Deal me in

GA

gadawg9

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Posts
21
Location
Harlem, GA

Attachments

  • EA41C970-5862-46D7-BED5-1E47B5B55007.jpg
    EA41C970-5862-46D7-BED5-1E47B5B55007.jpg
    147 KB · Views: 42
Looks very similar to mine, except you got some under storage, nice. I had a 500 mile drive home, went awesome. I went I to a bit scared since I've never driven bigger than a dodge truck and never even towed a trailer, but it went fine, and you get the hang of it very quickly.
 
gadawg9 said:
After months of reading threads and looking for a bus that felt right, I bought a 97 International 3800 Thomas built. Now I can’t wait to get her home and start transforming her to our travel home. But honestly, I’m anxious about the 14 hour drive to get her home.
Click to expand...

Good looking rig, Dawg!! Regarding the drive - my biggest advice is don't get yourself locked into a tight time crunch "gotta get home by nightfall or else". Be prepared to take your time and do a good pre-trip inspection - then make frequent stops along the way to check everything over. Get a feel for what's going on - pay attention to sounds and vibrations that might be problematic.

My pick up was only 400 miles from Birmingham to Brunswick, but we took our time - drove shortest distance vs Interstates since I kept speed around 55-60 where the bus seemed happiest.

Good luck - send pics!!
 
Looks like a nice bus. Did you buy it from the school district? They are 100 miles right down I-70 from me. Clean looking bus. Tell us about the drive home. Please tell us about the bus and how it drove. I'd like to know the price of the bus. Thanks.
GW
 
gadawg9 said:
After months of reading threads and looking for a bus that felt right, I bought a 97 International 3800 Thomas built. Now I can’t wait to get her home and start transforming her to our travel home. But honestly, I’m anxious about the 14 hour drive to get her home.

https://d323w7klwy72q3.cloudfront.net/i/a/2018/20180403govt/hires/DD8739E.JPG
Click to expand...


HOLY COW!!!! I'm JUST down the road in Russell!!!! I JUST substitute taught there TODAY!!!!! WOW!!!!

Need any help?

M :biggrin:
 
Thanks for all the comments. Well after a flight to Kansas City, a rental to Hays, KS the journey home finally began. I’m relieved to say that after 24 hours of uneventful driving (over 2 days) we made it back home safely. I couldn’t have been happier with the mechanical and physical condition of the bus or the fact that one of the a/c’s will freeze you. We stopped when the fuel was down to half a tank or slightly less, checked fluids and stretched our legs. Fuel economy appears to have been around 8.6 mpg that’s with driving it 60-67 on interstates. No fluid leaks of any kind. Actual gross weight is 18680 lbs.
Now the fun begins, seat removal starts on Monday. :dance:
 
Some of that overhang might have been due to the perspective (the photo was taken from slightly behind the bus). Here's a version of the same photo with the rub rails now parallel:
bus2.jpg
 
Today, we took all the seats out and 1/2 of the screws on the panels under the windows and will remove the puke mat/plywood tomorrow. Hope there isn’t much rust underneath. Please with the progress so far.
 
I hope my trip back is as uneventful as yours was. I plan on 2 motorcycles in the back of mine, if I put 3 in the back of yours we could do wheelies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MI
Hello, new and need advice
Rucker
Rucker
BU
A nICE Bus - Blue Bird CS RE 3904 - Full-Time Home
2
Kentucky Dreaming
Kentucky Dreaming
OF
I have a good one for you! (Grab a beer for this)
Diverdude0075
DI
SR
For Sale 2003 Medium Size Thomas Skoolie $45,000
sraine3
SR
TW
Hi all!
nocoasty
nocoasty

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top