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Old 08-29-2019, 11:19 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 37
Year: 2001
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: All-American flat face
Short bus possibility

Looking for my short school bus. Found this one that seems like a good fit for me.

What should I be asking about (other than battery system backup for electrical)?

CL DESCRIPTION:

2001 Thomas, 210k miles, automatic - $12k

Upgrades:
- New wood laminate floor
- Mini fridge
- Countertop
- Ceiling fan
- Convertible couch that seats 4 or can be a king size bed
- Six bucket seats with seatbelts
- Cabinets and shelves for storage
- Camp toilet (w/bags)
- Blackout curtains for privacy
- 120V AC electrical system (switches between shore power, batteries, and alternator automatically!)
- Battery bank to support 2-3 days off the grid
- Shore power hookup
- New rear end gear (this was expensive) to allow 65+ mph
- Governor removed
- 4 brand new rear tires
- New fuel gauge sending unit
- Recalibrated speedometer
- New all metal grill on front
- Exterior fully painted with heavy duty enamel
- Repaired interior air conditioner
- Adjustable rear air ride suspension

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating:
Class 7: 26,001 - 33,000 lb (11,794 - 14,969 kg)
Drive Type:
4x2
Brake System Type:
Air
Engine Number of Cylinders:
6
Displacement (CC):
7200.0
Displacement (CI):
439.37095748207
Displacement (L):
7.2
Engine Model:
Cat 3126/CFE
Fuel Type - Primary:
Diesel
Engine Configuration:
In-Line

CorbettO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-2019, 11:46 PM   #2
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 2,831
Year: 2007
Coachwork: Thomas Built
Chassis: Minotour
Engine: Chevy Express 3500 6.6l
Are you looking for something ready to go and not into the adventure of doing it yourself? If so it might be an OK deal. Just to put it into perspective, that bus (and I’m not saying anything about engine or transmission quality, though reading that the rear end gearing has been modified to me says it has “grocery getter” written all over it) is probably worth $5K before conversion.

If you have someone do all the conversion for you it could easily be $7 in cost, especially in the Bay Area.

BUT there is no bathroom, kitchen, solar. Kind of seems like it comes up a little short.

AND when the insurance company wants photos of a kitchen, bathroom, bed, you’ll only have half of one of those.

AND how is it titled and registered? Is it still a bus (BU or SB) or is it officially a motor home (MH) on the title? If it’s a California vehicle and it’s staying here, that matters since the new CARB laws only exempt it from very expensive exhaust retrofit if it’s a motorhome.
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Old 08-29-2019, 11:48 PM   #3
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 2,831
Year: 2007
Coachwork: Thomas Built
Chassis: Minotour
Engine: Chevy Express 3500 6.6l
Oh, based on the GVWR you’re going to need a non-commercial class B to drive it.
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Old 08-30-2019, 12:39 AM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 14
Coachwork: Sheller globe Corp, superior division.
Chassis: 79 international
Engine: 345 v8
With that GVW I’m thinking this isn’t really a short bus. Mine is 21,700 GVW and it’s a 7 or 8 window medium size bus, seems like that one almost has to be bigger than a shorty.
Troutslayer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2019, 01:45 AM   #5
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 2,831
Year: 2007
Coachwork: Thomas Built
Chassis: Minotour
Engine: Chevy Express 3500 6.6l
Quote:
Originally Posted by Troutslayer View Post
With that GVW I’m thinking this isn’t really a short bus. Mine is 21,700 GVW and it’s a 7 or 8 window medium size bus, seems like that one almost has to be bigger than a shorty.
Agreed. The 7 window buses I looked at were all 25,500. Great size IMO and can drive on a class C
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Old 08-30-2019, 02:05 AM   #6
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 3,856
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
A question to ask ...


What transmission? (Automatic is a little vague.)
Native is offline   Reply With Quote
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