new bus?

Donnie Barnes · **Posted:** Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:32 pm

I'll go you one better on the RallyX bus:

Tundra Buggy

--Donnie

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Tue Feb 16, 2010 10:19 pm

MikeWhitney wrote:

Steve, sorry I did a ninja edit with some answers to your questions in my post above...

E350 has a 138" wheelbase
E450 has a 158" wheelbase
E450 also available in a 176" wheelbase (too big)
Rear-mount wheelchair buses typically have a 7' overhang
Center-mount wheelchair is more like 6'

So a small E450 with a center wheelchair dramatically improves the wheelbase-to-overhang ratio from like 1.7 to 2.2. I have found several under $10k with high mileage in both PSD and V10. They are out there.

Thanks Mike--that gives me a better idea of what form factor we're after. Those examples, however, prove my point about price. If we want a "10-year" bus, isn't 180,000-250,000 miles on the odo going to be an issue--I mean, that's a lot of documentation for maintenance/repair etc. to verify prior to purchase! I guess the People in Power need to decide what's more important--pricepoint or longevity--because at 10k I doubt we'll get both.

I'll keep an eye out!

BTW, anyone have a contact at Carolina Livery that may help us out? You'd think they would have some buses they are going to cycle out soon.

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Tue Feb 16, 2010 10:45 pm

Steven Carter wrote:

BTW, anyone have a contact at Carolina Livery that may help us out? You'd think they would have some buses they are going to cycle out soon.

now that is funny!

RobLupella · **Posted:** Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:02 pm

Donnie Barnes wrote:

RobLupella wrote:

Notwithstanding the other arguements, I don't think that "more people would be willing to drive" should be considered.

Really? To me that was the best reason. But that's assuming it's that the bus really is "that bad" and people aren't just using the annoyance as an excuse. Sounds like if people drove it once and refuse to do it again that are the people that are otherwise volunteering to work, well, we have a problem that needs to be addressed.

If it's really just apathy, well, then perhaps an event needs to be canceled due to a lack of a bus driver. That'll get people motivated. :wink:

--Donnie

I probably didn't phrase that well. If a new bus would increase the number of drivers willing to drive then it is a reason. However, I am of the opinion that a new bus will not increase the driver pool.

Donnie Barnes · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:48 am

RobLupella wrote:

I probably didn't phrase that well. If a new bus would increase the number of drivers willing to drive then it is a reason. However, I am of the opinion that a new bus will not increase the driver pool.

Well, the point here is that the current bus is *decreasing* the driver pool that was never great to begin with. So at least getting back to what we had would be a plus.

--Donnie

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

scottjohnson wrote:

Steven Carter wrote:

BTW, anyone have a contact at Carolina Livery that may help us out? You'd think they would have some buses they are going to cycle out soon.

now that is funny!

If anyone is wondering about Scott's comment ... we have some history with Carolina Livery -- had a commitment from the owner to sell us a bus they had, and he waffled on us for months and months. I stayed on top of it, totally professional, and he came up with excuse after excuse. Really pissed me off and I gave up. I bet the bus he agreed to sell us ended up being scrapped. It sat unused at Triangle Truck for a good year or more after we moved on. Bizarre.

BretLuter · **Posted:** Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:47 pm

Donnie Barnes wrote:

I'll go you one better on the RallyX bus:

Tundra Buggy

--Donnie

Now Donnie, that's just silly.

Everyone knows we're looking for an old shuttle bus.

:wink:

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Wheelbase and overhang ratio is good. Mileage is high, but it's close by. E450 with center wheelchair lift.

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/1613742874.html

Anyone want to go look at it for kicks?

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Also, even though this one has a rear wheelchair, quick measurements off the photo shows a "good" ratio of 2.1. BIN is too high.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-For ... 205wt_1165

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:23 pm

I've no frame of reference on this...is 153k too high, or in the ballpark?

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

This bus has the "dreaded 6.0L" engine.
From Wikipedia (other sources also available) :

Quote:

The 7.3 L (444 CID) Power Stroke was replaced by the 6.0 L (365 CID) for the 2003 model year. This version was built until mid December 2006 (2007 model year). So many 6.0 L Power Stroke engines were proven to be unreliable,[2] and may have cost Ford hundreds of millions of dollars in warranty repairs and leading to a recall and repurchase of at least 500 trucks. There were initial quality challenges which Ford and Navistar have mostly rectified. The reliability of the later 6.0 L engines, after the dealership technicians were fully trained on the product, has been very good.

It is possible that the problems have been sorted on this bus, but the "fixes" to the EGR fouling issue are not all good solutions. Note that I'm not a diesel mechanic, and I don't even play one very well.
Charlie Guthrie
7.3 Powerstroke owner

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Charlie Guthrie wrote:

This bus has the "dreaded 6.0L" engine.
From Wikipedia (other sources also available) :

Quote:

The 7.3 L (444 CID) Power Stroke was replaced by the 6.0 L (365 CID) for the 2003 model year. This version was built until mid December 2006 (2007 model year). So many 6.0 L Power Stroke engines were proven to be unreliable,[2] and may have cost Ford hundreds of millions of dollars in warranty repairs and leading to a recall and repurchase of at least 500 trucks. There were initial quality challenges which Ford and Navistar have mostly rectified. The reliability of the later 6.0 L engines, after the dealership technicians were fully trained on the product, has been very good.

It is possible that the problems have been sorted on this bus, but the "fixes" to the EGR fouling issue are not all good solutions. Note that I'm not a diesel mechanic, and I don't even play one very well.
Charlie Guthrie
7.3 Powerstroke owner

Hmm, Ok so maybe we should give preference to the V10. Thanks for the info.

On the question about mileage -- 200k would be OK if there is history of a lot of maintenance I think. But ideally closer to 100k.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:43 am

MikeWhitney wrote:

On the question about mileage -- 200k would be OK if there is history of a lot of maintenance I think. But ideally closer to 100k.

I think we'd prefer good maintenance records in either case. :lol:

Anyway, I'd consider a 200K mile truck, but at that mileage, I would prefer one that's had its transmission rebuilt or replaced already. It's a shame that there's no such animal as a manual transmission E450. That would be big pimpin'.

I've gotten a little more knowledgeable about how to fix diesel Fords. A **little** bit. I know how to replace the drain valve on the fuel/water separator now, and I've done the "under valve cover" wiring harness too. But there's NO WAY - seriously - you could get me to do either of those things on a van. I think I'd rather eat a fuel water drain valve than change one on a van. :lol:

steve remchak · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:02 am

MikeWhitney wrote:

Also, even though this one has a rear wheelchair, quick measurements off the photo shows a "good" ratio of 2.1. BIN is too high.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-For ... 205wt_1165

this one looked good until i saw the radiator expansion tank picture. this is the first place that starts to show an issue prior to the head gasket letting go. of course if the head has been redone already then this truck would be awesome.

i wouldn't be too wary of a high mileage 6.0 given the amount of miles the club would drive it annually. plus most of the issues with a 6.0 manifest themselves early on in their existence.

the 6.0 has gobs of power, and there are some good ones out there. BTW, mine is a 2004 and my head gasket blew at 92k miles.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

We've always joked about putting a stripper pole in the bus, but I never thought I'd actually find one on CL:

http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/1615970123.html

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