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Old 06-27-2006, 12:05 PM   #1
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PULLING WITH YOUR BUS

hello everyone newbie here in fl. I have 2 1985 chevy c60 buses im going to make one a camper/hauler and the other one im going to do some school bus fig. 8 racing. both are full size 50 + pass. whats the most weight i can pull with one? what i was thinking of doing was cutting one down right in front of the rear wheels and put a 5th wheel over the rear end to pull a big trailer and the other bus. also i have a 3rd bus in GA. has anyone ever pulled a bus home with a tow bar? where could i find a tow bar to do the job? thanks for any info Tim

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Old 06-27-2006, 07:02 PM   #2
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I see those guys from central america come to the minneapolis mn area every so often going down the free way with 4 to 6 buses at a time. They often will drive 3 or 4 and tow 1 or 2 behind them with a tow bar. And they hit a bunch of trift stores auto salvage yards garage sales and fill them up with whatever they can get cheaply and fit inside the buses.

I once saw a couple of these guys at a salvage yard having a little mini truck stapped down to the frame of another truck which was then put in to the back of a straigt truck with a loader. Those guys really know how to pack them.
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Old 06-27-2006, 07:22 PM   #3
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I wouldn't worry about the tow bar getting the bus moving so much as getting the whole rig to stop. Brake buddies work, but they're not cheap. I really don't know any other way to do it unfortunately and you NEED brakes. Figure that out first....I think fabbing up the tow bar whill be much easier (hitch off a mobile home for instance).
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Old 06-27-2006, 09:12 PM   #4
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Cool idea u do have to keep in mind that this buses do have limitation on weight....
U still need an engine to pull all that wieght make it long to reach destination in low gears all the time
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Old 06-27-2006, 11:10 PM   #5
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You might ask Greg what he does. He was just telling me a few weeks ago about how he has towed a bus with another bus.
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Old 06-28-2006, 12:13 AM   #6
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how can i get a hold of Greg? these are 350 gas jobs with 5 speeds they top out around 55 mph. if i tow the racing bus or my race car it will be short trips in fl . 150-200 miles so im not to worried about them having a hard time. Or my other idea was cut in half and use the back half to haul my race car on. but im not sure yet thanks to this site and others i have about 30 diff. ideas. lol Me and a buddy drove these 350 miles from ga. running about 50mph and i got about 10mpg i thought that was great.
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Old 06-28-2006, 07:35 AM   #7
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I’m working on our bus right now …to make her a 5th wheel trailer hauler.
I saw some pics of one over on the yahoo bus group where a guy took a full sized skoolie , cut off the rear section of the buses body ….cut off all the middle body part and then attached the rear section to what was left of the bus up front. Built a deck on the back and installed a 5th-wheel hitch to tow his trailer around.
Looked good …so I’m doing something similar.

I’m just at the framing the front section in point right now …but when the fronts done , I’ll cut off the rest of the body and about 8-10 feet of the rear main rails ….and build a deck over what’s left.
Heres mine….

http://www.mobilehomestead.com/home/lat ... tcho1a.htm
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Old 06-28-2006, 01:27 PM   #8
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Are you planning on bobbing the frame at all? I would think you'd want the fifth wheel right above or slightly in front of the rear axle as that's the point of them in the first place...weight distribution. The rear overhang on my bus would be too long for that I know, but I also know there is nothing important back there on the frame. I think a person could cut it just fine as long as they first welded in a new crossmember or two to keep everything square.
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Old 06-28-2006, 02:41 PM   #9
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Yup…I’ll cut the rear frame back to approx. a foot before the spring hangers and have a welder add a cross member there for strength ….
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Old 06-28-2006, 02:42 PM   #10
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Yup…I’ll cut the rear frame back to approx. a foot before the spring hangers and have a welder add a cross member there for strength ….
Michael
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Old 09-02-2006, 10:15 PM   #11
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i pulled a gmc brigader (a class 8 truck ) with a towbar behind my chevy skoolie that has a 366 and an alison from spingdale ar to tulsa no problem
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Old 09-06-2006, 06:38 AM   #12
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Don't forget to watch your engine/tranny temps when towing, as the additional load may have an effect.
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Old 09-06-2006, 07:43 AM   #13
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I’m installing an automatic transmission cooler on our bus which will help while towing…
http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/transmi ... oolers.htm
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Old 09-07-2006, 03:26 PM   #14
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i just pulled an 8K pound trailer to nevada and back. You sure can feel the extra weight in the gas pedal and the brakes!
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Old 09-09-2006, 07:26 PM   #15
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I'm pulling a ~5500lb Blazer to Florida next month...even my big 460 feels the extra weight. It stops pretty well with the Brake Buddy, though.
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Old 09-09-2006, 10:03 PM   #16
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jaraxle, can you tell me more about the brake buddy.

I've heard of it but havn't seen one in person yet.
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Old 09-10-2006, 08:53 PM   #17
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The Brake Buddy is the best known unit out there, but there are better alternatives, most of which are cheaper. I think by far the best product for the money is the US GEAR Unified Tow Brake Towed Vehicle Kit

US GEAR Unified Tow Brake Towed Vehicle Kit

Ok, that link above goes to the USG on ebay for around $600... mfgr website list the unit much higher, go figure....
US Gear


You might also want to look at the
Ready Brake

Both cost about HALF what the brake buddy cost, both are porportional braking (brake buddy is NOT)... Very much worth looking into!!
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Old 09-12-2006, 11:10 PM   #18
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I pulled a 6000 pound pickup from Louisiana to Anchorage, Alaska behind my Thomas - 345 CI - automatic. Worked good, but slow going up the mountains. Be patient. Got 5.6 MPG for the trip.
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Old 12-07-2006, 05:00 PM   #19
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You need to have a solid link between the vehicles (no tow straps) and the pulling vehicle needs to weigh as much as what it's towing.

Vrack out the welder if you want a tow bar big enough.....
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