Intro and Bus Opinions Wanted

[Jacob-SKO]

Very nice bus it looks extremely clean.

 

[Rusty-SKO]

Sorry, that was an attempt at humor

Not Funny. Some of us take our loud noises seriously.:nonono:

I have this bad-boy on order from Raney's:





Oh, yeah, they'll hear me coming.

 

[Tall Grass]

That is a very highly desireable bus. 10 k sounds very high and then it doesn't. Seems atthe outset to be in great shape. For a nonmechanical person this can be a very good bus. You shouldn't be dollared to death getting it in good echanical shape future on the road repairs and down time on vacation. They removing the seats is a plus. With that fresh upgrade to 530 adds more miles tto the engine than you will need.
TIRES: I worry about you with those tires out in the hot sun country highways. Long road times vs age of sidewalls vs HEAT = Go buy a new set of tires and keep the rest for a lifetime of spares.
You wiil be starting out at about 13k and you will have a very good mechanical platform to build on and should be you can sell it in no time.
A plus would be that the dealer get you a set of tires at their cost including mounting.

 

[ACamper-SKO]

Our thinking currently is it's probably worth the premium buying from a dealer if it means we're getting a well maintained bus that's been gone over and made ready for service again.

From a dealer what you are paying for is them to hire a labor to power wash everything so it appears to be spotless. This sucks IMO because it hides all the leaks(yes you will have leaks in a 20yr old bus with 200k+miles).

Just because it is from a dealer doesn't mean it is "a well maintained bus" it just means it is being presented as one. Most all fleet vehicles are on a maintenance schedule.

-Bottom line you will pay extra for a dealer to make a living, pay lot rent, pay labor, pay advertising, etc.

20yrs old - 247miles You could probably get it for half the price from a private seller if you shop around. At that age and miles most commercial place will retire them they are not hard to find.

Just my 2cents.

 

[brokedown-SKO]

WHY IS YOUR ENGINE SO CLEAN

*sobs quietly*

 

[Tall Grass]

From a dealer what you are paying for is them to hire a labor to power wash everything so it appears to be spotless. This sucks IMO because it hides all the leaks(yes you will have leaks in a 20yr old bus with 200k+miles).

Just because it is from a dealer doesn't mean it is "a well maintained bus" it just means it is being presented as one. Most all fleet vehicles are on a maintenance schedule.

-Bottom line you will pay extra for a dealer to make a living, pay lot rent, pay labor, pay advertising, etc.

20yrs old - 247miles You could probably get it for half the price from a private seller if you shop around. At that age and miles most commercial place will retire them they are not hard to find.

Just my 2cents.

I completely agree with what you are saying. Different strokes for different folks.

That is a hard to find bus as equipped.

 

[EastCoastCB]

From a dealer what you are paying for is them to hire a labor to power wash everything so it appears to be spotless. This sucks IMO because it hides all the leaks(yes you will have leaks in a 20yr old bus with 200k+miles).

Just because it is from a dealer doesn't mean it is "a well maintained bus" it just means it is being presented as one. Most all fleet vehicles are on a maintenance schedule.

-Bottom line you will pay extra for a dealer to make a living, pay lot rent, pay labor, pay advertising, etc.

20yrs old - 247miles You could probably get it for half the price from a private seller if you shop around. At that age and miles most commercial place will retire them they are not hard to find.

Just my 2cents.

You said that perfectly!
I'd pay MORE for a bus straight from the school.

 

[miscrms]

Very good points. I didn't mean to imply that buying from a dealer was a guarantee of anything. I'm sure it can even be a negative in some cases.

My gut feeling on AAA is they love busses and seemed pretty honest, and regularly deal with folks doing conversions. To the point where they talked me out of the more expensive International in favor of this one based on our needs, its history and knowing the mechanic that took care of it. The guy couldn't seem to help himself from talking about all the good and bad things about each bus on the lot

When I say clean I mean mostly I couldn't find a single bit of rust on the undercarriage, aside from some surface rust on the springs and the transmission cooler. I assume that's more due to the area it came from (cooler than Phoenix but still very dry). I believe many of the engine ancillaries have been replaced over time, again part of why the engine looks "clean."

I've done some internet digging that seems to align with that general idea. The bus came from a small rural high school up North, that didn't have the budget to replace their buses. So it seems they spent a lot of time and effort keeping these ones in good shape, and put money into overhauling to keep them on the road. Found a former driver talking online about the frustrations of working for a district that couldn't afford newer buses, but also going on about how awesome the mechanic was that kept them all going. I have a call in to the school and should be talking to the mechanic soon to get the full scoop.

In the end part of what put me over the edge was looking at comparative prices on similarly equipped buses. This was certainly a pretty premium setup from new.
NW Bus just sold a very similar one (without transit windows) for $8500, and I'm guessing it's seen a lot more moisture.
http://www.nwbus.com/sold-buses/1997-blue-bird-all-american-re-series

Another similar one (older, MT643 instead of MD3060) sold on publicsurplus last year in fair condition for $7100.
https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/a...TNQEk3rp76jInL82ldxIUYRdaRmmMtg==&auc=1517670

No doubt I could have gotten lucky and found it cheaper, but I'm feeling pretty lucky as it is to have found one local that aligned so well with what we wanted.



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[brokedown-SKO]

Honestly the price is a bit of sticker shock but there are neat features on it that most of us wish we had.

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[EastCoastCB]

At least you didnt' buy a typical dealer bus. As in- a rusty, low spec OH bus bought for a grand or so at auction and driven to FL then listed for 10k.
Congrats on your bus!

 

[miscrms]

Not Funny. Some of us take our loud noises seriously.:nonono:

I have this bad-boy on order from Raney's:



View attachment 15883

Oh, yeah, they'll hear me coming.

Nice Might have to look into one of those....

 

[miscrms]

Went back over to the bus yard and spent some time crawling around the engine bay. Haven't heard back from the original school mechanic yet, and may not be able to get actual records, so trying to do some sleuthing.

Haven't found a data plate on the engine itself, but was able to get the numbers from Cummins from the engine serial number on the bus plate. Looks like its a 300HP, 820 ft lb version CPL2102. It would be nice to find numbers on the engine to confirm if its original, but the numbers on the Bosch injection pump are at least consistent with that. The 3922425 injection pump is Bosch PES6P120A120RS7286 which also shows up as a 300/820. The 3532222 turbo shows up as a Holset HX40W.

Since all I can go by are appearances, here is a start of list of things that at least look Newer vs. Older:

Looks Newer or Rebuilt?
- Turbo
- Injection Pump
- Lift Pump
- HP Pump
- Coolant expansion tank (dated 2010)
- Radiator? (brass tag with local shop, have an email in to them)
- hydraulic fan
- alternator

Looks Older or Original?
- air compressor
- hydraulic pump
- starter
- air dryer
- hydraulic (transmission?) cooler
- tires (late 2009)

Some more pictures from today's digging.

 

[miscrms]

Getting close! Should be taking delivery in another week or so!

 

[cadillackid]

you are taking out that nice air-conditioning system??
I only WISH I had one that nice in mine... that system is top notch trans / AIR ducted
-Christopher

 

[PNW_Steve]

you are taking out that nice air-conditioning system??
I only WISH I had one that nice in mine... that system is top notch trans / AIR ducted
-Christopher

I put around 250k miles on my last bus and my right leg hurt the whole time.

I just couldn't stop kicking myself in the butt for pulling the road air out when I converted.

 

[cadillackid]

I put around 250k miles on my last bus and my right leg hurt the whole time.

I just couldn't stop kicking myself in the butt for pulling the road air out when I converted.

LOL and theres me.. the first thing I did when i brought DEV RANDOM home was add in 65K BTU of AIr-conditioning... (including refrigerated defrosters).. ha! guess im the minority here..

the RedByrd came with a rear unit.. and im working on re-purposing the dashboard layout so I can put in A/C vents..

then again I drive a LOT in warm / Hot weather... actually I just drive my busses a lot period... perhaps not as much as you did.. but more than the average here on the board... in the last 17 months ive got a combined close to 30k on the busses...
I want my road air and road heat..
-Christopher

 

[miscrms]

Yeah, if it was in working order I might have been tempted. I like the metal ducts I'd seen on an international RE, but these were all pretty crappy plastic molded into the luggage racks. Which we really wanted to lose to open up the space. I also plan on a big solar install, and didn't want to give up the roof area, might have been persuaded to keep if they were underneath units. Planning on putting mini splits in with ability to run off engine when driving, but I know it won't be the same.

Having accidentally spent 16 years in Phoenix I do know two things.

1) I survived 2 summers commuting without AC, so I can survive this.

2) Half the point of moving into the bus is never to have to be someplace where it gets this hot in the summer ever again


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