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Old 06-22-2020, 04:59 AM   #1
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Widesth busses

Hello im looking for a mid-sized school bus who is somewhere near 100 inches. Any suggestions??

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Old 06-22-2020, 05:47 AM   #2
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https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/how-wide-26299.html
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Old 06-22-2020, 10:03 AM   #3
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Based on a reading of the referenced thread, if federal school bus dimensions have been expanded in 2015 from 96"x40' to 102"x45' that does not mean any school districts have yet ordered them nor have manufacturers retooled to build them. Furthermore, as most school buses seem to remain in service for 15 years or more, it's unlikely we in the secondary market are going to see these behemoths anytime soon. I'd settle for a WestCoaster or a Crown, not because they'll be any larger but they usually have that second rear axle which 'looks' bigger!
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Old 06-22-2020, 10:47 AM   #4
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Or skip the skoolie fad and buy a COACH.
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Old 06-22-2020, 10:58 AM   #5
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LOL I keep going back and forth with that notion. I just know the conversion and upkeep of a full-scale motorcoach is so much more than I can afford.
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Old 06-22-2020, 11:18 AM   #6
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The conversion itself is the same, only a bit wider and 5 feet longer.
The upkeep yeah they're a bit more to keep on the road. More tires, more electrical system to maintain. The engines themselves are about the same amount of money to maintain. They do get a few less mpg's.
But if you HAVE to have one wider than a standard school bus a coach is your only option.
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Old 06-22-2020, 11:29 AM   #7
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Some enterprising soul should run a schoolie through a band saw long ways and add the missing 6" of width! Always another way to skin a cat!
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Old 06-22-2020, 11:55 AM   #8
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Some enterprising soul should run a schoolie through a band saw long ways and add the missing 6" of width! Always another way to skin a cat!
Jack
Someone must have put slides in one by now!
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Old 06-22-2020, 11:56 AM   #9
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My next conversion will probably be an MCI J4500 or a Prevost with the Detroit Series 60 (pre emission of course).



The only real downside to coaches is they suck for backwoods/BLM/public type camping.
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Old 06-22-2020, 12:00 PM   #10
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My next conversion will probably be an MCI J4500 or a Prevost with the Detroit Series 60 (pre emission of course).



The only real downside to coaches is they suck for backwoods/BLM/public type camping.
Can't beat a series 60.
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Old 06-22-2020, 01:22 PM   #11
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Some enterprising soul should run a schoolie through a band saw long ways and add the missing 6" of width! Always another way to skin a cat!
Jack
I go round and round with this one in my head all the time too but no matter how I figure it by the time it's all over it would have just been cheaper and easier to start from scratch than to make a school bus something that it's not.
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Old 06-22-2020, 04:38 PM   #12
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Yup but it would sure be fun!
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Old 06-22-2020, 06:47 PM   #13
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Plenty of transits are wider and some also shorter... pick your poison.
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Old 07-01-2020, 03:32 PM   #14
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Someone must have put slides in one by now!
Now there is an idea! Bravo!!
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Old 07-01-2020, 03:50 PM   #15
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Someone must have put slides in one by now!
I guess we have been one up'td! Hahahaha!
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Old 07-01-2020, 04:14 PM   #16
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LOL I keep going back and forth with that notion. I just know the conversion and upkeep of a full-scale motorcoach is so much more than I can afford.
More Upkeep?

Not really!

With a Skoolie you are generally starting with a bus that has 200K+ miles. Rarely does a Motorcoach from new have anywhere near a 100K miles. The more expensive when new the motorcoach the less miles they will have as the buyers of these expensive when new motorcoaches were OLD and DIED a couple years after purchasing them. Florida is full of em!

Therefore "I" would say less mileage generally means a lot less "rebuilding" and needed maintenance.
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Old 07-01-2020, 07:36 PM   #17
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Motor coach

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More Upkeep?

Not really!

With a Skoolie you are generally starting with a bus that has 200K+ miles. Rarely does a Motorcoach from new have anywhere near a 100K miles. The more expensive when new the motorcoach the less miles they will have as the buyers of these expensive when new motorcoaches were OLD and DIED a couple years after purchasing them. Florida is full of em!

Therefore "I" would say less mileage generally means a lot less "rebuilding" and needed maintenance.
This thinking might be right for a motor home but a motor coach is owned by a corporation which probably won't get rid of it until 500,000 or a million miles. The best one to get I think is a motor home that is built on a motor coach chassis and converted. Only problem is they don't sell for anywhere near what a skoolie build would cost.
John
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Old 07-01-2020, 07:40 PM   #18
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Motorhome or Motorcoach I was thinking of them in the same vane as a RV.
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Old 07-02-2020, 01:27 AM   #19
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Motorhome or Motorcoach I was thinking of them in the same vane as a RV.

Motorcoach
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Old 07-02-2020, 05:14 AM   #20
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I doubt anyone is making 102" schoolbuses. The wide body chassis is heavier, uses larger, more expensive driveline and brake gear, and wouldn't net the school district any more seats for the increase in size, cost and maintenance.


For the converter, that extra 6" makes a very big difference indeed: over 15 square feet on a 35 foot bus, which is a bathroom. They really feel roomier inside, too.
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