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New guy report
Thought I'd share my recent experiences in my hunt for a 'shorty' 4 window school bus. I must state up front that all the information I'm providing is for the State of Texas.
I found what I was looking for on Market Place (Facebook). There are far more school buses here than I saw just hunting on the Web. The owner was very quick to respond to any question that I had. Now to find out what I would need to do. First up was insurance. Yes, I want to make sure of that prior to looking further. My local agent (Progressive) had my insurance in 20 minutes (Commercial – no need to convert to anything) and no wheel chair lift. I figure if I purchase the bus, I can safely drive home (250 miles 1 way) at a cost of $38.00 for 30 days coverage. Now that insurance was a non-issue, it was off the the local Texas State Trouper office.
Meet with two officers. My first question was: “Do I have to paint the bus?”. Both answered at the same time: “NO!”. I then asked what I need to do to be legal – they said I needed to do two things: Remove any decal that has anything to do with “school” and remove the Red lens from the front of the bus. I said that once the decals were removed, you could still see the outline of the letters. Their response was: “No problem; you have done what the law says by removing the decals.
Yes, I did purchase the bus!!
Stop at a local truck wash to see if they can power wash the decals off – no problem. High pressure, steam, power washer did the trick. Cost $35.00 included washing the outside of the bus.
I had been checking out Youtube for engine information – Duramax Diesel/Allison transmission. Problem was I did not know there are two diesel engines: 6.5L and 6.6L Most of the videos I watched were of 6.6L – bus has 6.5L – oh well, my bad. Part of my learning curve.
Bus is in very good condition with zero rust. If you are looking at school bus' look in the South where salt on the road is infrequently used, if at all.
Oh – wife and I have another bus that is converted: Ex-Greyhound 40' motor home. Had it since 1997. Do have some stick time messing around with conversions.
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