Les Lampman
New member
I've posted drawings of some of the possible layouts and floor plans for our bus conversion in the Boat Les on Whidbey album.
Ok, as a bit of explanation...
Shelley and I bought a school bus on October 18th (my 50th birthday!) to convert into a long-term rolling home. For those interested the specs are:
1979 International "S" series chassis with a 65-passenger Blue Bird bus body; it has a conventional nose with a flip hood. Power is an International DT466 turbo diesel and that's mated to an Allison MT-643 4-speed automatic transmission. The DT466 puts out about 180-hp right now and can be dialed up to 230-hp. My sister's husband and I drove the bus home from Denver and it's got plenty of power to pull the hills; we'll see how it does once converted.
Shelley and I have removed all the seats and I'm in the process of removing the under seat heaters and coolant lines. Once that's done (and we decide on a layout) I'll then put down the sub-floor and start the interior work. In the meantime goodies have been showing up at my doorstep (range, toilet, water heater, etc) so that I'll have everything on-hand.
I'd always intended to convert an "Greyhound" style over-the-road bus but when we got to the 'serious' stage of our plans I realized that it wouldn't suit our needs very well with all the places we wanted to go and the types of things we wanted to do. I kept coming back to the simplicity of the school bus and it's high ground clearance and robust construction. They're meant to be easily maintained and I early on decided I didn't want a vehicle with the engine underneath (front or rear). From the days I spent 18-wheeling I knew with a flip hood that everything in the engine compartment is easy to access, easy to see and doesn't require crawling under the vehicle. Other pluses for the school bus were tighter turning radius (and better maneuverability) and lower height for back road situations and low clearances. Minuses are a harsher ride than a luxury coach (I can work on that) and lack of 'status' (the last didn't count much for us).
It's a fun process since the bus is being set up a lot like an offshore cruising sailboat would be with respect to the electrical system and such; we'll be as independent as possible and only have to find diesel, water and propane every now and again (oh yeah, and dump facilities).
Ok, as a bit of explanation...
Shelley and I bought a school bus on October 18th (my 50th birthday!) to convert into a long-term rolling home. For those interested the specs are:
1979 International "S" series chassis with a 65-passenger Blue Bird bus body; it has a conventional nose with a flip hood. Power is an International DT466 turbo diesel and that's mated to an Allison MT-643 4-speed automatic transmission. The DT466 puts out about 180-hp right now and can be dialed up to 230-hp. My sister's husband and I drove the bus home from Denver and it's got plenty of power to pull the hills; we'll see how it does once converted.
Shelley and I have removed all the seats and I'm in the process of removing the under seat heaters and coolant lines. Once that's done (and we decide on a layout) I'll then put down the sub-floor and start the interior work. In the meantime goodies have been showing up at my doorstep (range, toilet, water heater, etc) so that I'll have everything on-hand.
I'd always intended to convert an "Greyhound" style over-the-road bus but when we got to the 'serious' stage of our plans I realized that it wouldn't suit our needs very well with all the places we wanted to go and the types of things we wanted to do. I kept coming back to the simplicity of the school bus and it's high ground clearance and robust construction. They're meant to be easily maintained and I early on decided I didn't want a vehicle with the engine underneath (front or rear). From the days I spent 18-wheeling I knew with a flip hood that everything in the engine compartment is easy to access, easy to see and doesn't require crawling under the vehicle. Other pluses for the school bus were tighter turning radius (and better maneuverability) and lower height for back road situations and low clearances. Minuses are a harsher ride than a luxury coach (I can work on that) and lack of 'status' (the last didn't count much for us).
It's a fun process since the bus is being set up a lot like an offshore cruising sailboat would be with respect to the electrical system and such; we'll be as independent as possible and only have to find diesel, water and propane every now and again (oh yeah, and dump facilities).
