Should we get this bus?

[EastCoastCB]

Word. We realize there is no garuntees, such is life lol. We are willing to make a gamble on a bus, but we want to make a smart gamble. Although I do have to say, if we won a bus on auction and it didn't make it home, we would be very very sad.

If gambling, go for an 8.3 or Dt466. They're much more robust and have longer lives than their smaller, less powerful brethren.

 

[EastCoastCB]

That's an interesting point I hadn't really thought of. So would u say sitting a long time is worse on a bus than lots of idling?

Also, around how long is likely to be too long for a bus to be sitting?

Lots of idling is about the WORST thing for an engine.
Sitting isn't great either but as long as its not been sitting like 5 years it should be ok.

 

[Kandall]

Kendall, be patient. we have both been looking for the same bus. It took me 8 months of searching and bidding before I snagged this bus.

https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=2048134

It was worth the wait. you can do it...

That's confusing. As you know , we've been looking too, we were gonna message you if we found a bus we wanted to bid on. We have been watching very closely, especially around oregon, but that bus you got never came up on public surplus for us. We definitely would have noticed it at least. This makes me wonder if there are other buses we are not seeing.

In any case congratulations on your bus yo! That actually makes me feel a little better, thank you!

 

[Kandall]

If gambling, go for an 8.3 or Dt466. They're much more robust and have longer lives than their smaller, less powerful brethren.

Even if they're electronic?

 

[Kandall]

Lots of idling is about the WORST thing for an engine.
Sitting isn't great either but as long as its not been sitting like 5 years it should be ok.

That is really valuable info for me that I couldn't find anywhere on this forum (at least from google). Thank you very much!

 

[stixNstaples]

If anything try to get one with overdrive. Dont know how much you will be travelling but if an overdrive saves 2mpg over 20k miles at $3.15 a gallon a good bit of money. So if you can squeeze a few $more for a od trans I think you will save in the long run. And as eastcoast said a bigger motor can make life a little easier. Allways easier to use less pedal than to wish for more power.

 

[Rovobay]

That's confusing. As you know , we've been looking too, we were gonna message you if we found a bus we wanted to bid on. We have been watching very closely, especially around oregon, but that bus you got never came up on public surplus for us. We definitely would have noticed it at least. This makes me wonder if there are other buses we are not seeing.

In any case congratulations on your bus yo! That actually makes me feel a little better, thank you!

Kandall, I'll keep looking for buses and send any links your way!

 

[EastCoastCB]

Even if they're electronic?

Yes. Up to about 2004.
The 444E is electronic, fwiw.

 

[Dapplecreek]

We need a bus that is bigger than an 8 window for our floor plan, 10 windows would still be a significant improvement over a full sized 40 ft bus.

We've been looking for the right bus for about 6 months now. We've been living in an uninsulated van for the last 2 years and don't want to spend another winter in it. We are trying to get a bus in the next month, so that we can have part of the conversion finished (at least up to the point of spray foam) before winter.

Very good point about dog rescuers tranny.

Kandall, if you still are busless in Fall, I'll have a 10-window bus for sale within strking distance (Pullman WA/Lewiston ID/Moscow ID). See thread here. Dunno what price we'll ask, but it will have been fit for the trip across country (new fluids, filters, etc.), gutted, and painted. Good luck on your hunt! You'll see my post here if you're still looking.

 

[Kandall]

Kandall, if you still are busless in Fall, I'll have a 10-window bus for sale within strking distance (Pullman WA/Lewiston ID/Moscow ID). See thread here. Dunno what price we'll ask, but it will have been fit for the trip across country (new fluids, filters, etc.), gutted, and painted. Good luck on your hunt! You'll see my post here if you're still looking.

That's very kind of you, thank you! We hope to have a bus by then, but if we dont, we will definitely hit you up!

 

[Twigg-SKO]

That is really valuable info for me that I couldn't find anywhere on this forum (at least from google). Thank you very much!

Yeah, it's been mentioned a few times.

Diesel engines cool down when they idle. They need to be doing work to get up to full operating temps. High Idle helps some, but it's still not great.

If a prospective purchase is fitted with an Hour Meter, it's worth paying attention to.

So around 5000 Hours per 100k miles is not a bad number. Most of the engines fitted will be getting very tired by 13-15000 hours. This is around 300k miles for average use without hours of idling every day. Those numbers also fit in with the B50 ratings of around 500k miles on the better engines. School bus use is considered "severe duty", so 300k is a good number to be working with.

Some will do more, others much less.

Pay no attention to the claims of "million-mile buses". They are a bit of a fiction except for the coaches.

Buses that reach those miles run at ideal temperatures, all day every day, as with the medium-duty trucks. They go through very few warm-up/cool-down cycles, and at around 500k miles they get a full rebuild.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Yeah, it's been mentioned a few times.

Diesel engines cool down when they idle. They need to be doing work to get up to full operating temps. High Idle helps some, but it's still not great.

If a prospective purchase is fitted with an Hour Meter, it's worth paying attention to.

So around 5000 Hours per 100k miles is not a bad number. Most of the engines fitted will be getting very tired by 13-15000 hours. This is around 300k miles for average use without hours of idling every day. Those numbers also fit in with the B50 ratings of around 500k miles on the better engines. School bus use is considered "severe duty", so 300k is a good number to be working with.

Some will do more, others much less.

Pay no attention to the claims of "million-mile buses". They are a bit of a fiction except for the coaches.

Buses that reach those miles run at ideal temperatures, all day every day, as with the medium-duty trucks. They go through very few warm-up/cool-down cycles, and at around 500k miles they get a full rebuild.

VERY excellent post! Well put, sir.

Most regular school buses are BEAT by the time they see 300k+.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

VERY excellent post! Well put, sir.

Most regular school buses are BEAT by the time they see 300k+.

Yeah. There is a guy on FB currently trying to tell folk that he regularly sees the T444 go 400k miles in school buses.

It's just not fair to prospective buyers to be giving that kind of advice without a balancing view.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Yeah. There is a guy on FB currently trying to tell folk that he regularly sees the T444 go 400k miles in school buses.

It's just not fair to prospective buyers to be giving that kind of advice without a balancing view.

lol

but if its on FB its just GOTTA be true!

 

[Tall Grass]

Look in cities outside your state with a cheap one way ticket between your home and the cities . A road trip is a memorable journey to bring it home.

 

[Dapplecreek]

I took a Greyhound out to get my bus. Had some excitement along the way - they had to call an ambulance for a passed-out drunk passenger.

But it was all good: since I was running late and the seller was going to meet me at the bus station, I texted him "Drunk on bus."

After a few minutes I texted to explain further that we were delayed from police and ambulance crews taking him off. That calmed him down a bit...