Our Skoolie Adventure Begins

[cmstrick654]

Alright everyone! I paid for my bus this morning and I will be driving to pick it up Friday. Hopefully I picked a good one, and if I didn't dont beat me up too bad because it's already bought and paid for, so I gotta work with what I have. Will share images when someone tells me the best site to link them from.


2004 Freightliner/Thomas FS65 72 passenger bus with 198,663 miles
CAT C7 engine
Allison World 2000 transmission.
All maintanance records from day it was purchased and put on the road, maintained every 20 days.
No rust
Good floor
AC works and is cold

[Sraycwb]

Congrats! Purchase at auction?

[cmstrick654]

Yes, it was an auction purchase. I kept finding these buses for sale that I had seen on govdeals over the last few months, and basically they were just marked up from final bid amount. I couldnt see me paying for someone elses markup so I made an account, paid to get the probation removed, and bidded on one.

[Native]

Now that is a super story! Nice to see that paying for the probation lift works.


For some reason, I can not see any of the images you have posted. I find that uploading the images to the site works well ... and they are always available, even if you move them off the service you had them stored on.

[cmstrick654]

Originally Posted by Native

Now that is a super story! Nice to see that paying for the probation lift works.


For some reason, I can not see any of the images you have posted. I find that uploading the images to the site works well ... and they are always available, even if you move them off the service you had them stored on.

The site is not giving me the option to upload directly to the site, only post image by link. My links arent working and the site edit options also wont allow me to remove the broken links.

[EastCoastCB]

Imgur has always worked well for me when uploading pics to this site. Try it, its free and easy.

[cmstrick654]

[cmstrick654]

Like I said, I've already bought the bus, but for those who know this bus and model, tell me the known issues I should be aware of.

[cmstrick654]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Imgur has always worked well for me when uploading pics to this site. Try it, its free and easy.

Thank you! That was a huge help... I had tried several options for upload already and none of them had worked.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cmstrick654

Like I said, I've already bought the bus, but for those who know this bus and model, tell me the known issues I should be aware of.

its a freightliner fs-65 chassis. no major issues im aware of. I have one and its my favorite bus. I've had several and I like this one the best.

looks like yours is in nice shape. hows the engine look?

[PNW_Steve]

Congratulations. That is a nice looking bus.

The C7 does have a weakness that can be corrected easily. Google "bulletproofing your C7".

Not a big deal. Just something to make your C7 more reliable.

Good luck with your build.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by pnw_steve

congratulations. That is a nice looking bus.

The c7 does have a weakness that can be corrected easily. Google "bulletproofing your c7".

Not a big deal. Just something to make your c7 more reliable.

Good luck with your build.

this^^^^^^^

[cmstrick654]

The engine looks clean and we maintained. Hoping it’s not just a good cleaning hiding something lol

What’s the interior build dimensions on this bus?

[cmstrick654]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Congratulations. That is a nice looking bus.

The C7 does have a weakness that can be corrected easily. Google "bulletproofing your C7".

Not a big deal. Just something to make your C7 more reliable.

Good luck with your build.

Thank you for the suggestion!

[cmstrick654]

Would you suggest just replacing the one with the filter, or are you guys replacing the whole Pump? Where do I order this part/parts from?

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by cmstrick654

Would you suggest just replacing the one with the filter, or are you guys replacing the whole Pump? Where do I order this part/parts from?

You should likely focus on your home build for you and your family for now.
I will try and give you the short version. if your fuel pump has a masive failure metal debris can enter the fuel injectors doing even further major damage. Note: a single injector here in Canada is almost $1000, there are six of them. The additional filter system would be added downstream of the pump and protect the injectors. This extra filter kit is about $1000 US plus installation. I think that's good insurance and I intend to put that kit on my C7 but it's not my first priority in getting my bus built.
Good luck with your build
Stay safe
Curtis

[Native]

Two more days until you can drive it! How exciting!


Pay attenetion on the drive back. See how it runs at highway speeds.Count the grae shifts to see if you have 5 or 6 speeds. An Allison 2000 of that year *might* be able to have 6 gears (i.e. two overdrives).

[cmstrick654]

My brother is actually driving it back for me because I don’t know that I’m ready for something that big until I can practice in a big parking lot. I’ll pass that information on to him.

[cmstrick654]

Does anyone on here reading my post have this bus already? If so, can you tell me what the interior build dimensions are?

[cmstrick654]

CDL required to drive these?

How to remove a governor?

Those are my burning questions. I’m in possession of the bus and we are heading back home now