What vintage to purchase

[B.Rubble]

Ok. I have been lurking for awhile. Thank you to all of you for sharing your time and thoughts...
Heres my deal, I am doing a moto cross build. We will be hauling 6 bikes. Varying terrain. Mostly a few hundred miles then camping for a few days. Accommodations for 4 people. Bathroom isn't a necessity.
Currently looking at a crown with a 671 runs drives goes stops....
Or possibly a newer flat nose. I like the cummins. Of course, bigger the better. Lol.

What would you do. Bus's are all in my budget, I just can't decide old school or new school. Pros, cons, ??? Questions? I am handy and can fabricate. Sell me on the crown, I love her character...or sell me on new school reliability? , there are a bunch available near me. HELP...lol. first world problems, I know.

[brokedown]

Most of us will recommend buses form the 90s. They have that combination of availability, affordability, maintainability, and price that hits the sweet spot. After that they prices skyrocket along with the cost of maintenance, earlier than that there isn't much room between someone's expensive collector's item and a pile of rust in the weeds.

I love the look of old buses, but my wallet knows that those bubble curved windshields are unobtainium. The 6-71 is a great motor and a piece of history, but my wallet knows they stopped making them in 1995 and the parts market just doesn't compare to a Navistar or Cummins that were produced in mass quantity for hundreds of manufacturers.

Depending on how far back you go, you'll find things that we didn't know were bad ideas at the time. Split rims, asbestos, explosive fuel tanks...

You can get a TC2000 for cheap and have a kick ass transit style (flat nose) bus for very little money and expect to get parts for another decade without drama.

[B.Rubble]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Most of us will recommend buses form the 90s. They have that combination of availability, affordability, maintainability, and price that hits the sweet spot. After that they prices skyrocket along with the cost of maintenance, earlier than that there isn't much room between someone's expensive collector's item and a pile of rust in the weeds.

I love the look of old buses, but my wallet knows that those bubble curved windshields are unobtainium. The 6-71 is a great motor and a piece of history, but my wallet knows they stopped making them in 1995 and the parts market just doesn't compare to a Navistar or Cummins that were produced in mass quantity for hundreds of manufacturers.

Depending on how far back you go, you'll find things that we didn't know were bad ideas at the time. Split rims, asbestos, explosive fuel tanks...

You can get a TC2000 for cheap and have a kick ass transit style (flat nose) bus for very little money and expect to get parts for another decade without drama.

Common sense put to use...I very much appreciate your opinions. I can't argue with them either. The budget for purchase is MUCH bigger that the budget for repairs.