Hi all,


Not quite strictly a Ford truck, but I'm looking into doing the bus camper thing. One of the ones I'm looking at getting is a ~22 passenger/6 window IHI 6.9l short bus. Pic is attached. Engine was rebuilt recently, new 5 speed clutch. My big concern if I'm going to be driving this thing around a bunch of places is how much it's going to cost to drive. Does anyone know what sort of gas mileage it's likely to get? I know the axle gearing ratio will make a big difference, but I'm not sure how or where to look to find that. I attached a picture of the exterior of the bus, and here's a link to a gallery of pics I took underneath the bus and of the tires (btw--never used big tires like these, are the cracks on them a safety concern like they would be on small tires?)


Thanks




https://postimg.org/gallery/3dyu4v3sq/

 

Welcome to FTE.

Can't really tell how good the tires are from your pics. I didn't see anything obviously bad. It appears they are tube type tires--not a plus imo.

And Dayton wheels, another "not a plus" item.

Fuel economy? I would bet on 11 to14 mpg at fairly slow speeds. If you aren't in a hurry, this might be the rig for you.

How far and wide have you searched? How does this compare to what you see, and how close is it to what you really want?

 

Thread moved to Large Truck forum.

I'm hoping you can get some answers here.

 

Thanks! New here, wasn't sure where was best

 

If you are concerned about fuel economy........................... This bus probably will get 6-9MPG. and if you need to do repairs on this.....nothing will be cheap.

 

Looks like a cool old bus.
The Dayton type rims are easy to change yourself out on the road as the rim and tyre separate from the mass of the hub (spiders we call them downunder). Check for alignment when reinstalling the rims back onto the hubs.
Tubed tyres on the back aren't really a problem but I would buy new tubeless for the steers. I couldn't tell from your pictures what size tyres they are 20's 22's etc.or condition.
Rear axle looks like a R series (out of product) Rockwell but information can be found via the link. Pinion on the rear axle will have the final drive ratio stamped on it or if its still there a steel tag is attached besides the housing.


https://www.meritor.com/productsands...s/default.aspx

 

MPG is surely under 10. As stated gear ratio should be listed on a tag. They are usually about an inch high and 3 inches wide. The numbers on the front of the pinion shaft should have the part number and ratio. 11-43 equals 11 pinon teeth and 43 on the ring gear. 43 divided by 11 equals a 3.91 ratio. There is another way if you find no info and or can you drive it. Your tires are 9:00-20's. They can be replaced with 11R-22.5 tires and tubeless rims on the front. The cracks are not as big a deal as a car tire, the side wall is about 3/4' thick. How old are they? It is on the tire! Last 4 of the DOT# is the build date. 3109 was made the 31 first week of 2009. They used to use a three number code and 319 could be the 31 first week of 1999, 89, or 79. Don't remember when it changed but don't like to run them over 10 years even on the back.

 

An IH parts guy worth his salt can tell tell the factory ratio by the last eight of the vin.
Some where around a 3:70 or 90 would probably do well. If it is geared around the 5:00 area it is a city buss and would kill you on the road.

 

When I looked into the bus camper thing it seems the vast majority of what was available to me was geared for city.

I asked a few bus drivers what kind of mpg I could expect and was told in the 5-8mpg range.

The Camper bus project ended pretty much there and I bought an Excursion because it would get much better mpg on the open road.

You read that right, I bought a v10 Excursion because it would get much better mileage.

So from what I learned the gearing on these buses is probably THE most important thing to look into.

This is also why my Excursion is called "Schoolbus"

 

Is this a Ford bus w/a Navistar 6.9L diesel or it an International bus?

If this is a Ford, an IHC parts guy probably won't be able to decode the VIN and...

If it's a Ford, there is no AXLE info within the 17 digit VIN .. The AXLE code is printed by itself on the Certification Label.

The 10th digit of the VIN decodes to the year, the 11th digit decodes to the assembly plant and the last 6 digits is the Numerical Sequence of Assembly.

 

I said that because I thank it's a binder. Hood from outside and headlight bucket look like an S model. Would a Ford with a 6.9 should have had gerlinger brakes, not a trans park brake.
Did not push the your in the wrong place issue because many people thank 6.9 and 7.3's are Ford engines. He did go correct way in the end.

 

As I recall: In 1979, IHC was close to bankruptcy. FoMoCo made a deal with them to develop a V8 diesel, giving them seed money that saved the company, renamed Navistar.

6.9L Navistar diesel introduced in 1983 F250/350.