Using a school bus as a camper?

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by eljefino
My motorcycle license course operated out of a converted bus. The rear 1/2 of the bus was stuffed with motorcycles and they used the handicapped lift/ emergency exit to raise and lower them down. Pretty clever.

I expect a decent expense would be disposing of all the old seats. If you're really in the sticks you could try burning them, but they have that fire resistant foam which would make a stinky smoky mess.

My son's bus goes full throttle-- brake five times in a mile doing all the stops for the young kids. I hear a U-joint clunking too.

If it were me I'd try doing it with one of those E450 cutaway airport shuttles-- nice tinted windows, better AC, 20-ish feet shorter.


...with structures like wet cardboard, overweight, underbuilt, generally sold when totally used up. (In city use, 100K will do it.)

Seat disposal isn't that bad. I cut the covers off mine, took them to the dump and the frames to a scrapyard.

My Genesis is rear air ride, so are many Blue Birds. Any Wanderlodge owner can attest that properly-selected springs actually ride quite well. The issue is usually a ~26,000 chassis under a ~16,000lb vehicle.

 

[exranger06]

I'd rather have a converted bus than a dealer-bought RV. RVs are terribly constructed with plywood and foam. It's like an outhouse on wheels. A bus is steel, steel, and more steel. Much better built and safer in a crash.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Some RV's are like cheap boats. Some are most definitely NOT. As with anything, a bit of shopping will reveal the huge differences. I've watched my old friend Neil go through about 5 across 15 years and the last one he bought is unreal, excellent quality. Big Fleetliner pusher chassis and top quality construction. Most that he had were literally like a cheap boat, but not the current model. Wish I could recall the brand.


I'd be willing to bet it is like anything else, the cheapest are built the cheapest...

 

[Jarlaxle]

Unless you buy an Airstream or can drop seven figures on a bus conversion, they are all built like garbage. A few weren't...Carriage and TrailManor trailers were built pretty well. Those companies are gone.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
Unless you buy an Airstream or can drop seven figures on a bus conversion, they are all built like garbage. A few weren't...Carriage and TrailManor trailers were built pretty well. Those companies are gone.


New Horizons does a nice job. But you'll pay for it.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by eljefino



If it were me I'd try doing it with one of those E450 cutaway airport shuttles-- nice tinted windows, better AC, 20-ish feet shorter.

If I wanted to do a bus conversion, I'd build off an MCI D-series bus. It's a rugged platform, if one can hold up to Greyhound or New York City abuse, it can hold up to being used as an RV. One of the local transit agencies here still has a few 19-year old D4500s that have been ran thoroughly into the ground and they're still rolling.

 

[Jarlaxle]

You will pay enough to buy a nice motorhome for just a shell. It will be 20+ years old, probably over 1,000,000 miles, almost certainly rusty, and will probably need a few thousand dollars worth of work just to be roadworthy.