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Old 03-15-2013, 11:04 PM   #1
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 127
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas? Safe-t-liner
Engine: 6bta5.9
Rated Cap: 78
1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

For sale My Skoolie. Will get the the rest of the details soon, the big issue is a mystery ATM. it has clean injectors good fuel pressure, stock timing, adjusted valves, lightly turned up fuel settings and yet it only maxes out at around 45mph...

was going 60+ on my round trip from wilmington NC to St. Antonio Texas a couple summers ago, and I still drive it around pretty regularly but it is slow and we have WAY too many vehicles.

having a speed problem as described in the log. but starts runs and drives fine, just slow like extra slow at the moment.

Stats:
1990 Thomas MVP 13 window 78Pax Pusher
Cummins 12v 5.9 Turbo
Allison 545 AT
"Low Roof" 6' interior at present.
all seats removed, Queen size bed deck and benches built in (convertible to second queen size bed), painted inside and out, rooftop coleman AC, short 30amp cable and breaker box, underbelly storage.
Engineered hardwood floors, not laminante, not true hardwood but a 1/4" of real wood on top of a manufactured substrate. looks GREAT
Has some treated windows, some fabric curtains, and roll up blinds bamboo with white fabric backing.
Also has "Captain's Quarters" divider curtain that is shown in the pics below. A portable toilet, a fresh water tank un hooked up, a propane tank...... ect...... unfinished project. clean no real rust anywhere, good tread good brakes ect...



TWO-Tank WVO system installed and working! 46 gallon heated aluminum tank with FPHE and three selctor valves for total fuel control, two filters.

Registered as a House Car (RV that started out primarily as a vehicle)
Insured with USAA as an RV
Titled as House car, no CDL or endorsements in NC
Clear NC Title in Hand













build log here

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4278


and see picture log in my signature for links.

No real solid price as i haven't searched around for comps. I believe we have over 5500$ into it not counting paperwork, storage, and whatnot. But I would expect to get back a little less than that.
Turnkey as far as gutting and basic conversion goes, great full-size setup for a full-timer or a bigger family.

Say $4400 OBO
Email works best
rjz5400@hotmail.com

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Old 03-16-2013, 06:32 PM   #2
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Re: 1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

Cummins 12v 5.9 Turbo
Key word is TURBO
Most turbo problems result in lost power and speed........ this would be a good starting point,
not many people are going to be interested in a bus that has problems...
Best of luck
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Old 03-17-2013, 08:12 AM   #3
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Location: Long Island NY
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Re: 1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

I am interested. Will work on obtaining funds and let you know.
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Old 03-18-2013, 09:34 AM   #4
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 127
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas? Safe-t-liner
Engine: 6bta5.9
Rated Cap: 78
Re: 1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

Sure grey eagle, I have been working towards getting my boost gauge installed so that i can see what PSI i am working with. It has been a long diagnosing process when you only have a few hours a week and it is out at a storage place.

100mpg
Just send me a message or an email if you want to talk about it in detail or anything.
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Old 03-27-2013, 08:21 PM   #5
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 127
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas? Safe-t-liner
Engine: 6bta5.9
Rated Cap: 78
Re: 1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

I have given it a pretty good go to describe the exact condition of the bus As/Is. It is a bit of a mystery. I have had a long distrust of mechanics (lifelong) and always do all my own wrenching. Maybe someone with more experience with this motor and or transmission or busses in general would be able to isolate the issue in a few minutes or hours. I really don't know.

If you have the time I encourage you to look through the thread and see the travel (Wilmington NC to San Antonio, Raleigh, Richmond, and shuttling around locally) and maintenance we have done on it. I will say that if i am able to get it back up to speed I will almost certainly either raise the price to what I have invested into it, or withdraw it from sale. It is for sale as an alternative to me spending my free time wrenching on it.

Let me know if you want to know any more specifics and if i do make any discoveries I will let you know. As is I have driven it quite a few times probably two dozen times since trying to find the issue and it always behaves the same. Starts right up, builds air pressure normally; shifts, stops, and runs smoothly, but never can break 45-50mph and is a little underpowered.

If you have any ideas I am all ears.

Thanks for your interest and good luck finding your bus if you don't end up with mine.
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Old 04-05-2013, 10:49 PM   #6
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 127
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas? Safe-t-liner
Engine: 6bta5.9
Rated Cap: 78
Re: 1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

Had some email questions so I thought I would ad this info below.




It Has a sort of five time use small "Porta-Potty" That has to be manually emptied. This was put in to meet the requirements for a House Car in NC for titling purposes.
there is no plumbing run in the bus, There is a fresh water tank that I salvaged from the Prowler trailer shown in the Skoolie gallery.

The electrical was set up as an Inverter+ extension cord run in through the back window from the bus running battery.
It Does have a 30Amp cord and an RV breaker Box with four separate switches, one is hooked to the rooftop AC


I have seen from about 9 mpgs up to a high of maybe 11-12mpg. The good news is that the WVO system is installed and Flat Plate heater/ Heated filter/ heated tank all are working fine. ANd it doesn't seem to matter if there are 30 or 2 people inside as far as mileage.

I believe the milage to be accurate, I found inspection paperwork when I bought the bus that went back 3 or four years and they all read only a few thousand miles a year{ annual safety inspection 2007 58,793 2006 51,836 ect ect ect} Current milage is below 70,000


I did remove the left/driver's side panels, add new fiberglass insulation and panel with dyed luan sheets. When I did this I found perfectly fine yellow fiberglass insulation was already in there. The floor has a painted under-layer, then OSB, then the Hardwood.

I will try to get out there in a few days to take some pictures and inventory the equipment from my own personal belongings. I don't want there to be any surprises when/if you come up here to check it out.

I have not been out to the bus in a couple of weeks, If/When the speed Issue is addressed/solved I will update the Skoolie web site.
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Old 04-08-2013, 08:28 AM   #7
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 127
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas? Safe-t-liner
Engine: 6bta5.9
Rated Cap: 78
Re: 1990 ~78~Pax Thomas Flat front Pusher 5.9. Wilmington NC

Please read my above post, Those are the popular questions I answered them all above.


If you want to email me directly about it or set up a time to check it out please do.

Thanks and good luck on your bus hunt.
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