Building a toterhome from a 1997 IH crown 71 pass bus

[Ollie Hauler]

Bought a 1997 IH crown bus,converting into a toterhome home for hauling old tractors

 

[ben2go]

Interesting. I've seen similar hacks on Pirate4x4.

 

[jjhwick119]

What are you doing the ass end you cut off? There was someone on here recently looking for a cut off back end of a bus

I want to cut a vehicle in half too! Lol. Looking forward to see the progress. Nice seeing something different

 

[Ollie Hauler]

Putting the rear cap back on,not much left of the rest of it,floor rusted bad

 

[Ollie Hauler]

Update pics

Installed the rear cap back on today

 

[PNW_Steve]

Very kewl!!

I would love to do that with a 6 window and make it my daily driver.

Keep up with the pictures!

 

[o1marc]

Main floor without wheel well humps.

 

[Charlies.Contingency]

Very nice. I have had this drawn and sketched out in my project book for my next big project. I planned to do the same to make a 6 window cab with an 8-10ft bed.

Keep us updated. I would love to see more on how you reattached the end cap, and what you decide to do for a bed. I plan on installing a gooseneck on my concept bus

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[Ollie Hauler]

Toterhome

Cut the frame tonight,79 inches from rear cap to end of frame, still tossing around how I want the flat bed,I will be towing a gooseneck trailer hauling old tractors, just drew up some basic plan for inside today,will have more pics in a few days.

 

[Charlies.Contingency]

Cut the frame tonight,79 inches from rear cap to end of frame, still tossing around how I want the flat bed,I will be towing a gooseneck trailer hauling old tractors, just drew up some basic plan for inside today,will have more pics in a few days.

My biggest overall concern was total length. From center axle gooseneck mounted ball, it gives me just under 26ft on paper from bumper to hitch. Texas only allows a combined length of 65ft, so coupling to a 30ft goose neck would be roughly 62ft+/-. It's a rough compromise for me I suppose. The 23.5ft wheelbase dog nose buses alofts 13ft behind the seats in my design. To allow for a longer trailer, I would need a shorter bus here in Texas. Such a crying shame.

Forgive my 2nd rate drawing skills. Just what I could get on paper doing lunch breaks, haha.

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[cadillackid]

finding a short bus with a stout drivetrain is pretty tough too... lots of them have lower spec drivetrains or lower GVWR suspensions.. seems like building it if you have the skills is the way to go

 

[Ollie Hauler]

Bus size

In MN and ND we are allowed 75 ft total for truck and trailer,I will have to mesures to night and see where mine is at,that is a very good point.

 

[Charlies.Contingency]

In MN and ND we are allowed 75 ft total for truck and trailer,I will have to mesures to night and see where mine is at,that is a very good point.

The bus I used for my sketch was a 38ft interational. Should be fairly close. Measure front bumper to center of rear axle if that is where you will put your hitch. Then measure the trailer you want, from gooseneck to bumper. That will be your most accurate measurement. Your rig should be no longer than 73ft with a 40ft gooseneck. Watch the state lines though, most of your neighboring states to the south are 70ft or 65ft max length IIRC.

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[cadillackid]

I hear 65 feet used a lot.. plus with a toter isnt having a much shorter wheelbase tote-truck advantageoous when it comes to maneuvering the gooseneck? ie why a lot of the guys like using pickup trucks with a gooseneck in the bed because they have such nice short-base to maneuver with? I wouldnt necessarily want to back a 40 ft trailer with a 38 ft rig... seems you get limited in some of the tight areas of campgrounds, or even parking areas..

not that you are truly gonna have a 78 ft setup.. just making an observation about too long of a tote vehicle..
-Christopher

 

[Charlies.Contingency]

I hear 65 feet used a lot.. plus with a toter isnt having a much shorter wheelbase tote-truck advantageoous when it comes to maneuvering the gooseneck? ie why a lot of the guys like using pickup trucks with a gooseneck in the bed because they have such nice short-base to maneuver with? I wouldnt necessarily want to back a 40 ft trailer with a 38 ft rig... seems you get limited in some of the tight areas of campgrounds, or even parking areas..

not that you are truly gonna have a 78 ft setup.. just making an observation about too long of a tote vehicle..
-Christopher

I think you missed a point. Myself and the OP may have something in common on this build that most others won't. The need for a HD hauler for farm related things. I could go and buy a used duramax for $15000 or I could buy a more stout international 3800 bus for $2000.

As far as length, a 38ft bus tat has been cut down 7ft of frame makes it closer to 31ft in length. You don't add the length of the tow vehicle with the trailer, since they overlap with the hitch. Not all hitches are the same, so it is important to measure how much take up it has.

Hauling hay, tractors, bull dozers with an older Chevy diesel pickup. Not fun. But pulling 10k+ with a medium duty chassis bus/truck, nice. Wheel base is always an issue, but it would be the same issue if I was using a HD tractor trailer rig, but the truck/bus is far cheaper. Here is some concept stuff from the web.

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[Ollie Hauler]

That's exactly what I was running into when looking into a tow vehicle,spend 10 or 15 thousand for a pickup with limited towing and lots of miles,or 2500 for my bus with 175000 miles,very well maintained,and can tow a trailer house and have a spot to sleep.

 

[Charlies.Contingency]

That's exactly what I was running into when looking into a tow vehicle,spend 10 or 15 thousand for a pickup with limited towing and lots of miles,or 2500 for my bus with 175000 miles,very well maintained,and can tow a trailer house and have a spot to sleep.

Exactly. I have my wife agreed to it conditionally already. I sold our pickup truck because we needed the utility of our full size SUV'S, and for a diesel pickup, it was only marginally better at towing than our suburban.

Once our full time bus is done, I can shop for an affordable bus. I had an idea for a just legal RV set up that is prioritized for utility, working on the sketches now. Life is full of compromises though, haha.

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[Charlies.Contingency]

Exactly. I have my wife agreed to it conditionally already. I sold our pickup truck because we needed the utility of our full size SUV'S, and for a diesel pickup, it was only marginally better at towing than our suburban.

Once our full time bus is done, I can shop for an affordable bus. I had an idea for a just legal RV set up that is prioritized for utility, working on the sketches now. Life is full of compromises though, haha.

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Ignore the goof up on the sketch of the bed area, but this is what my wife and I were leaning towards. The bunk would be as high as possible, but this would be for utility purpose, and getting supplies. The 10ft bed and 5ftx5ft interior cargo area would be great for getting all sorts of things from lumber, barrels, or even a SAM's club run.

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[Ollie Hauler]

Toterhome

Here is a really bad rough sketch of the inside

 

[Robin97396]

It looks like you could fit a pickup truck bed over the rear frame.