Bus Buying Guide - Do's & Don'ts when buying a bus.

[luvrbus]

A friend in Tennessee has a 35' MC5 with the 8v71, 740 from brand new. So, yes there is room for the 740.

It also still has the original stainless steel holding tanks 

There not enough room for a 740 in a MCI 5 with a 8v71 without a lot of modifications the engine goes in on a angle to line up with the drop box,the drive line is out phase on a MCI 5 so the drive shaft has to be 13 inches long min.Would be interesting to see how Custom Coach did the conversion,I have saw the 740 behind the 6v92 N/A engines MCI offered   

[seafarer]

I have a 1980 MC5C with the 8v71 and  the MT644. It is quite peppy compared to the 40 footers I have driven.
I was surprised at how short the drive shaft was.
It originally had a manual trans that was removed before I bought the bus.
For handling and maneuverability you can't beat the 35's. (unless you go even shorter)

[Dave5Cs]

Yep mine is a 5C also but with 6V71 and 644MT. 740 won't fit behind mine either they tell me.

[luvrbus]

Yep mine is a 5C also but with 6V71 and 644MT. 740 won't fit behind mine either they tell me.
[/quo9te]   

A 740 will fit Dave but no need for one behind a 6v71 the 644 is all they need,I use the 74o behind the 6v92 in the MCI 5

[Fred Mc]

What kind of a but do you have someguy?I must have missed it.

Regards
fred

[Fred Mc]

If you already have propane for cooking/heating then a propane generator makes sense.Nice thing about propane is you never have to worry about a fouled carb due to old gas. In a bus that's only used sparingly this is a big plus.Never have to worry  about the old gas.

[Jim Blackwood]

That was one of the things I was thinking about. I definitely will have propane, it's just so versatile. And I hate electric range tops. So... range, furnace, water heater, fridge, and APU. Water heater and fridge also get 110v power. Oven could be 110, I don't care. But I might have to look for an old, old range to get good burners. Those dead center burners are crap.

Jim

[dtcerrato]

We power all our appliances on primarily propane. In redundancy seconds are the same or 12 volt. The only appliances that are 110 vac are 19 gal water heater (besides the 6 gal propane) toaster oven (besides the main propane oven), microwave, engine block heater, roof air conditioner. We prefer boondocking...

[Jim Blackwood]

Propane is good for boondocking, you can go a long time on it and it's easy to get more. In fact I once leased a 100# cylinder and had the truck coming by when I needed to switch it out. That, a 20 pounder and an automatic changeover valve had me warm and cosy all the time. But these days the type of certification matters and I have little patience for playing the cylinder swapping game except when I have to, so I'm going for the hard mounted larger capacity tank with the permanent certification. Maybe a couple of them, depending on configuration and capacity.  Jim

[windtrader]

do-don't bus


Trying to eliminate propane, getting closer. Once residential 10cf refrig is in, only thing left on propane is the stove. Buying a portable induction to test if the performance in energy use and time to heat and temp adjustments, and heat pattern on pan/pot bottom.


If not for solar array and lithium bank, propane is number 1.

[RJ]

Buying a portable induction to test if the performance in energy use and time to heat and temp adjustments, and heat pattern on pan/pot bottom.

Don -

A single, portable induction "hot plate" on 120vac will bring two quarts of water to a boil in under 4 minutes. Try that with propane!

We liked the single unit so much, we pulled out the regular electric cooktop and installed a two-burner induction model in the MCI.  Great improvement, cooks much faster and uses less energy in the process. Would do the same in the Prevost in a heartbeat, but haven't been able to find one that will fit in the space available.

Just make sure a magnet will stick to your pots and pans if going induction.

RJ

[luvrbus]

 Two burner induction tops on 120v about the best you can do is 1800w the hobs single burner are 1400w on 120v.I bought a 2 burner 3200w on 220v and just divided the 2 burners into 120v for each burner.My coach is total electric except for the French made cook top I have no idea why the PO ordered it that way a propane cook top that needs 120v to light .I found a drop end that works at a restaurant supply and the price was good to     

[richard5933]

Our bus came from Custom Coach with a two-burner electric cook top which sat in a stainless well. I pulled it out and now go between a one-burner induction unit from Ikea (about $60) and a portable one-burner propane stove. I swap them out depending on whether we are plugged in or dry camping. I won't run the generator for cooking unless absolutely necessary.

I was going to install a two-burner propane permanently connected to our tanks in the bus, and then just use the induction on the counter top when I wanted, but I've kind of gotten used to the single burner and like the ability to hide it away when not in use. Truth is, we rarely cook anything fancy that requires more than one burner, and on that rare time we do I just use the propane and the induction.

I'm starting to see some new coaches being sold with a combination unit - one induction and one propane built in. Seems like a nice compromise and gives you the best of both worlds, IMO.

https://www.trueinduction.com/Single-Burner-Single-Gas.aspx

[dtcerrato]

Permanent Atwood propane three burner/oven combo, electric toaster oven & microwave when on the pole or genny. Fridge is propane/110vac. We prominently boondock.

[Jim Blackwood]

https://www.trueinduction.com/Single-Burner-Single-Gas.aspx

That'd be a nice unit if it wasn't for the dead center propane burner. The people who design those things have lost their minds.

Jim