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Old 05-25-2018, 03:21 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Smile Need advice on this bus please!!! :)

Hello skoolie.net community! Thank you all so much for all of your helpful posts...I've learned so much over the last several months, but I am far from an expert! Your help would be much appreciated!

I am a freelance drone photographer who is looking to join the awesome skoolie community! My plan is to travel/work/live in a bus with my boyfriend. My current living situation has changed and I basically need to find a bus ASAP. I wasn't planning on buying a bus quite yet, so my budget isn't huge. I've been looking for a bus that already has electrical and plumbing, but I'm definitely willing to put in loads of work if the bus needs a facelift.

I found this bus on Craigslist (in Orlando, FL) and it might be the one for me! The pictures are a little rough -- the bus is dirty and very cluttered, but hey, anything can be cleaned, right?! This thing definitely needs a good pressure wash haha


Here's the Craigslist link: https://orlando.craigslist.org/rvs/d...568172249.html


Here's all of the info I have on it so far:

1988 Ward
7.3 International Diesel
Allison Transmission (automatic) -- waiting for the specific make
175,000 miles

on shore power
20 gallon hot water tank
holding tank
no rust issues (surprising for FL?)
tires in great condition
insulated (he mentioned something about limousine padding??)



I would be SO appreciative of any thoughts on this bus. It's 30 years old which worries me a little bit, and I don't know a whole lot about Ward buses. Are they dependable? The bigger engine seems like it's capable of climbing some mountains (which I will need), and it already has a shower/toilet/kitchen, which is great for me because we would be living in it pretty soon.

Your wisdom and thoughts are much appreciated

--Meredith

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Old 05-25-2018, 03:24 PM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Just emailed me back and said he doesn't know the specific type of Allison...but knows that it's heavy duty haha
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Old 05-25-2018, 03:46 PM   #3
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Why do people trying to sell something for top dollar take pics of it looking like it just got trashed after a weekend party?
See if you can get the VIN number it can help determine exactly what was built. Though most often it does not include the tranny info.
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Old 05-25-2018, 03:51 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Meredith_MacLauchlan View Post
Just emailed me back and said he doesn't know the specific type of Allison...but knows that it's heavy duty haha
Its a 545. Hardly heavy duty.

That's a low end bus with what looks like a really crappy paint job and questionable interior.
Its never even had a bath.
I'd say its worth $2500 but everyone has their own opinion of what something is worth.

I live in FL and go out of my way to buy buses from states far away. Our schools buy low end stuff and run it into the ground.
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Old 05-25-2018, 03:52 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
Why do people trying to sell something for top dollar take pics of it looking like it just got trashed after a weekend party?
See if you can get the VIN number it can help determine exactly what was built. Though most often it does not include the tranny info.
So you noticed that too!! Especially that bathroom picture with the toilet plunger and a gallon of bleach! Talk about driving away potential buyers...
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Old 05-25-2018, 03:53 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
Why do people trying to sell something for top dollar take pics of it looking like it just got trashed after a weekend party?
See if you can get the VIN number it can help determine exactly what was built. Though most often it does not include the tranny info.
Thank you, Marc! I'll shoot him an email now about the VIN number.

I know...if I were selling anything, I'd have it looking spick and span! But, to each his own!
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Old 05-25-2018, 03:58 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Meredith_MacLauchlan View Post
Thank you, Marc! I'll shoot him an email now about the VIN number.

I know...if I were selling anything, I'd have it looking spick and span! But, to each his own!
After looking at the add again it looks like the toilet is a standard household tank type. That’s not something I would want in a skoolie.
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:00 PM   #8
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Its a 545. Hardly heavy duty.

That's a low end bus with what looks like a really crappy paint job and questionable interior.
Its never even had a bath.
I'd say its worth $2500 but everyone has their own opinion of what something is worth.

I live in FL and go out of my way to buy buses from states far away. Our schools buy low end stuff and run it into the ground.
Thank you so much! That's really helpful information. Will a 545 get me over mountains out west?
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:03 PM   #9
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Thank you, Marc! I'll shoot him an email now about the VIN number.

I know...if I were selling anything, I'd have it looking spick and span! But, to each his own!
Don't bother, Charlie's probably right about the 545, the least desirable tranny. It's also not worth the asking price, there's lots out there better for the money. What is it you're looking for?
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:04 PM   #10
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After looking at the add again it looks like the toilet is a standard household tank type. That’s not something I would want in a skoolie.
Good catch! I was distracted by the plunger What do you use?
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:06 PM   #11
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hard pass on this. you can tell a lot about the quality of a craigslist post. don't even bother to wash or straighten things up. weak description. not worth the time to send an email.
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:08 PM   #12
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Good catch! I was distracted by the plunger What do you use?
Your choices are a standard black tank toilet that mixes everything, or a compost toilet that you pee into one container and poo into a bucket of sorts with compost material in it. By keeping the 2 separate there is no massive smell.
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:14 PM   #13
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Don't bother, Charlie's probably right about the 545, the least desirable tranny. It's also not worth the asking price, there's lots out there better for the money. What is it you're looking for?
Thank you so much for your opinion! And for the info about the toilet. Maybe it's back to the drawing board.

I'm looking for a durable, road ready bus that is partially/mostly converted. Ideally, electrical and plumbing would already be installed (kitchen and shower). Around 35-40 feet. I can't spend much more than $7,000-$8,000 so it's ok if the bus is a little rough around the edges.

Do you think that's reasonable?
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:17 PM   #14
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hard pass on this. you can tell a lot about the quality of a craigslist post. don't even bother to wash or straighten things up. weak description. not worth the time to send an email.
Thank you so much for your opinion! Really appreciate it.
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:19 PM   #15
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I would worry that anything partially completed and under $8K is probably not going to be quality or what you really want, meaning it all gets torn out to start fresh. You could buy a bus, and if you have the skills , build out a better bus for the money they are asking for that bus. I don't seem much in amenities if spending less than $8k.
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:30 PM   #16
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I would worry that anything partially completed and under $8K is probably not going to be quality or what you really want, meaning it all gets torn out to start fresh. You could buy a bus, and if you have the skills , build out a better bus for the money they are asking for that bus. I don't seem much in amenities if spending less than $8k.
Right, that makes sense. In a dream world, I would love to build one out myself. Unfortunately, it's not possible for me at the moment because our housing situation has changed. Hopefully in the future I will be able to do that! My dad has expressed interest in doing it with me, too

This is another bus I've been looking at. It's in NC right now, originally from Knoxville. Seems like a nice bus, but has no electrical or plumbing yet.

https://asheville.craigslist.org/rvs/6594826078.html
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:37 PM   #17
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Right, that makes sense. In a dream world, I would love to build one out myself. Unfortunately, it's not possible for me at the moment because our housing situation has changed. Hopefully in the future I will be able to do that! My dad has expressed interest in doing it with me, too

This is another bus I've been looking at. It's in NC right now, originally from Knoxville. Seems like a nice bus, but has no electrical or plumbing yet.

https://asheville.craigslist.org/rvs/6594826078.html
This is a ton better deal than the other. If you can negotiate this one down a bit, it might just fit your needs. Not the most desirable drivetrain for sustained highway speeds or mountain passes, but if your not doing that ,more than adequate.
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:41 PM   #18
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This is a ton better deal than the other. If you can negotiate this one down a bit, it might just fit your needs.
That's what I was thinking, too! How much do you think it would cost to pay someone to do the electrical/plumbing?

The downside to this one is that it is not insulated...
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Old 05-25-2018, 04:53 PM   #19
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That's what I was thinking, too! How much do you think it would cost to pay someone to do the electrical/plumbing?

The downside to this one is that it is not insulated...
How do you know it's not insulated? It does have the stock ceiling panels, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done. This woman claims to have build several schools, so maybe she did it right. I may be mistaken about the drivetrain. While the SafTLiner came with Cummins 5.9/AT545, I believe the rear engine ones came with bigger motors and better trans in some.
The insulation is a concern if the summer, I think that large wood stove will handle any heat needs in the winter. I had a wood burning stove in a house I lived in. It was about that size. It was in a finished basement in the far back corner and access to the finished basement was a spiral staircase at the opposite end of the house. When that stove was cooking you literally could not go downstairs, way too hot, but heated the upstairs through the staircase hole. Those suckers are efficient.

The electric and plumbing have already been done on the Asheville bus.
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Old 05-25-2018, 05:05 PM   #20
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How do you know it's not insulated? It does have the stock ceiling panels, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done. This woman claims to have build several schools, so maybe she did it right. I may be mistaken about the drivetrain. While the SafTLiner came with Cummins 5.9/AT545, I believe the rear engine ones came with bigger motors and better trans in some.
The insulation is a concern if the summer, I think that large wood stove will handle any heat needs in the winter. I had a wood burning stove in a house I lived in. It was about that size. It was in a finished basement in the far back corner and access to the finished basement was a spiral staircase at the opposite end of the house. When that stove was cooking you literally could not go downstairs, way too hot, but heated the upstairs through the staircase hole. Those suckers are efficient.

The electric and plumbing have already been done on the Asheville bus.
I agree-- wood stoves are awesome! I'm sure you're right that it will be more than enough for wintertime. When we talked, I thought she mentioned that she hadn't added any extra insulation. I'll double check with her.

And it's wired already with outlets?? I must've missed that...

I attached 2 pictures that she just sent me... looks like the tranny is an MT643. What do you think?
Attached Thumbnails
SafTLiner1.jpeg   SafTLiner2.jpg  
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