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Short Bus

4K views 21 replies 20 participants last post by  ELFJ40 
#1 ·
So how well would a short bus work for a tow rig?

I've had my eye on a '99 E-350 with a PSD with just over 150K miles, and the price seems reasonable at $2500. It seems imaculate inside and out, and i always wanted to have one of these ever since i quit riding them to school. :teehee:

Even has a wheelchair lift that could be used for loading big heavy things.

Obviously i would have to fab up a hitch assembly, but no big deal.

My main concern would be the really short wheelbase.
 
#7 ·
Only thing I could think of is the ridiculously steep differential gear busses tend to have in them as they are mostly designed for around town surface streets. I would think you would run out of RPMs pretty quick after 55-60mph.

The only reason I say this is any school bus Ive been on always shifts up pretty early and seems to be in 3rd gear by 20 or so mph, i chalked this up to having a silly tall rear end gear. I certainly dont konw what gear they yours is equipped with, just something to look out for I guess.
 
#12 ·
I would not be concerned with the wheel base. I tow all the time with my K1500 full size 4x4 Blazer with a 6.5 Turbo Diesel in it... no issues towing cars, boats, trucks, equipment, etc.
 
#13 ·
Do it.

Seriously.....

Or just get a real bus, then take the back of it and do this to it....



I think a short bus would be a great rig though. The lack of 4wd would kind of suck for muddy parking areas and whatnot, but a decent locker and a set of decent mudders would fix that, or you could do a 4x4 conversion on one....

Oh man, I gotta go....I'm gettin all sorts of fun ideas....
 
#14 ·
Theres a guy from the we got mud site that has a short bus... pulls his big dumb mud truck.

I just remember seeing him come flying in and locking up the tires and sliding......

You can also find older Uhaul trucks. Cut the box off it and have a nice steel bed.
 
#20 ·
Well, this is what I've used for the past couple of years. 94 e-350 7.3 idi diesel, auto, d70 rear. It has a 13ft bed area for my jeep, or whatever else I want to haul. Pulling two jeeps I get around 9 mpg. It has a heavy duty leaf pack so it only drops about 3 inches with the jeep on. It also has enough room behind the front seats to put a full size sofa or air mattress. Great for camping in if the weather gets bad. Here are a couple pics.

Oh, it's currrently for sale too!
 

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