2010 Champion CTS RE -- is this happening?

[Portlandian]

Hello all! First time poster, just crackin' the wallet open


So, tomorrow I am going to check out my first bus. It's a 32ft 2010 Champion with 6.7L Cummins ISB, 6spd automatic Allison 2000, former city transit bus, 470k miles, at $10k.

Talked on the phone with the owner tonight, he says it he purchased two of them from the City of Salem Transit, one he is keeping for himself. It was apparently last in service about 3 months ago, and he was provided with log books from the motor crew which detail an incredible amount of work and maintenance on it over the last 13 years. He says in the last two years it has received turbo injectors, radiator fan, had the AC rebuilt. Within the last 300 miles it received new brake calipers and rotors. Despite being high mileage I am very excited about the prospect of proper maintenance and meticulous oil changing. It is in the state of OR, we get virtually no rust here in the valley, but I will be inspecting for such.

If I do buy it, it is a funny time, as I'm just visiting home (OR) while I've been in FL for the winter... I have a flight back to FL next weekend, and then I'll be driving back in April. Luckily I have a couple places where I can store the bus, and he was even open to keeping it on his property for me and starting it a couple times, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm looking for any advice! A quick bio of me: I plan to make a living space from it; less traveling and more stand still; maybe only a handful of trips per year and probably averaging around 5k max as I'm likely to stick to the west USA more or less. I converted a Toyota Sienna minivan last summer, adding shelves, sink, fridge, lifepo battery bank, starlink, convertable bed/couch etc. I lived in it for 6 weeks on a trip to FL, so I'll be heading home in that van in April. I'm medium handy -- I replaced all 6 coils and plugs on that van, i've done brakes and recently I installed a wireless PKE ignition in my Subaru Impreza. Long ago I pulled the engine out of jetta and replaced rod bearings but that was also with someone who mostly guided it all.

I saw in Beatrice's post that someone mentioned busnut.com so I'll be sure to check out that resource!

Very excited to potentially begin this conversion in a few months and looking forward to hearing from any of you crazy people

[BarnYardCamp]

Disclaimer: My bus is the first diesel powered vehicle I've ever owned....

Transit bus...lots of city traffic? 470,000 miles...that seems like there could be a lot of wear on the tranny.
Is it geared for hwy driving? $10,000 seems a bit pricey but it does look like a nice platform to convert.

[DeMac]

Hopefully, this will be your first inspection, of a bus. Not your first bus.

While some owners have spent $10k on a retired, unmolested bus, most spend much less. The mileage is quite high, too. Very few of us purchaced them with over 250k miles.

Do you know the number of hours?

Just an observation. Do as you wish with your money & your dreams. If you had our knowledge, you would simply keep searching. It's not the one.

I certainly do like the look of it. The increased width & height are perfect, too.

[Portlandian]

Yeah, I haven’t shaken any hands on the deal , but the incredibly short length while still being a flat nose and rear engine is incrediblyattractive to me as a platform. I have an rv pad with water, power and sewer catch that is 35ft which would be great if it fit.

Here is the original ad text fwiw:

Trade: 2010 Freightliner 32ft short bus / RV
Legendary straight 6 Cummins 6.7L Diesel engine. Mated to the bulletproof Allison 6 speed Automatic Transmission.

32' long 8' wide 6' 10" interior height

Owned and maintained by Salem area transit since new. No expense spared.
($40,000 receipts in preventative maintenance in the last couple years)
470k miles.
NEW Turbo and Injectors.
Batteries, New Tires Brakes, etc etc etc.
Just tuned up and ready to go.

Runs and drives and shifts great
Turns on a dime!
I can pull a U turn on a 2 lane road!?!

Ready to throw a queen bed on the built in platform in the back.

$10,000 Cash. (No checks)
Or Trade for 4x4 diesel tractor, Skidsteer , excavator or good diesel pickup truck? Shoot me a trade offer. ����*♂️ See less

[Portlandian]

So I got to see it today. Everything seemed fantastic about it. Pretty extensive maintenance history, transmission fluid changes on average about every 20k miles because it was just in rotation with other the other fleet, but this one serviced rural / highway routes and had much less mileage. I could see turbo replaced within the last year, EGR valve replaced, HVAC repaired, everything has been actively cared for by a motor crew. Tires were all nearly brand new all around!

There was no mold/mildew, and no real rust on any of the undercarriage. All of the driver seat controls were well labelled and functioning. It has a pile of spare parts (wipers, filters, brake pads, belts) that were handed over by the motorcrew as it was the final one from their fleet.

We drove it around and got it up to speed, it was incredibly smooth with shifts, no clunks or jerks. It has air brakes, air suspension, and the gauges for the air suspension were operational and it all worked.

So, all in all, I'm going to take the plunge... This one seems great compared to others I see on the markets (or Auction, which I won't go after). I told myself I would look at 3 buses before I was allowed to get one, but... I guess this one just checks all the boxes!

And then it will be... radio silence lol. I'm headed back to FL in 3 days, and I'll be there until I drive back in April. But I have someone who will start the bus for me every few weeks, and I'll have plenty of time to plan and educate myself. Excited for that time!

[BarnYardCamp]

congrats...we all hope this works out for you...and look forward to following your conversion.