I Traded the $900 Harley for a Whole Bus!

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
10/01/2020 at 15:16 • Filed to: School Bus, camper

Back in late May I bought a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 for $900. Got it as a fun toy but honestly, after the Burgman was finally fixed I stopped riding the Sporty. It always felt so slow, lethargic, and not even half as agile as the Burgman. As time rolled on, the novelty of owning the baby Harley wore off and I just stopped riding it.

Sheryl has been wanting to buy me a school bus for my birthday for some time and somehow managed to work out this crazy deal. She saw a bus for $4k and decided to see if she could trade him my Harley for the bus, maybe with a little bit of cash on top. In the end, he would accept the deal. 1 bus for the Harley and about a grand.

And what is this bus, you ask? It’s a 1998 International 3800 with a DT466E and Allison AT545, body is an AmTran CS 65 passenger. It runs and drives like a beast (held 70 all the way home), mostly everything works, and there’s minimal rust. The floors are remarkably solid as well.

It looks a little rough around the edges, but that makes sense as I believe it has been sitting under trees all summer, if not longer. We found a couple bird nests outside, a lot of moss, and a slew of beehives. So yeah, it can definitely use a power wash. The exhaust decided to fall off its hangers pretty much immediately. That’s actually awesome because I want to have a side dump exhaust on it. LOVING the soundtrack from the turbo straight six. The bus has about 200,000 miles on it and I’d say it’s in good shape for its age and mileage, just needs a good Svending. It may also need a front end alignment but that’s not a huge deal just yet.

According to the title, we are the second owners. The guy we bought it from works at the school district that retired it. When it was retired from school duty he just registered it as an RV but kept it titled to the school.

My plan is to turn it into a skoolie motorcycle hauler. Rear end of the bus will be a mobile motorcycle garage while the rest will be a Gambler camper. I’m cooking up my floor plan later today. We’re going to start with the easy stuff: Bedding, seating, lighting, audio, heating, and refrigeration. As we’ve recently moved in together, we’re going to put the excess furniture in the bus to kickstart the process. And finally I’ll be able to make use of the flat tow kit that shop-teacher gave me last year.

We aren’t going to go all crazy with custom walls and custom ceiling paneling. Instead, our plan is pretty minimalist. We’ll have some nice flooring, curtains, paint, and furnishings. She’s experienced with plumbing, so over time we’ll implement a bathroom, too. We aren’t going to go all out and make a log cabin on wheels. lol

Colors will at some point be mint green/turquoise and white.

I have a couple close friends that made a skoolie last year and they’re excited to help out. :)

Oh and how does it drive? Like a bus...but but, it’s so much fun! The DT466E only is useful when you go WOT so you basically just shove your foot into the floor and point the bus where it needs to go. One of the things that is broken is the cruise control. I definitely want to get that working. Part of me wonders why a school bus would even have cruise in the first place but I’m not complaining.

DISCUSSION (50)

HammerheadFistpunch > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:20

Thats very cool...but...where do you park it?

Future next gen S2000 owner > HammerheadFistpunch
10/01/2020 at 15:23

This is an important question.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:24

This is amazing!

Brickman > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:29

One of the things on my bucket list is to convert a school bus to an RV :D

Mercedes Streeter > HammerheadFistpunch
10/01/2020 at 15:30

RV storage about 5 minutes away. When it’s at home for the conversion process I’ll have it parked in the overflow lot, same place a neighbor parks his Freightliner. lol

HammerheadFistpunch > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:31

not bad! Glad to hear its got a home. We saw one of these down in southern Utah this weekend. It was a young couple traveling around living in it. My father in law talked to them (as he does with everyone) and it sounds like they mostly like it.

ibRAD > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:34

Nice score! I’ve always wanted to get a school bus so I could stay home from work on snow days.

Seriously though. cheap, fun, truck!

VincentMalamute-Kim > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:34

Dang, you guys have absolutely no fear doing what you want !

“It always felt so slow, lethargic, and not even half as agile as the Burgman” so you traded it for this?! :)

VincentMalamute-Kim > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:34

Dang, you guys have no fear buying the wildest stuff!

“ It always felt so slow, lethargic, and not even half as agile as the Burgman” so you traded it for this?! :)

krustywantout > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:35

You crazy. But we like crazy. Don’t skimp on the sound deadening/insulation . I remember those buses being very loud and drafty . Please keep us informed on the progress!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:35

Kinja'd!!!

RacinBob > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:36

Make sure that it has a transmission ratio that is good for 70 mph on the interstate. You don’t need to find out that it can’t do more than 55 mph at redline because it has “city gears”

Goggles Pizzano > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:36

Too bad it would be such a big job to make a S mart sized opening with ramps.

Mercedes Streeter > VincentMalamute-Kim
10/01/2020 at 15:38

We figure we may as well do all the crazy stuff now while we’re both young and can afford it.

Ironically, the guy test rode the Harley the same time I test drove the bus, that thing absolutely smoked us. lol

Mercedes Streeter > RacinBob
10/01/2020 at 15:42

This one appears to have 3 long gears and a 4th REALLY LONG gear. It tries to do more than 70 but there appears to be a limiter that kicks on right at 70. Very happy it doesn’t have city gears or a city speed limiter.

Mercedes Streeter > HammerheadFistpunch
10/01/2020 at 15:45

Sounds about right. There are some drawbacks to bus-based RVs.

I read a story of a bunch of college kids that all pitched in to buy and convert a bus. I think all in they spent like $10k. Then over summer break they all decided to travel the country. They made it through like two states before the transmission (I think that one was an Allison 2000) grenaded. $6k fix.

Then of course the ride quality sucks and unless you add a metric ton of dynamat, it’s going to be loud, too.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:46

This is good Oppo!

Urambo Tauro > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:50

Holy cow this is gonna be friggin’ epic!

Grindintosecond > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:52

Time to build....

Zaphod's Heart of Gold > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 15:56

I have no idea where you live but I wish it were closer, I want to work on this so bad!

I think with the right reinforcement you could open up the back door to drive a smart right on in

Taylor Martin > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:04

That’ll make one fine hauler/camper, and you’ll certainly get a lot of attention driving a teal bus. Now I saw it didn’t have city gears but the important question is is it actually comfy to drive/operate? I’ve seen city busses with those really bouncy seats that shift in 8 different directions as the bus goes along, but is this one like that or is it as comfortable as the seats students would (or used to in the case of this bus) sit in?

jminer > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:06

Sweet!

In the late 90's my oldest brother bought a school bus and wandered around the PNW for a few years with a bunch of friends while living out of it. Yes, he was very much a hippy.

I do love thought the recent trend of this becoming more normalized, while I wouldn’t want a bus I do dream of turning a van into a camper for extended trips.

Mercedes Streeter > Taylor Martin
10/01/2020 at 16:15

It has a basic cloth driver seat that’s comfortable enough, I suppose. My aforementioned friends that built their own skoolie took an air seat out of a Peterbilt. I think I’m going to go the same direction. :)

Mercedes Streeter > Zaphod's Heart of Gold
10/01/2020 at 16:17

Right along the IL/WI border!

I thought about having a door and a ramp to park cars inside, but I’m not nearly talented enough to make one that looks clean and doesn’t leak.

vondon302 > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:28

Sweet score.

Hell at that price it's cheaper than a shed and it actually moves on it's own. Damn now I want one.

Taylor Martin > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:35

That sounds like the right way to go! Here’s to many miles of academic adventures in your bus (or not so academic adventures, up to you ).

Sovande > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:37

Reminds me of this amazing song:

Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin border
There was this Indian tribe
They found two babies in the woods, white babies
One of them was named Elizabeth
She was the fairer of the two
While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie
Having never seen white girls before
And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes
They named the larger and more beautiful Lake, Lake Elizabeth
And thus the smaller lake that was hidden from the highway
Became known forever as Lake Marie

Kiltedpadre > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:39

Have any commercial vehicle scrapyards nearby? Might be able to score a more comfortable driver’s seat there and possibly any parts you need to fix the cruise control. Instead of an exhaust dump I’d like to suggest chrome semi smokestacks turned into side pipes. Maybe that’s not your style though.

No matter what that’s a hell of an awesome swap.

Zaphod's Heart of Gold > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:40

Steel frame inside with an overhang, cut rear of bus to match, make a flat panel door with window and hinge it, add a seal and a lock. Boom done (in theory)

My bird IS the word > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 16:51

It certainly seems like a large scale project but I don’t see anything that would be too difficult/frustrating for it to be a bad project. Looks like a fun time!

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 17:00

I’ll give you 200 internet points if you put OPPO SCHOOL DIST. On the side

Fuckkinja > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 17:13

My grandfather has a bus he converted into an Rv. It even has a bathroom. Buy used camper stuff like tanks and heaters. Propane refrigerators are great. I happend to ride that bus daily 35 years ago when it was still in service. Bus number 2. It’s a 1982 blue bird. 345 I nternational with a 727 transmission.

Manny05x > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 17:46

Hahaa this is great. Dont you need a class B to drive one of these?

Mercedes Streeter > Kiltedpadre
10/01/2020 at 17:48

I think there’s actually one nearby. I’m hoping to find one though as it’ll definitely help keep this bus on the road without too many expensive headaches. The plan for the driver seat is to find a suspension seat meant for a semi. I’m guessing the problem with the cruise control is wiring related...old switches and all that.

Mercedes Streeter > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/01/2020 at 17:50

OMFG I love it!

OPPO SCHOOL DISTRICT 420 on one side and GAMBLER DISTRICT 69 on the other.

Mercedes Streeter > Manny05x
10/01/2020 at 17:53

Normally yes, however by registering a bus as an RV you get around those pesky licensing requirements. lol The Illinois “Rules of the Road” handbook basically handwaves all CDL requirements so long as you have an RV registration.

It works the same way with those colossal palace-on-wheels coach RVs you see going down the highway. 9 times out of 10 the old man driver only has a regular license.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 18:12

If it was anyone else, I’d be like WHOAAAAAAAAAAA

But I kinda just expect crazy funny shit from you (in the best way)

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 18:20

Awesome! I thought I had the longroof game figured out and then you turn up with this. ;-)

I’m looking forward to read more stories about this thing.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 18:21

You can take out the last row of seats and park your Two-fer in there.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 19:29

Y’all are nuts :)

What's getting flat-towed?

arl > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 20:12

That’s insane. I would be in divorce court before you could say “I did it for the children”.

Godspeed good sir!

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher
10/01/2020 at 21:34

Not sure yet, but whatever crapbox we'll have for gambling. But now with a tow vehicle I'd be more willing to partake in rallycross, knowing I'll be able to get home should things go south.

Manny05x > Mercedes Streeter
10/01/2020 at 21:51

I usually make sure to get away from them while driving.

old-busted-hotness-still-cant-comment > Zaphod's Heart of Gold
10/01/2020 at 22:23

Or just cut out the back of the bus and call a garage-door installer. You’d even get a lock that way.

Jim Spanfeller > Mercedes Streeter
10/02/2020 at 00:15

Always wanted to try and find a cheap bus like that and then chop as much of the midsection out as possible to shorten it, chop most of the back behind the rear wheels off , and maybe chop the roof as well, weld the remaining front and back bits back together to make a super short, low bus, and sell the rest for scrap. Then run the thing in the 24 hours of Lemons. As far as I can tell, there’s no rule against stubby buses. I don’t know if I’m smart enough to build the fastest Lemons car, so I’d settle for making something memorable ;)

Jim Spanfeller > Mercedes Streeter
10/02/2020 at 00:18

Fartcan exhaust. Please put a fartcan exhaust on a school bus. Pretty please? W ith a cherry on top?

RacinBob > Mercedes Streeter
10/02/2020 at 11:15

Then you have it made. Ps - strap up that dangling exhaust!

Mercedes Streeter > RacinBob
10/02/2020 at 11:18

I did the easier thing and removed the section that was dangling. I plan on doing a side dump anyway so the exhaust was doing some of the work for me! lol

Long Tall Texas > Mercedes Streeter
10/22/2020 at 02:43

You’re living my dream, except for the letting go of the Harley thang. I’m still trying to figure out a way to take my shovelhead with me when I die!

When I first began working at a motorcycle shop back in the late ‘70s my boss had a school bus he gutted, and we used it to haul motorcycles and parts to and from swap meets. We used an old U-Haul ramp to load and unload bikes and parts.

Ever since then I’ve thought of doing just what you’re planning to do: motorcycle shop in the back and living quarters up front. It almost happened at one point - I had a line on a 65-passenger in decent condition - but I made other choices. Still have the plans I drew up, though!

Mercedes Streeter > Long Tall Texas
10/22/2020 at 09:52

I’ll have another Harley one day, but one bigger than that little Sporty 883 was. :)

Being able to have a number of my motorcycles in the same dry place with my tools and have that place be mobile was a huge motivating factor. And you just gave me an idea for a loading ramp!

It’s never too late to embark on a dream project like this. School buses are everywhere for remarkably cheap prices!