I had to comment on this old thread

[bobofthenorth]

Doug some of us got lucky and, as you are well aware, some of us didn't.  We paid many multiples of what you did sight unseen and transferred the money in full before we ever saw the bus.  Then we got on a plane and flew 1/2 way across Canada to pick it up.  In hindsight about the only thing we did right was do an oil sample and that came as a result of a retired friend who told me he would go and pull the sample and that I couldn't pick up the bus until he did so.  The previous owner pissed me off so thoroughly when we went to pick up the bus that I vowed I would never under any circumstances phone him and I stuck to that vow despite being sorely tempted on a couple of occasions.  Recently his idiot son introduced himself to us in a campground, having recognized the bus.  The apple didn't fall far from the tree and we didn't invite him inside.  A thread like this is likely weighted towards the success stories because the ones that bought a bus and ended up taking it to the scrapyard aren't likely following this board anymore.

[roadrunnertex]

Well,
When I bought the 1974 GMC P8M4905A that I converted and still have it was only around 28 miles from my house.
I had a chance to drive this coach before even thinking about trying to buy it.
A very good bus buddy who was a driver for Oklahoma Transportation Company and my self drove it for quite a few miles on the 2nd test drive and we decided that it was a good coach for a motor home conversion.
We made a dollar offer on this above coach and the owner balked and said no way he would sell it at that price so we said thank you and walked away from the table.
Later that afternoon I received a phone call from the owner and he said come get the coach for our offer price.
Next day the coach was brought home and it's been a very good coach for what I paid for it back in 1996 which was $10,000.00 dollars.
The coach was a non-lavatory and I received all of the maintenance records and the history about the coach.
Yes there are good deals on used coaches but you have to look for them and be very cautious before you buy a used coach.
One thing I might caution some one who is looking for a used coach be very careful look very close before the money changes hands. And take a  bus second set of eyes along to look at the bus before you say I will take it!
Good luck buying your next coach.

[boogiethecat]

I got lucky. VERY lucky in fact.  I bought my Crown from a guy on ebay who told me ( and it turned out to be true) that he'd recently installed a 10 year's newer engine in the bus.  I drove it from Fresno home to San Diego without issue.

BUT

Once home, as I got into the engine I found that:

(1) The only reason I didn't blow an air tank or a brake line was that the windshield wiper motor leaked so badly, it compensated for the fact that the a$$ that had worked on the engine had disabled the compressor regulator by hooking it's hoses up wrong.  Fixing the wiper motor leak once I was home made the air pressure rise well past 250psi before I caught it.

(2) The oil pressure gauge didn't work but the guy assured me that pressure was ok and it was just a bad gauge.
Truth? The only reason that I didn't blow the engine was that when assembling the bellhousing to the engine, the a$$ had pinched the oil line that went to the gauge between the block and bellhousing, effectively shutting it off.  Downstream the oil line was rotted and completely full of holes. So had that line not been pinched, there would have been a nice trail of oil from Fresno to where the engine would have froze from lack of oil.  Fortunately the guy's sloppy work saved me!

(3) When I got home I pushed on a short piece of water hose that went between the thermostat housing and the block.  My finger went right thru it.
The 3rd only reason I got home was that the radiator cap was missing it's seal and so no pressure could build up... and it was a cold day, so the thing didn't boil over and the hose didn't blow....

Phew that was a lucky drive!!!!

[johns4104s]

I bought my MCI 9 from a friend. Picked it up in Elkhart, 1200 miles home to Texas.
First it would not start,
second one of the hydraulic houses blew while 10 ft underway. ( I was lucky it could have been on the road)
Third it only had 1/4 of a tank of diesel in it, I stopped 20 miles from Elkhart to fill up.  Down south the green handle hose is diesel. not in Elkhart it was gas, I pumped 17 gallons in before I noticed how low the price was,,,, It was unleaded.Talked with Stewart and Stevenson, they said drain, also and nother bus repair shop, they said the same. Finally I got a hold of my friend who had owned the bus. He said put 1/2 quart of 10w/30 oil in fill it all the way up with diesel, watch the temp gauge, and keep topping off every two hours.
Got home OK.

John

[gmpd4104]

 recently  went to see a 4108, the owners bought a few year older 4108 that was converted new with less than 70k on the clock....flew out to LA and drove it back to PA.

I don't think I have seen a better maintained fleet of conversions (4)....thier 33 year old 4108 was nicer than most few year old charter coaches. 

[BigDougInOregon]

I would look at flying in and making a run for home. Keep it full of fluids and baby it.  Good Luck  Tom Y

Thanks Tom.  This won't work for our bus.  She is not really drivable beyond a few miles due to the retarded electric cooling fans on her (no original cooling system) and the fact that now it is obvious it either has blown head(s), gaskets, or both and God knows what else that could break 1000 miles down the road and then I find myself in a Deja Vu all over again in Las Cruces, or Phoenix or wherever.   No, its pretty obvious to me that stopping in El Paso and putting the bus in storage and then coming on home was the death blow to this portion of the dream.  I am formulating my next move now but it isn't going to be good for my bus ownership dream, of that I am pretty sure.  I appreciate your input and advice though.

Doug

[Charles Seaton]

OK, this wasn't me as I had just started a new job at the time and could not make the trip.  But a good buddy flew out to California and purchased an AC Transit fishbowl.  Drove it back to the east coast with no problems, except the bus was geared for steep grades and topped out at 50 mph on the flats.  The good news was it would do 50 up hill also.

[BigDougInOregon]

This poem is for Cody:

If you love your bus, set her free.  If she comes back to you, you obviously didn't sell her far enough away from home.  If she ends up in the scrap yard, then the buyer obviously didn't know what the heck he was doing and she is better off without him. 

Or some derivation of that story.

You are probably right Bob, but I don't plan on being one of the scorned and eternally wounded.  Some of what I have read made me mad, most of it is enlightening and the rest lies somewhere between mildly amusing and downright gut busting funny   .  What more can anyone ask for?

Doug

[Airbag]

I drove my ebay purchased bus from Reno Nevada to Berlin Connecticut, it took four days and about 2800 miles.

You got cohones!   There isn't enough Zanax in the world to get me to drive an unknown bus that far. 
Not a bus that I could afford anyway...
I have these visions of towing that sucker 2750 miles! 
Everyone should own at least one bus.  It's really the only way to travel!  I'd move into ours in a minute...T ain't so inclined.   So we don't. 
Cheers, JR

I bought my 1965 MC5A in Memphis NY and drove it home to Tucson with not a single problem other than I wish we had taken another two weeks to enjoy it. It was my first time driving a bus and a four speed manual to boot. I thought I'd never learn to shift the darn thing, I still have not mastered it. RJ,s how too article was a big help.

[zubzub]

This is me
http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp3/zubzub_photos/busalmostgetsthebetterofme.jpg
a few days into prepping my bus for it's first trip with me.  By this time over the last 12 months I had driven 5000 miles to a A: check it out to buy it (2000 miles return) B: Go pick it up 3 months later (another 2000 miles,  mechanical/safety issues/ran out of time problems/ stopped me from bringing it back that time) so this was my third time there, I was with my son( who was 6) I had been working 2 days straight, I was hot and dirty, and this was supposed to be my vacation (my work is also hot and dirty).  That night as I rewired the rear lighting, I thought to myself "what am I doing this for?  It feels too much like work and I have to go back to work when this is done!".  I decided to ask my son in the morning if he would rather just go camping for the next week instead of helping me with the bus, I was ready to walk away.
   So the next morning I asked the little guy, and he thought for a moment and said that we should stay and work on the bus.  From that moment on there was no more whining (from him or from me) about when were we going to be done, and he helped a lot more (turns out six year olds make great oilers when you're drilling holes in 3/8 steel for a trailer hitch). 
   The trip home was  pretty decent with only a couple of roadside repairs....re the tools you need harbour freight will do you....still about $350 of large tools :3/4 " impact wrench (1200 lbs torque) and the sockets and adapters to go with it.  Oh yeah and an air assist 12 ton bottle jack $59.00.  Lots of other stuff as well but you will work that out...oh yeah an IR gun the HF one is only $30 on sale....hmmmm it does all add up doesn't it.  The thing is, I know from experience that once you get an old rig sorted they can give years of trouble free service and this is what I wish for you.  Good Luck with your decision,  sounds like you have the bug.

[NJT5047]

I bought my 1965 MC5A in Memphis NY and drove it home to Tucson with not a single problem other than I wish we had taken another two weeks to enjoy it. It was my first time driving a bus and a four speed manual to boot. I thought I'd never learn to shift the darn thing, I still have not mastered it. RJ,s how too article was a big help.

Maybe you could install one of the later RoadRanger or some such transmission?  Some buses just were not meant to be shifted.   Gear splits are too wide.  Gotta count to 100 between shifts?
I bought mine 180 miles from home and arranged for towing of that sucker before I left to pick it up. 
I didn't have to tow it, but I'd never even been inside a bus and this was pre-board too.  I only wanted a big motorhome.  Totally mindless. 
I expected Zub's sort of a trip...or worse.   Got lucky.  Bus has run great for 8 years now.   I'm gonna see if Sawyer's Bus will warranty some tires...only been 8 years?   
Rick, Arizona is the area where that huge aircraft depot is located?   Great place to store anything outdoors!   
JR

[gm4106]

My wife and I fly out from Charlotte NC landed in San Diego Ca . Did a quick test drive and had all the fluids and filters changed. Started to head back to North Carolina. Had to drive at night because had a issue with heating up.  I kept a close eye on the temperature , And pulled over when it got a little over 200.  Cooled it down with a  yard sprayer and the fast ideal on. Would of love to drove at day time to see everything. But got home with no problems and didn't hurt anything.  4 day trip 2400 miles

[zimtok]

From the previous owners house to my house is about 45 miles. (all back-roads)
It took longer for us to decide to buy it then to drive it to my house.



.

[johns4104s]

gm4106,

Yard sprayer, what a great idea, as I have in the past before I installed a new rad core, been on the side of the road with my 04 trying to bring the temp down.

John

[NewbeeMC9]

I found mine in town here and watched for a year before i bought it.  He sold it three times before me so I waited for the price to go down.  He was 1/2 mile from mech who checked it out and said it need certain work and dollar work, part was brake work.  so when I purchased it, i picked up the shop owner and he drove it to his shop.  When I went to pick it up, he took me for a test drive and when we were stopped at a stop light he put on the brake and jumped up and said sit down- your bus.  So i did .  It was a little after 5:00pm so I got a real experience.  I dropped him off and went on my way.  Overwhelmed? yes to say the least but still i did it.  I ventured out to the Target parking lot at night first and the around a big block taking freinds for a ride, grocery store and movie return and such.  then I braved a trip across town to Harbor Freight on a sunday morning to try the interstate when it wasn't so busy.  Then trips to friends further away sleeping in their driveway.  Then braved Hotsprings Campground in NC a couple hours away and I finally got to test the jake brakes and testing out the camping systems.  I was much more comfortable on the ride back.