Sometimes dreams just are not meant to happen. Some things happen that we forget. Some us can’t forget because we were not around to see it in the first place. I think that our whole family remembers our school bus as something that was a storage space on wheels. It was a lot more for quite a while and it paid for it’s opportunity to rest.
Even before we tied the knot Sally and I had decided we needed an RV of some type. We had an idea on how to make a living that revolved around something I was a fool about back then. Cars and car shows. We looked into the types of RV we could get and determined that the one that would carry the most cargo was probably a school bus. We looked around and found that they were generally pretty expensive.
I called a friend of mine in Bucklin, Kansas. His name is Jim Hansen and he owned Jims Salvage. He told me that he knew of a bus that he thought he could pick up cheap and that it had a blown engine but otherwise was in pretty good shape.
Even before we tied the knot Sally and I had decided we needed an RV of some type. We had an idea on how to make a living that revolved around something I was a fool about back then. Cars and car shows. We looked into the types of RV we could get and determined that the one that would carry the most cargo was probably a school bus. We looked around and found that they were generally pretty expensive.
I called a friend of mine in Bucklin, Kansas. His name is Jim Hansen and he owned Jims Salvage. He told me that he knew of a bus that he thought he could pick up cheap and that it had a blown engine but otherwise was in pretty good shape.
A farmer had owned the bus and used it as a camper when he went hunting. The bus had been bought new in 1959 by the Bucklin Consolidated School District. It was given a mandatory retirement in 79 and the man had bought it that same day. He had converted the interior for use as an RV and used it to go hunting and fishing from then on. On one trip into north Texas it had begun to burn oil and it limped home with a hole in one of the pistons.
Life struck. The farmer suffered a heart attack shortly after the bus. He decided he was done with hunting and fishing. Therefore, he was done with the bus. He wanted $500. I almost broke my arm writing out the check based on Jim’s assessment. I knew it was worth much more than that even if we just resold. On our next trip to Kansas we got a good look and weren’t sorry at all.
The bus was a 26 foot model. It was built on the same 5 ton chassis as a farm truck would have been. Sally and I had a mutual friend who was a mechanic and he had a 350 small block chevy laying around. We bought it, I took it to Kansas, and we were in business. With the V8 replacing the six and the gears unchanged, that bus would haul just about anything.
Life struck. The farmer suffered a heart attack shortly after the bus. He decided he was done with hunting and fishing. Therefore, he was done with the bus. He wanted $500. I almost broke my arm writing out the check based on Jim’s assessment. I knew it was worth much more than that even if we just resold. On our next trip to Kansas we got a good look and weren’t sorry at all.
The bus was a 26 foot model. It was built on the same 5 ton chassis as a farm truck would have been. Sally and I had a mutual friend who was a mechanic and he had a 350 small block chevy laying around. We bought it, I took it to Kansas, and we were in business. With the V8 replacing the six and the gears unchanged, that bus would haul just about anything.
For a spell we had a ball. We drove it all over Kansas before we took off for Texas. It lost water at first and I thought the radiator rebuild had somehow been messed up. Turned out to be the the clamps on the hose. Tightened them and it worked. We drove from Ford, Kansas to Dallas, Texas and spent the night at our daughters home. Then on to Conroe.
That bus did a lot of things very well. If you needed to do a chimney (I still did Chimney Sweep work) you could put a 32 ft. ladder completely inside. For an air conditioning installation you could carry a system and all your equipment. Whatever type work you chose to do you could certainly carry the equipment. Once I even drove it across town to my job as a teacher.
That bus did a lot of things very well. If you needed to do a chimney (I still did Chimney Sweep work) you could put a 32 ft. ladder completely inside. For an air conditioning installation you could carry a system and all your equipment. Whatever type work you chose to do you could certainly carry the equipment. Once I even drove it across town to my job as a teacher.
We bought 5 acres in Grangerland and moved a home on the place. I still used the bus but tried to drive it as little as possible. I had a very heavy duty 16’ tandem trailer that I hitched behind it. When we moved, it is what moved us. When we needed building supplies that is how we got them. I do not think I could have had anything else that would have done the job without twice the trips. This spot was where it lived for over 10 years. Coincidentally the S10 in the picture shows that you do not have to be big to be mighty. It is carrying over 1500 pounds in this picture. The springs are not sagging.
If I liked this bus so much you might be asking, why was it parked for so long. Well for one thing I found myself unable to leave teaching. Special Ed is a special calling. Especially for an adult that knows firsthand about learning disabilities and ADHD. So we did not need a vehicle for working car shows. There were other things as well.
If I liked this bus so much you might be asking, why was it parked for so long. Well for one thing I found myself unable to leave teaching. Special Ed is a special calling. Especially for an adult that knows firsthand about learning disabilities and ADHD. So we did not need a vehicle for working car shows. There were other things as well.
After we moved into the new home we found that driving the bus had become a pretty iffy proposition. One of our grandsons had decided that if we could fill the gas tank with gas that he should try it with grass and dirt. It still did yeoman work preparing the new place and moving us in.
A number of things happened. The carburetor felt the need to show it could flood the bus on a whim and when least expected. The brakes showed that they could create leaks faster then man could cure them (and most mechanics wouldn’t work on a 5 ton). The price of gasoline increased greatly from the approximately $1.50 (or less) that it had been when I bought the bus. The all time high mileage on the bus was 8mpg. Added together it was worth more parked than driven.
We moved it around the pastures trying to see where it fit best. If finally wound up beside the house (above) as sort of a default choice. For over 10 years I figure it paid us back at the rate of, at least, $50 per month. It held twice as much as our $30 storage space. I tried to talk Sally into converting it to an office but she told me she hadn’t gone completely redneck in spite of me.
A number of things happened. The carburetor felt the need to show it could flood the bus on a whim and when least expected. The brakes showed that they could create leaks faster then man could cure them (and most mechanics wouldn’t work on a 5 ton). The price of gasoline increased greatly from the approximately $1.50 (or less) that it had been when I bought the bus. The all time high mileage on the bus was 8mpg. Added together it was worth more parked than driven.
We moved it around the pastures trying to see where it fit best. If finally wound up beside the house (above) as sort of a default choice. For over 10 years I figure it paid us back at the rate of, at least, $50 per month. It held twice as much as our $30 storage space. I tried to talk Sally into converting it to an office but she told me she hadn’t gone completely redneck in spite of me.
Happy as I was to have that old thing sitting beside the house life intervened again. We have a 17 year old granddaughter that is just beautiful. That means that she attracts boys and one of them turned out to be pretty mechanically inclined. I will try to find a chance to brag about her in another article but this is about the bus. The boy and his father were interested in rebuilding the bus and I let them beat me up with money and sold it to them.
I must tell you that this was not an easy decision to come to. There was a lot of work cleaning out that bus to get rid of it. I liked the kid and liked his Dad. Anyway, I lost my lease on my rolling storage building. 2 weeks work and lots of bonfires.
It would take more skill than I have as a writer to describe the skill this wrecker driver had. He is backing down a circular drive with a 25 foot schoolbus on the back of a 3/4 ton wrecker. Just know that he was surprisingly good.
I must tell you that this was not an easy decision to come to. There was a lot of work cleaning out that bus to get rid of it. I liked the kid and liked his Dad. Anyway, I lost my lease on my rolling storage building. 2 weeks work and lots of bonfires.
It would take more skill than I have as a writer to describe the skill this wrecker driver had. He is backing down a circular drive with a 25 foot schoolbus on the back of a 3/4 ton wrecker. Just know that he was surprisingly good.
I can’t say that everything worked out the way I wanted it to. Finding someone to work on the brakes was a real chore. I knew it would run anytime I wanted. They got the engine running the first day they had it. No surprise. Did I learn anything? Sure did.
I wouldn’t do this again with more than a one ton vehicle. The S10 in the picture about half way up explains that little vehicles will haul big loads. The 3/4 ton tow truck finishes that explanation. Slightly different purpose but I think a teardrop trailer behind something like my S-10 would be a better deal. I don’t regret buying it. I don’t regret letting it set. I don’t regret selling it. If fact, I don’t think I have any regrets about it at all. Had enough of those when I was young. I do wish I were a better mechanic but doubt that it would have held my focus anyway.
I wouldn’t do this again with more than a one ton vehicle. The S10 in the picture about half way up explains that little vehicles will haul big loads. The 3/4 ton tow truck finishes that explanation. Slightly different purpose but I think a teardrop trailer behind something like my S-10 would be a better deal. I don’t regret buying it. I don’t regret letting it set. I don’t regret selling it. If fact, I don’t think I have any regrets about it at all. Had enough of those when I was young. I do wish I were a better mechanic but doubt that it would have held my focus anyway.
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