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Message |
Jeffrey K. Rasco (151.201.243.233)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2001 - 8:35 pm: | |
We will be purchasing a coach for conversion this year, the three main choices are prevost, eagle 10/15, MCI 9. Questions, is one inherently more costly to convert and operate, which is more desirable as far as handling and ride and what is the general cost range for the interior conversion by a reliable professional (not including engine, trans, tires, brakes, generator). I tried to keep this simple, but it is a big investment. Thanks for any thoughts and suggestions. |
FAST FRRED (209.26.87.21)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2001 - 5:38 am: | |
The first question is WHY.
AS a Bus Nut , most folks convert a coach , for the fun of doing it , and because can be a great RV after your all done.
Almost always when the unit is sold , the cost of conversion and coach gets covered , but almost all the labor was "free" , and is seldom recovered in the conversion price.
IT would seem very expensive to HAVE a conversion done for you , when your going to loose the cost of 2000 to 4000 hours of a professional's time you will be paying for.
AS a hobby , what the heck , we all love working for 10c an hour on our toys , but as an investment???
UNLESS your particular requirements are so specific ,
so severe ,
so unusual,
that its seldom if ever done in a coach , a fine professionally built coach will be loads better in the long run.
OR even a home brew from a fellow with similar functional requirements, and ideas could do.
A used Custom Coach {brand name} Angola Coach ,, or a Wakefield conversion , can cost under a third of what it would cost from scratch, and if converted from new will not have the million or so miles of an old Hound.
The higher end coaches , factory built ,usually will need some interior renewal , up-dating , and perhaps a new system or two.
EG:{Old conversions use Par water systems , pure GARBAGE, but a new Sureflo pump is $135.00 plus instalation}
You will frequently also need to get an older pro conversion engine rebuit , as the owners are seldom Bus Nuts , and fail to follow Da' Book in terms of servicing the engine when NOT using the coach.
This is still cheaper than getting all the running gear AND changing a high time engine from a charter coach.
DEcisions Decisions , but the first one is:
WHATS wrong with a fine finished conversion??
FAST FRED |
Steve Fessenden (63.25.54.207)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2001 - 10:32 am: | |
Fred is on target. You can modify a professional conversion for special needs easier than starting from scratch. Just looke for one that has the space you need and is in good condition.
You will want to have the conversion checked by a reliable, knowledgale RV service person and the bus systems by a bus mechanic. Well worth the expense. I looked at one that had had an Air Conditioning leak of water on the floor and had a soft floor in the Bathroom, kitchen and bedroom areas. Since everything is built on top of the floor it would have been an expensive repair.
An executive conversion will give you a good starting point at reasonable $ if you want to make major floor plan modifications anyway. Still low miles and a lot of systems in place.
Prevost still has a much better resale value. If you don't plan on selling in the near future, MCI may be a better coach and should cost less. Almost everybody is looking for Prevost.
Remember, asking price is just a start.
Steve Fessenden |
Mallie (208.165.104.15)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 12:22 pm: | |
Hello Jeffery:
Which bus is better to convert is a matter of opinion, preference etc. Assuming the coaches are in the same condition, the conversion will be about the same. The question of ride and handling is much the same. Supply and demand set the price, therefore you are more likely to find an MCI in good condition for less money simply because there are more on the used market in the conversion price range. It will be necessary for you to become somewhat familiar with coaches and flaws to be able to intelligently shop for a used coach. The other option is to depend on someone else to make the decisions for you. If you are going to have an established converter do the work, he will probably have a source for good used coaches. The cost of conversion will depend on what you want in it. I would suggest you contact some conversion companies and start with basic discussion of what you expect from the coach. Your budget will probably be one of the main limiting factor, so you need to determine just how much you want to put in it. The cost of a conversion will certainly include labor, so if you choose to do some of it yourself, you will save that cost. As far as you not being able to get your labor out when you sell it is a little like saying you will not be able to get the labor out of your car when you sell it. You usually can not sell a car, motor home, or bus conversion for more than you paid for it, providing you bought it retail, as all of these will depreciate. If you do quality work, it will have the same value as if Custom Coach did it. I would say the bottom price range for a conversion would be around $20k, and a good road worthy shell with a good engine, transmission, tires skin etc ready to roll is going to be another $20k. Now I know you have seen buses advertised for a lot less, but by the time you rebuild the engine, transmission, brakes, steering or what ever else it take to make it road worthy, you are not likely to have less than $20K in it. There are exceptions out there, but you will have to spend some time looking to find them. A cheap bus can end up being the most expensive. Take the time to look at some conversions, and decide what it right for you. Welcome to wonderful world of Buses. Good Luck. Mallie |
Wulf P. Ward (63.59.220.213)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 03, 2001 - 10:58 am: | |
40K is very low. I have converted 3 buses in the last 7 years and all ended up costing about 100K to complete, including the bus. But I like nice things like Alcoa wheels, diesel heat, dual inverters, a 13.5 KW diesel gen-set...... My first bus was a Model 10 Eagle, I think I liked that one the most for converting. My 2nd bus (I still have it) is a GMC RTS. I really like the RTS and I went hog wild on that one, but it is really sharp, kind like a BMW. It drive like a sports-car compaired to the Eagle. My new bus is a Neoplan Spaceliner. I think this is my last bus (maybe). Again I went all out, like spending $ 8,000.00 on the 315X22.5 on 9" Europien deminsion Alcoa's. I worked on my Eagle for about 1500 hours and the same on my RTS and Neoplan. I broke even on my Eagle (less my labor) and I think I will brake eaven on my Neoplan. But I may loose money on the RTS. But I did not do it to make money. I love to work on my buses, all of them. When I go to sleep at night and something negative is on my mind, all I do is think about the next free time I have to work on my bus and I fall asleep. |
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