Know about buses?

[joshoisasleep]

I'm trying to learn a bit about school buses, because I plan to buy one in a few months and turn it into a fully set up comfortable home on wheels. I posted a tiny bit about this before, but I was wondering if anyone here on mud is or was a (school) bus driver/mechanic/enthusiast who might know a bit more about the specifics of the components involved in different buses and what to look for.

My questions are...
1. Engine comparisons (diesel only for me)... what engines are best? Fuel economy, durability, parts availability? What should I look for? (the bus I'm looking at I think is a 34' with a 5.9L cummins rear engine but I'm not 100% certain). What engines come NA and which are turbo standard?
2. Transmission suggestions? (bus I'm looking at has an Allison automatic I think)
3. Brands... which are generally considered better buses in terms of construction, corrosion resistance, ground clearance?
4. Other features... I would be interested if anyone knows anything about features on buses such as automatic chains, 4x4, or anything else interesting
5. front engine or pusher?

Thanks in advance for any replies... I'm really into buses but I'm just now getting into this stuff and don't know much, so any info and advice would be awesome!

 

[stinkyfj60]

I drive one.

Buses are easy to drive, but I would take the training to get the proper CDL. Why? Because you really want the best abilities to be able to maneuver it, park it, ect.

Some say transits are easier to drive (flat nose) and the do give you more interior space. I prefer conventional just because that is when I am used to.

Autos rule. For some reason people toast the clutches on the manuals and we NEVER have transmission problems with our autos. In our fleet they are all Allisons IIRC.

We have a plethora of engines in ours and I am not sure really what engines are in them. They are all some sort of turbo diesels. Mine is a Freightliner with a Cat motor and it is over 10yrs old and one of the strongest on the fleet. It will out climb some of our newest buses.

Heated, power mirrors rule.

I know nothing of parts availability, but I suppose that the older a bus gets the harder it is go get certain things.

The auto chains are sweet! All of our over the road buses have them. They just drop down in front of the rear duals.

Oh, a cool feature is the "retarder". It slows down the driveshaft and saves brakes big time. It also aids in the decent on mountain passes.

Colorado buses have extra bows in the roof for roll over protection because of our mountain roads. I dont know if any other state mandates that, and if there are I dont know which ones...

I will pretrip my bus tomorrow and I can get you more engine information...

From all the mechanics I know, the most popular are the Internationals.

 

[stinkyfj60]

Oh, the 5.9L Cummings is a dog in a bus. I hate all the ones we have.

We always figure 10mpg, but I am not really sure what it is because I drive a town route and it varies by how hard I drive.

 

[joshoisasleep]

Sweet thanks.

Is that "retarder" sometimes also referred to as a "jake brake"?

I'm mainly only looking at school buses because of good age/condition for the price, and because of their good ground clearance and beefy construction. Am I wrong in this? Can a transit bus stand up tall at the push of a button?

I'm really stoked about auto chains... why doesn't my landcruiser have them!

The bus I'm looking at has the very nice feature of the highest roof that the school buses came with... unfortunately I guessed its little cummins would be a bit small in a 34' bus made of steel.

I'm planning on putting MASSIVE amounts of fuel, water, and battery storage under this thing... like as much as will actually fit. Does that sound ridiculous compared with the weights they're meant to carry?

 

[stinkyfj60]

A conventional would be better than a transit when it comes to clearance.

No, the retarder is not a jake brake.... It's crazy, like a big electromagnet that slows down on the driveshaft. Check out the "electric retarder"? in this article:

Retarder (mechanical engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Buses have airbag suspension sometimes, but not adjustable AFAIK.

I think the max weight on my bus is listed as 30,001lbs. I dont know what it is empty. They are essentially a medium duty truck.

 

[fsusteve]

My in-laws converted an old bluebird into a camper years ago and lived in it, seemed like a cool deal if done right, that's all I got.....oh and from a structual standpoint they're built like tanks.

 

[joshoisasleep]

I figure it's almost as big as most apartments I've had and way larger than the truck I'll have been living out of for over a year by the time I start the project, mobile, self contained/offgrid, and best of all I'll pay no rent! hehe...

 

[sirenmoses]

You might try a search on Mud; IIRC this topic came up last fall and folks came up w/some good links.

I drive a fire engine [read: bus on steriods], and agree w/most of what stinky said. BUT, I've also seen engines w/auto chains slide off into ditches, so... careful there.

And, FWIW, the retarder on an old rescue made it shimmy above 50mph, so make sure yours is in good shape before you buy. a final tip: retarder off when chains on/ snow/ice.

good luck, look forward to watching your build.