Buses

[OutdoorFT]

These have peeked my interest a little bit. More room than a van, no doubt about standing up in them. Which is what I need, at only 5'9" it isnt too difficult.

 I dont know how old is too old for these though. generally speaking, I see them locally for sub 10k and early 2000s/late 90s.

Im not a huge handyman, but would give it my best attempt to do a conversion..if nothing else a nice bed to sleep on.

Im not looking to blend in. I hate city traffic and anything with lots of people. 

Being that they are diesel would require more of a maintenance fee...however if I could find a short bus with a v10 might be better.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Finding someone to insure a bus conversion can be the biggest problem.  Make sure you explore that thoroughly and have insurance lined up before you spend any money.

There are Ford V10 busses out there, they are just not as common as the diesels, hence harder to find.

 

[OutdoorFT]

That is definitely one concern I had. Thanks John.

 

[Putts]

FWIW, I had a tough time insuring my commercial step van. Then I decided to give my Farmers Insurance guy who insures my home a call. I told him I'd move all my vehicles over to him if he could find a way to insure the step van. He was motivated and did the deal quickly.

 

[CityWoman]

I recently came across a very long and informative discussion thread in the "Registrations and Insurance, etc." forum over at skoolie.net, that explains how to have a school bus registered as an RV, which apparently makes it easier and cheaper to get insurance. Lots of good information there.

 

[caretaker]

having any motor vehicle registered as an rv seems to add several thousand to the value.

 

[LoupGarou]

It's that that time window between the purchase as a bus and the completion of the RV conversion that's problematic. Even then there's no guarantees on DIY conversions.

 

[Dgorila1]

I was obsessed with building a schoolie until I found it would be very, very hard to insure one. And changing the title from bus to rv varies greatly between states. A few are real simple, many are extremely hard. Even then the VIN will show it as a school bus which leads to insurance issues. Just changing the title to say rv doesn't matter to most of the insurance companies. This is why I changed focus to vans and rv's. The Man crushed my original dream of a schoolie!

 

[CityWoman]

It's that that time window between the purchase as a bus and the completion of the RV conversion that's problematic. Even then there's no guarantees on DIY conversions.

The thread I mentioned, at skoolie.net, talks about how to do it before conversion is complete, and many members of that forum shared how it worked for them, and how they got insured.

 

[CityWoman]

Tried to edit my post but missed the window.

The discussion I mentioned is here: http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f18/h...ur-bus-as-an-rv-without-conversion-15292.html.

Btw, the OP of that thread said in a subsequent post that insurance for an RV is cheaper because it's assumed to be used only for vacations every now and then. I suppose he meant that it's cheaper than insuring it as a commercial vehicle for personal use. And also, one should probably not make it known that the vehicle is for F/T living.

 

[caretaker]

don't ask don't tell,,remember, if not properly insured if you have an accident your in trouble and from everything I've read on this site reg. ins. don't cover FT, thats why I'm gonna go out of my way to get the title changed even if i gotta change states, i figure I'm a nomad anyway what the heck. so far it looks like SD. you are the best driver in the world and i bet the 90 year old who T Bones thought he was too.

 

[LoupGarou]

The thread I mentioned, at skoolie.net, talks about how to do it before conversion is complete, and many members of that forum shared how it worked for them, and how they got insured.

If you read the posts in that thread you'll find that getting the registration and insurance sorted isn't impossible, just problematic. Your fighting a battle on two fronts, the state DMV and the underwriters who back the insurance companies.

 

[CityWoman]

If you read the posts in that thread you'll find that getting the registration and insurance sorted isn't impossible, just problematic. Your fighting a battle on two fronts, the state DMV and the underwriters who back the insurance companies.

Yes, I read the entire thread.  A few people had problems, but most reported success. Just thought I'd share it, because it worked for so many people who were happy about it. YMMV. Not about to argue or tell anyone they should do it that way. However, my guess is there wouldn't be so many bus afficionados and nomads out there in skoolies if it was so extremely difficult to get insured.

 

[Jim Ragsdale]

I suggest you not rule out a diesel.  Diesels are simpler engines.  I once asked a mechanic to run a compression check on a diesel I was contemplating buying which is what I always do on a gasoline engine.  He laughed at me and said that if the engine runs you have good compression.  If it didn't the engine wouldn't run.  That's not true of a gas motor.  So if you find a diesel that runs well, you can be more assured the motor isn't going to be an initial issue.   There is a reason you don't see gas motors on long haul diesel trucks.  I just wouldn't settle for a gas motor if I can get a diesel.

 

[highdesertranger]

that's not entirely true about diesels,
older diesels are extremely simple, newer ones are extremely complex
I have seen a diesel with no compression in 2 cylinders that ran well, except for the smoke you wouldn't know.
highdesertranger

 

[eDJ_]

The word "Bus" can conjure up a lot of images in folks minds.  School Bus, Greyhound, Shuttle Bus ???

These Shuttle Bus rigs built on a heavy Van chassis often sit around for sale and don't cost much.  They may be easier to insure too.  They are often available in Diesel (if you look at a Ford don't consider the 6.0 liter engine...but if it has the 7.3 it may be a find)  I'd suggest sticking with Ford or GM products just the same.

I'll offer you these two links to consider.


Father of 11 Shuttle Bus  (check out his story)

http://www.fatherof11.com/shuttle_bus.html


Here's a nifty rig......  (this Guy seems to be an eccentric....and the thread was a novelty when it was first posted.  Since then that "Father of 11" website was found)

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Here-s-a-nifty-rig-I-saw

On the Father of 11 website be sure to notice point #14 on Insurance.

 

[user 37446]

Look up this up on YouTube (familiar to CRVL and Bob Wells), this guy helped a lady find a gas short bus schoolie - I learned from watching: Enigmatic Nomadics

The other thing is to buy a cheaper rv, that's already an rv for insurance and licensing, as well as it has the built ins... There's CRVL forum threads on completely gutting an older rv (often class C Dodges from the 70's) and rebuilding them to their tastes.  That way you could avoid the whole licensing/insuring issue. Biggest downside is that old rv's are not built for 25-30 years of rattling around.

See Bob's blog:

Baby Steps: Buying an Older Class C RV

Posted on October 31, 2013 by BobBob — 114 Comments ↓

 

[LoupGarou]

^
I've been following the YouTube updates. Hopefully it all works for everyone.

 

[caretaker]

be careful of 7.3 diesels, they are about at the end of their financially sensical life, yes there is that guy that had one that went 2,436,629 miles and all he did was wave a shop towel over it. but thats not you, they are real expensive to fix and not getting any cheaper.

 

[stinko]

These have peeked my interest a little bit. More room than a van, no doubt about standing up in them. Which is what I need, at only 5'9" it isnt too difficult.

 I dont know how old is too old for these though. generally speaking, I see them locally for sub 10k and early 2000s/late 90s.

Im not a huge handyman, but would give it my best attempt to do a conversion..if nothing else a nice bed to sleep on.

Im not looking to blend in. I hate city traffic and anything with lots of people. 

Being that they are diesel would require more of a maintenance fee...however if I could find a short bus with a v10 might be better.

Hey just a report with my experience.  I've been living in my 2002 E-450 diesel shuttle bus for about two months now with my partner and 60lb dog quite comfortably.  I went for the 7.3 L diesel specifically because of the wonderful things I've heard about their reliability and (relative) fuel economy. Regarding repairs, if you don't know much about gas repairs then whats the difference?  If you're not going to work on it yourself, you can expect higher repair costs either way just for the size of the vehicle.  You can also expect to find a mechanic who is familiar with the 7.3 much easier than one who has worked on a v10.  These 7.3's were in every diesel ford made for over a decade.  Very common.

My rig cost us $3400 and we just got a year's insurance through state farm for $150 with no hassle.  It is RV insurance but I did not get my title switched.  The title is in TN and the insurance is in AL.  I probably spent $1000 on the conversion which included repairing the roof and gutting and replacing the floor and ceiling.  Our conversion is simple with a Coleman stove centered kitchen and super simple sink.  It would not be enough to re-title it as an RV.  

Hope this is helpful.  There's a lot less info about these floating around, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me.  I just might have an answer and if not ill be happy to make something up.