Hey sister,welcome home.About that bus,its truly convience on the road but if it breaks down it can be and will be very costly.probably more than the great deal you paid for.A few years back after phat boys kitchen was comeing out of New Mexico to Cal.,they broke down.I saw the cry out for help and its post was up for several weeks asking.How it all turned out I never heard but the problem was a blown head gasket...an 8 dollar part.I plan the same move as you are,also consider gas/dieasle.Currantly I'm doing local gatherings and by bike with a trailor-I'm talking a bicycle,time is always on your hand and people love to hear tales when you pull in a service station or store somewhere.Drop a line and maybe I can be of further help.Been on the road16 years and live in Florida where the 1st regional starts Febuary 14th.Peace and love

i will give you my opinion if this will help. I did research as to what i truly wanted and i will start in the beginning.
1. i wanted a vehicle that would travel on some of the back roads without damage
2. with a school bus they are designed to be driven on some rough roads to pick up children
3. metro buses are not made to be driven on anything but paved streets
4. school buses are built on heavy truck chasis's
5. i picked a older one because it ran on gas and gas is easier to find when times are tough than diesel
6. needed a bus shorter than 30 feet as this is the limit in some national parks and trailer parks
7. the school busses are well maintained by school districts as they are government institutions
8. mielage on them is usually not severe as they are driven in the mornings and the afternoon as metro busses are driven all day long and taken over by another driver without rest
9. the base needed by most states is 26000 pounds to obtain a special license and so make sure it is a gvw of less than 26000 lbs.
10. i found that school busses are generally less expensive than metro busses to buy and usually have lower mileage. you will see what i mean by looking on e bay.
11. i did not want a van as if i am going to have to be stuck between 4 walls i wanted room enough to stretch out and to stand up and move around.
12. the school busses have to meet very rigid requirements for roll over that metro busses do not and most metro busses do not have a frame as they are unibody where as school busses have full length truck frames and suspensions and brakes.


i hope this helps some and if you have any questions give me a shout i am happy to help
larry