Anyone using a school bus as a tow rig?

[atho]

not just trying to talk my dad up, lol, but although some school bus drivers generally dont take good care of the buses (they are supposed to check the oil and clean the inside), the mechanics need to because the buses are carrying what, 80 or so school kids?

whenever a bus broke down on my dad, he would get **** from his boss even if it was something totally out of his control (like a cummins injector pump taking a **** out of the blue).

what will suck about a bus, though, is if you have to do a brake job. we're talking up to 3 grand for all 4 wheels, and lets not even talk about wheels and tires. the buses dad works on all have either ISB cummins or Cat C7's, and the cummins is almost identical to the pickup model except for hp ratings, engine mounts, and the air compressor for air brakes (which is a big PITA, btw).

a bus would be cool, but just know there may be hidden expenses.

 

[yellowK20]

The navistar DT466E is an awesome engine very reliable and parts are not to bad I've seen In frame kits for as little as 500.00 as for brake parts your local Napa,Carquest,or Partsplus has what you need .........Checkers and Vato-zone won't . There simple to work on just everything is Bigger Plus the Money you save on not making payments and insurance on a 40,000 dollor diesel Pickup is more than makes up for the "higher costs of maintenace and repair"
Tires are expensive but not much more than a set of swampers......and they last alot friggin' longer

Now granted there are downsides:
You need some friggin long ass ramps.
Think about how high your rig would sit on the back.
Space to keep it while not in use.
Parking spots while on the road-your not gonna squeeze that thing Into the corner gas station or Burger King Drive-thru.
Most are not 4-wheeldrive.
Big "Mullet" factor



If I didn't have a ton of projects going already I'd consider doing the same type of rig

 

[DesertDueler2]

I work at carquest, so parts are easy and cheap for me. THe front rotors are around $100 each, and the pads are about $50 bucks, so no 3,000 dollar brake job. THis thing has hyrolic brakes, not air brakes. It uses a hydrovac unit to assist the brakes. Everything looks to be in good shape. All fluids are good, engine runs good, no leaks, trans shifts good and no leaks, rearend makes no noise, but leaks a little out of the pinion seal(not enough to hit the ground, but can see some wet spots on the axle housing). No it isnt a perfect tow rig, but it was in my budget. I am going to drive it around quite a bit here some to make shure I dont run into any problems, the plan on moving in it. I found a set of rims and tires for $250 in good shape, and they are 22.5s so I can run big rig style tires, which should last longer than the bus. I also figured even if I have to do an inframe and replace the trans, I will be in it less than $15,000. Like stated prior, inframes are cheap for this engine, and rebuilt trans I have heard are $3,000 parts and labor(some of you guys are paying that for your 700r4).

Dan

Dan