Well - we did it, purchased our 1999 International 3800. Its a full size bus and has the DT 466E. We got it this weekend in Ontario through friends and had to drive it back to Nova Scotia where we live, 1600km away. I had never driven a bus but was pleased with how easy it is to drive and how stable they are on the highway. The trip was uneventful and the bus worked perfectly. It has some rusty spots but mechanically it is very sound. It is governed for 110km and even cuts out when going down hills which takes a while to get used to. It would cruise comfortably around 110km with the tac at 2500 and at 100km at 2350. It feels like a 3 speed? getting into top gear and staying there, never down shifting on hills. I now understand others comments on the headlights for night driving - they provide minimal lighting straight ahead and nothing to the sides.
The original plan was to build a toy hauler, having the back 12 feet as a garage for motocross bikes. I tow a 6x12 trailer now so it didn't make sense to have both so that spot now becomes a bedroom and we will weld a hitch to the bus to tow the bikes. We will have a bunk room, bathroom with chemical toilet and 32x32 shower stall. The front section will have kitchen cabinets, couch and 2 original bus seats facing each other for dinning.
The purpose of the bus is for camping at the track. We have been tenting most weekends for the past 10 years and love it but its time to move up to the high-end RV
. The first race is
May 14 so it will be livable by then for a weekend.
The seats are all out and the cleaning has begun. The rear heater is just sitting there on the floor and will be under a bunk so we will try to get that out tonight.
I will try to post a few pics as well.
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