Where is the best place to find a cheap scool buss?

Ive been saving up some money workin at a waffle house in Ga and im looking into buyin a school buss right now i have been travelin in a car and i need a roomier home for my adventures if any one knows of a goood place im willin to go anywhere in the country!

 

sometimes auctions are a good place to find cheap school busses. we like to get road worthy busses at places that sell new busses; school districts often trade in old busses for new ones and you can usually pick up the used ones for a couple a grand....plus many bus dealers will take the seats out for you if you ask.

 

There's a cute little 20' bus here in Utah for a grand. my friends got theirs on ebay. some school districts will sell theirs on their own web sites, a google search might find some.

 

We have one for sale for 2000, if you are interested look in the for sale or trade forum, we posted in there about it, it's an '87 international.
Deep Peace,
Tay and Day

 

shugga does your buss need any work how dependable is it and where is it located i wont have that much saved up till nationals will you be there?

 

Hey Ron, You do realize it costs some major money to keep a schoolbus on the road, don't you? Expect that tires are going to cost 150 for cheap bias tires and for decent radials (which are so much better on the front) your going to pay at least 300 per tire. Busses only get about 5-10 miles per gallon on gas, so bio deisil is a good idea if you can do the conversion.

On the upside, it's easier to replace starters & whatnot because there's so much room under the hood.


Another hint, don't buy a Dodge bus; it's almost impossible to get parts for them.

Just givin' the rap that we give all young folks looking to become bus hippies

 

i'm a bus hippie too . i don't drive it much ; it's just nice to relocate a bit seasonally . i got mine from a church that busted up on account of issues(sneezes) . it's been an ok house , maybe sometime it'll be a goatshed .

 

I think FL is one of the best places to get a bus. I am in south FL now and know a bus mechanic we are buying one from him for 2,000 it's an 88 International. There is this really nice bus near Ocala for 4,000 it's an 98.? I think. In Jacksonville there is a place to get good buses. but I don't know the number or address I would have to get back to you on that

 

buss company... they have to b replacing something and im sure theryre about to sell if off for scrap

 

the best auction site is 422sales.com but you have to be able to travel to where they are selling them.

It cost us about $400 a year to replace our front two tires. and i agree dodge bus parts are hard to find, our friend had one and it was a pain to find a water pump for. we have an international, and have found parts readily available and not too expensive. Our diesel 9 litre international gets about 10-12 mpg. We don't run bio, but straight veggie oil has done us well. Gas busses are hard to find parts for, and get more like 3-6 mpg so get a diesel.

 

Hey! I've been looking for a diesel bus too. Considering a step van too If'n I can find a cheap one with a Cummins.

Make sure you check into the condition of the coolant additive if considering a bus/truck with the international 7.3 running that motor without the stuff can cause the sleeves to spring pinhole leaks. But I'd take the 7.3 over a chevy diesel any day.

I've got nothing to add really, I've been looking on ebay, big truck trader, craigslist.. etc

 

i think you find a diesel school bus alot cheaper than a diesel step side van a couple thousand a day long. you might get a real good deal if you take the time to look. buying from schools is a great way to go because you know they were maintained up to federal law. that why they sell so cheap, after ten years or over 100,000 miles they have to do a double schedule maintence. then they become a white elephant they sell them off for nothing,and get grant money to buy new, trickle down economy.

 

That's true. But I doubt any busses came with a 3.9 cummins. And I've yet to see many with the 5,9 either.

(edit: hah there's a half size in tampa with a 5.9 but it's out of my price range....)

Personally my Ideal would be one of those "half size" ~20pass International busses with a cummins or one of the smaller international v8 diesels and airbrakes.
And a manual trans, But how picky can I get eh?

Cause I want something bigger and heavier duty than the normal van cutout shortbusses but not quite as big as a full size 60/70seater.

Hence the stepvan, many of which have a cummins and are bigger than most shorties but not on the order of magnitude of a full sizer. Though I agree with you on the price differential.

At this point I'd settle for one of the longer ford van/shorties with a 7.3... Cheap with no rot.

 

Where I live, there is an auction where the shorties go for $300 left and right.

Thinkin of getting one.

 

$400 is pretty cheap for front tires but then again we'll only run really good radials on the front. Dodge hasn't made a big truck (or bus) since 72, which is why it's nearly impossible to find new parts. We've never had a hard time finding part for either of our gas engine Chevy's, almost any parts store will carry them. And after almost 17 years of bus living & 2 drivable busses, we know what kind of milage gas bus engines get...5-10 mpg on the highway if you keep up the maintainence (regular oil changes, plugs, ect.) 3-6 mpg gallon is more like city mileage. Our 56 passenger didn't really get better mileage than our 66 passenger. Still diesel is a better bet....unless you're us & don't know how to work on a diesil motor. Diesils are also best used mainly for long hauls.

Busses from the companies that sell busses are sometimes better than actual school district busses, especially if you can find a bus that has been leased to a school district, like the bus in our sig pic. Our local school distict only does the base line maintanence whereas with a leased bus, the company does a complete overhaul every summer. Church busses are a good way to go cheap, but most of the time you'll have to work on them before they are road worthy.

 

Could be where we are buying the tires, we replace our steer tires every year, and we run steer tires all the way around. You, or anyone else who knows about engines, would have no problem working on a deisel, they really aren't that different and we have learned as we went along. A good Motor manual has helped Most people I find know what they want, and since it is such a personal choice (especially if you are going to live in it) there is no real right answer. We have a 9ltr international deisel, with manual transmission and air brakes. Some people don't want air brakes, I love them. Some people only want a small bus, some want lots of room.

Our friends are in a Chevy gas they have lived in for 24+years, in fact your pic kinda reminds me of thier bus. It still runs great, but most gas bus owners I have met have told me the 4-6 mpg, i have never had a gas bus, so don't really know for sure. But I do know that we can get 12+ on the highway close to 15 if all is well maintenaced and flat.
I hope you find what you are looking for, and enjoy. I love bus life!!!!!

 

Air brakes can come in real handy, bein' able to hook up an air hose & use 'em as a compressor.

We love our busses (3 now that we've got land to park 'em). The one in the pic still runs, but we want to pull the motor & put it in a pick-up. If we decide we need a bigger road vehicle than our van, we'll just buy another bus; but for the time being, we like being stationary.

Gonna start a thread on bus conversion tips, come on over.

 

dunno where yer at in georgia, but theres the bus grave yard in alto across the highway(whatever I 985 changes into..) from the prison,,..

dood got hundreds of schoolies,, i think tis what he does,, should check that place out...
another brother we know went an said he had some nice busses but they were exspensive,,but who knows,, i just know its there..

good fortune,,..

Luv~N~Lite

 

if i can ever get ahold of my dad i could prob. find you a good deal mostly newengland area! pm me to remind me!!!! if you havent hooked up!