going to look at this weekend

[gusbus]

Old gov. FEMA bus from Oregon. Going to look at it this weekend two hours from home. I tried to attach a pic. It couldn't on this tablet.
1988 w/63000 miles on It total. Old gov. FEMA bus for emergency mobile. Cummins 5.9.
Couple hours from home.
Maybe a pic tomorrow. My tablet won't do it.

Gus

[bansil]

good luck

[gusbus]

here's a link to the pic

http://images.craigslist.org/3I73sa3Ne5 ... c41db0.jpg

[gusbus]

here is another that has some new tires on it and the guy has paperwork for a rebuilt Detroit not long ago.
1988 Chevy.
I'll look at this one on my way back to work from home on Sunday. $1700.00 Seems cheap.

http://images.craigslist.org/00B0B_eti0 ... 00x450.jpg

[JakeC]

Originally Posted by gusbus

Old gov. FEMA bus from Oregon. Going to look at it this weekend two hours from home. I tried to attach a pic. It couldn't on this tablet.
1988 w/63000 miles on It total. Old gov. FEMA bus for emergency mobile. Cummins 5.9.
Couple hours from home.
Maybe a pic tomorrow. My tablet won't do it.

Gus

Low miles!!

[euromedian]

so cool! I'm looking for a flatnose BB now. Good luck!

[Malkieri]

I know this might sound crazy. If you all introduce yourselves and tell us what you are looking for and where you are at, there is a good chance someone on here would be helpful. I know of a few buses around Texas at various prices and also I have gathered info on the Auction houses that tend to handle ISD needs here as well. I would love to offer these to someone who is looking in this area. Just an idea, trying to help you guys out.

[gusbus]

I'm looking in the South Dakota, North Dakota & Minnesota area.
I would prefer a Diesel with a standard trans. if possible but won't,
at all, rule out an auto. I just prefer to have a standard.
Not fussy about the make of bus but may become so as I learn
more about them. A high top would be nice; I need to insulate
the floor well because I'll be staying in the bus over the winter in
North Dakota.

Thanks,
Gus

[Accordion]

Gus, my bus was an emergency management vehicle. As you know, it is blue and white. The bus in the ad looks way longer than mine. My bus is 33 feet long. Cummins diesel motors are good.

[gusbus]

Awesome Accordion,
I looked at your build thread; very well done, IMHO.
Ad says this one is a 40 footer. I talked to the guy and he says the Cummins is unteathered and runs like a banshee down the hiway.
What kind of mileage do you get with yours @, say, 65 mph?

Thanks,
Gus

Originally Posted by Accordion

Gus, my bus was an emergency management vehicle. As you know, it is blue and white. The bus in the ad looks way longer than mine. My bus is 33 feet long. Cummins diesel motors are good.

[Accordion]

[quote="gusbus"]Awesome Accordion,
I looked at your build thread; very well done, IMHO.
Ad says this one is a 40 footer. I talked to the guy and he says the Cummins is unteathered and runs like a banshee down the hiway.
What kind of mileage do you get with yours @, say, 65 mph?
Thanks,
Gus

Gus, thanks for the compliment.

My bus will go 72MPH when I drive it pedal to the metal. It gets 8 miles a gallon at that speed. I suppose that I could get a little better If i drove 60, however, the bus seems to run best at top speed.

[Accordion]

Here is the FEMA bus that Gus is looking at,

[Motobus]

I saw that on ebay, it didn't sell but was a very reasonable price. Looked great to me.

[gusbus]

This bus is a hoot. The engine was cold when I got there and the guy said it hadn't been started for a month. With a twist of the key she started right up.
The air buzzer went off within just a short amount of time.
Engine is super clean.
Rest of the bus is super dirty
good sized 3 way fridge installed
4 burner kitchen stove with roof vent and hood installed.
Shore power equipment on board and installed.
30 gallon propane tank installed.
35 gal. fresh water tank installed IN the bus hooked up to sink and working.
no grey or black water tanks installed.
roof air uninstalled
RV hot water heater uninstalled.

Most of the work done here has been done well. Crudely but solid.
A lot of the work is work I'd tear out for any number of reasons.
The main one being insulating the bus.
This guy was a gold miner so I assume he was just trying to get by.

The bus drove like my Mercedes; except for cornering.
Steering is tight, no wandering and the brakes worked very well.
The Cummins is turboed and the tranny is one of the common ones
I've read about here married to the 5.9.
Steering axle tire look new and are syped rears are more than adequate.

The guy wants $4000.00
I liked it but I'm going to look at the Chevy tomorrow with the Detroit in it up by Fargo.

[gusbus]

Here is a pic from rear to front inside.

[bansil]

I will go with that is/was not a fema bus...it has little covers screwed to coverup skoolbus lights...
Good luck tommorow


Oh and a chainsaw will make the queen size bed come out

[Malkieri]

I have to agree with Bansil.... there were seat rows look at floor and there is yellow peeking through front and back... I do not think Fema is into School bus yellow....

[JakeC]

I concur with the above...

Also, do you plan on traveling a lot in the bus? It likely has an Allison AT545, and I would be cautious, since you are at the buying stage and can pick and choose to a certain extent. That transmission does not have a lockup torque converter and seems prone to create a lot of heat and is not conducive to good gas-mileage. On the other hand, it is what most buses have, it seems like, and avoiding it narrows your options.

Lastly, due to the fact that half of what makes it an RV has been uninstalled, and he didn't even put any work into the floor, $4000 seems ridiculously high to me. Maybe I'm missing something.

Curious to see what the GMC looks like. Good luck!

[gusbus]

I thank you all for your comments; they are well received. I too, was suspicious when I seen that it had a lot of school bus stuff covered up. I even asked him about it. He told me FEMA used school buses to transport people.
I also thought the bus looked a bit rough for a bus with only 63000 miles on it. The wear on the seat caught my eye as well.
That said, I did like the bus; it drove well and ran real good. One of the reasons I never jump into things is because after some thought many times I can see more clearly what I was looking at.

Had it been less money I would consider it anyway. However, he isn't even in the offering range ! I was thinking about 2,000 for that bus would be a good price.


I have pics of the one I looked at yesterday but it isn't a keeper for other reasons which will be apparent by the pictures.
I did like the drive train in the one I looked at yesterday. It was a manual 5 SPD. With a non turbo, rebuilt detroit. It ran out good but it was chopped up. Used for a service truck.
Thanks guys
Gus

[bansil]

good luck with the search,