Bought a School Bus with ONLY 90,000 Miles! What Could Possibly go Wrong?

We bought another school bus! This one is for a friend from Patreon who has been looking for a bus over the past 3 years. He knew what he wanted in a school bus and toured enough skoolies to figure it out. Finally this 2007 Thomas Frightliner came on the market and he was the first to contact the seller and closed the deal.
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[@critterkarma]

Congrats Brian & Mike! But Dude, finish IVAN!!! 😂😂😂

[@navigationnowhere]

Haha next three videos will be Ivan. Inside is painted, poly’ed and solar is going in this week.

[@critterkarma]

@@navigationnowhere 👏👏👏👏😁❣️

[@NickolasBrungardt]

Brian was fortunate to find a Bus in such good condition and with so little rust problems. Happy to see you again Mike!

[@navigationnowhere]

Thanks, he spent a few years looks for that one

[@chrlsraines]

For those interested the term is “Pre-trip Inspection” you’re checking fluid levels, tire pressure, tire treads and condition, lugs, tie rods, steering components, belts, brake and fuel lines, checking for leaks, air pressure if equipped w air brakes, lights signals, anything that could make it UNSAFE to drive down the road.

[@navigationnowhere]

Thanks for sharing the list!

[@timamyett9679]

Congrats....I know that feeling ... It's a little dangerous to be too in love with something ...makes you vulnerable. My bus has the D444e ...basically the same as the Ford 7.3. One of the best engines for a small bus ..... Because parts availability, longevity, customize able. relatively easy for do it yourself maintenance.

[@KevinGastonSR.]

Pretty sure that was one of my fleet, when I worked for illinois central that was sold in Indiana. Strange I stumbled onto this video. Congrats on the purchase. If it's same bus, trans was replaced in 2014 or 15. Driver had OCD for cleaning inside bus but a great lady

[@SnowAndrews]

WHY is Diesel MORE Expoensive than PETROL (Gasoline) in U$A ?? USA is weird ! Most places Diesel in cheeper !!

[@SunnyGlasgow]

excellent bus, well done guys, hope Brian keeps fit and strong to enjoy it, looking forward to see how he gets on 👍

[@navigationnowhere]

He has plans to finish the build before he retires in a few years

[@grayeagleswolves]

Hi Michael that was a Screaming deal may be you should camp out their and help do the conversion lol

[@navigationnowhere]

I have Ivan to finish. I have 2 videos filmed already. Maybe once it’s done.

[@isaacturnerit]

I love the excitement getting a new bus. Congrats guys

[@navigationnowhere]

It’s always exciting right! Keep it up on the west coast

[@isaacturnerit]

@@navigationnowhere will do brah

[@redsky8509]

new tires every 5 years, check the tire "born on date"

[@jeffforbess6802]

Tire places won’t touch them after three. $5k.

[@DonaldChapman]

Brian, I would think about using the storage area to put all the water/electrical etc. I would out the electrical on a huge slide out. I think it will make the serviceability much easier. Congratulations on the super find!

[@navigationnowhere]

That’s a good idea if it was on slides. Way easier on the back!

[@NomadicHooker]

I can honestly say, if I had underbelly storage, it's getting used for storage, not my utilities. Maybe a small section could be used for my electrical on a slide out for sure, but I want the storage to be just that. I'm planning on a 80-100 gallon fresh water tank and it'll be under the bed in the back off to the side, or maybe 2 40-50 gallon tanks on each side up tight against the side walls to balance the weight and no worries of freezing or getting hot. Gray water will be underneath but not in a storage bay.

[@davidklenk5253]

Is Brian going to have Instagram or KZbin posts?

[@navigationnowhere]

I don’t think he has anything. I will be updating everyone on this bus. I see Brian throughout the year

[@bjornsoderlund8123]

Soo cool Congratulations mr Brian. Hi from Sweden 😊

[@gingerjolley9027]

Happy Trails Brian!

[@namtr0]

Never know what you'll get. Got mine off a gut feel with 499k miles got it home 5 hours no issue and found New dpf, both engine and trans replaced at 320k. Was so excited

[@CurtisDrew1]

Here's a tip to all you scoolie bus builders. When you strip out the seating, remove the seat covers off the seat backs. Then, use them to cover your tires when parked to keep the uv damage at a minimum. Slit the backs up about half way so they will fit over the axles in the back. Just remove them and fold them up when you get ready to travel again. And you can sell the excess ones you didn't need to us RV guys. They fit perfectly over the large tires and will last so for years. I have 2 on my trailer that have lasted 10 years so far. Wish I had 10 more for my 3 axle bus and other side of my car trailer.

[@NYTROeast]

Mike what's your opinion on a 2009 BlueBird C7 Caterpillar Motor with 106,000 miles. Have all the seats, and old floor removed all windows, cleaned and removed all old seals, and Lexel'd each window. Walls are insulated with rigid board and reflectix vapor barrier and they are asking $6,500

[@navigationnowhere]

Doesn’t sound horrible but chassis and engine would set the price on that one.

[@pinkladybikermamma3603]

WHOOO AN ALISION 2500 SCORED.

[@navigationnowhere]

He found the bus

[@jeffforbess6802]

What could go wrong? Just everything. It’s a school bus. It’s built to be safe, not reliable. I drove one for 8 yrs. We had a whole motor pool just to keep them running. Good luck.

[@MichelleCouplandHairStudio]

Congratulations 🎉🎊🎈🍾 Brian looking forward to see your build

[@navigationnowhere]

I’ll have a few updates once he gets going

[@luckywarriorakabonnies.1855]

Congratulations Brian on your new find. Great job Mike helping him. I just got brave 3 weeks ago and bought a small 4 window bus and have started the renovations. All brand new tires ( 7 total) with the spare. Can't wait to get it on the road. It will be a simple build cause on a very small budget. Will try to add a picture later.

[@sjf67gto]

Nice bus, Freightliner so it's probably a Cummins engine? So how much did he pay for the bus?

[@navigationnowhere]

It has the MBE 900

[@ryanbarker5217]

tons of school bus pre-trip videos to watch to really get an idea of what to check especially for the brakes. there are a lot of hills where i drive as a school bus driver, i'm always looking at my air tank pressures.

[@jms60]

I been looking for Handicap bus i have one leg want build out as camper

[@t.ellevee-vu8vz]

Sweet! I will be so happy when I reach my goal of getting a Thomas International dognose skoolie to make my very own dream home/art studio. This one looks a lot like what I dream of.

[@JAdams-yb7we]

I got a 2002 dog nose with 131k miles and a dt466e for sale in awesome shape.....

[@t.ellevee-vu8vz]

@@JAdams-yb7we wish I could buy...Going through a rut right now. If it is in good shape, someone will probably buy it very soon.

[@jeffysmith4762]

I got mine with 83k

[@navigationnowhere]

Thats a good find.

[@jackfntwist]

Did you lose a bus somewhere along the way, which is still totally unresolved with your viewers? Lol.

[@navigationnowhere]

It will be haha. I have been working on it in the background. Day job takes over sometimes 😂

[@jackfntwist]

@@navigationnowhere 🤣

[@navigationnowhere]

Next two videos are what your looking for haha

[@kishdogg1594]

How much does a bus like this cost ?

[@navigationnowhere]

You can find buses around 4-6k these days

[@timsimmons5190]

Haha . I had one of these as my first bus when I started. Fastest buses we had. They were goverb to 70

[@Hi-sx3uy]

Everything

[@jeanbuckley5917]

I’m in nj , when u go to register the bus, do you bring it through to an inspection station?

[@joemelton7023]

You drove a car there. What happened to it? Swapped? Lol

[@navigationnowhere]

I didn't film it but we had a swap later that weekend. I figured no one would want to watch me drive home haha.

[@cindygray4533]

🎊🎉🙈🙊 let's go 🙋‍♀️

[@navigationnowhere]

He is going to have quite the project ahead of him

[@MollyMiaAndMe]

You made me laugh “I will turn this bus around” 😂 I drive a school bus full time for my job. My regular run is really good! But when my school is off, and I have to do a middle school run…I threaten the same thing to the kids! They won’t stay in their seats!

[@navigationnowhere]

“Keep you tushy on the cushie” is what my bus driver in middle school use to say.

[@deangrande7207]

Having air brakes is he going to need a CDL in Illinois ?

[@frankporcaro730]

Do you need a cdl to plate it and register and insure it for transport

[@NomadicHooker]

Sounding like the rear gear ratio is going to be very similar to my Blue Bird with the Allison 2500 and 11R22.5 tires. It's a 5.29 ratio and I love it. So many want that taller gear ratio. NOOOOOOO, not when you have an OD transmission. You have the OD for highway speed. My bus will do 80 comfortably as it's not governed and we do have 75 and 80mph turnpikes. I normally keep it at 75 unless I'm getting around a semi governed at 73-74 mph and I don't want to take 2 years and 20 miles to get around him and piss off the traffic doing 95-100 behind me. You want that big # ratio in the 5's so you can keep your torque multiplier to the ground and not have to give up to much speed climbing hills and such and pulling that weight putting a bigger strain on your engine and powertrain. Gear ratio in the 5's and OD Allison with the lock up converter to keep the trans cool is exactly what you should want.

[@aristothethrone9032]

I swear he looks like that actor Austin Nichols.

[@viarnay]

90k miles for a diesel is nothing..

[@tomwilliam5118]

Did Brian by the bus before both of you inspected it

[@tomwilliam5118]

Where do you speak quickly

[@southernrebel159]

Good deal Bryan, it looks like a good bus. And Mike, I have an '86 international bluebird short bus. With less than 84,000 original miles That I would allow you to assist me in converting down here in Alabama. I know you would enjoy it very much. 😂😂😂😂

[@rossallen738]

Hey, I have virtually the same bus. Its a 2006 Thomas Freightliner C2. It has the MBE906 with an Allison 2500. You mentioned you have spare parts and such for the engine. What spare parts should I have? Mine has been sitting for longer than ideal, but the bus is nearly done with the conversion and I want to make sure I have the pieces I need to make the engine healthy. I havent had any problems... I do need to replace batteries and the tires eventually, but other than that it seems good. What parts and part numbers should I have? I have found it really hard to verify that I get the right parts for the MBE enginees.

[@tom-ss2mn]

Awesome bus

[@leehouston5436]

Yooooo brothers

[@navigationnowhere]

New bus build starting. I’ll get a update from him in the future

[@joeyvast]

What kind of Engine does the Bus have?

[@navigationnowhere]

Mbe 900

[@ronaldsnider8078]

Fl. As all those rules about sits and title will be a bus until the change. Then we can apply for a Rec. MonkeyVroom

[@johnclamshellsp1969]

Also, if your steering wheel has slop or feels loose, you can get a steering shaft U joint repair kit for $88 at the Freightliner dealer. 2.5 hrs to replace.

[@gingerjolley9027]

Too funny! Mike, you make me feel better about my collection.....wrote too soon ....all good though

[@navigationnowhere]

If your talking about a collection of rigs. We now have four at the shop haha 😂

[@gingerjolley9027]

@@navigationnowhere I was. I need to get busy thinning my collection so I can focus on the keepers....

[@navigationnowhere]

@@gingerjolley9027 Thats almost a impossible task haha

[@gingerjolley9027]

@@navigationnowhere so true

[@johnclamshellsp1969]

You should put a scanner on the PCM, and look at the data to see the real mileage. 99% of those Atec speedos have been replaced.

[@Nivasi]

woohoo Congrats! PA : go online and fill out specific form, print then take to dvm and register as motorhome.

[@navigationnowhere]

Thanks for the tip if anyone is in PA !

[@Nivasi]

@@navigationnowhere the form is MV - 41

[@Nonchalant213]

Congratulations on a awesome boss

[@navigationnowhere]

He got a good one

[@PeaceJourney...]

Congratulations Brian! I looked for a year before I found mine, so worth the wait!

[@navigationnowhere]

I think he waited for exactly what he wanted and it showed up ! It’s always pays to wait

[@PeaceJourney...]

@navigationnowhere I had a list in mind of what I wanted, and to check all those boxes on the list was so worth it 👌 😍

[@liddyliddylab]

congrats! thanks for sharing!

[@navigationnowhere]

He got a good bus and it will be cool to see how it turns out.

[@bryonmason6330]

Come on down to Tennessee. We'll hook you up.

[@toddjohnston4788]

Congratulations Brian 😊

[@redsky8509]

what class drivers license will you need for a bus that big?

[@jeffforbess6802]

It’s non-commercial, so none. DOT licenses are for commercial only.

[@chrlsraines]

With air brakes, the system has to build air pressure past 60 psi to release the parking/emerg brakes. If the pressure drops (leaks) below 60 psi the parking/emerg brakes automatically engage and the vehicle can not move.

[@navigationnowhere]

His system doesn't seem to have any leaks. I hope he just keeps up on the maintenance and this bus will keep rolling.

[@ryanbarker5217]

the brake shouldn't pop until 40psi or below. the alarm should go off before that.

[@bigbearontherun6441]

Congratulations

[@doghouse416]

OOOOOO that's a Rusty bus. Remember,...rust NEVER sleeps, it never stops eating, and there's places that you can't sand blast it off. You should have gotten a Georgia or Florida bus. You'll spend your life, on your back trying to stop that rust,........and you can't stop it, you can only hope that it stays strong enough before you sell it to another,....or scrap it.

[@davidhoover8877]

You should have mentioned to everyone to do their best to buy anything but a Thomas or Freightliner anything. I own both a Thomas school bus and a Freightliner M2 series truck and WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER THOMAS OR F.L.

[@Skips1964]

That's great, but you should explain why.

[@davidowen888]

Yea I bought a thomas from Ohio a tad bit Crusty 🤏 but I was really appalled by the construction of and to think they were to be carrying our kids had me scratchin my head😮