my wife, son and myself are thinking of embarking on a memorable family adventure along aus east coast - i built my own home and I believe i can pull off a high quality bus conversion in about 2 months - however I'm seeking advice - is it hard fitting a 11mtr bus in campsites? if i had the option for a 8.5mtr bus should i opt for that - my goal would be to have it off grid capable but we'd likely spend 1/3 of the trip in campgrounds to use facilities so i need to know how limiting a big rig is?
perhaps the larger bus makes it harder to access black water disposals?
Also id be eventually hoping to sell the bus as a luxury conversion so for resale would i be better off with a bigger rig?
Regards Cory
Dougwe said
09:56 PM Jan 10, 2017
Welcome to the gang Cory and Co, enjoy here and out in the playground.
A lot of parks have very tight spots to get into so think, look and book ahead when possible. Maybe even do a ringaround to a few parks asking about getting a big bus in, make out you are thinking of booking as they might not give you the time of day.
Peter_n_Margaret said
12:21 AM Jan 11, 2017
There is no question that the bigger you are, the harder some places are to access. They are also heavier, and heavier means more likelihood to bog while looking for that special camp site off the black top.
Technically, it is illegal to park heavy vehicles in streets for more than 1 hour. The bigger you are, the more you will be noticed.
Go the smaller unit!
Cheers,
Peter
macka17 said
12:44 AM Jan 11, 2017
Hi.
Where r u?
Reason. Local bus co owner is retiring and has several buses coming on market.
Small and large.
Small are 29ish seaters. 1 x Mitzi. 1 or 2 Toyota, and 1 x Mercedes.
The Merc are Fibreglass bodies, so no problems with rust?.
Which most buses seem prone to from what I've seen. Specially the Toyota's.
I was actually thinking about the Merc. but Nah.
Wouldn't use it nowadays.
Small cheap disposable van more practical.
I'd think it would be getting harder to sell larger rigs for running\Maint costs alone.
apart from parking spaces and access to coastal parks?.
There seems? to be a lot on the market and not many turning over.
Best of luck. Whichever way you go.
dragonfly1 said
09:08 AM Jan 11, 2017
Our motorhome is 8 meters long and we would not want any bigger as would be to hard parking in towns supermarkets and a lot of the tracks into free camps can be a bit tight. Would be a lot more expensive to run and maintain
Dragonfly 1
Aus-Kiwi said
10:58 AM Jan 11, 2017
9m is ok . Fills two car spots . Plus the wheel base is shorter, turning circle is quite good .. Compared to trucks . I have Fuso 9m for sale .
Sanderlander said
12:41 PM Jan 11, 2017
Hi guys thank you so much for all your responses
macka17 i am in the hunter valley wine country in NSW :) hiccup
Dough thanks for the advise about calling ahead
Aus-Kiwi - 9 m would be sweet my garage is 9.5 m so i could squeeze it in there too
my wife and i have been using masking tape in our lounge room to see if we can fit the space and we are really battling with this decision the larger buses give us the space we believe we require (granted we realistically don't need as much space we just want it haha)
but then the smaller buses have better access to sites and parking - sam my wife didn't say it verbally but i know the thing that she is excited about is sitting by the lake/ocean and bigger buses wouldn't give her those water views as often
the other issue we are battling with is that i am a videographer and i would do the odd job on the road - so i would need to either hitch a small car, hitch a vespa or my wife would need to travel in a seperate car between stops
this makes me consider caravans since i would need a vehicle anyway and theres less risk since there will be less mechanical issues with a caravan
i would need a 23ft caravan and i would want to add/setup an annex every stop ... but then i can't stealth camp or stay at truck stops etc aaah such a hard decision because i very attracted to making the space suit my lifestyle and family needs - i could go with an off the shelf layout
my last question for this thread would be to all the bus drivers big and small - what are your running costs - fuel per 100klms and how often engine trouble happens - i know theres always the possibility of lemons but whats a realistic expectation for older bus servicing/repair costs
also if someone could from their experience let me know if they have had to do an engine rebuild on a bus - what did it cost them - that would be something i would be fearful of
thanks again for those helpful responses above
Aus-Kiwi said
02:30 PM Jan 11, 2017
We don't go through any more fuel than van and station wagon . Busses tend to have commercial type engines ., if they start run fine and don't smoke . Chances are it'll last for years ! I cannot say the same for modern 4 cyl diesels ! With their high power outputs etc . Think I like with motorhome is the fre camping security . We have owed a little Subaru behind on A frame ..
Vince said
11:10 AM Jan 12, 2017
Sanderlander wrote:
my last question for this thread would be to all the bus drivers big and small - what are your running costs - fuel per 100klms and how often engine trouble happens - i know theres always the possibility of lemons but whats a realistic expectation for older bus servicing/repair costs
Hi Cory
I drive buses (local STA) for a living and as to the question on fuel, our retired Mercedes Mk4 and 5's had a 9L 6cyl motor that drank on average 45L/100Km.
But this is stop start city driving and perhaps better mileage might happen be on long distance runs.
Our you beaut Volvo BLE have a 12L 6cyl motor that does 60L/100Km city driving but these would exceed your desired length
If you are looking at buying a bus the Government buses site has Mercedes Mk4 and 5 for sale at random times and they are fully reconditioned prior to sale
Havnt really done a fuel check on our motorhomes . Having large tanks we don't fill up to top when home to fi d out . From Penrith to Adelaide is about $300 with a bit a sight seeing , zig zagging on the way around coast etc . Take off what camping fees and we're doing well . 2 or 3 days to get there . I guess we could have saved $50 going direct ? One part was a very strong head wind so slowed down to 70 - 80 kph . To maintain 100 kph you knew the wind resistance as auto wanted to change down . So obviously cruising at 80 kph in top on lighter throttle gives way better economy !!
Hi forum
Cory here happy to admit I'm new to the forum
my wife, son and myself are thinking of embarking on a memorable family adventure along aus east coast - i built my own home and I believe i can pull off a high quality bus conversion in about 2 months - however I'm seeking advice - is it hard fitting a 11mtr bus in campsites? if i had the option for a 8.5mtr bus should i opt for that - my goal would be to have it off grid capable but we'd likely spend 1/3 of the trip in campgrounds to use facilities so i need to know how limiting a big rig is?
perhaps the larger bus makes it harder to access black water disposals?
Also id be eventually hoping to sell the bus as a luxury conversion so for resale would i be better off with a bigger rig?
Regards Cory
A lot of parks have very tight spots to get into so think, look and book ahead when possible. Maybe even do a ringaround to a few parks asking about getting a big bus in, make out you are thinking of booking as they might not give you the time of day.
Technically, it is illegal to park heavy vehicles in streets for more than 1 hour. The bigger you are, the more you will be noticed.
Go the smaller unit!
Cheers,
Peter
Where r u?
Reason. Local bus co owner is retiring and has several buses coming on market.
Small and large.
Small are 29ish seaters. 1 x Mitzi. 1 or 2 Toyota, and 1 x Mercedes.
The Merc are Fibreglass bodies, so no problems with rust?.
Which most buses seem prone to from what I've seen. Specially the Toyota's.
I was actually thinking about the Merc. but Nah.
Wouldn't use it nowadays.
Small cheap disposable van more practical.
I'd think it would be getting harder to sell larger rigs for running\Maint costs alone.
apart from parking spaces and access to coastal parks?.
There seems? to be a lot on the market and not many turning over.
Best of luck. Whichever way you go.
Our motorhome is 8 meters long and we would not want any bigger as would be to hard parking in towns supermarkets and a lot of the tracks into free camps can be a bit tight. Would be a lot more expensive to run and maintain
Dragonfly 1
macka17 i am in the hunter valley wine country in NSW :) hiccup
Dough thanks for the advise about calling ahead
Aus-Kiwi - 9 m would be sweet my garage is 9.5 m so i could squeeze it in there too
my wife and i have been using masking tape in our lounge room to see if we can fit the space and we are really battling with this decision the larger buses give us the space we believe we require (granted we realistically don't need as much space we just want it haha)
but then the smaller buses have better access to sites and parking - sam my wife didn't say it verbally but i know the thing that she is excited about is sitting by the lake/ocean and bigger buses wouldn't give her those water views as often
the other issue we are battling with is that i am a videographer and i would do the odd job on the road - so i would need to either hitch a small car, hitch a vespa or my wife would need to travel in a seperate car between stops
this makes me consider caravans since i would need a vehicle anyway and theres less risk since there will be less mechanical issues with a caravan
i would need a 23ft caravan and i would want to add/setup an annex every stop ... but then i can't stealth camp or stay at truck stops etc aaah such a hard decision because i very attracted to making the space suit my lifestyle and family needs - i could go with an off the shelf layout
my last question for this thread would be to all the bus drivers big and small - what are your running costs - fuel per 100klms and how often engine trouble happens - i know theres always the possibility of lemons but whats a realistic expectation for older bus servicing/repair costs
also if someone could from their experience let me know if they have had to do an engine rebuild on a bus - what did it cost them - that would be something i would be fearful of
thanks again for those helpful responses above
Hi Cory
I drive buses (local STA) for a living and as to the question on fuel, our retired Mercedes Mk4 and 5's had a 9L 6cyl motor that drank on average 45L/100Km.
But this is stop start city driving and perhaps better mileage might happen be on long distance runs.
Our you beaut Volvo BLE have a 12L 6cyl motor that does 60L/100Km city driving but these would exceed your desired length
If you are looking at buying a bus the Government buses site has Mercedes Mk4 and 5 for sale at random times and they are fully reconditioned prior to sale
https://www.statetransit.info/bus-fleet/buses-for-sale
Cheers
Vince