New member

[Nickeasttn]

I'm Nick and I live in East tn. I'm about to buy a bus but still researching what type I need. It needs to be able to handle dirt and gravel roads.

[oricha1984]

Welcome Nick,
If you are in no rush, take time to learn about what will work best for you.
There are very knowledgeable members here that can tell you if a bus is worth it base on pictures, specs, etc.
Gl hunting,
Raul

Sent from my Life One X using Tapatalk

[chev49]

Originally Posted by Nickeasttn

I'm Nick and I live in East tn. I'm about to buy a bus but still researching what type I need. It needs to be able to handle dirt and gravel roads.

pretty much all the school busses will handle the gravel roads. Often schools in the south run their busses on those, not to mention home made bridges that one wonders if your bus will not fall through.

I have experienced this as my daughter lives there. Conventional is what i would use...

[EastCoastCB]

A short conventional would be the one to go with for dirt and gravel roads.
My shorty has been in some ROUGH situations and not gotten stuck yet!

[Phatman]

HELL YEAH ON THE SHORTY !!!!!


WATCH THE POLICE & THE TAX MAN MISS ME,
I'M MOBILE !!

[cadillackid]

make sure its the RIGHT shorty.. there are quite a few like mine that have small wheels.. if you want to go off road you need one like ECCB has which has the 11R22.5 tires on it.. and then you put tires on like i have on my DEV bus.. the uniroyal RD30..

I have used that bus to pull tree stumps out of the ground and the tires dont even slip on the grassy areas..

https://simpletire.com/uniroyal-11-r...BoC6ZAQAvD_BwE

-Christopher

P.S. plus the RD30's sound cool!! makes me sound like im Big-Riggin!

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

-Christopher

P.S. plus the RD30's sound cool!! makes me sound like im Big-Riggin!

Have you seen anyone put super-singles on the back of a bus? I'm thinking of going that route. Pricy, but would look cool.

[cadillackid]

I have a friend in the trucking business and some of the Owner Ops they use have super singles.. he swears off super singles like the plague...
1. expensive to to purchase and install the first time. (plus replace if you blow one)
2. if you blow a tire you are screwed. - cant limp, alot of service trucks dont yet carry them.

they obviously do have the weight advantage, less tires to maintain pressures on.. uneven pressures on duallies are a big reason for tire failure.. the rolling resistance is better so if you are running lots of miles you can save in fuel..

I agree they do look cool..
-Christopher

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I agree they do look cool..
-Christopher

That's all that REALLY matters. Yada Yada Yada cool.

[mmoore6856]

i ran super singles for almost 5 years they are quieter, run cooler, and actually gave me better traction in snow. (i ran a lot of northwest and Canada) hard rain with a light load was my only concern as they would hydroplane worse. as far as flats or blowouts i never ran them in the last 30% of tread trade them in. running on a flat with duels is illegal. you risk blowing the last tire also as it will be badly overloaded (and in all states can get you a fine ) bottom line keep good tires on that are not old if i did not have dayton wheels (spoke,wedge) i would have ss

[mmoore6856]

they claimed they got better mileage but not the way i drove

[cadillackid]

I didnt mean "driving" on a blown dual.. but if it meant being stopped along a dangerous freeway or being able to Limp to the next exit..

I dont have any first hand knowledge as im not a truck driver so ive not lived wit hthem out in the real world.. but it sounds like your experience is quite positive with them.. and I see enough of them out there.. even on trailers now that they must be somewhat well-received.
-Christopher

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by mmoore6856

i ran super singles for almost 5 years they are quieter, run cooler, and actually gave me better traction in snow. (i ran a lot of northwest and Canada) hard rain with a light load was my only concern as they would hydroplane worse. ... i would have ss

Thank you.
Good in snow pleasantly surprised, Hydroplaning I was aware of. Big rigs are tougher on overloading tires than my 20K axle bus.

[mmoore6856]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Thank you.
Good in snow pleasantly surprised, Hydroplaning I was aware of. Big rigs are tougher on overloading tires than my 20K axle bus.

Buses dont cross scales un most states

[mmoore6856]

Limping is what i would do but at 15 or 20 as if you have 18k on the back axel and blow one that puts 9,000 pounds on the other tire which if your lucky is rated at 6,000.

[mmoore6856]

Thats where it gets ileagle as you are overloading a tire

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by mmoore6856

Limping is what i would do but at 15 or 20 as if you have 18k on the back axel and blow one that puts 9,000 pounds on the other tire which if your lucky is rated at 6,000.

My whole 40 foot bus weighs less than 18k on the local Cat scale.
I'd rather have one tire to get to a safer place than one blown tire.
Have you ever weighed a bus?

[Brad_SwiftFur]

I am a truck driver and yes, while it's not legal to drive on a flat, I would not hesitate to do so (on dual tires) at least long enough to get to a safe stopping place (all bets are off on a single tire, be it a steer or otherwise). If I'm not far from a truck stop or other place where I can get a truck, you can guess where I'm going.

[Rusty]

Sorry Nick.

Quigley van conversions if you want 4x4 in a shorty. Like the other guys said, the Districts spec them for their territory. Want a Colorado-ready bus, look at gov auctions for your ride there. my half-cent.

Back to the HiJack,Found these great tire info.
Mich Tire Srvc Man

Mich Truck Tire Ref Chart

Worth the save.

[mmoore6856]

17,100 before i started