Hello all, new member here. Im a farmer from iowa, wife said i need to take more time off and im a major homebody so i started looking at campers. First started looking at 5th wheel campers and was shocked by the price. Awhile ago i stumbled upon some youtube videos of old bus conversations and was intrigued. Then i found an old mc8 on an auction site, and ended up with it. I went to college for diesel tech and ran my own roadside service truck for years so i have all the tools for these big rigs and figured what the heck. Turns out it was charlie daniels band crew tour bus and im assuming it was a conversion since new. At the moment it has 8 bunks with a toilet and thats it. 8v-71 with a spicer 4 spd. A buddy and i drove it from oklahoma back to iowa with no major issues a couple weeks ago. Second picture is a letter to the band members that we found in one of the bunks.
Looks like a nice bus good luck with it. Welcome to the madness.
That is totally awesome. The bus is cool, the letter is cool, everything is cool. I hope you have a lot of fun with it!
Thank you, we run 210-260" wheelbase semis hauling grain all year round and driving the bus was a different ballgame. Was about 650 miles to home and only problems we had were trying to keep the generator running to keep the AC going in the 95 degree heat. Turns out it needed a fuel pump. After getting it home and doing some research it looks like charlie had 2 mc8 buses and i came home with the band crew bus.
Plan is to use it for a few years and sparingly make changes based on what we need. Going to frame up that letter and most of the other stuff we found which was a photo of the drummers kids, 20+ hotel room keys and all sorts of stuff. I found a picture of charlies fleet from im guessing early eighties and a picture of him standing in front of the other mc8, he named them both after hit songs.
Welcome to the madness. . .
Just make sure you use the correct oil in that engine. Mobil Delvac 1240 is exactly the same oil as Detroit's Power Guard 40, which is/was the factory fill oil.
Do not use multi-weight (15w40), that's for four-stroke engines like Cummins, Cats and Detroit Series 60s.
Chevron's Delo 100 and Shell's Rotella T are two other favorites, along with Miles 40wt, but Delvac seems to have the lowest consumption rate, even in somewhat worn engines.
Summit Racing often has Delvac 1240 on sale, with free shipping for orders over $100.
Enjoy your new toy!
RJ
Welcome from North Georgia Mountains. Sounds like you are way ahead of people like me that have done all the RV repairs with 4 RV's over the years. Starting the third year in to my bus, I can spell Detroit Diesel. I have therefore taken my bus to a reputable shop for most things many of these guys,( and I am sure you will do), do on their own, Good for you. That is the expensive part....
I go to a shop just north of Chattanooga that did Charlie Daniels bus for years. They say he came pretty often with his drivers and was a great guy to work with.
Hope you enjoy your new machine. I used to drive our RV's so we could go places. When I drive our bus, getting there is now 90% of the fun. It is a whole different animal.
Some of the guys on this site don't drive or have a bus anymore, but are anxious to pass on great advice. Don't be afraid to throw any subject out there. They want to help you.
Best Regards,
Ted and Rita
Quote from: Tedsoldbus on October 15, 2022, 10:24:50 AM
Welcome from North Georgia Mountains. Sounds like you are way ahead of people like me that have done all the RV repairs with 4 RV's over the years. Starting the third year in to my bus, I can spell Detroit Diesel. I have therefore taken my bus to a reputable shop for most things many of these guys,( and I am sure you will do), do on their own, Good for you. That is the expensive part....
I go to a shop just north of Chattanooga that did Charlie Daniels bus for years. They say he came pretty often with his drivers and was a great guy to work with.
Hope you enjoy your new machine. I used to drive our RV's so we could go places. When I drive our bus, getting there is now 90% of the fun. It is a whole different animal.
Some of the guys on this site don't drive or have a bus anymore, but are anxious to pass on great advice. Don't be afraid to throw any subject out there. They want to help you.
Best Regards,
Ted and Rita
Yep. My wife and I will be pulling the travel trailer to the beach this weekend. While it will be nice to go to the beach, driving the bus there would definitely heighten the experience, even if a beach was not the destination!