Yearly maintenance cost of the typical school bus drivetrain with 15,000 miles a year

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by turf

i'm sorry i complain about my first oil change.

I don't think that was me complaining about you complaining.

Posted the schedule for the kid to get a real schedule. I've no idea what any of it costs yet. Except for an ABS wheel sensor ($56) which still didn't get the ABS light to turn off. I'm still on school oil. I've only driven mine probably just under a 1,000 miles so far. 450 ish picking it up, 400 ish (maybe) to Watkins Glenn and a couple of dump runs.

[Greatestrr]

You should just go buy a bus, convert it, drive it for a year and tell us how much it costs.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

I've no idea what any of it costs yet. Except for an ABS wheel sensor ($56) which still didn't get the ABS light to turn off. I'm still on school oil. I've only driven mine probably just under a 1,000 miles so far. 450 ish picking it up, 400 ish (maybe) to Watkins Glenn and a couple of dump runs.

Yeah- it's the nickle-dime stuff. The exterior rivets I need are 40 cents/pc and I'll probably order 400. Coated sheet steel prices were like- wow.

Some stuff is surprisingly cheap, as well. Free, even. I'm glad, in some respects, to be ale to build mine over a longer time-frame to spread-out the costs.

My brother-in-law was bitching about the high-price of his BMW sport tires @ 500/each. I said, yeah, at least you only need 4.

You see a bunch of new bus owners on the Board finding-out that yes, they have a great engine in their bus, but 250,000 miles is still 250,000 miles. Idling-hours are miles

Ford Fleet Source:

Factoring in the idle hours on those 100 days: 6 hours of idle time per day at an estimated 25 miles per idle hour (from above; one hour of idle time is equal to approximately 25 miles of driving) results in 15,000 simulated miles. Conclusion: after 100 days the engine oil actually has 20,000 miles of wear!

[serpent]

I just dropped $4,800 on 8 new Michelin tires today for the MCI; the Crown will need 10 of those next year. *OUCH*

So, without anything extra that's about $800/yr just for tires on the MCI. (I don't run 'em more than 6 years normally.)

It seems to me that quite a few people with the 'skoolie' mentality think they're going to get away with buying some $2,500 bus that will last the rest of their life just because it hasn't hit 500,000 miles yet. ..that's just not the case no matter what condition the bus is in. No offense but these are some big machines with some big expensive parts.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Some stuff is surprisingly cheap, as well. Free, even. I'm glad, in some respects, to be ale to build mine over a longer time-frame to spread-out the costs.

Where's this free stuff?!! No I haven't looked at anything on CL yet. I should start looking for a co-pilot seat tho.

With no deadline, I'm kinda on hold at the sheet metal spot. I wanna see a bus or 3 in person before proceeding with my roof raise.

Back to the OP's question tho, I wouldn't consider any of the conversion costs as part of yearly maintenance. That should be limited strictly to oil changes, tires, batteries, etc. To his point there is very much an industry average for that. School's have to budget for it. You just can't include blown motors, trannies falling out, etc. Those happen when they happen.

Originally Posted by serpent

It seems to me that quite a few people with the 'skoolie' mentality think they're going to get away with buying some $2,500 bus that will last the rest of their life just because it hasn't hit 500,000 miles yet. ..that's just not the case no matter what condition the bus is in. No offense but these are some big machines with some big expensive parts.

That's going to be me. 1) I don't budget well. If I have money, I'll spend it. If I don't, it'll wait. 2) The bus doesn't really cost much to run. It just costs a huge amount to go from non-running back to running.

[Phatman]

That's a big ole YEP !!! on the things that just break. Even some peoples idea of maintenance is questionable. All of us will try to stretch that dollar as far as we can.

[Minimalvagabond]

So I’m looking at a shortie right now that was purchased in FL and driven up to MA. I’m so super new to this - would love some insight as to why no FL buses? ...looking for guidance - I have no help or friends who support me in the tiny/mobile home living

[EastCoastCB]

Our buses are among the most neglected in the country. FL schools are severely underfunded and thus our buses are cheap, bottom of the barrel stuff with spotty maintenance at best.
Yet- when one tries to buy a used bus here the prices aren't in line with other states. Everyone's exporting them, or setting up dealer lots and making easy money.
I bought my buses from out of state and saved BIG. Plus I got way nicer buses than FL can offer.

[jrtroubleshooter]

OP "can't afford to lose any more of my young years to toil and hardship"

Better stick with uber, and interweb

Real life is not easy, nor is anything worth doing

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Our buses are among the most neglected in the country. FL schools are severely underfunded and thus our buses are cheap, bottom of the barrel stuff with spotty maintenance at best.
Yet- when one tries to buy a used bus here the prices aren't in line with other states. Everyone's exporting them, or setting up dealer lots and making easy money.
I bought my buses from out of state and saved BIG. Plus I got way nicer buses than FL can offer.

The (mis)conception is "Florida never gets snow, so they never salt the roads, so the buses will be rust free". I will not attest to how true that is, it's just the perception.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

The (mis)conception is "Florida never gets snow, so they never salt the roads, so the buses will be rust free". I will not attest to how true that is, it's just the perception.

They never salt the roads. But they never pull the salt from the air in coastal cities either. Look at the aluminum track that your hotel sliding glass door is in the next time your at the beach!!

You might not have road rust (fenders, underside, etc) in a FL bus. I never looked at one close enough even when I lived there. But I'll bet cash that the floor INSIDE the bus is going to be rusty as hell. FL gets a little bit of rain from time to time. Plywood is a sponge. Those floors aren't going to get a lot of time to dry out.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

The (mis)conception is "Florida never gets snow, so they never salt the roads, so the buses will be rust free". I will not attest to how true that is, it's just the perception.

We have plenty of salt in the air with our 1200+ miles of shoreline that you can never be more than 60-70 miles from. If the bus is from anywhere near a beach its gonna have some rust, usually.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Both of you hit the nail right on the head, that was my implied point exactly.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

We have plenty of salt in the air with our 1200+ miles of shoreline that you can never be more than 60-70 miles from. If the bus is from anywhere near a beach its gonna have some rust, usually.

Tally is 60 miles from a real beach, 35 from St. Mark's Wildlife area (salt Marsh). You couldn't smell any salt in the air, AL didn't rust to hell and back in a single afternoon. Cars didn't rust out too fast. Everything fell apart from mold and mildew. AC takes care of that in a car setting. Buses don't dry as quickly.

[syntel]

I've never considered skoolie's to be hobbies for the rich... They buy over priced class A's.

But, I also know from my sail boat and pilots license, you can't be broke to have these hobbies either. At some point, you'll have to ask what can I do? And you had better be able to do something yourself otherwise you had better be rich.

On my boat (Hunter 30 Sailboat) I do wood working - new mahogany door; I can do plumbing - new head and hoses... but the hoses were a pain to pull, so for $600 I'll pay someone to deal with **** (literally). We installed the AC and paid to get the electrical hooked up. But I also had to pay for a tranny replace and a bunch of extras... $15k.

I imagine the bus will be a land yacht.

I didn't buy an RV because those are cheaply made and we wouldn't understand the systems. We are building a skoolie se we have hopes of maintaining a lot of the systems our-selves.

To that point, my partner that retired from education has taken a contract back in education to pay his part of the conversion. He's demanding a diesel generator connnected to the 60 gallon diesel tank the bus has. And he's demanding NEW. LOL SO the generator will cost more than our bus - STUPID as he would say. But you only live once.

[syntel]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

We have plenty of salt in the air with our 1200+ miles of shoreline that you can never be more than 60-70 miles from. If the bus is from anywhere near a beach its gonna have some rust, usually.

Houston does not salt. I don't think San Antonio does either. We use sand.

[cadillackid]

my houston bus came almost completely rust free.. and it runs pretty good too...

florida isnt about the rust so much as they run the busses to death mechanically... in my year of residency in st pete i walked the streets a LOT.. esp in the morning.. and some of the 7-10 year old busses that drove by me sounded TRERRIBLE... skipping cyclinders.. smoke.. presumably ill-maintained and broken A/C units (or dumb drivers that run with the windows down in 95 degree humid september heat).. the paint fades and oxidizes so that can begin to welcome rust, as its obvious the florida busses are never washed or protectant put on them..

contrast with ohio.. where yes we are the salt-kings of the world.. everything rusts in ohio.. but dang the inspectors are TOUGH and wont tag a bus valid if it isnt mechanically in pretty tip top shape.. I Hear the difference when the ohio busses drive by me as im walking..

some districts in Texas do a good jiob maintaining busses and in a city like houston, dallas, austin thats not coastal. you wont have much in the way of rust..

of course be VERY CAREFUL of cheap busses from houston now. as they could be flood victims... not enough to ruin the engines. but a few feet of water could easily destroy wiring, hubs, bearings, rear ends, etc.. not to mention trap water under the rubber floor and rust will start very quickly..

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by syntel

Houston does not salt. I don't think San Antonio does either. We use sand.

Right, but its right ON the gulf, right? I'm sure the coastal buses in that area are just as bad as ours. The schools are probably better funded, though.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

The (mis)conception is "Florida never gets snow, so they never salt the roads, so the buses will be rust free". I will not attest to how true that is, it's just the perception.

It rains in Florida, a lot and very heavily for a good part of the year. Nowhere in Florida is more than about 80 miles from the ocean, so many school districts are right on the coast with salt air.

Add to that what was already said, and I'd want a very close inspection before buying a bus from the Sunshine State.

[syntel]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Right, but its right ON the gulf, right? I'm sure the coastal buses in that area are just as bad as ours. The schools are probably better funded, though.

Yes and no. Growing up I use to ask why does Galveston look so 'bad'? My family explained to me about the salt air. Houston is far enough we don't experience that (nor do we have coast on two side either). We have humidity and rain.