Learn me school buses

CDL depends on what you register it as. 25950 or below and as an RV (not for moving people) you should be fine

No CDL needed as it's an RV now if you reg as a truck that a different story.

my 1st bus that hauled my drag car was a Camper / RV so no cdl was needed. Got pulled over a few time mostly cops wounder how the hell i got a 68 dart in a bus.

Pretty much what you need to know is in this book

Electric Kool Aid Acid Test - Wikipedia

Oh, and school buses aren't exactly geared for Interstate speeds.

newer ones with Diesels are probably better geared for highway use.. but then, even the trucks I drove would strain to get above 70mph.. 80 if you were drafting

I am the bus "Mechanic" at work/ School. I have a fleet of only 4 and they're all gassers. Short busses have a tendancy to have a rear mounted A/C with no functional A/C in the front. The busses I am talking about are built on 3500 van chassis. Also keep in mind that busses cannot be locked at the rear door so you would have to fix that and I have never seen one that had any Anti-theft device like a chip in the key ect. Depending on how much room you need, a short bus would be best by far as they can easily run highway speed and tow really well

In reply to mad_machine: I drove a retired school bus from the 70's that would do 70mph. It was a GMC with a 366 ci big block. It had a holley 4 bbl., I think. It made nice sounds.

and got single digit fuel economy too?

If you are serious about getting a school bus for highway speeds you may have to look at a rear end conversion. The newest buses 2008-and up with computer controls can have the governor reset to at least 65 with no major problem, the earlier models with mechanical and electro mechanical governors can also have the gov. removed but are more likely to top out at 55-60 as that is as fast as they are ever expected to go in Activity Bus trim. If you want A/C you migth as well plan to add your own to anything you find on the used market and it will be a rear set up not a dash mount.

There are many truck chassis manufacturers that are used as the basis for a schoolbus, International, Cheverolet, Freightiner,

I would look for one with a more modern Diesel with a turbo if you want to do highway speed and or carry much weight.

Many internationals in the early 90's had the DT466 and DT466E which is a bonefied truck engine and therefore designed to haul some serious weight, some of the newer models are speced with nothing more than a 1 ton truck engine like the 6.0 and 7.3 powerstokes and the cummins from the Ram trucks. They can do the job but are at the top of their abbilities.

My personal choice would be an early 90's International convertional school bus (not the Vista model) with a DT466 the parts are not cheap compared to a car or gas engine but they are pretty bullet proof and reliable with adequate power. And parts are easy enough to get at any truck shop.

And you can expect single digit MPG no matter how fast or heavy it is.

How many people have you known that lived in a school bus?

Have you checked out this site? http://www.skoolie.net/ It might have some helpful ideas.

I've had both full size and short bus conversions. If you are just looking for motorhome and not combination car carrier, a short bus will work well. I had a short International with the 345 gas motor and it would pull my enclosed car trailer and get 10-11 mpg. If you can find cheap trailer with all the campr parts, that will be the cheapest way to convert. Google bus conversions and you will find a lot of reference material and plans for conversions.

skoolie.net

We have driven the wheeeeeeeeeels off our skoolie $1251 dollars from school auction ,,,,,,,,,,,fed law says all 1990 ish skoolies must be replaced . We have brand new steer tires on front <<< you don/t want to be pulled into the ditch !!!! Shower /toilet bunk beds //// pull out couch . Great for large dogs !! Save The Cash ! Notice the race watchtower on top QQ We got maybe 5 k in to it maintenance >>>>>>>>>>>>>>we replaced the altenator we have owned it for 8 or so yrs

You probably end up adding another zero to the price, but I can't get over how cheap used big rigs are. Would love to make a toterhome out of something like this -

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/2460340175.html

I converted a 91 Thomas snubby to an RV. It had a Cummins 5.9 and an Allison auto.

Our fleet had Thomas and Carpenter coaches. They both seemed fine, but the Thomases seemed a little nicer fit and finish. The switches, door fitment, and engine covers just seemed to be a bit beefier. We did have one Blue Bird that was a pile of E36 M3, but I'm told that it must have been a lemon. Rumor on the street says they're fine coaches.

One thing to look for... older coaches especially... ceiling height. Some of our older buses I had to duck to walk through the cabin.

Conventional or COE is up to personal preference, but I prefer the snubbies. you get more cabin space per bus length since you don't have 6' of hood in front of you, and visibility is much nicer.

Engines; most of the full-size 66 or 72 passenger buses will have either a 180hp Cummins or a 190hp DT466. Most of the auto trannys will be Allisons and most of the manuals will be Eaton Road Rangers. The road rangers are bulletproof, perfectly spaced ratios, and have easy PTO capability for adding generators, air pumps, hydraulics, etc. The Allisons are enough, but not overkill. I've driven a few that started slipping. I also heard that some of the manuals will be Dana/Spicers. Not sure what the ratios are but the only D/S I've driven are more truck-like and clunky and the ratios are a little too close - fine for many things but low wasn't low enough and high wasn't high enough.

Rear axle ratios could be highway ready or not. A smart buyer for a fleet will buy the right ratio for the territory. One of our districts was completely rural. Many of them were geared super low for the mountains and back roads and wouldn't do more than about 60. Our other district had a fair amount of highway and those were able to do 70-80 no problem, it just took a long time to get there.

Either way, the engines are limited to about 2500 rpm. Swapping out the governor springs will easily and safely stretch that out to 3000, at least on the Cummins. The P7100 will pretty easily keep up with fuel to 3000 - not sure on the 466.

As far as CDL is concerned, it varies state to state. Federal DOT lists it this way: Class C is normal vehicles up to 26k. Class B is single vehicle 26,001 and up, trailer under 10k. Class A is single vehicle 26,001 and up with trailer over 10k. Basically, cars, buses, and tractor trailers. Some states like PA only offer class B and A as commercial licenses, so if you are going to drive a vehicle with over 26k GVW (like a personally owned bus) you need a CDL. But, PA also lets you pay registration based on your GVW. You can register a bus at 25,000 GVW and drive it with a Class C. States like CA require you to get a non-commercial class B or A license to drive personally-owned heavy vehicles for non-commerce use.

Air brakes add in another caveat to the mix. For the most part, air brakes require a CDL or at least air brake training/endorsement. They operate in a different way and you need to know what to do in the event of losing air pressure.

For my purposes, I just maintain my class B CDL and I can drive anything except a tractor trailer.

THANKS for wasting a couple hours of my time with the skoolie.net link! My wife would really freak out if I showed up with a school bus.

I did particularly enjoy the build for "Jacuzzi Bus 4"

Note the "fireman's pole" installed near the couch behind the jacuzzi.

In reply to bluesideup:

I lost a few hours on this site as well . . .Look at all the possibilities!!!