New Here Looking for a Bus to Travel with a Bunch of Dogs

[k9disc]

Hey everyone,
Fairly long term lurker... amazing resource here. We teach people to play frisbee with their dogs, my GF also heads an assistance dog program for rescue dogs for a large non-profit.

We're in the market for a bus, looking at Eagles and MCIs, old and new. I love the old buffalo buses too, just not sure if I want to go back that far. We will be living in the rig full time with a large pack of dogs and will be putting a bunch of miles on any rig we get. We're pretty spartan people, and the dogs will require a dedicated space, so I think we're looking at a shell, as many of the floor plans won't quite work with a bank of 12 crates.

As of now, I'm trying to get a rig with a DD 4 stroke diesel, but they're kind of pricey or they're scary cheap. I am also looking at buses with 92 series motors. I'm really trying to avoid the 71s. Not sure if that's a rational avoidance or not, but that's where we're going... I don't know much about cat motors in buses,

I've got about 100 desirable rigs broken down into price ranges, some we can afford, some are just a hair above our price range, and some bigger ticket buses that have been sitting for a long time or that I think are considerably above market value. 

I hope to hang out here a bunch now that I can search the forums to gain more knowledge and try to make a good solid decision on a conversion bus.

I'll probably have a ton of questions, so thanks in advance for putting up with me. ;-)

[DoubleEagle]

A lot depends on how much money you have to spend, but I would suggest looking into entertainer coaches that have 6-12 bunks built in. Depending on the size of the cages, several would fit into each bunk area. Usually there are three levels and they are about six feet wide. This way the dogs would be close by and have the same A/C level that you do. The entertainer layouts usually have a lounge in the front, bunks in the middle, and a stateroom in the rear. If you really want to be close to the dogs, you could sleep in bunks on one side of the coach, and have the dogs a few feet away on the other side.

[k9disc]

A lot depends on how much money you have to spend, but I would suggest looking into entertainer coaches that have 6-12 bunks built in. Depending on the size of the cages, several would fit into each bunk area. Usually there are three levels and they are about six feet wide. This way the dogs would be close by and have the same A/C level that you do. The entertainer layouts usually have a lounge in the front, bunks in the middle, and a stateroom in the rear. If you really want to be close to the dogs, you could sleep in bunks on one side of the coach, and have the dogs a few feet away on the other side.

We don't have much money. Budget is <20K. Trying to get away with this without selling our current road vehicle, a 158" sprinter, as well. We're looking at the low end of the pricing spectrum for sure.

I am looking at the entertainer models, and was planning to set the dogs up in the middle bunk cabin. But between cost and design, it's looking more like a shell or a partial conversion.

Your comment made me realize that we don't need a queen sized cabin in the back. We could do bunks. It could totally be a dual purpose area -- would save on space, for sure.

Thanks a bunch for the reply, man.

Peace~
Ron

[Branderson]

My dad has a 4104 that he wants to sell.  It already has a floor plan but honestly, part of the floor needs to be redone anyway.  Any interest in a manual bus that old?

[Kevin]

Hello Ron,

Not sure if he would have any good leads on a bus for you, necessarily, but I would encourage you to send a private message to Jon (goes by "siberyd" here on forum) to talk "dogs and buses". Jon and his wife are involved in a Siberian rescue program - and own and travel with dogs in their converted bus. He may have some good information for you one way or another. Best of luck with your bus purchase, whatever you wind up with... As you said, there is a wealth of information to sift through here!

Kevin

[windtrader]

Hi Ron,

The Sprinter is likely more reliable and serviceable than an old bus. Getting the bus is just one phase of the bus experience. Take a hard pencil and write a number you can set aside for ongoing bus maintenance, repairs, and trip delays/alternative transportation.

Buses consume large amounts of fluids, parts cost much more if you can even find them, and down time often spans weeks or even longer. If the bus must get you to specific venues on specifics dates, you'll need to have plan B ready to go if breaking down mid journey.

Don't mean to put you off at all; I finally bought one and loving it. Hoping I got a good one but prepared to write big checks if necessary.

[Jon]

I'm having a very hard time getting my brain wrapped around travel in a coach with as many as twelve dogs in crates.

I flew a lot of animal rescues in my plane with as many as 24 pups at a time. Depending on the size of the dogs and how well they socialized my number of dogs per flight varied. Just loading and unloading was a major process and I averaged between two and four hours per flight. There was something about a plane flight that made the dogs relax and sleep as soon as I was airborne. I imagine it was the steady drone of the engine and no changes in pitch or attitude that quieted the animals down and unlike car relays the dogs were not high strung for the most part.

In a bus going from point A to point B I guarantee the dogs are going to be high strung nervous wrecks and despite efforts to walk them often there are going to be accidents. A number of times I had to empty crates from the plane at my delivery point to hose them down. Any bus set up with crates has to be set up to easily remove the crates for cleaning. After each flight I also pulled the crates upon my return and sanitized them to prevent the spread of diseases.

Living in a coach with a number of dogs goes far beyond my ability to imagine

[scanzel]

If your budget is only in the 20K range you might be best with a school bus, many of them around for sale. The good thing I see in a school bus is the back emergency door, you could make a kennel area in the back and have an inside access door to check on the dogs and have a middle and front living area. Though not excessively fast they have more modern diesel engines, auto trans some have over the road air and could possibly meet your needs with your budget.

[luvrbus]

LOL if Samantha can raise over $160,000.00 and buy a Prevost to transport cats to her shows you shouldn't have a problem raising $200,000.00 for the transportation of dogs 

[TomC]

Consider a truck conversion. Look at http://www.renegaderv.com/ at their garage motohomes. Perfect for hauling dogs, and still having a motorhome on a dependable truck chassis. Good Luck, TomC

[lvmci]

Hi K9, I had an access door to my bay thru the floor of the coach, the dogs would go down into the bay to sleep or lounge around, some put windows in the bay doors, you could dedicate two bays with access hatches,  and open bay doors wide to clean them, lvmci...

[Geoff]

Dogs are a lot of work when traveling.  You have to stop and walk them every couple of hours.  If they are not used to traveling their stomachs get upset and you know what that means-- the big D.  I have three dogs so I cannot imagine a dozen strange dogs that could bark all the way.

--Geoff

[Geoff]

 

[DoubleEagle]

A school bus with a back door, or putting the dogs in the bays of a coach would be good practical ideas. In the case of the baggage compartments of a coach, you could have a inner cage wall and gate inside that would be revealed when you open up the outside hatches. Then you would have cross ventilation across the width of the coach, but when the bays are closed you would have to have A/C and fans sufficient to keep them cool.

Long ago and far away, I was the Operations NCO for a Military Police Sentry Dog Company in Vietnam. I had 250+ German Shepherds to move around Vietnam and out of country for retraining. We shipped them in Aluminum crates that had round holes in the sides and bars across the front door. We had to stack them on trucks and shipping pallets for flying in cargo planes. As long as the front door was facing the outside of a stack, they did okay as long as there was air movement. The noise from all the barking indicated they were okay; if they stopped barking, it was time to get them out. The people that have sled dog transportation trucks with enough cages for the whole team on a flat bed remind me of our stacked cages on army trucks.

[Brassman]

A late model dog-nose school bus with rear airbags and AC would be the way to go in, IMHO.
5k and you'd be in the catbird seat. Best to know the drive train that would work for you before you bid.