Transit bus

[Slyb]

Does transit/city bus makes good Skoolie?

[BarnYardCamp]

My first concern with a "city" bus would be what speed it is capable of....can it cruise down the hwy?

[ewo1]

Another concern would be fancy, proprietary/multiplex wiring.

[jbeech]

Inner city bus will likely be geared for 45mph kind of traffic conditions, max. Meaning geared for city speeds, instead of getting on the highway and keeping up with 65-70mph traffic. And if it has to run it's guts out, fuel economy goes in the toilet. I have experience with this in that I've owned a box truck for 20 years (former Macs Tools truck), and changing the transmission to an overdrive type sorted that issue. But before I did, getting on the highway was an experience better avoided. Thing is, finding an OD transmission to suit a Chevy V-8 is a doodle. For a bus? Hah! Good luck with that. My 2¢? Take a pass on the opportunity.

[Albatross]

If it's under about 18K lbs, then you can rebuild or order a 4L80(w/ or w/o the "E") tranny for a chevy to withstand that kind of pressure. If you prefer a manual, there's the T56.

If it's newer than that, you could probably have a custom built-out 6L90 transmission.

Both of these will limit you to about 15K lbs-21K lbs, so it would have to be a shorty, probably in the 24'-28' maximum length.

[Danjo]

I’ve seen new ones running down the freeway. I assume to their new home. So maybe they’re good for highway speeds.

I see clearance as a problem. So many places have big bumps and steep driveways. It would suck to high side one of those things.

Where are you putting tanks? I haven’t ever looked under one, but the low floors don’t bode well for under body tanks

[Albatross]

Originally Posted by Danjo

I’ve seen new ones running down the freeway. I assume to their new home. So maybe they’re good for highway speeds.

I see clearance as a problem. So many places have big bumps and steep driveways. It would suck to high side one of those things.

Where are you putting tanks? I haven’t ever looked under one, but the low floors don’t bode well for under body tanks

While that's true, transit buses usually have a lot more clearance in the interior height. With some careful engineering, it's entirely possible to keep all the tanks inside and under beds/benches/tables, where the temperatures are more likely to be stable and not too hot or too cold.

[Halfmoon1938]

Having just bought a transit bus it’s something I looked into. Just need to re-gear which probably needs done on all Skoolies doesn’t it?

[Iceni John]

Originally Posted by Halfmoon1938

Just need to re-gear which probably needs done on all Skoolies doesn’t it?

No, not really! My bus cruises happily at 65 MPH, and pushers with Cummins 8.3s are often good for more than that.

John

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by Halfmoon1938

Having just bought a transit bus it’s something I looked into. Just need to re-gear which probably needs done on all Skoolies doesn’t it?

How fast does it go?

This is something you should work out in advance of your conversion because it may be very expensive or not possible for whatever reason.

[cadillackid]

all of the transit busses in my city. (90% gillig Low floor, 10% new flyer excelsior) run down the freeway at 65.. they rotate them on various routes and mamny routes have some highway driving as part of it or to get to their route.. ie bus garage is on lower west side and they are running a route that starts in the northeast corridor.. they run the freeway to get there and always seem to be running 65-70 and dont sound like they are wound out doing it..

[Halfmoon1938]

Knew I read something about re gearing. Paved to Pines (former skoolie conversion company) says

‘ Here are a few ways to get better fuel economy in your school bus conversion:

Talk to your local mechanic about changing the gear ratio in your transmission to optimize for highway travel instead of inner-city travel.’

So not necessary but better fuel economy. Am talking to mechanic about our Duramax

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by ewo1

Another concern would be fancy, proprietary/multiplex wiring.

Answering my own post... LOL...

I found a Gillig electrical schematic service manual and thought that it might be useful here in this thread....

It is 4 megs so I can't upload.
Here is the link...get it while the getting is good!

https://www.bidnet.com/bneattachments?/491390354.pdf