Considering a Bus Purchase

[Fred Mc]

There are ways to minimize, or at least reduce, costs. For example rather than spending 24-3000 for new tires you can purchase good used tires at a fraction of the cost. I recently bought 4 tires with approx. 30 % tread left but only 2 years old for $100 ea.from a wrecking yard. They will probably age out before wearing out. And there may be a hundred grease points on a bus but a grease gun and 10 years supply of grease is about $20. And a lot of expenses are use related so if you full time thats one thing but if you only vacation a few times a year it's another story. A major  failure can be catastrophic whether you have a motorhome or a bus. It may well be more expensive in a bus but many would not be able to afford a motor rebuild be it in a motorhome OR a bus.
It certainly helps if you are mechanically inclined though, because there will probably ALWAYS be items that crop up that have to be fixed. When I first had my bus the brake lights quite working so I paid a mechanic to fix it because the wiring looked daunting. I'm now QUITE familiar with the wiring system so I do those trouble shooting chores myself. Understanding your bus and how everything works also tends to minimize panic decisions if you have a problem.

Last year I had the bendix governor fail when getting ready to vacate a campground. There was momentary panic because we had to be out by 2PM. But with some help from this forum I was able to determine the problem and fix it well enough to get home.

It also helps to have an understanding wife. Another poster on here had a similar governor problem last year and he said his wife said something to the tune of "get it fixed or get rid of the bus". In my case my wife felt it was just part of the adventure. Thats not to say she wasn't concerned but if there is a problem deal with it..
Some people can take minor problems in stride and other can't. Only you know that.

But owning/converting a bus is NOT for the faint of heart.

Regards

Fred

[jraynor]

But owning/converting a bus is NOT for the faint of heart.

Regards

Fred

That moment when you rip out the floor to reveal to revel broken frame members. Good thing I have a welder now lol

[windtrader]

Hey, come back! Don't let Clifford or the other curmudgeons scare you off. In most cases, I'm singing the same tune but after long careful consideration in the throne room, you may qualify as a busnut intern. If you have 30k at your disposal, and that may be a stretch since you are asking about financing, you can do this if careful.

These days you can find a quite acceptable converted bus for 15k-20k. That leaves you with 10-15k for immediate and planned repairs and maintenance. Unless you have some mechanical catastrophe, that cushion should be sufficient. That is if you DIY most/all of the work.
Something of a recent personal epiphany was that an old bus is never going to be as reliable as a newer one. Really? Yeah, what a dumbass - I had such delusional thoughts until another visit to the throne. For some reason, I figured if I get the bus all caught up on maintenance and other issues which seemed needing fixing, the bus would be good to go. What shined the bright light of reality was a view of a short video where a guy was painting some valve cover and clearly showed long term normal wear and tear on even solid metal parts takes its toll. The aluminum cover developed small cracks which was the wakeup call that all bus parts after 40-50 years and a million miles have plenty of parts that are weak and prone to fail. So, with that the idea of experiencing less ongoing outlays of time, cash, stress, etc. on maintenance and repair went poof!

The key takeaway is these old road beasts once owned are going to be a permanent line item in your annual personal budget. In fact, some use a benchmark of a dollar a mile but that assumes you drive some number of miles. A parked bus develops maintenance issues from non-use so you have to use it, such a problem. lol  Good luck, just take time and learn a lot before jumping.

[luvrbus]

LOL Clifford is not taking the blame on this one 

[mmanning]

haha, no one has scare me away yet.  Plus, someone send me a PM and said that if it all went south I could just blame Clifford..    ..just kidding

All the posts have given me a lot to think about for sure.  I also spent sometime on the phone talking to Doyle this morning.  I'm trying to process all the information.

It sounds as though many of you know your way around your respective buses.  What was it like for you when you first purchased your bus?

[GnarlyBus]

When I first bought my bus I was confused why it all of the sudden wouldn't start after parking our first night at a Walmart. It wasn't in Neutral! I knew almost nothing! I've come a long way since then with the help of this board and the owners/shop manuals. YouTube videos also help quite a bit when something goes wrong.

I'm not rich so I try to do as much of the maintenance and repairs to my bus as possible. I wouldn't be able to afford a bus if I couldn't do most of the work myself. I don't drive more than 5k miles a year and I've been lucky these last 3 years with few problems. A few months ago coolant started leaking out of my engine which requires opening it up which then quickly leads to a rebuild or overhaul while the engine is apart.

I love our bus and it's the perfect home for us. To me, its like a mobile home. RVs are a little easier to move around all the time. They tend to be higher off the ground than buses which makes it easier to go "off-road" and boondock. Coach buses really need to stay on asphalt most of the time (campgrounds are fine).

[Van]

AHHHH  it ain't all that bad! Whould I do another from scratch? F***k no! Find one already done close to your liking, just inspect all the running gear and potential rust issues first before you buy. There is more but I won't hog all the fun in tellin' ya! 

BEST-O-LUCK

[DoubleEagle]

The costs I am worried about are more of the maintenance type costs.  If I figured $1,000 a year for maintenance costs, would I be close? What do you all spend in yearly maintenance? 

If you only change oil and filter, grease fittings, replace belts, service air dryer, change air filter, fuel filters, and update batteries, then you might squeak in under a thousand. If you need a brake job, oil seals, power steering pump, air compressor, new tires, a tune up, etc., then things will climb. However, there are coaches out there for sale that are already converted that someone else spent time and money on, that will carry you for many miles without the big expenses. Face it, (without Facebook) you already have the bug for coaches, you see the folly of RV's, (a bus would have held the tree limb up) and there is no going back - you are an infected busnut! 

[muldoonman]

If you do jump in,  try to do a lot of the work to keep it working yourself, you'll be way ahead in the long run and there will be work. Be prepared to learn on the fly on the house systems. Most can't afford to take to someone and if you do, most shops ain't got a clue. On The running gear, I don't do a thing on the major goodies on mine. Blower seals last year on my 8V92TA was around $6000 bucks at Stewart Stevenson San Antonio  Shop. Just got my OTR (AC System) running after Prevost Houston quoted me around $20,000 to redo it. Yes 20 G's.  Cliff said they just didn't want to work on this old iron.  Redone it for less than a $1000. These aren't for the faint of heart. Good luck on your search.

[luvrbus]

Yep you go into a shop now the people are wearing white shirts with a gimzo in their pocket they take it out put their hand panties on so they don't get their hands dirty plug it in  this the future shops hate working on the older stuff,plus some shops are at $175.00+ per hour that is a killer when you break down on the road 

[windtrader]

That is another significant factor - increasing number of shops refuse to work on the old buses. One mechanic takes on work depending on his frustration level and number of buses in the shop needing parts. He was the one who correctly told me that one does not repair rather than restore these old things.

It really is true as no mechanic can often not provide an accurate time or cost estimate. Often times parts are not a call away and can take real effort to track down. The customer surely is not going to pay labor rates to track down parts; i.e. shop takes it in the shorts. Often when getting into these old things, there is more needing fixing beyond the original problem. The customer is not happy that it is going to take longer and cost more; shop gets @$# chewed. Bus is waiting to get parts. Customer is not happy bus is not ready to roll; shop is not happy with buses stacking up in the yard.

Wow - was there any scenario where customer and shop mechanic came out happy? Such is the life of busnuts, service folk and customers.

[luvrbus]

That is another problem shops do not like to chase parts for the old buses and they leave it up to the owner.Sometimes that is a big mistake btdt owners are on limited budgets they will shop for weeks not caring that your shop is tied up with their bus.Setting there running the AC 24 hours a day on your dime those owners I don't care for,then some say get it done those I like 

[richard5933]

From the beginning I had a plan to deal with the problem of finding a shop to work on our bus, and it's worked till now. Before I even put a deposit on our first bus, I went and met with the service manager at the shop where I wanted to have work done. We talked about the issues with parts, scheduling, etc. and I made it clear to them that I'd be willing to work with them to make it as easy as possible for them, whether it be chasing down parts or scheduling when they had open bays. They've been great to work with. Building a relationship with the shop that works out for both you and the shop is critical. There were a few bumps in the road early on - they tried to find parts through their usual supply chain and were getting frustrated. I reminded them about Luke at US Coach, and once they realized that he had (or could find) most of what would be needed things got much better. Kudos to Interstate for all their efforts and hard work.

Of course, as Ray & Tom would always say, a box of freshly baked cookies at the right time helps a lot.

We're on our second bus now, and I've actually got two shops qualified and willing to work on it. I think it was easier with our current bus since it is a low-mileage bus and according to the shop in better condition than some of the commercial buses they work on. Apparently buses run commercially through the winter up here don't fare so well. Lakeside International in Milwaukee is our second shop and they've been great to work with as well.

So, back to MManning the OP... If you are going to be taking your new bus to a shop to have work done, the time to start building that relationship is now. You'll get quite a bit of information from them which can help you make your decision moving forward. If they have experience working on Eagle buses and have a good parts supply, then you're set. Otherwise, you'll know that you might need to adjust your target bus or perhaps look at other shops. Once you find the right shop they may be able to help you find a bus to start with. (Like the old Eagle parked behind Interstate here for years - not sure if it's got a mechanics lien on it or if it was just abandoned.)

[chessie4905]

Richard's coach conversion is a good example. Purchased as in great shape and low mileage. So far he has had furnace issues?, water circulating pump issues, Onboard factory ac issues. I may have missed some. I don't know how much he has spent to date for repairs, but the point is...no matter how good a coach conversion or shell is, you are going to have unanticipated expenses, so make sure you have money for these things in reserve. Being aware up front can avoid some of the disappointment.

[richard5933]

I think you missed the ever-present slow leaks in the air system and two leveling valves. Most other problems were due to lack of use in my case. Machinery generally likes to be used and problems will crop up from sitting idle. Lots of small electrical issues from corrosion on the terminals from 44 years of exposure to ambient air moisture. Lots of deferred maintenance, including on the Perkins running the generator. (Still have a few things there, like slow fuel drips from the gaskets on the fuel injector pump...)

Given the choice between problems from lack of use vs. being worn out, I'll take the lack of use issues any day. However, they are still time-consuming and sometimes expensive. We decided to spend the money up front on this coach to get one in good condition all around. More money to purchase, but less to get repairs done. The first one was much less expensive to purchase, but we spent quite a bit getting it up to a level where we felt safe going down the road. Oddly, both coaches ended up costing us about the same but we're much happier with our current coach.