So are old MCIs, Eagles, and Prevosts. Younger generations have little interest in ANY bus conversion. Witness the rapid shrinkage of FMCA. They started including rv's and travel trailers to stop the bleeding. 5 to 7 miles per gallon is a killer anymore. A bus conversion is too expensive to own and operate anymore except for well heeled and very mechanically inclined.
Even here, Bno, and Facebook have fewer followers any more. Ask Gary. He knows.
Fewer people are buying these over-the-road buses than there used to be. It used to be that if you wanted a 35 - 40' motorhome, the only way to get one was to buy a bus and convert it yourself. Then, manufacturers started building larger motorhomes.
Also, when I was in high school in the early 70's, many of us took shop classes and learned how to rebuild engines and run machinery. Those days are long gone and replaced with kids who only know how to use a keyboard. So it is becoming increasingly difficult to find youngsters who can work on anything mechanical. That being said, if they do have the inclination to convert a bus, it is generally a school bus with many fewer miles on it and can get serviced in many more places than a 50+-year-old Eagle bus like mine. Fortunately, I can do most of the maintenance and work on my bus, so I don't have to pay someone to do the work, which would make owning a bus not affordable for me.
Many younger people can only afford a less expensive school bus and put every cent into converting it, then beg for money when they break down. But they are in a bus conversion for sometimes much less money than an over-the-road coach that will run millions of miles and more comfortably than a rough-riding school bus with no storage bays under it for tanks and storage. So, they spend more time hanging everything under the bus, which frequently becomes a disaster after hitting the first bump. Truth be told, less than half of the people who start converting a bus ever finish it, and the numbers are even less for school bus owners.
The second thing that killed over-the-road buses is most do not have slides, so middle-aged and older folks prefer having more room whilst parked, especially if they plan to stay in their coach for long periods, thereby reducing the market value of used buses without slides. So, being able to buy a manufactured motorhome 40' long was a significant first hit in the bus conversion business. Adding slides was the second big hit, along with the younger generation's inability to work on these old buses or even have an interest in getting their hands dirty.
Growing up on a farm, I never worried about getting my hands dirty. Or my entire body if I turned the tractor too sharp when spreading manure on a windy day.
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