Need Skoolie size advice

[Mat7783]

So I am looking fir midbus 28 ‘ range buses and they are hard to find and if so, are way across the country from Florida.i like a 2001 Am Tran with DT466E and 200 tranny but it’s 35’ long. Is this a huge difference in the handling and mileage ?? Your thoughts!! Thank you!

[Sehnsucht]

I guess my first thought is what do you plan to do with it? There's pros and cons to stepping up in size. Some people like to stay in a smaller bus to get into places bigger buses cannot or they only weekend in it so don't need to pack for weekslong journeys.

[Mat7783]

My goal is to do at least 3 weeklong trips every year and thinking down the road when I retire in 8 years to possible spend a quarter of the year on the road. That’s why I was considering a larger that midsize but not quite 40’.

[Ronnie]

Ours is 34 ft, and we are happy with it. We had been using a pickup truck camper for many years, and this gives us so much more room and comfort. I have not found the size to be any problem in gas stations, parking lots, and generally getting around town, and I am often towing my boat, so 65ft total length. Gas stations are a bit tight with the boat in tow, bus only no problem.

[Sehnsucht]

I think Ronnie also has a front engine bus which makes a difference. If you have 3 buses all of them say 40 foot in length, the front engine flat nose will have the tightest handling because of its short wheelbase. A rear engine will be the longest wheelbase thus most taxing to maneuver. It could end up being that in 8 years you'll appreciate having upsized sooner rather than later if you plan to live in it 25% of the year. I can say that I'm in the market for a 40 footer for this very reason, I plan to full-time in it when I retire. Of course any bus is a step down in size from a big rig so I'm not sweating the handling aspect but I may regret going 40' if I find some parks have length restrictions... Thus a towable will be required.

[bigskypc50]

I have a 40ft front engine flat nose, If I was going to do a lot of traveling I would seek something smaller. Everyone needs two bus's, a 40ft to park and live in, and 25ft to go traveling with. LOL

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by bigskypc50

I have a 40ft front engine flat nose, If I was going to do a lot of traveling I would seek something smaller. Everyone needs two bus's, a 40ft to park and live in, and 25ft to go traveling with. LOL

Mine is a 32 foot flat nose. I can just fit into two parking spaces. I'm hoping it's going to be the best of both worlds

[Truthseeker4449]

38 foot Pusher. I've taken my bus to a lot of local places one normally wouldn't take a bus or RV, or even a small trailer. Sometimes I have to drive all over a shopping plaza to get to where I want to be. I just take my time, watch my mirrors and don't panic if things don't work out at first. It also helps that I park buses all day at my job and our lot is rather small for the buses crammed into it.

[brokedown]

My 32 ft TC2000FE is super easy to park. My 38 ft A3RE is a lot harder because of the wheelbase, but is still OK in a double parking slot.

[SolomonEagle]

I have a 28' dog nose and it's pretty nice to drive. It has great ground clearance and i am able to get it in and out of some pretty tight places and it fits over two parking spaces pretty much wherever I go. That being said, it doesn't provide a ton of space for living and i have to be even more creative with how i use it than if I had a larger bus. It has an international dt360 and a 5speed (no od) and gets a maximum of about 10mpg. There is probly ways to improve that slightly but there are also plenty of full size skoolies that actually do better on fuel economy.you are likely to pay more for a short bus also because, as you are finding, there is a lot of demand for them.

[Mat7783]

Great info here to digest. Thank you guys!