Still searching for my bus

[Airzed]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, but have been dreaming of converting an old bus into a camper for years. I live in Oregon, so see plenty of examples on the road. I have been searching a 2-3 hundred mile range around my home, looking for a 6-8 window bus that I can afford and is in "decent" condition. I see alot of 4 window buses, and plenty of 10+ window buses, but the 6-8 window guys are pretty rare around here.

I've had a few buses that almost worked out, but so far, I've been lied to on CL, where someone tried to sell me a bus that had a damaged frame, and the title had the bus labelled as "not to be driven." Another CL bus was old, rusty and overpriced. The guy told me that $5000 was a great deal on a 1988 Bluebird Workhorse with holes in the roof and it needed 6 new tires. The engine hadn't started in 3-4 years, and he wasn't sure what kind of engine it was. I was pissed that I drove an hour to see that one.

[rlaggren]

> drove an hour...

Kinda comes with the territory. When I'm shopping I keep a (short) list of Q's to try by phone or email before anything goes further. I find generally the ownership details are more helpful than claims about the vehicle. Stuff like where did it come from, registration status, how long they've owned it, does it start, how it drives (you want to find out the last time it was driven); VIN - no VIN is not a good sign. Ask some specific Q's about usage and listen, see what comes across - how it drives, is it hard to shift (if manual) - anything to get that guy talking. The more specifics they know right off naturally the better. I also make it clear that if the name on the registration is not the name on _their_ DL, there's not going to be a deal and maybe hint you'll inquire officially; that could save you a long trip just by itself. But some states are a little different about vehicle titles, so maybe that's not something that works in Oregon. Stuff like "bad starter" "no battery" are not good signs - means that even if it might roll, you (conveniently?) can't test it.

From many threads on this forum I understand that you can pretty much plan on replacing all the rubber before using it. Whether you want to gamble with the trip home is your call, but real usage requires new rubber.

Have fun! <g>

Rufus

[Mark R. Obtinario]

$5000.00 for a used Type C (conventional) school bus is about $3000.00 more than I would be willing to pay.

Our chruch just purchased a 1986 Crown Supercoach with a DD 6-71TAC/Allison that had a complete inframe overhaul within the last five years (we got the records when we purchased the bus). We paid $2500.00 for the bus and $2700.00 for six new 11X24.5 tires and wheels.

Finding a short conventional is going to be difficult, if not impossible. Most buses of that size are either Type B or Type A, neither of which would make a good choice for a conversion.
Most will also most likely have a lift which will tend to make the asking price higher.

Any particular reason why so short?

If you are in the NW and you are looking for a bus www.harlowsbussales.com, www.westernbus.com, and www.nwbus.com are about the only places you will find used buses for sale. Schetky NW Sales and Bryson rarely have any used buses on their lots.

[Stealth Camper]

How cool is that? Thanks, Mark!

I went to Harlow's web site and found one that I really like a lot, even if it is a little pricey ($4,500). Bismark is so far north, there might be some rust issues, but everything else really looked good to me.


http://www.harlowsbussales.com/inventor ... ls/?s=5140

Added edit - not a recommendation, just a reference point;
Here is an Oklahoma bus that has 6 windows and sounds like it is close to what you are looking for. But this is gonna be crazy money - it is 2008. National tends to be a little crazy on price anyway...

http://www.nationalbus.com/BusDetail.aspx?id=7067BA

[somewhereinusa]

I don't know how far you are willing to go, I bought mine from Tillery Chevrolet in Moriarty NM they are the Bluebird dealer for NM. Price might be a tad higher, but my 20 year old bus has NO rust.
They have this one right now.
http://www.tillerychevrolet.com/Vehicle ... 1367099123
Pluses are it was an activity bus (no stop and go pickup, probably geared for highway use, probably high roof)
I can't tell but it might have factory air.
I bought mine there, climbed in and drove it back to Indiana with no problems.

[Mark R. Obtinario]

The BB TC2000 in NM does not have A/C--no blister on top or skirt mounted grill for the condensor.

The asking price at Harlow's isn't necessarily the selling price. Since they have such an extensive inventory they are willing to haggle a lot over the price.

The bus at National Bus most likely has the 6.0L which, even in an IHC, tends to be a garage queen.

[Stealth Camper]

I've wondered about that MXX.... doesn't sound good. The description says Maxxforce DT, which shows up on International site as the 7.6 L, or 466 cu in. Oh, I see where DT466 came from now.... I don't know nearly enough about this stuff to know whether to get a newer one. The old DT 466 I have driven (pre-2000) have always done well for me, though.

As for going to get a bus, I don't want to go outside the US, but would go pretty much anywhere else for the right one. It's only about 2,300 miles from here in the middle to anywhere else....

[Headache]

IF Airzed comes back, just a little fair warning on dealing with Harlows. They were sllllloooooooooowwwwwww in the communication department. Excruciatingly slow. It didn't help that the patriarch of the family had become very ill and eventually passed but the company had been run by the sons for years before this occurred so why it almost ground to a halt I don't know. This affected ALL dealerships and shops, not just the ones they were directly working with. I'm hopeful they have moved on from this. They were very nice when I spoke to them but it was so difficult to speak with the right people and they took so long to get back to me that I looked at other options and bought the UHaul.