Looking for Full Time Living

[loyleele]

Hi! I've lurked for a little while but this'll be my first post here. Tried to soak up as much knowledge as I could before I posted so I wasn't asking questions that have been answered.

Life is turning upside down in the wake of covid and I'm having to leave my residence in the next couple of months. I've wanted to move full-time into a skoolie for a few years, and just recently my grandma gifted me a very generous $10k to that end, so I've been shopping around. I've done my best to research what I ought to look for, but it's still hard to be certain where to find info on how serviceable or reliable a specific engine is if it's not on the list of preferred engines in the community - if there's a resource there to be shared, I'd be terribly grateful to see it!

Recently I came across a listing 60 miles south of me, for a 1979 Blue Bird that's been partially converted. To quote them:

"We've painted the top white with "Henry tropi-cool roof coating". floor has insulation, osb then vinyl tongue and groove flooring. Loft queen size bed in the back, that folds up so you can get bigger items in/out.. pull out queen size couch. Mini fridge, sink and tub/shower (Not fully piped) 2x 50gal holding tanks for grey or fresh water(Not installed). Hot water heater, pump, Solar panels (Not installed) Walls are insulated. It was converted to run on propane before we bought it. It's 35' long about 8' wide, drove great when we were still using it. Just started it this morning after sitting for 9monthes, the batteries are a little weak..doesmt burn oil, no leakage.. it was a church bus before we got it and the owner was a mechanic so it's been taken care of. Great shape for a 79!
288214miles, engine is a GMC 6000 V8. Batteries are Duracell group no 31s. (Part # sli31sa)"

Negligable rust spots, certainly nothing to damage the body. They're asking $7k for it, but said they'd be willing to negotiate. My total budget is about $15k.

My question for you all would be what an appropriate price is, or whether the sale is viable at all, and if there's more information that needs to be gathered... what that is lol. I'm also looking at having a diesel mechanic take a look at it, any idea what the cost of a general inspection would be like?

Any and all tips, including "kid, you're crazy, walk away" are more than appreciated. Pics included.

[ACamper]

First off you are looking at a 40yr old bus. I would not want to run anything that old very far from home base. Every time you take it on the road you are running a big risk of some very expensive repairs. Stuff that are can turn into spiraling money pits real fast..

The inside has a good start to livable, looks like you would need to take down the ceiling and reinstall it.

Personally I would put a 2.5k - 3k value on it if the rust was not too bad.

I have a old gas engine bus and love it. I do not have to drive it far.

[loyleele]

My plan would mostly be to plant it where I could. Take short trips every once in a while. Thanks for your response!

[ol trunt]

IMO, "kid, you're crazy, walk away". Clearly the workmanship on the very partial conversion is shoddy at best. Does it have insulation other than the original? Are the tires under 7 years old--if not they will need to be replaced if you plan to do any highway driving. Has the engine been rebuilt? At nearly 300,000 miles it is likely a bit tired.

With the kind of $ you have to spend you can buy a lot newer rig with all or at least most of the conversion done. Whatever you buy, have a qualified mechanic give it a once over before you purchase.
Jack

[musigenesis]

That ceiling says "nothing on this bus was done well" to me. Most likely you'd have to tear out everything and start again, so you're looking at the worth of a starter bus minus the extra work removing all that. As a starter bus it's pretty old and high-mileage, maybe good for a bus mechanic/grease monkey type (which it doesn't sound like you are - no offense, me neither). I'd pass and keep looking.

It was converted to run on propane before we bought it.

And I just read the above going through your post again. I don't think you want a propane-powered bus, if I'm reading this correctly.

[loyleele]

Thanks for the advice! Anywhere in particular to look? I frequent craigslist and facebook market, but I don't get too many leads there.

[loyleele]

maybe good for a bus mechanic/grease monkey type (which it doesn't sound like you are - no offense, me neither).

You're definitely right, I'm not mechanically talented in the slightest haha. Thanks for the help!