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Old 04-27-2016, 06:43 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
4.33 isn't bad.
My 40 footer does ok with 195hp and my rear is 4.44.
Nice looking bus. Go for it.
Thanks CB, it's been really great to see a lot of these encouraging reponses. My only concern at this point is the size. It's a touch small (interior height and length) for our desires. So, we're trying to reconfigure our floor plan and see if it'll work.

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Old 04-27-2016, 08:05 PM   #42
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If it's not the right bus you're not going to be happy with it, and it's a heck of a lot of work to do if you don't plan on keeping it. Like everyone here says, start with the right bus because it's more work than you're thinking and you want to get it right the first time.
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Old 04-27-2016, 08:10 PM   #43
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for the bus size indeed I say look for the right size right off the bat... for me building things is no object so I tend to think of the drivetrain as completely fluid.. meaning I shopped for the body I wanted and fioguired i can build the drivetrain i want if the one my bus has doesnt work out..

however others do it opposite based on their skillset and buy the drivetrain and build the body.. (ie the roof raises we have seen here)..

Buy the bus that compliments your skill-set.. or the skill-set in which you most want to learn...

theres LOTS of busses all over the place.. dealers and private owners and auctions.. so if the one you are looking at doesnt fit.. trust me there *IS* a bus that will fit... as there were many different combinations of busses manufactured...

-Christopher
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Old 04-27-2016, 08:55 PM   #44
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If you pass on this bus, I may try to pull a miracle and grab it up.
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Old 04-28-2016, 02:45 PM   #45
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Well, after taking everyone's advice to heart, I've decided to keep shopping. I really appreciated the great shape that bus was in, but the lack of space was like a thorn in my side. CB, go git'er boy!

Thanks all for the great feedback and insight! I will surely continue to pick your brains. Mmmmm... brains...

I digress, anyone know if there's already a thread discussing air vs. hydraulic brakes?
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Old 04-28-2016, 02:49 PM   #46
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I think there was one last week, and it's still dribbling. Keep reading the threads.
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Old 04-28-2016, 04:00 PM   #47
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Originally Posted by rjnye79 View Post
Well, after taking everyone's advice to heart, I've decided to keep shopping. I really appreciated the great shape that bus was in, but the lack of space was like a thorn in my side. CB, go git'er boy!

Thanks all for the great feedback and insight! I will surely continue to pick your brains. Mmmmm... brains...

I digress, anyone know if there's already a thread discussing air vs. hydraulic brakes?
Air brakes are safer.
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Old 04-29-2016, 12:20 PM   #48
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From some reading I've done, it seems that air brakes take some getting used to from a user standpoint...

Also, how much concern should we give the number of "hours" on a bus? We found another International, pretty much as clean as that last one, but it has several thousand more miles and almost twice as many hours.
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Old 04-29-2016, 04:06 PM   #49
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Air brakes are safer.
having driven both I have to say I prefer air-brakes after i got used to them... I think they are quite safe as long as the owners learn how they work and perform regular checks (like any brakes should be checked)...

but air brakes, unlike hydraulic have the automatic mechanical parking / emergency brake apply should the system full out fail....

a falure with hydraulic, your pedal goes to the floor and you have to think quick to grab the parking brake handle and activate the mechanical brake..

-Christopher
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Old 04-29-2016, 04:20 PM   #50
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Air brakes lock the entire system up and the driver has no choice but to stop.
Liquid system's wait until you don't have any brakes and can't stop!
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Old 04-29-2016, 06:37 PM   #51
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Air brakes lock the entire system up and the driver has no choice but to stop.
Liquid system's wait until you don't have any brakes and can't stop!
at least with air you have a gauge and a Buzzer so USUALLY you have some time to get shut down before your rear wheels just lock up...

though you CAN have a catastrophic failure on one of the rear spring cylinders.. im sure we have all seen the semi truck going down the road with one set of tandems locked solid and smoke everywhere..

-Christopher
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Old 04-29-2016, 06:55 PM   #52
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I made this heavy girl slide a number of times when I first drove it home before I got used to braking from the top of the pedal to more accurately control the pressure. Contrary to popular belief the front end didn't nose dive into the pavement.
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Old 04-29-2016, 07:58 PM   #53
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I made this heavy girl slide a number of times when I first drove it home before I got used to braking from the top of the pedal to more accurately control the pressure. Contrary to popular belief the front end didn't nose dive into the pavement.
first time I ever drove a bus forever ago.. I got out on a city street going about 35 or 40... a traffic light turned yellow... and as an 18 year old kid I just assumed that a School bus was going to be hard to stop so I MASHED the pedal and had smoke rollin off the tires... I learned real quick an empty school bus with air brakes could stop pretty good... it was a Brand new bus with maybe 200 miles on it... the brakes were broken in after that

-Christopher
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Old 04-29-2016, 08:52 PM   #54
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All my other buses were hydraulic. I still like that simplicity.
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Old 04-29-2016, 09:46 PM   #55
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All my other buses were hydraulic. I still like that simplicity.
the complexity is similar... with a diesel you make no vacuum for the power brake.. so there is a little pump to pump up the booster for the hydraulic power assist.. you have an air compressor on an air brake bus..

on hydraulic brakes the parking brake is still separate so just like air brakes you have a parking brake assembly and linkage.

sometimes on hydraulic brakes your transmission has a "parking pawl" and a 'P' on the shifter lever.. whereas air brake busses never do..

hydraulic brakes have fluid to leak and have to be replaced and bled.. air brakes just have air lines.. very slow leaks are acceptable and dont require replacing fuid...

-Christopher
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Old 04-29-2016, 10:20 PM   #56
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Good point. I'll be safer with air brakes when I stop sliding the bus. It does get funny looks. You know how some kid will try to dart in front of you while driving. It's easy to lock up these air brakes, and the bus stops great. The stuff inside... not so much. So I've learned to put the arch of my foot on the top of the air brake pedal and it's much easier to control the pressure. I didn't even slide once last time I went to town (says the guy with flat spots on his tires).
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Old 04-30-2016, 08:16 AM   #57
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Good point. I'll be safer with air brakes when I stop sliding the bus. It does get funny looks. You know how some kid will try to dart in front of you while driving. It's easy to lock up these air brakes, and the bus stops great. The stuff inside... not so much. So I've learned to put the arch of my foot on the top of the air brake pedal and it's much easier to control the pressure. I didn't even slide once last time I went to town (says the guy with flat spots on his tires).
I think its also human nature.. psychological to think "im driving a bus im going to need to press REAL HARD on the break to stop this big monster"..

after-all you almost always Mash the accelerator when you take off.. esp to get on the highway.. the brain says the same about the brakes..

-Christopher
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Old 04-30-2016, 11:10 AM   #58
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Definitely true when someone surprises you. My incident was in a small town at very low speeds, and it looked to me as if the kid was attempting to see what would happen. I was happily driving along after filling up in town and now on my way home when this girl runs toward the front of the bus. She couldn't make it with her timing and apparently she came to the same conclusion too, or she never intended to run in front of the bus in the first place. This was an otherwise open street with no reason for anyone to interfere with traffic, and another child stayed on the sidewalk and watched. Sure glad I didn't pull anything like that when I was a kid.
Well, once when I was a kid I rolled this big rock onto the road to make it hit a car bumper. Bingo, right on the bumper too and that rock sailed out of site. I ran through the neighbors yard, because previously I had failed to notice the number of people in the car I had assaulted. They did go to the neighbors and complain, but they didn't think it was me. My secret is out.
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Old 04-30-2016, 11:26 AM   #59
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Great info y'all, thanks! Sounds a bit intimidating, but I suppose it's just a matter of practice.

Should I beware of used buses with a lot of hours on the engine? If so, how much is "a lot"?
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Old 05-02-2016, 10:46 AM   #60
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Does this look manageable? Still trying to figure out what an acceptable amount of rust should look like...
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