New to Skoolies ::: Hi Guys!

[DesertMax]

Well, I have been full time for over a year now in my Lance Truck Camper and while it is nice to be able to fit in a standard parking space anywhere, I am more than ready to move on up to something bigger... Much bigger!
I love my truck so leaning heavily towards a 5th Wheel Trailer however I have now been bitten by the skoolie bug. (I may be in the market for a heavy duty pickup truck flat bed trailer!!!) I am on the Oregon Coast but have been an Arizona Snowbird. I found a dude with a lot of buses and love the Thomas issue that runs the CAT motor. I think he said it was a J7 or something like that. He has them at a what seems a reasonable price to me but I'm a rookie here so do have some questions. I will just say hello to all and find the category suited to my interrogatives...

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome to the site!

[DesertMax]

Great to find it...

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by DesertMax

Well, I have been full time for over a year now in my Lance Truck Camper and while it is nice to be able to fit in a standard parking space anywhere, I am more than ready to move on up to something bigger... Much bigger!
I love my truck so leaning heavily towards a 5th Wheel Trailer however I have now been bitten by the skoolie bug. (I may be in the market for a heavy duty pickup truck flat bed trailer!!!) I am on the Oregon Coast but have been an Arizona Snowbird. I found a dude with a lot of buses and love the Thomas issue that runs the CAT motor. I think he said it was a J7 or something like that. He has them at a what seems a reasonable price to me but I'm a rookie here so do have some questions. I will just say hello to all and find the category suited to my interrogatives...

You're on the west coast where truly amazing buses can be had. Don't settle for some late model Cat. That C7 isn't an ideal engine.
Look at a lot of buses before buying one.

[DesertMax]

Exactly what I needed to hear! Excellent response... Thank you.

[M1031A1]

I LOVE my 3208 Cat! It's a huge engine for a bus. She'll pull uphill and walk away from everyone else without even trying. Matched with a 643 transmission and new 4.11 rear gears, she'll do 70 m.p.h. all day long. My Thomas handles the speed and cross-winds without any issues.

Look for the older Thomas buses (1998s or older) that have that combination and you'll be very happy. If you keep the bus under 63 m.p.h. (with the above set-up) the fuel mileage will go north of 12 m.p.g. depending upon terrain.

Like any manufacturer, Cat made some turkeys in their time, but the 3208 is NOT one of them. One of the rare V8 diesels, there's a lot of engine and reliability packed into that set-up.

Best of fortunes in finding what you're after!

M

[2kool4skool]

Welcome!.....

[DesertMax]

M3101A1, that's some great information there... I retired from the San Diego Operating Engineers Union as a Land Surveyor and throughout my career was always surrounded by the big 657 scrapers and the high wheel CAT dozers.
They lined them all up at lunch and left them running so I am no stranger to the sounds of the massive CAT engines. Just always wanted one and the V8 sounds like a winner. I drive a Super Duty with the 6.0 V8 Diesel which was a problematic engine. I got a good one. 180K and running great. I will look out for the Thomas of that vintage and power plant. Thanks.

[EastCoastCB]

Don't pass up a good 8.3 Cummins or DT466. They're sort of the gold standard when it comes to school buses.
Or you can get a Crown and get a class 8 engine.

[DesertMax]

I will keep that in mind..

[DesertMax]

Hey check this out... CATERPILLAR 3208... - School Bus Fleet Magazine Forums

[EastCoastCB]

https://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/th...layType=nested

[DesertMax]

Very interesting stuff all that...

[DesertMax]

Very interesting stuff all that..

[BowserJournal]

Welcome to the group!