Champion Contender 1996

RV and bus conversion info since 1996.

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Champion Contender 1996

Home > Discussion Forum > Bus Conversions - Transit

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All Messages in Thread	Author	Date
Champion Contender 1996	Rob P	1-27-08
I am thinking of buying this bus for a conversion. It is a 31' bus with a rear cummins 8.3L, MT643 with 90K on it, year 1996, it should have the P7100 bosch injector. it does not have a retarder or turbo, rated at 230hp which is a little extra muscle for a 31' shuttle. My understanding is that it was a university campus shuttle. The conversion is purely for vacationing1-2 days to max 1 week at a time with time spent in hotels/motels as much as possible. i would consider the money worth it if it goes on trips 3-4 times a year. The reason to do this is that it has an undercarraige wheelchair lift that can get an elderly family member in and out of the vehicle and also design the insides that suit our (mainly the elderly indiviuals) requirements. I have looked at buying diesel pushers, even high end, but the floorplans are so generic that it seems that they are for everyone and no one in particular. the body is Ok, but apparently there was a small water leak, which needs to be fixed. it has perimeter seating that will need to be removed and hopefully the box like things that the seats rest on. Some of the issues are: 1. where do you put the tanks? generator? propane? Do you get some sort of brackets manufactured and welded? Is there space under a bus of that size? i have of course crawled underneath but can't get a decent sense of the space. Can you get rid of the AC unit and put a couple of roof ACs and that will create some space. 2. There are two doors, one next to the driver and one in the middle, both are double, swing types. They will need to be re-framed. Does that work out OK? 3.can you install a retarder on MT643? I have seen places on internet that promise to do that, but what is the community's experience on such a modification. 4.Are there places where you can outsource some of the stuff like plumbing. 5. Almost all the short transit/shuttle buses I have seen have a wheelbase/length of about 50%. The RV.org people will have a fit with that number. Is the driving going to be dangerous? 6. how safe are these buses compared to school buses? Do they have stringent requirements (at least some rollover/laydown protection) or are they made of tin foil and plastic like the RVs? 7.Any red flags? Be frank. I have doubts about my ability to complete the project. Fortunately a noncompletion will not matter financially, only with the ego. 8. How much do you think the price of the bus as it is I should not go over?