intro: newb looking at first schoolbus tonight - help!!!

[gr00vy]

skoolin' it's been on my bucket list for a long time, and i think we're going to go for it now due to the ridiculous rental market where i live, the fact that i started looking into buying a house and thought "forget this crap, i'm not feeling this at all". i am in my 40s, live near the Oregon border in California, raise a four year old little girl, own a small business, have one hell of a case of genetic wanderlust, and this makes so much more sense to me than taking on a years-long mortgage, or continuing to pay someone else's by renting. the dream, of course, is to have a few acres somewhere but i haven't yet been able to decide where that will be...

i prefer diesel, and this is up for grabs for 7k right now (details following my wordy post).

i'm going to ask if perhaps he can remove most of the removable stuff inside and sell it to me for less (he had this built as a schmancy party-mobile, but i have no use for a bar, wide screen tv or huge couches). i'm wanting to make a funky tiny home, install a kitchen and bathroom - a fully-functional RV with solar, water and a generator. i want to house myself and my daughter, my dog and my cat - for now i am just looking to park it somewhere because i'm committed to being where i'm at for another year or two, but eventually, yes, i'll want to make use of the fact that is is a motorized home.

wondering if anyone's got some thoughts to offer me on these below details? Again, he wants 7k for it.

1984 Thomas Built school bus/International S1700.

-6.8L diesel with 148K miles, runs great. It has been on several long distance trips with zero hiccups.
-Manual transmission
-Less 5K miles ago it was purchased from a school so it had regular maintenance done its entire life.
-It is registered as an RV and registration is current.
-Custom built bar
-Flat screen tv
-Electrical outlets throughout, just needs a generator
-CD player with ipod/iphone hookups
-New laminate hardwood flooring
-Matching sofa and love seat
-Mini fridge
-New batteries

thanks for reading all that!

dori

 

[EastCoastCB]

I'd rather build it fresh than have to demo someone else's work.
Parts for the 6.8 are tough to find.
I'd pass.
That's my 2cents.

 

[gr00vy]

okay good to know about parts - that was my biggest concern, really.

there's no demo required, just a lot of furniture - he had this set up as a bus to take groups of giants fans to games (so it is ridiculously painted, but everything inside is easily removable - it's just furniture). the floors are really nice, and quite honestly i was hoping to avoid that particular part of it.

 

[EastCoastCB]

If they're laminate I wouldn't build on top of them. I'm using laminate but only down the middle.
Anyhow that still sounds like a high price.

 

[cowlitzcoach]

Are you sure it is a 6.8 and not a 6.9?

The 6.9 was the forerunner to the 7.3/T444(E) and many of those parts interchange.

Just as long as it isn't the 9.0L. Not that engine is a certified boat anchor.

 

[captblarney]

If they're laminate I wouldn't build on top of them. I'm using laminate but only down the middle.

Could you elaborate a little on that. You're saying its best to do the framing first straight into the plywood and then put the floor down after?

 

[EastCoastCB]

That's what I'm doing.That's how real houses are built.

 

[Roadrunner-SKO]

Hi

Welcome aboard and good luck. I think if you look around you could find a bus for less money. Save your money for fixing up the bus, you're gonna need it. Just my thoughts. Look around before you buy.

 

[Scooternj]

That's what I'm doing.That's how real houses are built.

Same here. Laminate will be going down in the traffic areas, while the under cabinet and bunk areas will be the subfloor.

i'm wanting to make a funky tiny home, install a kitchen and bathroom - a fully-functional RV with solar, water and a generator. i want to house myself and my daughter, my dog and my cat - for now i am just looking to park it somewhere because i'm committed to being where i'm at for another year or two, but eventually, yes, i'll want to make use of the fact that is is a motorized home.

For all those renovations you want to to, you're still going to have to demo the interior. Walls, beds, water runs, etc. will need to go through the steel- which means panels come down/off, the floor comes up, walls going up and being secured to the bus floor. It might just be easier to start from scratch.

 

[nat_ster]

Fellow skoolies.

We now have a product called vinyl plank flooring.

It looks and installs just like the crappy wood laminate flooring.

It cost $1 more per square foot, but will never rot, swell, buckle, ect like the wood laminate flooring does. It contains no wood and the traffic master brand carry's a life time residential warranty.

It's so tough, the Walmart's here use it in the clothing sections.

IMO
Wood laminate does not belong in a bus. No bus is water tight, and water and laminate don't mix well.
I hate the stuff so much, as a contractor I will not install it. My reputation is worth more than the product. I feel it should be banned, and removed from the shelves. It fit's in the disposable lipstick category.

Fo the record I also will not install asphalt shingles. Metal, rubber, or clay tiles only. Done once, and never again is how I roll.

Nat