| Author | Message | ||
| Jason (24.207.156.213)
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Is there any way to make a school bus ride like a highway coach? If so is it worth doing? How do transits compare to highway coaches and school buses? All my experience is tied up with highway coaches. I was thinking of maybe converting a Neoplan or some sort of school bus. The Neoplan metroliner sounds interesting! Thanks for your input! | ||
| Bradd B. Smith (Bbsrtbusproject) (208.26.165.139)
Rating: N/A |
Hi Jason, all good questions. A school bus or anything else, can be modified into something else, with enough cash and time. Transits have air suspension and generaly the same engine/trans set up as an otr coach. The usual drawbacks are no storage bays, higher rearend gears, wheel wells in floor, lots of glass. The good part is they are usually a bargain and if you shop around, you can find one with taller gears. They have a low, stylish profile. The storage bay problem can be overcome with some engineering, translate cash, and some time. There is a bunch of space under one, just not very deep. The highway unit is the ultimate choice, but can be expensive to purchase initialy. If it has a tag axel, it can add to the overall maint. cost and is another system to consider. You have to remove the existing bathroom. If you can afford the metroliner, since your experience runs that way, go for it. There are many considerations and some serious study to find out what you really want, that will save you much grief later. All 3 platforms require an unbelievable amount of work and planning to complete. This is not something to be taken on as a lark. Try thinking about each individual system, then think of installing each one. The mind boggles! This is by far the best board, with the most knowledgeable folks participating, myself excluded, that is on the web. Good luck and welcome to a very challenging and rewarding hobby. Bradd | ||
| Busasaurus (24.69.255.205)
Rating: N/A |
The big difference is the air ride in transits and highway buses vs the spring suspension in school buses. (although I believe some have air bags). Transits have 4 airbags in general, while highway buses have 6, making it a more comfortable ride. As to what is possible, as Bradd says, "....with enough cash and time." Bryan Vancouver BC | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong) (24.127.74.29)
Rating: N/A |
Jason - If most of your bus experience is with highway coaches, you already know their advantages over the other two you mention. Bradd's points are very, very valid, do take them seriously. The BEST twenty bucks you can spend on your bus search is to get a copy of "Beginner's Guide to Converted Coaches" by Larry Plachno, the publisher of National Bus Trader, an industry mag. Available either from Amazon or direct at www.busmag.com. Read it thoroughly, cover to cover, then read it again BEFORE you buy a bus. Seriously. To answer your first question, I know of no way to make a steel-sprung dog-nosed skoolie ride like an air-suspended MCI, let alone an Eagle. If you happen to get lucky and find an air-suspended Crown, Gillig, Blue Bird or Thomas transit-style skoolie, you'd be getting closer. Transits, such as the RTS and Gillig, to mention two, also do not ride the same as a highway coach. Think about it: The suspension design and tuning criteria are different - a comfortable ride for long hours vs jump on, ride for 10 - 15 blocks and jump off. Look underneath any transit you may consider - how many air bellows are under it? The GMC Fishbowls used eight - four per axle - they have a great ride; many RTS's have six - two up front, four on the drivers, earlier models have independent front suspension, ride almost like a Fishbowl; Gillig and others may have either four or six, depending on the original order. A four bellows Gillig can buck you right out of the driver's seat, even tho it's air suspended - some steel skoolies ride better. You get the idea. . . Now, converting one of Neoplan's highway coaches - THAT would give you a unique coach among so many copies. . . (The Metroliner, IIRC, is sort of a hybrid transit/highway, used for commuter runs, mostly.) Just make sure you spend a lot of time examining the chassis for corrosion - some of their earlier models had problems. . . Oh, one other thought: Quite a few campgrounds shy away from converted skoolies - too many bad memories of "hippie buses" - and the memory dies slowly. HTH, RJ PD4106-2784 Fresno CA | ||
| Darryl (24.241.78.169)
Rating: N/A |
One other note on this subject. I've got alot of miles in Eagles, MCI's, transits, and school buses. I've owned all of them at one time or another (except the Eagles --- I drove them for Trailways). The previous posts in this thread are right, in my opinion. Especially the one about the fishbowls. Hard to beat that ride! It seems that all the buses with rolling lobe tend to have better rides than the convoluted bags (i.e. MCI's). A friend of mine even changed out his bags in an MCI to go to the rolling lobe ones. He's well pleased with that move. But that's just my opinion. Others may disagree. I'd just like to add one other thing. There is a difference between the rides of convential school buses and the transit models like the Thomas Saf-T-Liner and the Blue Bird All American. These two models have a decent ride, even on springs. It's not as good as an air ride coach, but not as bad as the conventials. Once they have some weight in them, it's not bad. One thing you might watch out for on the Blue Bird All Americans is that some of the eighty-something models were bad to break springs in the rear pack. You might luck up and find one of these with air suspension too. Just do alot of watching (seen a few come through ebay) and looking. Bought my last Thomas (1992 model)in Texas. Seems some of the county's bought high roof Thomas's to run as day buses for their senior citizen centers and the like. Came with high roofs, A/C, rear engine Cummins, and transit style windows. Mine tachs out at about 73 mph. That's faster than I like to drive anyway. 65 mph is my prefered speed. With the motorhome conversion, I can't hear the engine in the rear. If you decide to go with a Thomas or Blue Bird, I'd only consider the rear engine models. The front engine models are just too noisy. The fans they put on them sound like a hurricane under the engine cover. Again, just my opinion. | ||
| Johnny (63.159.196.13)
Rating: N/A |
I agree on the noisy fans--my Ford/Thomas long-nose (gas engine) was as loud as my (diesel) F-350. A gas-powered IH/Carpenter & GMC/BlueBird were also seriously loud. A clutch fan or electric fans can fix this. So can a loud stereo.  The 460's big flex fan is quieter, despite being larger & probably moving 3x the air. One thing I think has been overlooked, however: tires. Every coach & transit I've seen has been on radials. At least 50% of the dog-nose school buses I've seen have had bias-ply tires. Having driven the same bus before & after, the difference is ASTOUNDING. I'm seriously considering rear airbags (the front leaf-springs aren't bad) for my conversion--I need to replace the rear springs anyway (cracked), & plan to add onboard air, so...... | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.12) Rating: N/A |
You already have some good info. Couple more tid bits. My Flxible New Look rides on eight rolling lobe air bags and is a pretty smooth ride. It is very similar to a Fish in design. I had a look at a newer Gillig school bus that looked very much like a transit. Don't know the model name. Rear engine 3208 Cat and air bags. Might be an option to consider. I am wondering if budget is your driving factor of looking for a school bus? If so, I'd consider a transit because there are some real bargains. Even RTSs with modern drivetrains are reasonably priced. Scott | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong) (24.127.74.29)
Rating: N/A |
Scott - Gillig called their last school buses "Phantoms", just like the transit buses. Built on the same production line, except some additional structural members to accomodate federal regs for skoolies, plus they're all 96" wide. (Don't know why the skoolie folk haven't yet accepted the wide-body coaches. . .) Jason - Since it's really a buyer's market out there right now, you should seriously consider finding a bus that's already been converted as a "starter" coach, then make whatever changes are needed to suit YOUR lifestyle and use patterns. HTH, RJ PD4106-2784 Fresno CA | ||
| Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (63.224.197.10)
Rating: N/A |
Leaf spring schoolies can ride kinda hard. Have that problem right now with my '74 Crown 40-foot 10-wheeler. GVWR 47,160#. Stripped weight, 23,950#. Ouch! However, once at a decent LOADED condition like with 60 kids, Crowns actually ride quite nice, even with the leaf spring suspension. As a loaded RV may not be that bad. Suggest you look around a whole lot and get to know what you want to get. Yea, as others said, it IS a buyer's market right now. Longer you look and learn, the cheaper they get. Good luck | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (216.67.221.96)
Rating: N/A |
RJ, could be to do with the 96" width limit that is technically still in force in most towns and cities. 102" vehicles are only allowed on freeways, highways and to go as directly as possible to and from places of business, residences and other limited side trips. Touring is not considered a side trip. Well that is what the Arizona Statutes state when I looked a few months back. Of course, no one takes any notice these days, now fixed awnings are allowed to be added to the 102" vehicles, which at one time were being ticketed in one or more States for this infringement of the maximum width rule. Peter. | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong) (24.127.74.29)
Rating: N/A |
Peter - Actually, I think it's a $$$ thing - 102s are more expensive than 96s. . . And skoolie transportation officials are VERY slow to make changes ("if it ain't broke, don't fix it"), unless change is mandated by law. . . TTBOMK, 102 skoolies are legal, but the "demand" isn't there like it is for the tour coach. Also, city transit buses have been 102s since the early fifties - lots of your "Old Look" GMs are widebodies. It was the federal ISTEA legislation in the middle '80s that allowed 102s on the highways & byways. (BTW, that's one reason the MC-6 wasn't produced in large quantities - Greyhound couldn't get approval of it's widebody for highway operation in the States back in 1969. They were OK in Canada, tho. 'Hound finally got permits to run them in CA, but, IIRC, only on Hiways 99, 101 and I-5.) Well, at least that's how it's been in CA. . . YMMV! RJ PD4106-2784 Fresno CA |