Im NEW!!!

[BJHarland]

Hello!
Me and my boyfriend are looking to convert a bus and live it in full time traveling the country. We are at the VERY beginning of our adventure, and plan on having our build done end of Aug 2019. I THINK I found our bus:
1992 International 3800
Has DT466
113,000 miles
New: air bags, front tires, belts, filters, and fluids
All seats are removed other than driver's
Door has been replaced with steel/glass security door
Its painted and titled as a motor home already, which is big for us since we live in Maryland and they're a pain to deal with.
He wants $5,000 for the bus, does this seem like a good deal?


Hes a solid 5 hours away, so it seems like I'm going to have to go buy the bus, get the bill of sale and title, drive back to Maryland, get temp tags, then drive back to VA to pick the bus up. Unless someone else has a better idea?

Don't laugh,im a complete novice, and everything i know so far is from researching online.
Im wanting to use solar as our main power source, generator as a back-up for cloudy days etc. Problem is i have haven't gotten far enough in my research to know how it works/what I'm going to need to get for my set-up. The guy I want to buy a bus from has a Xantrex freedom 30 power inverter/charger, its 3000 watt output with 140 amp battery charger. I havent found out how much he wants for it, honestly because I dont know if i need it or what it is. I mean, I know an inverter turns dc power to ac (I think) but i dont know if this is more power than i need, or if the inverter even has anything to do with how much power ill be able to use. Basically, i dont want to pass up a good deal on a piece of equipment ill end up needing later, since i want to buy as much as i can used to keep costs down. Could anybody give me a little input?
Thanks so much!

 

[o1marc]

Buy your temp tag where the bus is to get out of town. Save you the extra trip.
I would be leery of the mileage on a bus that old, knowing that it is common to replace the speedos. To most of us that bus is worth $2-$3K
What transmission is in it?

Go to the UserCP (upper left here) and fill out your profile so we can better answer you location related questions, be part of the community.

 

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome aboard!

 

[brokedown-SKO]

Those miles are unbelievably low for a 1992. As in, I don't believe that it's accurate. Being a 1992 it will be a mechanical bus which means there likely won't be any other measurement of use. It could have a mechanical hour counter but that's hardly more reliable.

If the miles are accurate (pretty much only service records from the original owner might convince me that it is) then it could be worth a bit of a premium. Not sure I'd go $5000 on it unless it has 6 fresh new tires with 2018 manufacturer stamps. And you didn't mention air conditioning, which is an automatic no go for me!

 

[BJHarland]

Oh okay!
So basically the main thing I've been looking at is the engine. My brother in law is a diesel mechanic, and he gave me a run down on engines. From what i took away, the dt466 is like the bomb.com. Am i correct in thinking this?

Its an AT545
He said it has "no computer to be wiped out by and emp"?
Im not even sure what that means to be honest


Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[o1marc]

DT466 is a desirable motor, the AT545 is the least desirable trans. Yes, there's no computer control on the tranny, it also does't have a locking toque converter so it is always running off the fluid. At extended highway speeds and hills that tranny will heat up and eat itself. No lock up , so no engine back pressure to slow you down on grades.

 

[JDOnTheGo]

Howdy and Welcome BJHarland!

Re: the inverter/charger question. Xantrex is a good brand and that was a good unit when new. It is a modified sine wave inverter which is usually ok but pure sine wave is better. It is a 12VDC inverter. If you really plan to live on solar, you may end up with a 24VDC battery bank (lots of decisions to make between 'here' and 'there'). If that happens, this inverter would be useless to you. So, unless he is giving it away ($100??), I'd pass on it.

 

[brokedown-SKO]

Generally when we call a motor a bomb around here we're talking about the ones that like to blow up. I'd use a different word to describe the DT466, because it's a good solid motor.

The transmission as marc says is the bottom of the barrel. A lot of us have them and none of us like them. They were the budget option that schools could get to save money, and they work fine for what school buses are supposed to do. With that said, they're not great on the highway, they're not great at hills (up or down), and a 4 speed can't really compete with a 5 or 6 speed.