03 Blue Bird Shorty - good or bad

[Surfguy192]

So I am looking at picking this bus up for a lowish budget conversion. More like a week or weekend trip kind of bus. No shower or bathroom, just 2 beds, storage, counters and some power. Insulate and a way to heat it. Ill be driving it to alaska from florida. It will come out to around $4000 for just the bus plus the build. It had a AT545 and is 25' long. They say there are no other problems besides the oil leak and it should be fine to drive. It's an auction and far enough away that I cant really inspect it first.
What do you guys think

2003 Blue Bird TC2000 FORWARD CONTROL, 5.9L L6 DIESEL. Air Conditioned, wheelchair lift. Has minor oil leak (tappet cover) when driving.

[EastCoastCB]

Is that on Public Surplus or GovDeals? Looks like on I saw recently.
Its a decent bus. Low headroom, though. I'd skip the long drive and watch for a west coast bus personally.

[Surfguy192]

Govdeals. I live in florida now but I'm moving to alaska so I was thinking of building a bus and driving it out there. How high do youbtbijknthe ceiling is?
I'm really just looking for something under 30 feet and reliableish.

[EastCoastCB]

about 6'2" down the middle.

[o1marc]

I would not buy a bus with a 5.9/AT545 for a trip to Alaska from Florida. What kind of build did you have in mind for around $2k, can't do much with that.

[PNW_Steve]

Like Marc, I would not buy an AT-545 equipped bus for that trip.

But..... To be fair, a number of folks here have successfully made cross country trips with 545's.

Take a look at Brokedown's travel thread. Josh pretty much circled the country in a T444e/545 equipped Vista. His new bus is the 5.9/545 and he is happy with it. He is a much more patient man than I am.....

Different strokes for different folks

[Surfguy192]

I think I can save a decent amount of mo eye doing everything myself. I'm a welder and my friends are carpenters. I have enough metal laying around and would have to buy some wood. I'm not looking to make anything fancy. Just kinda comfortable and warm with storage. It's just gonna be me, a buddy and my dog. I'm pretty good at acquiring items haha. It may end up costing more than I think but I think I can afford it, i just dont want to. I knew the 545 would be slower but I guess I was hoping it wouldnt be that slow in a shorty. I appreciate your inputs.