Is this my unicorn?

[EastCoastCB]

This thread has taken on a life of its own, I almost hate to try to bring it back to my unicorn search. Lots of great information in here now though!

A handful of buses about an hour away came up for auction that check almost every one of my boxes, but are pretty high mileage/hours. What do you guys think about taking something on with over 350k miles and around 30k hours? These are pushers with Cummins 6CTA8.3 engines and MT643 transmissions, rear gear ratio of 4.44. They have basement storage, quite possibly a good amount were highway miles but that's hard to validate.

No do NOT buy anything with that mileage/hours. 30k hours is crazy.

 

[jdawgsworld]

No do NOT buy anything with that mileage/hours. 30k hours is crazy.

I just re-read what he said...30k hours??? Whoa...is that even possible?

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[jordan76]

I just re-read what he said...30k hours??? Whoa...is that even possible?

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Am I reading this right? 26,489.5 hours?

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[jdawgsworld]

Am I reading this right? 26,489.5 hours?

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Wow...if I understand the hour meter correctly...there's 24 hours in a day...that engine has ran over 11oo days...that's 3yr...ok...now it's a bit more rational...so maybe it's not such a high number then?...if I understand the measurement

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[Twigg-SKO]

325 000 miles at an average speed of 25 mph equates to 13000 hours ... about the time most severe duty engines are needing a rebuild.

Something is "off" about those numbers.

 

[jordan76]

325 000 miles at an average speed of 25 mph equates to 13000 hours ... about the time most severe duty engines are needing a rebuild.

Something is "off" about those numbers.

I'm waiting to confirm mileage on this one, there are some others listed around 350k so I assume this one's in the same ballpark but I only have the photo of the meter to on at this point

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[EastCoastCB]

I'm waiting to confirm mileage on this one, there are some others listed around 350k so I assume this one's in the same ballpark but I only have the photo of the meter to on at this point

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I shoot for less than 250k and less than 12k hours.

 

[BennysTire]

What if it's on it's second motor? I see tons of busses for sale with 3/4 million on the odometer...

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[EastCoastCB]

What if it's on it's second motor? I see tons of busses for sale with 3/4 million on the odometer...

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School buses are pretty beat by 350k, let alone 750k. Even if its the 3rd engine, the rest of the bus has seen a lot of use by then.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

What if it's on it's second motor? I see tons of busses for sale with 3/4 million on the odometer...

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I've never seen a school bus with that mileage.

Transit buses? Yes, but they get a full re-fit at 500k, and the drive patterns are completely different.

 

[jordan76]

I've never seen a school bus with that mileage.

Transit buses? Yes, but they get a full re-fit at 500k, and the drive patterns are completely different.

Listings have all been updated with mileage, they have one school bus listed at 485k miles.. crazy. This district seems to commonly push theirs past 300k, ive seen a few listed over that in the past.

The one i posted the pic of the hours meter (26K hours) is being listed as just shy of 200k miles, which doesnt seem to match the hours.. Can i validate this?

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[cadillackid]

seems a little unusual for a school bus unless it was used in some sort of transit roll? or had more routes than just a normal school route?
ive seen transit busses with an hour to miles ratio such that the bus only average 15-20 MPH for the hours it was turned on, and still fo 500-750k before they get sent out for complete overhaul. transits in some cities run 24 hours / day..

some sc hool busses have normal morning / midday / and afternoon routes and are also used for special-needs adult programs.. so its not unheard of for a bus like that to have a 10-15 hour day or more.. sometimes 6 days a week... doesnt take long to start adding up to a bus being turned on for "years" in its life..

special needs busses idle a lot more than regular school busses.. loading and unloading of students takes twice as long or more than a standard route, more idling, as many gtimes these students are shuttled from school to therapy etc.. alot of these sorts of things are out-sourced and counties will provide bus transportation for these students..
-Christopher

 

[EastCoastCB]

seems a little unusual for a school bus unless it was used in some sort of transit roll? or had more routes than just a normal school route?
ive seen transit busses with an hour to miles ratio such that the bus only average 15-20 MPH for the hours it was turned on, and still fo 500-750k before they get sent out for complete overhaul. transits in some cities run 24 hours / day..

some sc hool busses have normal morning / midday / and afternoon routes and are also used for special-needs adult programs.. so its not unheard of for a bus like that to have a 10-15 hour day or more.. sometimes 6 days a week... doesnt take long to start adding up to a bus being turned on for "years" in its life..

special needs busses idle a lot more than regular school busses.. loading and unloading of students takes twice as long or more than a standard route, more idling, as many gtimes these students are shuttled from school to therapy etc.. alot of these sorts of things are out-sourced and counties will provide bus transportation for these students..
-Christopher

Lots of those arizona buses have high mileage and hours like that.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Lots of those arizona buses have high mileage and hours like that.

Many of the buses towards the West Coast, especially Oregon and California, have high mileages when sold.

They often spec their buses high, and then keep them for rather longer than average. Look at all the 80s and early 90s Crowns now coming to market ... and they are forced sales

That said, even though they sell with high mileage, I have never yet seen 26000 hours on a school bus hour meter. I haven't even seen close to that.

Heh! Maybe it's my sheltered life.

For a Cummins 6CTA ... If it is fitted in a medium duty truck, and averages 40 mph, then 13000 hours equates to 520 000 miles.

This is right in line with the suggestion that they go 12 to 13k hours before a rebuild, if they have been well-maintained. In school buses it can be lower than that, especially for route buses.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Many of the buses towards the West Coast, especially Oregon and California, have high mileages when sold.

They often spec their buses high, and then keep them for rather longer than average. Look at all the 80s and early 90s Crowns now coming to market ... and they are forced sales

That said, even though they sell with high mileage, I have never yet seen 26000 hours on a school bus hour meter. I haven't even seen close to that.

Heh! Maybe it's my sheltered life.

Those AZ buses look like they've had a lot of use. WHy the prices are all so low.
That is a high amount of hours!!!!!!!!!

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Those AZ buses look like they've had a lot of use. WHy the prices are all so low.
That is a high amount of hours!!!!!!!!!

Many of them have run pretty much in sand for all their lives. They are going to look beat-up, and they might be well worn for the same reason.

They are rust-free, but they still need checking very carefully. You don't want a dry bus with completely worn undergear.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Many of them have run pretty much in sand for all their lives. They are going to look beat-up, and they might be well worn for the same reason.

They are rust-free, but they still need checking very carefully. You don't want a dry bus with completely worn undergear.

I wouldn't want any school bus with more than about 10-12 thousand hours really.
Mine's the newest/nicest I've had yet. About 7 or 8 thousand hours and 226k miles.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

I wouldn't want any school bus with more than about 10-12 thousand hours really.
Mine's the newest/nicest I've had yet. About 7 or 8 thousand hours and 226k miles.

Sounds about right.

Mines showing 102k miles and 5600 hours.

 

[o1marc]

Sounds about right.

Mines showing 102k miles and 5600 hours.

Do the clocks run the whole time the engine is running? How does that correlate to miles driven.
This example works out to 18mph. Seems like a bus that has stood running a lot, but n to going anywhere.

 

[jordan76]

There are a few buses listed that aren't too crazy on miles, but hours aren't available. I'm going to take a half day off work tomorrow and drive down and take a look at a few of these to validate the mileage is accurate.

Any tips on checking the hubometer, or will this be pretty obvious once I get under the bus? Are they usually on the front or rear axle?

These are all mechanical buses, so I'm assuming the hours will be on a dial meter rather than an electronic one (hoping, as the school has already stated they won't turn these on)