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Old 04-13-2022, 06:44 PM   #1
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Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: Castle, OK
Posts: 1
Want aa shuttle bus project. Some questions

Wife and I have settled on a shuttle bus we think.
My wife has a medical condition and even going an hour in a car causes her pain...so for the last 5 years she doesnt go far. Through a family emergency and travel to a funeral we figured out that if she can move around, get in different positions and lay down some, she can travel in a lot less pain. So we have settled on a shuttle bus with a diesel engine. It seems to me that the shuttle bus is more friendly than short bus for conversion and is a little better mpgs

1....I have found a couple of auction sites which look like they will have what we need cheaper than Craigslist or Facebook marketplace, but if anyone has any good ideas of other places to look....Im open.

2...I notice that most shuttle buses dont have a second seat up front for a passenger. Is there terminology for the ones that have both front doors and seats? Any creative ways to have one or do you just put a nice chair behind the driver? I just worry in certain places without that up front seat does the passenger (my wife 99% of the time) wont have the same view?

3...I know that the 7.3 is a great diesel...but the more modern ones dont have that engine. I know the 6.0 issues (ive owned 2 Ford Trucks with that engine). Seems like the diesels I see on the auction are the Duramax...I have always been a Ford guy...how are the Duramaxs in these?

4...MPGs. I have read that a gas (usually Ford V10) gets about 10mpgs if you drive carefully...Some places said the Diesels can get more like 15-17. Is that true if you are driving 65? Or is that a pipedream? I will not be towing.

5...Anything I should know going forward about shuttle bus conversion vs true schoolie?

We are selling my toy (convertible) and look to purchase in the next couple of weeks.

wildspotpharms is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2022, 08:32 AM   #2
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: Peru. IN
Posts: 184
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Collins
Chassis: NB18FD Oshkosh
Engine: 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 18,500
Shuttles and schoolies with second front seat are few and far between. When you do find one it might be quite a bit higher than the normal single seat models.

I was looking for the same thing before I bought my collins. I only found two in the USA. Both were high milage for the years. Both were about 4K higher than a non-second front seat.

Good luck on your search. They are out there.
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Old 04-14-2022, 09:22 AM   #3
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Suburbs of Winterset, OH
Posts: 802
Year: 2005
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: FS65
Engine: Mercedes 6.4L
Rated Cap: just the 2 of us
with the cost of diesel fuel and diesel maintenance, maybe a gas engine would be ok??

Check out some of the build threads. Some people have eliminated the front bus door. Built a "co-pilot" seat then utilized their handicap lift door as their entry way. I would have done that had my H-lift door been towards the front. Of course, some of the people making those type of modifications have some pretty amazing skills (not me).

Also. when making your selection, give some thought to maintenance. If the engine is buried, you'll pay more for repair work and some shops may not want to work on it at all. Maybe some of the van "cut-away" people can address this better.
Plus, if your wife has mobility issues, will she be able to climb out of a front passenger seat of a shuttle/van style bus to get into the "camper" area with out a great deal of trouble? She'll have to climb over some sort of interior engine cover.

I personally prefer the standard school bus as they are built on a rugged heavy truck frame. The engine on mine is easily accessible but that also gives me 8 to 10 additional feet of vehicle length that's not camper space.
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Old 04-14-2022, 05:23 PM   #4
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Virginia
Posts: 2,324
Year: 1971
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
The van cutaway school buses are often on the same 1 ton truck chassis as the shuttle buses, but have a very durable steel body, instead of the fiberglass shuttle body. There have been a number of problems with wet cores on the shuttles. as long as you find one in good shape not sure that it really makes much difference.



The full size short buses are the ones that tend to be geared for slower speeds. Much heavier and built to last but also a bit overkill for what you want to do.
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Old 04-14-2022, 09:00 PM   #5
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: Midwest
Posts: 267
If long distance travel is the only issue here, perhaps you should consider an SUV. My wife has similar issues due to an auto accident resulting in a spinal fusion. We have an SUV for her, and when we travel long distance she rests on a mattress in the back that I had made for it. We have a Durango with a split bench middle seat, so if she wants to sit she can sit in the seat not taken by the mattress. And, it folds up so if we want to use all the other seats for passengers, they are available and the mattress rides in the very back. An SUV might suit your needs without the expense and hassle of a bus conversion. The only drawback is when she's laying down we only have 2 available seats, or a very small area for luggage. We used to have a Tahoe that had more room when she was laying down, but the ride was a lot worse.

Anyway, this is something you can test by renting an SUV then traveling somewhere to see if it will work. You can make a temp mattress out of some blankets, and if it works look for a custom mattress shop that can make a mattress to fit. I can send you the name of our mattress guy if you need it. He's out of Oklahoma, but can make a custom sized mattress from memory foam and latex foam that folds in the middle for easy storage.
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