Typical expenditures for the first few years.

[freds]

Face it any project has a high burst of effort at the start.

Owning any bus is basically a multi-year commitment. So there sweat equity and out of the pocket expenditures.

Expenditures come in a few different area's:

1. Basic work on the bone's so the bus will travel where you want it too safely.
2. Added what you consider is must have livability features.
3. Fixed overhead like initial taxes, insurance, storage fees.
4. Your miscellaneous.

An acceptable response is that hey I didn't track it!

In my case:

First year

1. New Tires/safety inspections $6000
2. livability features for the next decade. Six to nine thousand, $6000 spent already.
3. Sales tax, initial licensing and insurance $3500
4. Misc tools/supplies $1200

Obviously if you desire to re-power the numbers can blowup on you...

[dtcerrato]

We have every expenditure listed but not categorized or totalled. I'd guess we have 100 thou in the ole' girl over 40 years. It's been a labor of love, & now a retirement hobby. Tinker, tinker, tinker...

[belfert]

I think you're doing pretty good if you can build out the basic livability items for $9,000.  Heck, I spent $9,000 just for a diesel generator, batteries, and inverter.

[freds]

I think you're doing pretty good if you can build out the basic livability items for $9,000.  Heck, I spent $9,000 just for a diesel generator, batteries, and inverter.

Ah, but I started with a bus that was a motor home from the start and it already has a diesel generator. My $6000.00 is on a newer inverter, Tesla battery modules, solar panels and start of a hydronics system.

[richard5933]

There are so many ways to go about this that estimating cost from someone else's project is always difficult.

[Jim Blackwood]

I started with a bit less than $20K in the war chest and a year later following the bus purchase, gen, interior finish plywood and a few smaller items have somewhat over 10 left. With occasional supplements that should get me through the 5 year project and if I manage it well I hope to have funds left to put towards tires and batteries somewhere along the line. (Both presently still usable but for how long?) As it sits the bus is worth more than I have in it just as salvage so as I see it, so far I've made money on the deal. Pretty hard to say that. One of the keys is the idea that any time you get in a hurry it is doing to cost you. Which is OK if you are willing to pay.

Jim

[TomC]

I bought my transit bus for $4,000. After rebuilding everything in the engine compartment and turbocharging the engine, along with me doing the entire conversion myself, it is done about $100,000 later. Good Luck, TomC

[buswarrior]

Priced the big tires lately?

Goodyears 315/80R22.5

$7100 installed with a phone call and others taking care of it remotely.

Some busnuts can run smaller truck sizes, some busnuts need to think really hard about tire loading and just go with the big boys...

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[chessie4905]

Good reason to go with quality recaps on the rear, especially when few will experience tread wear down requiring replacement.

[Geoff]

I spent $100,000 over 10 years converting my bus.  I used good materials and the drivetrain is all rebuilt.  I spent a long time designing the interior and wouldn't change a thing.  GMC built the best buses and it is a dream to drive.  It was designed tested in a wind tunnel and you can't tell if you're going 60mph or 80. 

Geoff

[luvrbus]

There was a time long ago when the only way the average person could have a bus conversion was to DIY not now it makes no economical sense when you can buy Marathon Prevost low mileage like the one that sold on Ebay for $23,000 turn the key and drive off.I had a lot more than a 100k in my Eagle for sure lol I got tired of keeping track of the Ben's they left so fast 

[muldoonman]

Nothing a few of these wouldn't cure. More like a stack.

[Jim Blackwood]

I love hearing you high rollers cry about spending all your money. You go out there and pay someone to do something you could have learned to do yourself and then it's nothing but, "Poor Me, I had to spend my money!"
No, You didn't. You wanted to. There's a difference.

Tires: Here we go again. Who says you have to pay to have them mounted? Yet another thing you can do yourself. Maybe you just don't want to. Poor Me!

Jim

[luvrbus]

No one is high rolling Jim the simple truth a 125,000 mile conversion bus is a better investment that 1,000.000 mile wore out bus any day.People can do a bare conversion that fits their pocket book that is up to them on how much they spend. I see my share of people struggling with wore out buses every day at the shop and repairs and parts kill those people financially one been in my yard for over a year   

[richard5933]

I love hearing you high rollers cry about spending all your money. You go out there and pay someone to do something you could have learned to do yourself and then it's nothing but, "Poor Me, I had to spend my money!"
No, You didn't. You wanted to. There's a difference.

Tires: Here we go again. Who says you have to pay to have them mounted? Yet another thing you can do yourself. Maybe you just don't want to. Poor Me!

Jim

Jim... I hope you understand that not everyone has the physical ability to do things like mounting tires, or the desire to. Some don't have a shop capable of doing all that you do. Some have more interest in getting on the road quicker.

I've spent a lot of time doing what I want to do myself, and I have spent a lot of money paying the shop to do the rest. I know my limits and stick to them.

I don't hear people "crying" about spending money, just laying out the facts.

I paid lots more for my bus than others, but in the end I got a bus that was nearly new in many respects. And, it needed work and updates in other ways. It is what it is.