C5500 Shuttle Pros and Cons

[Jeraoki]

Hello everyone! I'm trying to pick out a bus for my first conversion project. I've found a 2006 C5500 Shuttle bus that might work for me but is a 4 hour drive away to see and I'm trying to gather as much info as I can before I go for a look. It has the 6.6L Duramax, from what I've read it sounds like more or less positive reviews however I can't find too much info on the C5500 itself.

Hoping someone can chime in on some general pros and cons. I've read all the skoolie vs shuttle threads I could find and I think for the most part, a shuttle would work for me but every now and then I might want to go down a rough road to get into a mountain lake, nothing crazy rough but from what I've read, shuttles tend to like flat paved roads vs almost anything offroad.

Any advice and opinions are appreciated! I've attached a pic as well.

 

[Johnny Mullet]

These are pretty good trucks. I work on a lot of them and they seem pretty reliable. The Duramax is a great engine, but even in that flip hood chassis, they suck to work on.

 

[cadillackid]

a 2006 very well might have a 6 speed allison automatic in it which makes a nice highway cruiser in most of those C series trucks.. not sure about a shittle specifically but in general those trucks were geared nicely for the highway.
-Christopher

 

[cowlitzcoach]

The C5500 chassis is a bit of an orphan. If the parts are not in common with the C/K/G 1500/2500/3500 series they can be a bit hard to find. At least that is what is the experience here in WA state.

The biggest issue is the composite/plastic body of a shuttle bus . It is not built as stout as an all steel school bus body. The marriage at the top of the windshield header between the chassis and the body is never a happy marriage. Over time that marriage usually ends up in a very ugly divorce. The divorce is characterized by water leaks.

 

[Jeraoki]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I think I'm definitely leaning towards a proper bus chassis.