Another bus and owner in Southwest Colorado

[micklongley]

Hi guys,

I just wanted to introduce myself and my school bus. I'm Mick and in late November I bought a Thomas wheelchair bus from the Tucson school district. The bus has the Cummins 5.9 Diesel, unsure on the trans, has 216,000 miles and runs fantastic. I drove it to Durango, CO from Tucson, AZ down through the Salt river valley and up a few small passes and it performed great (this trip is about 500 miles). My best tank was 12.65mpg but this was probably because I took it really easy and tried not to exceed 60 mph.

I'm nearing the completion of my conversion and it's coming along nicely. I've been taking video along the way and hoping to do a series documenting it, similar to my "Busaru" video series found here: youtube.com/c/busaru

Anyway, I just thought I'd post up and introduce myself to the skoolie community.

Thanks,
Mick

 

[EastCoastCB]

Welcome!
Get some pics posted, pronto!
I'm taking mine through Colorado when its done, or when I can. Hope to be out there this year. We are gong to visit friends in Co Springs, then going up to Ft Collins.

 

[HolyBus]

Welcome!
" I took it really easy and tried not to exceed 60 mph. "
With my foot to the floor all day, I can't exceed 60 mph so you are very lucky to have the power and gearing that can.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Welcome!
" I took it really easy and tried not to exceed 60 mph. "
With my foot to the floor all day, I can't exceed 60 mph so you are very lucky to have the power and gearing that can.

Yeah same here. With the 4.44 gearing, and 195hp I think mine is good for about 62mph. But it will hang pretty well on steep grades.

 

[micklongley]

Thanks for the warm welcome, I guess I am lucky but it seems to breeze up to 60-70 without any issues. I wonder what transmission/rear end I have that would support those speeds. No tachometer unfortunately, so I really don't know what RPM I'm spinning at but it doesn't sound too high (I've had many diesels but only one previous 5.9)
It's odd, but my picture in the first post only shows a little box with a question mark. I am definitely not new to posting pics on forums using a url tag, but I'll try again. Can't seem to edit posts on here it looks like. Here goes another try and the picture of my new pride and joy:

 

[micklongley]

Thanks for the warm welcome! It's odd, but my picture in the first post only shows a little box with a question mark. I am definitely not new to posting pics on forums using a url tag, but I'll try again. Can't seem to edit posts on here it looks like.


I seem to be very lucky with my bus I guess - It scoots to 60-70 without much strain. Hope to meet some of you all traveling some day.

Cheers,
Mick

 

[charles_m]

YEAH CO buses in the HOUSE errrr. BUS!

 

[bansil]

On this forum after x amount of time the first posts can't be modified

 

[micklongley]

Tardy update to my introduction

Hey guys! It's been a while and I have no project/build posts yet, but I've been meaning to post this for a few months showing our "move in" progress and a short video giving a tour. Definitely made a few improvements since this article but this is a good start.

Link to our newspaper interview of our voyage and bus:
The Durango Herald 05/04/2015 | Durango family is on the move

Always looking for suggestions on how to make the busses more efficient for a family - let me know if you have any suggestions.

Cheers!
Mick

 

[Tango-SKO]

Good on you guys! --- Your kids will have a jump start on life by living it up close. Have a ball and please do keep the updates coming.

 

[NaturalStateNomad]

That's awesome, guys! My girlfriend and I just purchased a 2001 Thomas HDX and it is very similar to yours. Do you guys have an instagram or anything that you keep up with on a daily basis regarding your adventures?