New member stopping by.

[Smallbus913]

Hi. My name is Chris and after debating for a few months which way to go as far as conversions I decided to go with a school bus. I just started looking in my area to see what is out there price wise and size. I have been doing carpentry, welding, and mechanics for years so I am looking forward to starting this new chapter in my life. I am looking for a short bus not a full size one, as it is just my wife and I that will be using it to go camping on the weekends. We might take trips up and down the East Coast as we have family all along the coast and enjoy visiting and driving instead of flying. Since I am new with the school bus what are some things I should look for as far as gas engines and transmissions. I tend to keep it simple so I do fancy the older type buses. Any info would be much appreciated since most of the people on here do have experience on the pros and cons. Thanks in advance, Chris.

 

[Cheezewhiz]

Well **** a gasoline engine right in the exhaust manifold.

A mid-duty diesel should last 500k before needing a rebuild, and then run for another 500k.

There's A guy that got a gas toyota to a million miles, and they made an ad campaign out of him.

Your skillset sounds like you'll do well! It takes a little bit of everything

 

[Slapdash]

Hi. My name is Chris and after debating for a few months which way to go as far as conversions I decided to go with a school bus. I just started looking in my area to see what is out there price wise and size. I have been doing carpentry, welding, and mechanics for years so I am looking forward to starting this new chapter in my life. I am looking for a short bus not a full size one, as it is just my wife and I that will be using it to go camping on the weekends. We might take trips up and down the East Coast as we have family all along the coast and enjoy visiting and driving instead of flying. Since I am new with the school bus what are some things I should look for as far as gas engines and transmissions. I tend to keep it simple so I do fancy the older type buses. Any info would be much appreciated since most of the people on here do have experience on the pros and cons. Thanks in advance, Chris.

Welcome to the Asylum!

If you're looking for a shortie-shortie, my wife and I just finished an '05 GMC Savana 3500. It has a 6.0 gas engine, which is reported to last quite a while. We only have a 100k on it and it runs great. I wanted a Ford with the big honkin' 7.3 diesel, but when we test drove one it was very, very loud. Also, my wife doesn't like the smell of diesel, even though it's aromatherapy for me.

Been very happy with ours so far. We are also weekend warriors of sorts, with the occasional 1-2 week excursions, with hopes of going longer (we both work 99 percent remote).

I agree with @Cheezewhiz about the diesel longevity over gas engines, but that longevity might come with ear surgery, unless you get a pusher. But I don't know enough about pushers to know if they come in a shorter version, like a full-size shortie, if that makes sense.

Either way, welcome!

 

[nikitis]

Gas is fine for a smaller bus, I wouldn't do gas for larger buses. Since they are after a short bus a gas is fine to do. Diesel for short bus can be good as well. Gas will be far easier to work on if there are issues.

 

[Skods]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Rucker]

If you're looking at a gasser shoot for something with 100K or so, unless you can afford one of the newer ones with less mileage. The higher the mileage the more likely you'll be working on the drive train instead of the conversion.

I too like the vintage look. But those that have them, they've spent an extraordinary amount of time and money bringing the bus back into driving condition. Also I'm not sure the driving experience will be pleasant over long distances.

 

[Cheezewhiz]

Saw inside the hood at a car show recently:

Real trucks don't have sparkplugs


Lol

 

[AlphaHare]

Welcome!

I have an E450 with a 6.0 diesel and it's much louder than the same chassis with a gas V10. I haven't explored under the dash and the firewall yet - I'm hoping to find no dampening material and then add a lot of it. There's an old joke in boats when replacing a gas engine with a diesel: which do you like more, the smell or the noise? ;>)

500K miles seems extremely optimistic for van cutaway diesels of any variety. Even less likely you'll actually put an additional 100K on the rig if it's weekends and summer getaways.

Take your time - there are a ton of busses out there - yours will make itself known when it's time. Personal opinion, I think the 5 window is the sweet spot of room vs length and manuverability, but I might have gone with 6 windows if I had seen one. 4 windows is tight depending on how you want to build it out.

At first I thought a handicap door was just OK but a bit of a pain. Now in conversion I think it's the bomb - better to side-load bicycles (more length) than load them from the rear.

And in CT (like me in MA) look elsewhere for relatively rust free chassis. Do NOT start your journey with a rusty bus.

 

[Cheezewhiz]

500K miles seems extremely optimistic for van cutaway diesels of any variety. Even less likely you'll actually put an additional 100K on the rig if it's weekends and summer getaways.

I'm not talking van motors, I mean wet-sleeved medium duty or big rig engines. If it's built like a gas motor, it'll last like one. Maybe a bit longer, some of those old diesel rabbits are still around

And I'll take the smell and the noise, tyvm

 

[nikitis]

I didn't mind the smell or the noise. Both part of the enjoyable experience imo. Who wants to drive something as large as a bus and it be dirt quiet? I'd be afraid something was wrong all the time if I didn't have the sound of the diesel going along with the movement of the bus. Kind of like how electric vehicles weird you out every time you get in one. Unless you're new to driving you just expect it to make an engine noise.

This has bothered people so much Ford even put fake engine noise option in their electric vehicles.

I could probably get used to it after awhile, but it's gonna take me years.

New generations growing up with electric options will probably never care.