The wait is over! We bought a bus and it just happened to be two miles from our house. Our neighbor, a diesel mechanic who spent time working in a bus barn, looked at it last Tuesday and said the engine was good. Let’s just take a minute so you can really think about what I just said. Our neighbor is a diesel mechanic who used to work in a bus barn. Can you think of a better neighbor to have if you are going to take up this lifestyle? Craziness!
Moving forward! After a couple of hold ups with insurance, we found a way to get it insured so we could drive it up to Illinois where our builder will start working on our skoolie! It does need some minor work before we can send it up to the builder though.
Here are the details! Our school bus (I just like using those 3 words together so much!) is a 2005 International. It has a DT466 engine and the engine is in good shape. After researching engines, this one was in our top 5 options. We also liked this because of the 6’5″ interior height. Chris is 6’1″ and we don’t plan on doing a roof raise.
Again, it does need some work. Here are the things are neighbor suggested.
Suggested Skoolie Repairs
- New breaks: the breaks won’t pass inspection
- The rear end needs serviced
- Oil change
- Blow by canister has a possible leak
- Air hose under engine compartment is cracked and needs to be spliced
- The heating system needs to be fixed
- There is an oil leak around the oil cooler
- The coolant booster pump has a leak
Yeah, so it looks like a lot when I type it all up. There is also the possibility that the International dealer we are taking it to for the repairs will find more. We will take it all as it comes though.
We took the kids over to see it. Saying, “Welcome to your new home,” as we stepped onto a school bus wasn’t something either of us expected to ever come out of our mouths. It did though. This is real. The is happening. We bought a bus and we are going to live on a bus. Life is weird and wonderful.
Today, we are going to drive it for the first time. We are moving it from the bus dealership where we purchased it to the storage lot where it will stay while we set up appointments for the repairs to be completed.
If you are new here, and confused as to why anyone would want to live in a bus, check out this post: 10 Reasons Why We Live on a Bus
