Oshkosh advice or experience?

[adrianb]

Hello! New member here.

I went to look at a 1995 Oshkosh chassis (shuttle/ church bus) with a 5.9L Cummins engine with an AT545 transmission. 158K miles. Flat front with a front engine. The big stuff is good (runs smoothly, low rust, tires good). There are some small problems (like both side mirrors have parts missing) but nothing that can't be fixed. The price is a little high but there's definitely some wiggly room. It's 29ft which is right at the limit of what we could fit in our driveway. But that also leaves plenty of space for our family of four. Good height in the interior which is also nice.

(I've also been looking at school buses but I haven't seen anything in the 25-30 ft range under 26000 GVWR class B license limit in NC.)

Does anyone have any experience with an Oshkosh chassis or with this engine/ transmission combination? I'd also welcome any warnings or things to look out for.

Thanks!

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

dont know anything about the OSHKOSH body?
the 5.9 is a good motor with lots of product support.
the 545 transmission isnt the best to have.
welcome and good luck

[s2mikon]

I have had 2 of these AT 545’s in 2 ton trucks over the years and still have one of them. You MUST have a good auxiliary oil cooler on these to keep them cool. The one I sold was in a tow truck with the world famous Detroit Diesel 8.2 NA. I put 185 thousand miles on it towing cars, pickups and motor homes up grades and down. The first thing I did was install a large oil cooler in the front with electric fans on a thermo switch. 2200 rpm was about right. Never overheated. My International has just a cooler with out fans and it does good too. The highest it has ever gotten was 230 degrees converter out going up hwy 58 out of Bakersfield pulling a 37 foot trailer. My gross weight on that trip was 36000 pounds. I think if you will just add some cooling capacity you will be fine. But I’m talking about a large cooler.
If you will go with a cooler that has electric fans and do it before the radiator heat exchanger you can install it under the bus and not add to the heat load of the cooling system.

[s2mikon]

Oshkosh makes a lot of commercial chassis for different vehicles it’s fine. Since it is a shuttle bus do you know what the gearing in the rear axle is? RV’s should be exempt from class B in NC? Generally with class B units you also get air brakes. Much more reliable and cost effective.

[adrianb]

Thanks for the replies so far!

s2mikon, I don't know the gear ratio in the back but the guy said he'd drive 70mph on the highway. (Where does one even find that gearing information?)

As far as I've read RVs (or "house cars" as NC titles them) are not exempt from the class B in NC but I may be wrong about that.

This is the shuttle bus in question.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by adrianb

Thanks for the replies so far!

s2mikon, I don't know the gear ratio in the back but the guy said he'd drive 70mph on the highway. (Where does one even find that gearing information?)

As far as I've read RVs (or "house cars" as NC titles them) are not exempt from the class B in NC but I may be wrong about that.

This is the shuttle bus in question.

Does your drivers license specify what you can drive? My Ga. license allows me to drive CM- <26,000lbs. GVWR and Trailer < 10,000lbs. All Recreational Vehicles and 2 and 3 wheeled motorcycles.
The RV endorsement is regardless of weight or braking system.

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by adrianb

Thanks for the replies so far!

s2mikon, I don't know the gear ratio in the back but the guy said he'd drive 70mph on the highway. (Where does one even find that gearing information?)

As far as I've read RVs (or "house cars" as NC titles them) are not exempt from the class B in NC but I may be wrong about that.

This is the shuttle bus in question.

I was curious what this looked like, sourcing new wiper armature might be a headache, but mirrors may be easier. Try looking up Rosco for mirror parts.

If the differential has not been apart before and the chassis isn't rusty, there should be a tag attached to one of the bolts on the differential.

[adrianb]

My license in NC says any non-commercial vehicle < 26001lb and has further restrictions about towing things but there is no mention of RVs.

[adrianb]

Thanks! I'll look if I go see it again.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by adrianb

My license in NC says any non-commercial vehicle < 26001lb and has further restrictions about towing things but there is no mention of RVs.

I think in NC, they go by actual weight and not GVWR. Most of us can come in under 26k lbs. So no special endorsements required.

[adrianb]

It appears to be GVWR in Nc. The full text on the back of my license says "Class C: Any noncommercial single vehicle with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds. A vehicle towing a vehicle which has a combined GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds by a driver 18 yrs. or older."