Flat Nose

[astoldbycoco]

are flat nose buses a hot commodity?? we’ve been searching for one but they all seem to be priced super high compared to the dog nose. my husband wants us to get a flat nose because he doesn’t think i’d be able to drive the convientional bus

[o1marc]

Most find it a bigger learning curve to drive the Flat nose as the driver is 4' in front of the front wheels. Flat nose has more buildable room inside. Prices should be in line with a conventional.

[astoldbycoco]

hm, the ones i’ve been seeing lately on the auctions have been almost off to 4k so maybe i’m on the wrong sites or it’s just bad timing haha

[somewhereinusa]

Flat nose cost more in the first place especially rear engine.

[Native]

If you are near a bus sales depot (meaning that type of business), you should test drive a conventional front engine, a flat nosed front engine, and a rear engine bus. You will see if you can handle any/all of them.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by astoldbycoco

hm, the ones i’ve been seeing lately on the auctions have been almost off to 4k so maybe i’m on the wrong sites or it’s just bad timing haha

$3-$4k is not terrible for a decent flatnose bus. I see some cheaper than that but they tend to have less desirable drive train or condition.

I paid $3450 for my A3RE and felt like I got a good deal. 2002 with 170k miles, 8.3 and MD3060.

Good luck with your search.

[Rovobay]

OP, what are your intentions with the bus? travel? full timers, weekend warriors? Sleeping capacity? where are you located? intend on steep mountain passes? I think that driving a flat nose has a different learning curve as like previous people had said, your steer tires are behind the driver. When I first started I loved this post that explains pros and cons to different bus types. I decided on a conventional bus because of the approach angles as I intend to use it on remote roads. Choosing the best bus body style for your build — Buslandia

happy hunting!

[Sleddgracer]

I'd like to know from someone experienced with driving on icy roads whether the dog nose bus turns better or stops better on ice than a flat nose, or if there is much of a difference ?

[brokedown]

I would expect that difference to come down to tires more than anything. My intention is to never drive in snow or ice.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by brokedown

I would expect that difference to come down to tires more than anything. My intention is to never drive in snow or ice.

I've often traveled north in the fall looking for winter - a snow storm is considered to be good weather when you race sleddogs - lol

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by brokedown

I would expect that difference to come down to tires more than anything. My intention is to never drive in snow or ice.

I would go along with that........ I think that tires are going to be the biggest factor.

When I set out in my first bus for a six year journey I intended to avoid extreme weather. Life had other plans....,.. I wound up in Minneapolis in February and Las Vegas in August......

I hope to do better in my new bus.....

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I would go along with that........ I think that tires are going to be the biggest factor.

When I set out in my first bus for a six year journey I intended to avoid extreme weather. Life had other plans....,.. I wound up in Minneapolis in February and Las Vegas in August......

I hope to do better in my new bus.....

I agree - proper snow tires are a given - things like tire pressure, how the vehicle is balanced for and aft, stiffness of the frame, etc, all make a difference too - from experience, the length of the wheel base makes a difference when turning on ice, the longer the wheel base, the more the vehicle wants to go straight ahead - also from experience, some vehicles, given tires etc are the same, handle slippery conditions better than others - that's why i was wondering if there was a difference between flat nose FE and a dog nose bus in slippery conditions

[astoldbycoco]

we live in oklahoma and we do plan on full time living. we want to easily be off grid and also off roading to some nice camp spots we also plan on staying far away from winter weather

i’ve been lurking on this site and always see people saying 4k was a little much for a bus but maybe they were talking conventional. I honestly wasn’t planning to drive the bus at all but dear ol’ hubby thinks “oh what if something happens to me” so now I guess he’s making me haha

[brokedown]

We have a 32 ft tc2000. They are really common. You should be able to find them on the 2000 dollar range in good shape. Ours has dual road air conditioners and just got $900 of new batteries right before we bought it. If you are good with a 5.9 and at545, these are fairly plentiful.

If you want to get something like an All American you can expect to pay a bit more and spend a bit longer seeking it out. Some folks here got great deals on great higher end buses but they spent months looking for them and often cross the country to get them.

[astoldbycoco]

@brokedown,

that’s the size we really want but haven’t really had any luck (only been looking around for 5 months). i’ve been recently on govdeals and public surplus daily like a mad man

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by astoldbycoco

we live in oklahoma and we do plan on full time living. we want to easily be off grid and also off roading to some nice camp spots we also plan on staying far away from winter weather

i’ve been lurking on this site and always see people saying 4k was a little much for a bus but maybe they were talking conventional. I honestly wasn’t planning to drive the bus at all but dear ol’ hubby thinks “oh what if something happens to me” so now I guess he’s making me haha

You can find cheap low spec buses out there. For me, spending an additional $1000-$1500 to get the 8.3 Cummins, MD3060 and lower miles was a no brainier.

I have to agree with the poster that said that the learning curve is steaper with a D type than a conventional. Once you get comfortable with the steering axle being well behind your butt they are great.

I've owned both and very much prefer RE buses.