cowlitzcoach
Senior Member
The Goshen bus bodies are not the worst and not the best in the commercial bus business.
That particular bus is built on what is known as a rail chassis. In the past the most common chassis was the GM P-30/40 chassis which was sold to Workhorse which has since been sold again. Your particular bus, or at least the one in the pictures, appears to be on the Freightliner Custom Chassis.
Whether it is the Workhorse or Freightliner chassis the biggest challenge is going to be staying under the GVWR of the chassis. Most of those buses were really pushing the envelope when it came to the GVWR of them. The Freightliners were better than the P-30/40 chassis but not by much.
The biggest issue with all of the white buses is that most of the bodies are not made of metal. Most are made of a composite sandwich with steel reinforcement inside of the sandwich. Since many of the bus body OEM's are owned by parent companies that own RV OEM's it shouldn't surprise you when I tell you the construction technique is not that different from something like a Winnebago. Water is the white bus enemy. With all of the seams in the roof and joints in the sides where the windows are located the wonder isn't that they leak but that they don't leak more than they do.
Now I will admit that living on the wet side of the mountains in WA state rain is a bigger problem than it is most any other place. But every used white bus I have owned, tried to sell, driven, and/or considered buying leaked to a greater or lesser amount. On the van/cut-away chassis buses the biggest location for leaks is between the top of the windshield and the joint between the front cap and the bus roof. The twisting and jouncing as you go down the road between the marriage between the chassis and the body usually results in a very nasty and ugly divorce. It is usually evidenced by seeing daylight between the top of the windshield header and the bottom of the front cap of the bus body or continual water leaks just behind the driver. On larger buses like the one you are considering the joint between the roof and the front cap is where it will leak the most.
Yes those leaks can be fixed, albeit only temporary. But in a bus that is known to be going down the road soon to another owner you can bet the mechanics didn't spend any more time than absolutely necessary keeping the roof from leaking.
As the roof leaks it can get in between the inside and outside skins and down inside the composite sandwich. The water can cause the sandwich to delaminate and/or rust the steel reinforcement.
It is very possible to find used buses like you are considering that are not full of water.
Another issue in regards to converting is the windows. On a bus with the big windows like the one in the pictures you really can't skin over some windows and cut out a new window. With so few upright supports compromising any of them can ruin the structural integrity of the bus.
I know there are a few on this forum that have converted white buses and have been successful doing it. If you understand the challenges a white bus might be the right choice for you.
I suppose if the price were low enough that if things didn't work out you could sell the engine and transmission for what you paid for the running bus you might not lose out on the deal.
I just personally would not want to own another white commercial bus.
That particular bus is built on what is known as a rail chassis. In the past the most common chassis was the GM P-30/40 chassis which was sold to Workhorse which has since been sold again. Your particular bus, or at least the one in the pictures, appears to be on the Freightliner Custom Chassis.
Whether it is the Workhorse or Freightliner chassis the biggest challenge is going to be staying under the GVWR of the chassis. Most of those buses were really pushing the envelope when it came to the GVWR of them. The Freightliners were better than the P-30/40 chassis but not by much.
The biggest issue with all of the white buses is that most of the bodies are not made of metal. Most are made of a composite sandwich with steel reinforcement inside of the sandwich. Since many of the bus body OEM's are owned by parent companies that own RV OEM's it shouldn't surprise you when I tell you the construction technique is not that different from something like a Winnebago. Water is the white bus enemy. With all of the seams in the roof and joints in the sides where the windows are located the wonder isn't that they leak but that they don't leak more than they do.
Now I will admit that living on the wet side of the mountains in WA state rain is a bigger problem than it is most any other place. But every used white bus I have owned, tried to sell, driven, and/or considered buying leaked to a greater or lesser amount. On the van/cut-away chassis buses the biggest location for leaks is between the top of the windshield and the joint between the front cap and the bus roof. The twisting and jouncing as you go down the road between the marriage between the chassis and the body usually results in a very nasty and ugly divorce. It is usually evidenced by seeing daylight between the top of the windshield header and the bottom of the front cap of the bus body or continual water leaks just behind the driver. On larger buses like the one you are considering the joint between the roof and the front cap is where it will leak the most.
Yes those leaks can be fixed, albeit only temporary. But in a bus that is known to be going down the road soon to another owner you can bet the mechanics didn't spend any more time than absolutely necessary keeping the roof from leaking.
As the roof leaks it can get in between the inside and outside skins and down inside the composite sandwich. The water can cause the sandwich to delaminate and/or rust the steel reinforcement.
It is very possible to find used buses like you are considering that are not full of water.
Another issue in regards to converting is the windows. On a bus with the big windows like the one in the pictures you really can't skin over some windows and cut out a new window. With so few upright supports compromising any of them can ruin the structural integrity of the bus.
I know there are a few on this forum that have converted white buses and have been successful doing it. If you understand the challenges a white bus might be the right choice for you.
I suppose if the price were low enough that if things didn't work out you could sell the engine and transmission for what you paid for the running bus you might not lose out on the deal.
I just personally would not want to own another white commercial bus.
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