1997 International 40' - Tommy

[SkoolMe]

Hey Skoolie Community!

Creating this thread as a home for updates on our Skoolie conversion process.

4/22/2019 Milestone: We won the auction for our 1997 International 84 passenger bus and now our journey begins!

Our current plan is to hit the ground running and get the bus converted to the point of being livable for our young family of 6 + our cattle dog by the end of June when our lease is up. We will then hit the road and complete the remainder of the conversion as time and finances allow. I know this is an ambitious timeline to say the least, but we are going to do whatever we can to make it happen!

We look forward to connecting and engaging with you all on your skoolie journies!

 

[SkoolMe]

Bus on Concrete Driveway?

Quick question to the community right off the bat.

Now that we have our bus, we have to figure out where to put it. There is a chance that we can keep the bus in our driveway over the next 2 months during the conversion which would be awesome if we can work it out. However, we are concerned that the concrete may not hold up and as renters... that is a no go if so.

Question: Has anyone attempted using plywood under the wheels to distribute the weight or any other tricks to protect concrete? How likely is it that the weight of the bus will crack the concrete driveway? Is it a legitimate concern or are we in the clear and just overthinking it? The GVWR is 31,720 but I don't know what the actual empty weight is yet... probably around 15k lbs. right?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

 

[Mark_In_MA]

I would think the empty weight would be around 15k lbs.

I'm tempted to say that since it's on concrete, just don't worry about it, but a few 2x10s under the wheels to spread the load out a little bit is cheap peace of mind. Maybe try a 2 or 3 foot long piece under each tire? (That's what I'd do, since its fairly cheap, will distribute the load, won't hurt the tires or the driveway, and won't be too much of a ramp to try and drive up on.)

I'd look at it this way - the bus weights about as much as 4 cars - BUT - the bus is twice as long, so you're spreading the weight out over a larger area, so you end up maybe doubling the weight on the driveway. I'm pretty sure if the driveway should be able to handle that, or else it would crack and shift on it's own over time anyways.

 

[Native-SKO]

Ours is a 38' front engine and weighs 17,000 (gutted). It has been parked on our driveway for two years now with no signs of an effect on the driveway. The cracks that were there before we parked it are the same as they were.

 

[PNW_Steve]

I have had my A3RE parked in my driveway for 18 months with no problems.

 

[Rovobay]

congrats! make sure you post some pics soon! What tranny do you have?

June is ambitious, but hey, if you have the time, the drive, the help and support anything is possible! What does your build entail? insulation? holding tanks? Solar? What is your power source? Cheers!

 

[Rovobay]

I see a tag down at the bottom MT643. I guess that answers the tranny question. put it in your bio somewhere so we all know for future answering of questions!

 

[o1marc]

I would think the empty weight would be around 15k lbs.



My 99 Genesis, 37', gutted, weighed 19400lbs