I don't know what I don't know

[Moosey]

Hello everyone! I am on a time crunch so I have not really had time to go through everything in this forum. Here is what I have going:
My timeline got moved up and I am going to go look at a couple busses maintenance and travel logs today at 4 pm cst.
the issue is I don't really know what to look for.
If anyone wouldn't mind throwing some ideas at what to look for I would really appreciate it.
Thank you for your time
Moosey

[Mountain Gnome]

#1 avoid rust
#2 avoid rust
#3 avoid rust


check everywhere for rust, including underneath. A bit of surface rust, maybe OK. Any more can likely mean serious problems where you can not see it. Avoid vehicles in the N.E. or anywhere where they put salt on the roads in wintertime.


Make sure the tires are newish. Find out how to read the DOT codes on the tires to see how old they are.


Make sure you don't see any fluid leaks. If the bus has hydraulic brakes, make sure to check the "back" (inside) side of the rear wheels and if you see any sign of moisture, it is likely a brake fluid leak, but it could also be an axle seal leak.


Knowing what bus you are looking at can help give better advice.


Full size or van-cutout, make, model, motor, tranny type, etc....

[Moosey]

Thank you. It would definitely have some rust damage as it is in the north mid west

[Danjo]

Not knowing what you don’t know. The unknown unknowns = bliss?

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Moosey

Thank you. It would definitely have some rust damage as it is in the north mid west

Here's what rust can look like once the seats and floor are out: https://imgur.com/a/yisoA9i (you can check out my build thread to see what I've had to do to repair it, but this is a briefer version of the biggest part of it: https://imgur.com/a/Vp4Xpv6). This bus (the light of my life) was from Buffalo, NY. "North mid west" does not have a good reputation as regards rust, either. Whatever bus you look at from up there will probably not be this bad - but it well might be.

[Moosey]

That, or something to stop someone in their tracks lol