| Author |
Message |
Johnny (63.38.219.87)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 3:02 am: | |
I currently am entering the world of RV's with a 26' Holiday Rambler trailer, towed with an F-350 4x4 diesel. I've been camping with a friend in his Dodge Coachman Class C for a while.
However, my dream in the (kind of near, I hope) future is a converted bus. Specifically, I'm thinking a Conventional-chassis (ie, not a flat-nose or pusher) IH, GMC, or Ford school bus.
My main requirement for the bus is another reason I want a Conventional school bus: manual trans only! I loathe slushboxes.
Advice? Good/bad chassis/bodies? Conversion tips? Ideas how to pay for it?
Thanks for the help! |
DaveD (216.18.113.69)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 6:05 am: | |
If I were going to put the time money and effort in to a conversion, I'd go with a highway coach. There are many decent ones (lots with manual transmissions) available at reasonable prices, if you do some shopping and what you end up with should last for a long time. Initial safety inspection safety costs and any costs to repair or upgrade other chassis components will probably be higher than for a school bus but many of those repairs/upgrades will likely last as long as you own the coach.
Coaches are generally an integrated chassis/body design, whereas school buses are a separate body on a truck style chassis. Coaches usually ride better, quieter and handle better on the highway.
I've had two Class A motor homes and now have an MCI MC-8 coach. Years ago my in-laws had converted a school bus. It was pretty comfortable, but had limited storage space and a typical school bus ride and they had some reliability problems with the gas engine. On the other hand, it was pretty simple to work on.
DaveD |
J (67.242.181.177)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 8:21 am: | |
We were considering a Crown before we purchased our bus, seems to be well-built and a good compromise between the coach and schoolie. Crown was a west coast manufacturer, went out of business in '81, I think. All aluminum body; with the (generally) diesel amidships. These busses were designed for a thirty year life span, and I frequently see them for sale right out of service from the school districts. While I think a coach is desirable for general comfort, I truly think the Crown is an excellent choice.The prices sure seem right.
There are 40' tag axles available, seems like the preferred combination was the 671(?) with ten-speed allison.
Disclaimer: I'm new to busses,no personal experience, I'm just passing along some of what I found while researching. J |
RJ Long (24.127.8.58)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 9:01 pm: | |
Crown closed their doors in the early '90s, unfortunately. Best built skoolie/custom ever, i.e. "Tanks". Current Thomas & BBs don't compare.
Lots of Crowns & Gilligs out there, most mid-ship engine, some pushers (rarer). Many late models are automatics - even school districts are getting away from stick shifts.
Gillig made a bunch of pusher 10-wheelers for the border patrol, 8V71 w/ 10-spd RoadRangers.
Manual gearbox is nice, 'till stuck in world's biggest parking lot (LA) during commute hours.
Don't forget Mama, tho. She may NOT want to drive a manual gearbox, but you might have to pry her out from behind the wheel of an MCI automatic. . .
What's the REAL reason you want a skoolie??
RJ
PD4106-2784
Fresno CA |
Johnny (63.159.177.20)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 10:47 pm: | |
Real reason? I don't follow.....
I find the ahead-of-the-axle position uncomfortable--even in a Mitsubishi Fuso cab-over wrecker. I prefer a Conventional-cab.
Also, I don't want air brakes.
"Don't forget Mama, tho. She may NOT want to drive a manual gearbox, but you might have to pry her out from behind the wheel of an MCI automatic. . . "
Liz won't drive ANY RV, slushbox or manual.
I've driven non-synchro trannies (a 7-speed Eaton-Fuller with 2-speed rear in a 70's GMC 24' box truck & a Spicer 5-and-2 in a 20' Ford L8000 beverage truck), and I like them! I don't see why people think they're hard to learn. |
RJ Long (24.127.8.58)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 1:39 am: | |
Johnny -
I'll agree that multi-speed manual gearboxes can be entertaining to drive, and not that difficult to learn, all the easier if you already have real world experience in a stick.
Driving one smoothly, however, is becoming a lost art, due to the proliferation of automatics.
Majority of buses use 4 or 5 speed manuals, thinking being that more is overkill in a vehicle much lighter than an 18-wheeler, where multiple gears are needed because of the heavy loads carried.
Crown/Gillig drivers w/ 10-speeds usually skip-shift them, even when loaded. They get tired of going thru seven gears just to get to 35 mph.
Of course, a multiple-speed manual can be VERY entertaining when you miss a downshift on a 7% grade in the rain at Oh Dark Thirty. . .
There is a WORLD of difference between a cab-over truck, a dog-nose skoolie, and a highway coach.
Once you get used to the fact you're sitting four feet ahead of the steering axle (i.e.: EVERYTHING's behind you!), they become very comfortable to drive - so much so that many of us would rather drive our bus than our cars!
Granted, you're the first one there in a head-on, but statistically those odds, especially in RV use, are way off the probability scale. More likely to have a fender-bender in your car than one in a bus.
It is also not uncommon to find air brakes nowadays in conventional skoolies, especially the larger ones.
On an RV BBS I frequent, there has been a rather lengthy thread regarding air vs hydraulic brakes, pros and cons of both systems being hotly debated.
Air brakes are no more complex than hydraulics, once you understand them.
IBME that if a bus has a 10-speed RoadRanger in it, it will also have air brakes.
Big advantage for skoolies is their high ground clearance, great for backwoods boondocking. There are even some 4x6s out there! Lack of basement storage presents interesting design challenges, tho.
Most skoolies have steel spring suspension, primarily because they're usually built on a truck chassis. Consequently, they "ride like a truck", not the most comfortable to take a nap way in the back while motoring down the interstate.
Best to buy a skoolie directly from a school district, then you can talk to the shop guys to find out which is the best, plus you get all the service records.
Can't back it up with fact, but have heard many "horror stories" of converted skoolies being turned away at the KOA because "we don't allow old hippie buses in here".
Converting a bus is an interesting challenge, to say the least. Before you plunk down your hard-earned $$$ for a shell, you need to seriously sit down w/ Liz and determine exactly WHAT you want to DO with this thing after it's converted. You may discover that she wants to do something completely different than what you're dreaming about, which may have a huge influence on your shell choice. (A Honda Civic can't haul the Cub Scout den like a Honda Odyssey minivan, right?) This is what I was talking about when I mentioned "the real reason" you're considering a conventional. . .
It truly IS an interesting hobby, tho!!
HTH,
RJ
PD4106-2784
Fresno CA |
R.C.Bishop (128.123.88.7)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 10:11 pm: | |
Hey, Hey, (or is that hear hear) RJ! Thanx for the accolade on Crowns!.....and the gears are coming just fine, thank you!. Did a "spring outing" for 125 miles or so today....getting those shifts down, albeit not tight, but they're comin'. My wife accompanied and declared HER own determination to win over this ole' Shake, Rattle and Roll... beautiful trip.
Stripped except for us and a full tank, 23,700# according to the sneak portable weight station we came across. With a GVWR of 38,500, we can fill the thing with lots of goodies. They smiled a bunch...so did we!
No Ben and Jerry's, but a DQ along the way. Thanx for the update on your email.
Regards,
RCB |
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