New Skoolie Discussion Board

[luvrbus]

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As the entry into skoolie world has such a low bar of entry it brings a lot of people into the bus conversion world. Some of those people will move on up to a motorcoach (as if that hasn't been happening all along.)

LOL Gary and I are trying to get a guy we know to scrap his Prevost (motor coach ) and buy a skoolie 

[chessie4905]

When I was a kid, in the 50's our family traveled across the US in a 46 Chevrolet school bus. Fixed up for family of seven. Probably 28 or 30 footer. 6 cylinder, 4 speed and a 3 speed Brownie auxiliary. Cruising at 50mph. We went to Florida keys at Christmas and Rehoboth Beach couple times a summer.

[lostagain]

It doesn't matter what you use for a camper. People are having as much fun as we are in whatever camper they have. I have fond memories of a trip down the West coast in the '70s in a IH Travelall sleeping on foamies, and cooking outside with a Coleman stove. Also great times with the kids in a succession of truck campers, bumper pull trailers and 5ers, then on to buses. Schoolie people are having a great time. Some will move up to coach buses.

[CrabbyMilton]

Yes, it's the fun that counts. Then there are old crabs like me that say if the good Lord had meant man to camp, he wouldn't have placed hotels with free breakfast along the interstate.

[CrabbyMilton]

Cheessie, I bet that engine screamed at 50mph huh? We're so spoiled with engines so powerful now and ALLISON automatics. I remember back in the '70 my grade school had 2 buses built on the famous IH LOADSTAR chassis. One actually had a 6 cylinder gasoline engine which wasn't too common in those most had the standard V8. It seemed to have good power around town but get on the freeway, and that 6 sounded like it was going to blow and probably only about 50MPH too. The V8 powered bus was a bit more at home on the freeway but it revved pretty high too sounding like a combo of jet engine and AC compressor. I got a kick out of those buses and I only got ride on them for field trips.

[chessie4905]

Actually, no. The Brownie had under drive, direct, and overdrive. Dad was a truck driver during WW2, and liked shifting gears. I remember him putting one arm through steering wheel to shift from 3rd under to 2nd over. Will never forget the transmission gear whine or the sound of the wind against the window screens. Or the moan of the brakes. He installed woven lining for better stopping power and the moan was quite audible
Never had a breakdown, but had vapor lock or water in fuel once going over Sunshine Bridge in Fla. Don't  know  if still  there, but it was a huge hill shape. Bus was sputtering and Dad had it in creeper gear trying to make it over and over 100 cars and trucks following. Barely made it over and then all was well.

[luvrbus]

I am surprised at all the 5th wheel travel trailers you see RV parks are full of 5th wheels We are hanging out with friends in Boise Id that sold his MCI C converted by Custom Coach that bought a 550 Ford and high end 5th wheel and he says he close to 300k in the package and loves it,it iis nice but for 300k  it should be 

[Jim Blackwood]

$330K? Geez. By the time I'm done I expect to have about $20K total in my DL. That might not include new tires and batteries but we'll see. Still under about $10K so far.

Jim

[Glennman]

Speaking of rusting school buses, we have some friends on the Oregon Coast (Bandon area) that have a 1948 school bus (short bus) that they drove decades ago from Wisconsin to California (several times). Once they bought the property (10 acres about a half mile from the ocean), they parked the bus never to drive it again. It is literally now gone back to the earth, with only a few remnants left. My wife and I took pictures of it years ago with all of us standing there wearing Hawaiian shirts (I need to dig those pictures up). That was about 20 years ago, and it was hardly recognizable. Now it is literally almost completely gone.

I think that with the lower prices that are typical with school buses, they are easy to obtain, but if price is the only thing that gets you there, and money is a real issue, those buses that are rusting away will continue to do so. It is amazing the amount of money it takes to do a conversion. Of course it depends on what a person is wanting to accomplish, but I could easily build a new house for what it takes to do the conversion that I would really like to have.

[chessie4905]

Actually if a school bus is loaded close to equivalent of 72 kids,(72pass). they ride pretty decent and most anymore will run 65. A lot cheaper to maintain than a coach and I've seen a couple posts of some beautiful interiors, obviously with a woman's touch. Don't know about the hard items.
In PA. state won't  subsidize school busses after 10 years old. There are thousands available at bargain prices in great condition. Many school districts maintain the. quite well since the taxpayers foots the bill.
If I was in the market for one, I'd  tip an older fleet mechanic on which ones would be the one to get, if they were auctioned off. So.e outfits sell them all to a broker though.

[luvrbus]

it is a shame what CA did to the Crowns probably the best bus ever built turned into scrap metal

[kyle4501]

It is best to start with what you are comfortable with - its too easy to get bogged down in the heavy details & miss out on the reason we started this journey.

I think its great that people are using schoolies, 5th wheels, bumper pulls, tents, converted buses, or even Newells to have fun & go camping.

I also think it is important to understand the prejudices that come with any & all of them -

---accepting stereotypes as fact does not help, neither does arguing against them. 

---accepting & encouraging others will help & lift us all 

[dtcerrato]

What kyle said...

[chessie4905]

Unfortunately the electronics in the newer models don't  help the desire to convert one. It's  not enough to be just mechanically inclined or have a remodeling talent. Understanding and diagnosing electronics is a daunting exercise as demonstrated here over the years. It's  just gotten a too costly hobby except for ones that already have their conversion or find one already done. It isn't  any wonder you don't  see many anymore.
I sort of snicker at the ones that buy these Prevost conversions in the 80 to 150k range. They are soon finding out how much it costs to maintain them, especially going to a Prevost service center because they can't do any of the work themselves. Sure, some have the income to do it, but many are going to realize in a year or two, it is too expensive to have on and use it. We have another major recession and a lot of them are going on the block.

[Tedsoldbus]

So Sandra,
 I hope we share ideas and cross pollinate a bit. My neighbor up the street is slowly converting a school bus. Won't join BCM because he is old and won't use a computer. However, I helped him carry cabinets into it last summer. The next day he rode with me in my bus and showed me a campground a mile away that lets me dump for $5 ! My other neighbor has had all types, now has one of those vans with a Mercedes emblem on the front. It looks like it is about to tip over, but they are little people, their dog is hamster size, they got tied of the big ones, and towing etc, and love what they have now.
We followed them in our bus to two local Harvest Hosts to learn about HH. Rita needs her wi fi for work so probably not joining for now but it was fun to learn about HH. I will still go to old bus gatherings so old guys can teach me more about my 2 stroke oil burner, but I think it is about the people and the journey, not the chariot we choose. Glad to attend a Skoolie meet to learn from people who do conversions and maybe get an idea or two. Glad you started the forum!
Hope to meet you and your family sometime.