buying already converted or converting one yourself

[Kubla]

I know this has been covered before, but would it be better cost wise to buy an already converted coach in good shape for 14k or buy a bus for 5k and do it yourself

the converted one looks in really good shape in pictures but I would go look in person first

[robertglines1]

Tough Question.  Depends on quality of components you require or desire and what owner used.  Set down and make a basic budget of your desires and requirements. Make allowances for each category. Plumbing-Electrical-Heat-Aircond-Generator- Also remember a used converted coach has used components.. Basic cost to consider  plumbing-2 tanks(sewer) 1 fresh water tank-water pump-hot water heater.toilet   Basic  $1,000  Electric basic boxes wireing shore cords. lighting $1000 budget.  Gen set $2000.  min  Cook stove and refrig (elect apartment) $800.  2 Ac units  $1200.  Basic Cabinets  $600.   Shower stall $400.  Bed & other misc furniture  $1000.   Flooring  basic $400.  Misc curtains ,slideing doors, ceiling covering ,insulation,tv could equal another $1000 easy.  Lots of work and time. pride of doing it your self and your way priceless.   So it is your choice. If you find one already done that turns your crank   Jump on it!!!!!   All the # $ I mentioned are on the low side but can be done.  A $5000 40 ft bus with old tires can easily cost you a Tire shop bill or $5000 for new tires so you must be wise in your purchase.  If tires are more than 5 yrs old plan on replacing them in the next 3 to 5 yrs at the most. no matter what they look like!  They have dates stamped on them.  Keep asking Questions.

[scanzel]

This has been covered many times lately. In today's market you can probably get real good deals from someone needing the money and needing to get rid of there motorhome or converted bus. Spend $5 grand and you will spend a lot more to get in your way. $14 grand can be good or bad depending on what it needs. If I could do it again I would probably buy already converted and make modifications to my liking. I am in to mine so far that if I sold I would loose a ton of money, so I keep plugging on knowing that I am doing it to my liking. It's your decision, nobody can make it for you. Good Luck.

[Jriddle]

This seems to be a no brainer as far as dollars are concerned buy the converted coach. What do you like? What do you want to have pride in? How much do you plan to change the already converted coach? All these things need to be considered. What do you want? What can you afford? I bought mine for $6500 seated and have spent near $30,000 and I am not done.

John

[PP]

I bought mine already converted because it had the drive train and amenities that I wanted---and we're still working on it 5 years later LOL
Will

[Brassman]

If you want to do a do over, go for that. As long as all the mechanical and electrical stuff is good.

[RnMAdventures]

I think in the current market you can get a fantastic deal on a converted bus. If I were in your shoes having 14k to spend, I would set 10k aside to buy and bus and use the 4k for any repairs of update. Make a list of what you want in a bus. When looking to spend 10k, I would search for buses priced anywhere from 5k to 25k. You will be suprized what you can find.

Personally, I think the best person to buy from is a seasoned busnut.

[thejumpsuitman]

There are so many buses out there right now for sale that you can sit and wait for an older professional conversion to come a long which should eliminate the chance of getting a hack job.    

Patience is the key.  It might sound unbelievable, but if you have cold hard cash in your hand, you can get a better deal than you might even think is possible.  I'm talking something around a dime on the dollar (vs. build cost) if you wait like a vulture.

Marc

[artvonne]

  I am very mechanically inclined, and doing a conversion doesnt scare me in the least. I bought a "band Bus" 75 MCI 5 and gutted it, plan to "roll my own".

  But with the way the market keeps crashing, seeing whats happened in the last 6 months I would have not bought it. $10K will buy a lot more Bus than it would 6 months ago, like twice the Bus. Seriously, you could buy for $10K today, what was $20K or more just last spring. If you have $20K, you could be rolling like a darn King, driving something that was $100K just a year or so ago. Kind of a no brainer I would say.

[Joe Camper]

Also concider this even if you are looking to lower end components and the converted components are  "used" a used professionally converted coach will have been outfitted in the best of the best.

Replacement costs for those things are not budget items.  The toilets a good headhunter or raritan macerate is north of 2000. The a/c units are heat pumps 1200 a piece or cruisair even more. Counters are Corion. You will not touch a Kabota 15 or 20 K turbocharged gen on air bags on a slide with an exhaust out the roof that's 5 gran Worth of stuff sitting on a create uninstalled.

You may not be budgeting for this high end stuff but will end up with it for less than the "new" low end stuff your planning on. Way less.

All that said, If I had unlimited time and money and the combined knowledge of this board  I would do one myself in a heartbeat.

You very prudently pulled the link if your serious. I remember a 4104 a 1960 I think that was a home conversion on e-bay recently posted here for like 2500 bucks. Lots of value in a buy like that.

Or that gorgeous CC converted Eagle that also just got snatched up. I assure you if you get one of the "already done" buses It will be in need of PLENTY to keep you busy for years to come.

[technomadia]

So much of it will depend upon the quality of the conversion that was done, and the shape it is in today.  And will also depend on your own skillets and tolerance for doing the work to convert a coach vs. fix someone else's conversion to meet your standards.

We followed the sage advice we were given here to look at as many buses as we could - even if we didn't think it was interesting.  This was invaluable advice, as it taught us so much about the range of conversions that are out there, and we quickly learned what to look out for.

If you're considering a converted coach, start learning about everything from the mechanical, structural, carpentry, upholstery, plumbing, electrical, climate control, etc. - so that you know what you're looking at, and what will need to be fixed/upgraded/replaced down the road.


For us, buying a shell wasn't an option, as we needed something to move into day 1 that would be livable (we full time).  So we spent a couple months traveling the country (via an Amtrak Rail Pass) looking at buses until one with good balance to be livable and allow us to work on it as we travel to make it truly ours.  We bought ours for $8k (asking price was $12k), and have put at least that much into her in maintenance (we had to immediately replace tires & wheels, and just caught our bus up on 15 years of maintenance neglect).  We're working on many other upgrades and remodeling projects too on the bus.   But that was our plan and our budget from the start, as we're creating our ideal technomadic home on wheels - and knew we wouldn't find it already done our way anyway.

Also, as others have said above - just because someone is asking $14k, doesn't mean they won't take less.  We bought our bus in June, and found that when talking with owners, many would take 50-75% of their asking price in this market.  It's so sad to see that, but at the same time - don't assume that asking price is anywhere close to what you need to spend to get a nicely converted coach.

Best wishes!
- Cherie

[bevans6]

My take on the bus part of this question is that the price you pay for the bus is irrelevant, it's the price you pay to make it and keep it safe and reliable that is all that matters.  So just do the best you can to buy the best rolling chassis that you can possibly find.  I feel that $5K buses - seated, shell or converted - are probably fool's gold for the most part, and are going to have expensive issues that will make the purchase price look measly.  So I would take advantage of the market to buy the newest, best maintained bus that I possibly could.

On the conversion, I think that it depends mostly on your ideas and your perceptions.  You aren't going to be buying a recent million dollar professional coach, so you are going to be looking at old pro conversions or recent amateur conversions in old buses.  In both cases the quality is going to be suspect, because of age, lack of maintenance or poor workmanship.  If you buy a shell or seated bus and start from scratch, budget accordingly.  If you buy a completed coach, budget 50% of the cost of doing it from scratch for upgrades and personalizations.  Plan that you will be replacing the fridge, the inverter, some of the plumbing, some of the electrical system.  Look at the generator with suspicion.

I personally feel that you should plan that three years into the project you will have spent $20K or more no matter what route you take, on  a "budget bus".  And that is the low end.

Brian

[Cary and Don]

We are on our second conversion.  We were going to build the second bus,  but came across a great buy on an Eagle.  Our first conversion was a partially converted 4107 when we bought it.  All the hard stuff was done and we still spent six months working every day to finish the interior.  The rest was there.  The new to us, Eagle was completely finished with a ready to go $425K professional conversion done in 1989.  Have the receipts. We still have spent months "making it our way".  When it comes to layout, they are all basically the same, front living area, then kitchen, then the bath, and then the bedroom. Doing it yourself isn't going to change that much.  Interior changes are more like remodeling or redecorating.  Changes to the plumbing and electrical are usually more like adding bells and whistles.  We didn't really know what we would want in a conversion until after we had one for awhile.  Then we started "making it our way" by adding those bells and whistles. 

You are so much ahead by buying a good sound completed conversion and then remodeling.  You will end up with a lot more for the same amount of money and get to use it years sooner.  Another option is to find somebody's project that has all the hard work done, shell, plumbing and electrical systems, generator, air conditioners, etc.  These items run a lot of money.  Completing the interior is the cheaper part.


Don and Cary
1973 05 Eagle
GM4107
Neoplan AN340

[afm_man]

We too have been looking for a bus but have decided to go the pre-converted route.  We do have some 'needs' to sleep 6 so want bunks and figure adding a shower to an entertainer coach might be our best bet.

However, we have not found the 50-75% off people and have seen listings that have been on 1 year plus that will only budge a few thousand from an original price of 40K - but it might be the type of coach we are looking at.  Also find lots of outdated listings (Tejas Coach for example) and have just not found what we need at the price we can pay.

We also considered building a conversion ourselves, but after looking at what you can get with a preconverted coach, it just made more sense.  Our budget is about 25K (really is 30K but want to make sure we have 5K for tires and other minor expenses to pick one up).  After looking at coaches for 5K, they seemed to just be taken out of service and the motors questionable.

[artvonne]

  Joe really hit on the big stuff. The things that make up the conversion, the generator, fridge, toilet, tanks, pumps, etc., on the top line stuff the parts are top line as well.

  A can be made here, an outfitted rig, professional or otherwise, is worth much less than the sum of its parts. Our Bounder has a Kubota diesel liquid cooled gen. The reality is the Gen doesnt add any real value to the rig selling it, if I pull the gen and put in a cheapo its still just as valuable. But sitting on the ground that gen is worth $3K or more. If your building a conversion from scratch, no one is going to sell you a high end diesel gen for $500.

  If you only have $5K or so to start, yeah, a shell is a good way to get going. But if you have $10K or more, look for one thats all done, and look nationwide. Expand your horizon. There are good helpful people here, many are willing to help a guy look at something. Dont be afraid to ask.