Need Insight on a Project Skoolie

[rhoward]

Hello! I'm hoping to buy my first skoolie for part-time living (mostly road trips/camping) and I came across a skoolie for sale in the process of being converted. I've been to see it in person and I like the layout, the electrical and water are done, it has all of it's appliances and the materials to finish building out the interior. This seems like a great bus and a great deal but with it being my first skoolie I would like to get some insight from people who know what they are doing haha.

Here are the specs:
2001 Thomas
ERISB215 rear engine (I think its a Cummins)
MD3060 transmission
144,400 miles
Needs new tires and new battery (factored into the selling price by the seller)

Before I buy it I'm looking into getting a diesel mechanic to look at it.


Does anyone have any experience with this type of bus/engine/transmission or any words of advice for a first time skoolie buyer?

Thanks!

[Kentucky Dreaming]

New tires and starting batteries will be a few thousand bucks. How far will it have to go before getting those items?

I'm a newbie so can't address the other questions as well as others here.

That is low mileage if it is accurate. Best to verify with a scan tool.

I think the tranny is a reliable unit.

But there are many here who know more than I.

Good luck!!

[o1marc]

Not often that you see an MD3060 attached to a 5.9, that's a huge plus. Mileage is low if accurate. Important question is what is the asking price?

Go to the UserCP and fill out your profile with your location.

[rhoward]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Not often that you see an MD3060 attached to a 5.9, that's a huge plus. Mileage is low if accurate. Important question is what is the asking price?

Go to the UserCP and fill out your profile with your location.

Thanks for your reply! Why is that combo a plus?

The asking price is $15K, this includes some kitchen, living room, bathroom and bed room furniture and fixtures, completed flooring, insulation, solar panels, electricity and plumbing done, and an AC window unit. This seems like a heck of a deal, but like I said, I'm new to this and didn't want to jump in without some questions getting answered! Thanks for your help!

[HamSkoolie]

Your tires are going to be in the neighborhood of $650 EACH so $3900 plus mounting.
What kind of insulation?
How many watts of solar and are they new or used, installed and the system working or just parts and pieces?
By my standards a window AC unit is a sign of a sketchy build unless it's either mounted in on the rear wall (rather than out the window) or a unit actually designed to be through wall mounted and placed in an appropriate box that is flush on the side of the bus.

THE BIGGEST question is HOW MUCH RUST

After that the biggest two biggest questions are whether or not the stuff included fits into your idea of the "mission" of the bus and what else is available at what price?
We paid $5300 for a 96 with brand new tires, alloy wheels, automatic snow chains, charter bus style windows, almost zero rust (some very light surface stuff here and there but any less would be zero) and the seats removed. But we have to buy all the goodies and it had more miles than you do. But being a mechanic and doing a 4 hour pre purchase inspection and a test drive, I'm pretty sure it's got plenty of life left.
15k seems high to me but the market is volatile and different areas demand different prices.

[Danjo]

Need more details about the state and quality of the conversion as well as condition of the bus itself.

[WIbluebird]

ISB215 most likely means a Cummins 5.9 set at 215 hp. That's a pretty solid drivetrain, not the highest power rating you could get in a 5.9 pusher (275 is the biggest I've seen) but that will move it down the road nicely.

Is it a factory high roof? That would make it even sweeter. Low roof Thomas buses are pretty bad when it comes to headroom so factor that in as well.

Some pics would be great here!

[rhoward]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Your tires are going to be in the neighborhood of $650 EACH so $3900 plus mounting.
What kind of insulation?
How many watts of solar and are they new or used, installed and the system working or just parts and pieces?
By my standards a window AC unit is a sign of a sketchy build unless it's either mounted in on the rear wall (rather than out the window) or a unit actually designed to be through wall mounted and placed in an appropriate box that is flush on the side of the bus.

THE BIGGEST question is HOW MUCH RUST

After that the biggest two biggest questions are whether or not the stuff included fits into your idea of the "mission" of the bus and what else is available at what price?
We paid $5300 for a 96 with brand new tires, alloy wheels, automatic snow chains, charter bus style windows, almost zero rust (some very light surface stuff here and there but any less would be zero) and the seats removed. But we have to buy all the goodies and it had more miles than you do. But being a mechanic and doing a 4 hour pre purchase inspection and a test drive, I'm pretty sure it's got plenty of life left.
15k seems high to me but the market is volatile and different areas demand different prices.

Thanks for the response, this is great info!

We've factored in new tires and a battery into our overall budget for finishing the bus.

It has Havelock wool insulation, already placed and just needs to be covered. The wood for covering the rest of the walls and ceiling is included.

The solar is 400W. It is new and installed. They also have RV power hookups installed and working.

The window unit AC is actually mounted on the back above the back window through the metal of the back.

I was also wondering if there was rust to worry about. While I was there to check it out I couldn't get a good look under it due to high grass where it has been lived and worked on. One thing I was worried about is it has stayed in one spot for several months and if the grass has been high like it was would I need to be extra worried about possible rust? The current owner bought it gutted in late 2020 and drove it from Arizona to Austin, TX so it has made a decent trip in the past year and they invested almost a year of work into it so I'm assuming it isn't a total rust bucket. They are selling it due to a personal reason.

I'll try to get some pictures up from the listing soon.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by rhoward

I was also wondering if there was rust to worry about. While I was there to check it out I couldn't get a good look under it due to high grass where it has been lived and worked on. One thing I was worried about is it has stayed in one spot for several months and if the grass has been high like it was would I need to be extra worried about possible rust? The current owner bought it gutted in late 2020 and drove it from Arizona to Austin, TX so it has made a decent trip in the past year and they invested almost a year of work into it so I'm assuming it isn't a total rust bucket.

If it's an Arizona bus you don't have to worry about rust. Even if it was originally a salt-zone bus, sitting in high grass isn't going to cause the underside to rust; underside corrosion is caused by driving in salty snow conditions (steel will corrode in atmospheric conditions, but very slowly). Rust damage to the body of the bus (which includes the floor) is caused by leaking windows and light openings and/or bus shops hosing down the inside and/or kids tracking in salty snow - in other words, bus bodies rust from the inside out, not because of anything going on outside or underneath.

Most likely the seller has already dealt with whatever rust damage was present in the body, but I personally would want to see pictures they took during the conversion work, not just for rust remediation but in general just to see how they did things.