well I drank the coolaid, im the newest busnut in the usa as of today

[reelnative]

well guys heres my first question, my drivers windshield has about 5 chips out of it im sure from road debris but they look like it was shot with a bb gun, is it cheeper to have those fixed or better to get a new windshield for the drivers side also how much do they cost and were to order one, or is that somthing one of you guys would have laying around, also ive been reading a lot of posts in here and I see that a lot of people raise there roofs, why is that done and if you do that does it hurt your mpg, one last thing hahaha yea for now, how do you guys cover the side windows to make your rigs look so cool, is there any web sites I can go to to see all the cool parts that can be bought to transform my church bus into one of these great looking rigs like a lot of you guys have, its bad the bus has been in my front yard for 6hrs and I feel the bug starting allready

[reelnative]

Hi jlink im not sure ive been reading a bunch of posts and the idea of buying a church bus didnt go over well with a lot of people, the one I bought was nice and strait no real damage and ran good, the church that I bought it from had a daycare/afterschool program that they bought the bus for and after a few yrs stopped providing the program so the bus was just sitting in there parking lot not getting used and costing them insurance money every month so they just wanted to get rid of it, when I saw it I knew I had to have it and when they told me what they would sell it to me for I couldnt say no, so I got my wife really drunk and then made her say ok you can buy it and before the hangover was gone I had bought the bus, I think that when people buy them from churches there is no maint paperwork that goes with them so its kinda crap shoot on what your gonna get, in my case I was very lucky and got most if not all the info on the bus

[Dreamscape]

In my opinion it doesn't really matter who you buy it from. Have it checked before you buy, ask for any maintenance records. Any used vehicle is subject to anything! Case in point. At the New Texas Rally, Bryan and his family came in a 1970 4905 with 80k miles on the coach. It was previously owned by a church, they just kept it under cover and maintained it properly. The bays looked new and the body was in excellant shape.

There is only one point to make, just be careful and remember it's used.

[RJ]

Reel -

If you want a really good "tour" of a bus conversion, take a look at Craig's site.  It will keep you busy for hours, and either answer a lot of your questions, or generate even more:

http://bus.gumpydog.com 


The problem with most church buses is that they "rely on prayer" for their maintenance program.

OTOH, you found one with documentation, so you're one of the lucky few.

Enjoy your new toy, and welcome to the madness!

FWIW & HTH. . .




PS:  I've sent you a private message, too.  Just click on the "my messages" tab above.

[Barn Owl]

The problem with most church buses is that they "rely on prayer" for their maintenance program.

LMAO The funniest humor always has a bit of truth in it.

what is a good tire pressure to run in the tires

Go to the tire manufactures web site and look up what pressure to run. It varies according to weight and tire rating/type.

[johns4104s]

Church bus, line operator bus, local operator bus, maint records no maint records. 30k on a rebuilt engine and 10k on the transmission. Lets face it its a crap shoot, Until you get thoroughly check it out you dont know what problems you have. My MCI 9 was an airport bus, it had 200k miles on it, looked good, but the brakes were in sad and need of repair, shoe,drums,s-cams,s-cam bushings,slack adjusters etc.
Lets not kid ourselves,when the line operators are ready to get rid of a coach the maintenance is not the same.

John

[robertglines1]

You have Jack Conrad at Arcadia....Mike at Dunnellon and several more Mci guys in you area..visit and see what they have done...I have done a 8 myself and am presently in a XL prevost and doing a 45XLE prevost..wintering in silver springs...good luck..ck Mci for windshields;their prices may surprise you.

[txjeff]

Welcome aboard! It is a madness/ addiction/ obsession.  Im fairly new to this too, but enjoying every minute of it. The bus is the coolest ride. Take the time to become familiar with your bus. When you have questions look to the search section or ask here, someone has been there done that. Enjoy the ride.....


Jeff

[reelnative]

hahahaha sounds like im gonna have to become good friends with jack conrad, im about 20miles away from arcadia, hope he likes hog huntin and snook fishin. Im In a small town on the cost called punta gorda, and I live close to us17 that runs into arcadia

[JackConrad]

hahahaha sounds like im gonna have to become good friends with jack conrad, im about 20miles away from arcadia, hope he likes hog huntin and snook fishin. Im In a small town on the cost called punta gorda, and I live close to us17 that runs into arcadia

Reelnative,
    Welcome. Always glad to see another busnut, especially one so close to my place.  Unfortunately, we are not home right now.  We are setting in our bus at a big private bluegrass jam near Ocala.  We will be here until the middle of next week, then up to Marianna and the Florida Caverns. From there we will slowly, with a big emphasis on SLOWLY, ease up through Georgia, SC and end up in NC around the first of May.  We have no definate "Return Home" date in mind, but I will let you know when we get home.  We live off SR 31 just a little north of the Desoto/Charlotte line. Just a hop, skip and a jump out SR 74 to SR 31.  Jack

[reelnative]

HI Jack that sounds real good, I myself live off of sr74 aka bermont road, im about 12 to 15mi east of the 31 intersection,