Has anyone converted a school bus into an expeditor?
- Thread starter zanico
- Start date
Would they even be dock height? I would be surprised if they weren't off up or down. I just don't understand the concept but I could picture hauling a bunch of rowdy 3rd graders in the box of a truck.
Thank you for the replies. The main reason would be initial start up costs. A used straight truck VS a bus, for the same money, buses can be had with 1/4 the miles. There are buses available that will run 70, maybe 75. I would think if I added a rear door, pallet can be moved with a pallet jack. I was always dumbfounded by the frontal area of a straight trucks box, just for forklift access. Do many expedite loads have double stacked pallets? I do think the floor would be slightly lower. At my last employer, our docks had those adjustable ramps, where we could load lower vehicles. Are those uncommon?
I'm just trying to understand if the concept would be workable and profitable. Even if I can build it, it's pointless if I would be able to get business.
In getting ready to start a new unrelated job that will pay well, but I think it may only be 2 to 3 years of work. I'm trying to think of my next step. If it's doable, I can build the bus before jumping into driving.
I'm just trying to understand if the concept would be workable and profitable. Even if I can build it, it's pointless if I would be able to get business.
In getting ready to start a new unrelated job that will pay well, but I think it may only be 2 to 3 years of work. I'm trying to think of my next step. If it's doable, I can build the bus before jumping into driving.
I think the days of cobbling something together and hauling expedited freight are long gone. In the past I have seen pickup trucks with home made boxes or extended wooden sides with a toppers. Window vans and vans pulling trailers.
Expediting isn't the "fly by the seat of your pants" industry it was in it's infancy. Expedite carriers require newer, well maintained and professional looking equipment. Some day the same requirements may apply to drivers. If you are latching on to a new, well paying job, save your money. If expediting still appeals to you in a few years buy a truck. If not, get a school bus. Paint it and tune in, turn on and drop out. PEACE ☮
Expediting isn't the "fly by the seat of your pants" industry it was in it's infancy. Expedite carriers require newer, well maintained and professional looking equipment. Some day the same requirements may apply to drivers. If you are latching on to a new, well paying job, save your money. If expediting still appeals to you in a few years buy a truck. If not, get a school bus. Paint it and tune in, turn on and drop out. PEACE ☮
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tknight
Veteran Expediter
Hahaha love it!
Dudes, I am UNIQUELY qualified to answer this question, because for a few years I had one customer and used a school bus converted to run on french fry grease to haul their freight. Later I wrote a college paper on the details of it - EO won't take it as an upload but PM me and I'll send it to you. It's quite a read and you'll learn something.
The short answer is NO and NO. No reputable carrier would take you on in such a vehicle. But the big problem is the bus itself. Most short and mid busses are on International 4300 chassis, the EXACT same as a billion box trucks so it isn't the weight capacity. Nor is it the height - the deck on most busses is 48" dock height or close enough. Nor is it the driveline - they get the same Cat C7s and 7.3L power strokes as anything else. Transmissions are almost all 5 and 6 speed Allisons, same as a box truck. But the ride, gearing (top speed/mileage), HVAC, handling would kill you in short order. On my bus, a 1993 International, there were 3 totally separate and independent braking systems, such that the brakes would always work....always. So in total, you could spend a lot of money and do a lot of work to make a bus into an expediter, but you'd be better off to either start with a box truck or just buy something already done.
The short answer is NO and NO. No reputable carrier would take you on in such a vehicle. But the big problem is the bus itself. Most short and mid busses are on International 4300 chassis, the EXACT same as a billion box trucks so it isn't the weight capacity. Nor is it the height - the deck on most busses is 48" dock height or close enough. Nor is it the driveline - they get the same Cat C7s and 7.3L power strokes as anything else. Transmissions are almost all 5 and 6 speed Allisons, same as a box truck. But the ride, gearing (top speed/mileage), HVAC, handling would kill you in short order. On my bus, a 1993 International, there were 3 totally separate and independent braking systems, such that the brakes would always work....always. So in total, you could spend a lot of money and do a lot of work to make a bus into an expediter, but you'd be better off to either start with a box truck or just buy something already done.
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This PDF of all the gory details of the Lard Bus should work. It's a long read, but worth it. You'll learn a lot about trucks, busses, and lard.
You can read the paper for the fully skinny, but the short answer is I junked it, still running. But to add something to the OP, used school buses are the bargain of the century though useless for expediting. They are religiously maintained, massively overbuilt, and many school systems just dump them after 10 years. As a source for ultra low mileage engines and transmissions for straight trucks, they are dirt cheap.
You can read the paper for the fully skinny, but the short answer is I junked it, still running. But to add something to the OP, used school buses are the bargain of the century though useless for expediting. They are religiously maintained, massively overbuilt, and many school systems just dump them after 10 years. As a source for ultra low mileage engines and transmissions for straight trucks, they are dirt cheap.
Great read! Informative and entertaining. Thank you for sharing. Maybe we shouldn't have been so hard on cbear for his idea of converting a school bus into an expedited freight hauler. To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway: It's not always the destination but the journey that matters in the end. Of course in expediting it is the destination that matters. But why not have some fun along the way.
