've still got 3+" to spare above my head. I'm 6'1. It's plenty comfortable for me.

I am 5’11”, so I have an advantage there

[banman]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

Thanks. The windows have release latches at each end of the window, so I assumed they were meant to open. This is also an extra headroom model.

Super sweet bus -- made for road trips!
So how "not padded enough" are the seats?!

Are you sure the windows should open and not emergency exits?
Is there a visible track for the glass to move into?

I guess if other windows on the bus of the same design do open then you already have your answer...

[wrenchtech]

Does anybody know of a use for seats like this, or are they just something to be tossed in the dumpster.

[wrenchtech]

And here is a a shot of the engine compartment. There is no appreciable corrosion to be seen .

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

Does anybody know of a use for seats like this, or are they just something to be tossed in the dumpster.

Those are certainly worth more than the throw away bench seat in the older models. Where are you located?

[Native]

You really got a nice us there. It is as nice on the inside and the engine compartment as on the outside.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

Does anybody know of a use for seats like this, or are they just something to be tossed in the dumpster.

Offer them to friends?
They look more comfy than the little torture racks they put kids in.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

And here is a a shot of the engine compartment. There is no appreciable corrosion to be seen .

That looks as clean as a BMW shop.