Hello from Indy

[Almost Heaven]

No bus yet, but looking and planning for it. My son graduates high school in 5.5 years and the goal is to have it done then so that I can take a year off and travel. Fortunately, I live about an hour from one of the largest used school bus sellers and have plenty of options there. Just here for the info for now

 

[Rusty-SKO]

Welcome !

7th grade....I just finished showing graphing linear equations to my 7th grader. My slope-intercept is dusty...

I suggest doing what you are doing- committing ideas to a post, let people help you fine-tune what you want.

Specify how many people, how tall, how long you'll be on the road, towing? pets? special desires?

Budget?

Timeframe?

Skill-sets mastered/lacking?

Helpers?


Most important question: Where ya gonna stash that bus???

 

[Twigg-SKO]

7th grade....I just finished showing graphing linear equations to my 7th grader. My slope-intercept is dusty...

I suggest doing what you are doing- committing ideas to a post, let people help you fine-tune what you want.

Specify how many people, how tall, how long you'll be on the road, towing? pets? special desires?

Budget?

Timeframe?

Skill-sets mastered/lacking?

Helpers?


Most important question: Where ya gonna stash that bus???

Mrs Twigg is a High School geometry and algebra teacher ... want help?

 

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[RRRVBUS]

Welcome to the forum. There is plenty of info and inspiration here.

One of the biggest reasons for building my bus is to have a comfy vehicle to drive to Indy. I have family there and southern Indiana.

 

[Almost Heaven]

There will mainly be 2 of is with up to 4 at various times. The 2 extra would be my son and my wife's nephew.

I plan on raising the roof about a foot and a half so height should not be an issue.

I'd love to be on the road for a year, but not sure if the wife is going to go for that.

We will be towing a vehicle, most likely a smaller SUV.

Most likely one dog, maybe 2.

I want solar panels and a composting toilet and plenty of clean water storage as I'd love to be able to go off grid for as long as possible.

My budget is coming in around 30,000 and timeframe is 5.5 years, so plenty of time to do it and pay for it slowly. I am not a plumber or electrician by any stretch, but have friends who are and want them to show me what they are doing so that I know how to fix it if something goes wrong. My son and dad will be helping out.

I plan on building a barn on my parents land out in the country, so storage will be taken care of

 

[Rusty-SKO]

Mrs Twigg is a High School geometry and algebra teacher ... want help?

I USED to know all this stuff, but 7th grade for me was in the 1970's.

Kids teacher called-in today, had a substitute, but she didn't know the AP material.
I don't mind trying to show him, but he is super smart-99th percentile- and looks at me like I'm clueless. Not clueless, just forgetful.:biggrin:

Thank the Mrs, tho. Kahn saved my hide.

The tools they have available for free now are staggering.
Physics

 

[Rusty-SKO]

There will mainly be 2 of is with up to 4 at various times. The 2 extra would be my son and my wife's nephew.

I plan on raising the roof about a foot and a half so height should not be an issue.

I'd love to be on the road for a year, but not sure if the wife is going to go for that.

We will be towing a vehicle, most likely a smaller SUV.

Most likely one dog, maybe 2.

I want solar panels and a composting toilet and plenty of clean water storage as I'd love to be able to go off grid for as long as possible.

My budget is coming in around 30,000 and timeframe is 5.5 years, so plenty of time to do it and pay for it slowly. I am not a plumber or electrician by any stretch, but have friends who are and want them to show me what they are doing so that I know how to fix it if something goes wrong. My son and dad will be helping out.

I plan on building a barn on my parents land out in the country, so storage will be taken care of

You ARE ready. Done all the homework.

Now, the specific bus you'd like- any Brand preference or favorite engine/trans? Air Brakes?

The other thing is length. Many just want the Most Bang for the Buck and go big, but research what parks you want to be in , or camp on beach, etc. as some parks have max length of 30' and you will have toad.

 

[jdawgsworld]

Welcome to the forum. There is plenty of info and inspiration here.

One of the biggest reasons for building my bus is to have a comfy vehicle to drive to Indy. I have family there and southern Indiana.

Folks in southern Indiana...I got folks up around bean blossom and Morgantown...I grew up in Owensboro

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk

 

[RRRVBUS]

Folks in southern Indiana...I got folks up around bean blossom and Morgantown...I grew up in Owensboro

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk

Born in Evansville and lived in Marengo thru my late teens.

 

[GreenLightNowBegin]

Hello from Bloomington, and welcome to the forum! Believe you me, these folks are gonna save your bacon a time or two. Poke around, there's tooooons to learn.

 

[jdawgsworld]

Born in Evansville and lived in Marengo thru my late teens.

The only memory I have of Evansville is there was a business with a tractor truck on a big column...and that's where all the TV stations were...I miss the river...I was 18 when I was last in Owensboro

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk

 

[rensch26]

I'm assuming you're looking at buying a bus from Midwest Transit in Whitestown? I'd also suggest you look at what MacAllister Transportation has available as well. They are located on the Southeast side of Indy. They update their list monthly. Ron Garrett is the name of the guy I worked with when I bought my bus.

Used School Buses For Sale | MacAllister Transportation

 

[BussBry]

I'm assuming you're looking at buying a bus from Midwest Transit in Whitestown? I'd also suggest you look at what MacAllister Transportation has available as well. They are located on the Southeast side of Indy. They update their list monthly. Ron Garrett is the name of the guy I worked with when I bought my bus.

Used School Buses For Sale | MacAllister Transportation

How has your bus from MacAllister held up? Seems to be mixed reviews on the quality of the buses. What bus did you get and what price if you dont mind me asking.

 

[rensch26]

How has your bus from MacAllister held up? Seems to be mixed reviews on the quality of the buses. What bus did you get and what price if you dont mind me asking.

I bought a '99 AmTran FE bus with a DT466E and Allison MD3060 in it with 208k miles for $2800. I had them swap the tires from another bus on the lot to my bus since they were in much better shape. I just had to pay for the local tire company coming over and performing the work. My bus was from the Evansville area so they don't get a lot of snow and my bus doesn't have a lot of rust on it. I wouldn't worry about the reputation of the bus dealers. They're only getting them from school districts on trade-ins. The school district is responsible for the condition your used bus is in.

I had to throw a new set of fuel injectors into my bus last fall but I knew that I'd have to do that soon when I bought the bus anyway so I was prepared for it. Other than that the everything on the bus works great.

 

[stixNstaples]

Awesome to see another Hoosier. Guess were lucky we have a few picking places close by. Think there will be enough in Indiana to have our own meet,lol.