Need Help/Info about a school bus
 

We are looking to get a bus for the youth group at our church and were looking at this bus:

http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa...=4&acctID=3045

Im assuming this is a 5.9. What do you think is the top speed of a bus like this? Would it be able to get to highway speeds?

The top speed will be determined by the rearend gearing and if the engine is governed. B model is the 5.9. Remember that they add 5% to the price before they add in the taxes.

ahh thank you didnt know that, i wish it was like ebay so you can ask questions

That bus is located here in Alabama. Where are you located JS? There's a guy in south Alabama that sells busses. You can call and go by, walk the lot, start and test drive. That'a where we bought ours and it's great! I think it was Alabama Busses Unlimited. http://www.swbussales.com/

im actually about 13 hrs away in NC[duhhh] Thats why i was wondering about the HWY speeds, I think it might be to far. From My understanding any buses over 15 passenger you need a special licence so we were looking for the short buses and i havent seen to many with 5.9s? Thanks for the link maybe with more time I can plan something better but this auction ends in like 12 hrs. Unless you got enough free time to drive to NC[laugh][laugh]J/K

You might check with the school boards around the area. The bid laws here allow school systems to sell used, outdated equipment to individuals as long as they get fair market value for the sale.

the school districts in our area told me they actually sell their buses through that site & thats how I found it[laugh]

OK, I wish I could think of the guy's name that owns Alabama Busses Unlimited. He was straight up, no BS. He invited us down to his place, took us to lunch, (good BBQ) and let us have the run of the yard to look. We had a budget so we just asked what he had in a particular price range. He walked us through the yard and priced as we went. We narrowed it down to 2 busses. One of the two didn't run quite right, thought it was a fuel filter. He called a mechanic to the shop while we were there to change the fuel filter just so we could drive it again. If we get ready for another bus, we'll use him again. BTW, they will deliver the bus to you.:cool:

You might want to check on that CDL law. IIRC in NC if the GVWR is over 25,999 and/or it has air brakes it will require a CDL to drive it.

Definately check this out. I know other states are already doing this and making school bus drivers have a CDL with a "bus" designator on it.



Kris

No way that is big enough to require a CDL. And if you keep it set up with the wheel chair lift. You will not need a cdl. 16 pass(inc driver) requires a cdl. That bus is 11 pass. But if you pull out the wheel chair set up and throw in seats you may go over and need one. Probably not even a air brake set up. only about 50% of the big school busses have air brakes. Most of people driving school busses in our area our soccer moms. So the less testing to get a CDl the better

I work around buses all day long for the school district so i can probably help. The best thing to buy would be an International with a 466 or 360 because even if its geared low you can mess with the gov spring and get atleast 60-65 out of them.The ones we have are set 55@2300,65@ 2750 with "adjusted" gov springs. On top of that those engines are indestructible. Stay away from the cummins they are horrendous. We have four of them 2 5.9's and 2 8.3's. The 5.9's like to crack heads, eat turbos and are gutless. The 8.3's have lots of power but,eat turbos worse than the 5.9's,drink fuel, and a bunch of little stuff. 8.3's just dont work well with in a bus for some reason.:confused:. The newer stuff is pretty much trouble free and will run 75+. About the license,it all depends on you state. Our drivers all have class B with passenger,school bus, and air brake endorsements. The air brake one probably isn't required but all of our 75 or however many buses have air brakes,even the wheel chair ones.

If it has a 16 passenger capacity it needs a CDL other wise you don't need one until the GVWR is OVER 26,000 lbs.

Air brakes do NOT require a CDL.

There is no such thing as an air brake endorsement. This is all the same from state to state.

have you ever seen the short buses with the 466 or 360's? Why would the cummins crack heads just in bus applications? BTW your killing me recommending a international over a cummins