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Up for sale is a 1979 MCI MC5c “Saudi Arabia” edition passenger bus that was converted into a motorhome in the early 90’s and we recently remodeled it in 2023. It has 70,700 miles in total and is titled as a motorhome, so you don’t need a CDL to drive it.
The engine was upgraded by a previous owner to a Detroit Diesel 6v92Turbo with automatic Allison transmission and runs strong without any problems. Milage on the rebuilt engine is unknow. Comes with a Garmin GPS. Has a tow hitch to pull your car or trailer. It has power steering, air brakes and an air-ride suspension.
The bus can hook up to 30 or 50 amp and everything runs off electric (no propane). There is an 8-kilowatt generator with just under 1000 hours on it that can power the entire bus, so it is self-contained if you want to go off grid as well as a 100-gallon fresh water and 100-gallon black/gray water holding tank. Two roof top mounted air conditioners that run great. Also has satellite and internet/cable hook up which we have never used. We added a weBoost cell booster to the bus.
The paint job was professionally done back when it was converted in the 90s, and it is a still in fair condition, but it does have some small dents and scratches and a few places where the paint is fading or chipped off. The interior is in great condition since we just remodeled it. There is 1” insulation in the walls and ceiling of the bus. It holds the heat well in winter. We have heated it with just an electric oil heater and it will keep it warm in temperatures in the 20-30 degree range.
We named our bus “True North” and we went with a “Northern Michigan” feel with Petoskey stone cabinet and draw pulls and well as a Petoskey stone river table. The table will come with the bus for a full price offer, otherwise we will replace it with a butcher block table or something else or just take it out.
Queen size bed in the back with a new mattress and storage space underneath the bed. Storage space behind the mirror by the headrest and also by the sides of the bed. Bunk beds in the front with storage under them. You can leave the bunk beds in or take them out and replace them with a couch or chair. Jackknife coach that folds down into a bed. We put in new foam and reupholstered it. Large microwave/convection oven and RV size fridge/freezer. Two electric stove top burners. Pull-out pantry with a pull-out trash can also. Lots of storage inside the bus and four large storage bays underneath the bus. The front bay is carpeted. Maintenance manual that you can use and tells you everything you need to know about the bus maintenance. Can come fully furnished with everything you need to hit the road if you want. Built in wooden shelves for a shoe rack in the front of the bus when you walk in. We can send you more photos or videos upon request or do a video chat tour.
We are willing to deliver it anywhere in the USA or Canada if you pay for the travel costs for us brining it there and then getting us back home. Use it as a motor home or rent it out as a vintage bus on Airbnb or use as a small guest house. Even though it is older, the bus was quality built in North America and made to go a million miles, so it is very solid and structurally sound and made of aluminum and stainless steel…definitely a “pre-covid” RV ;-)
Call or text Nathan or just reply to this post. We bought the bus for a fun renovation project and we have enjoyed traveling around the USA for the past year, but we decided to sell the bus because we have two middle schoolers and we want to get something bigger with slide outs. The bus is currently parked at a campground in Manton, Michigan.
MORE DETAILED INFO:
There were only 200 of these made and they were made with a double roof, increased cooling system, extra insulation and shipped to Saudi Arabia for an oil company (Armaco) to use to transport workers. They were made with the double roof because of the extreme heat in Saudi Arabia. After the 10-year contract, the buses were shipped back to the USA. The buses didn’t have high miles on them, because they were only used for short distances and not the normal long transit times like a motor coach in the USA would have hauling passengers long distances. This bus was then professionally converted to a motorhome in the 1990’s and we remodeled it in the spring of 2023.
Bus info:
●Height: Bus is 140 inches (11 foot, 9 inches) and includes the height of the air-conditioners
●Weight: 18,000 pounds (with no belongings in it)
●Length: 35 feet
●Engine: Detroit Diesel 6v92 Turbocharged (rebuilt engine and mileage unknown)
●Transmission: Allison automatic transmission
●Odometer: 70,700
●Gas milage: We’ve gotten 5-10 miles per gallon depending on terrain. We usually averaged 7 MPG.
●Fuel tank: 136 Gallons
Repairs and updates done in the last two years (we have receipts from the mechanic shops for the things they did)
●New Tires in 2022 by previous owner ($3,000) – currently have about 8,000 miles on them
●Remodeled in 2023
○New vinyl flooring, reupholstered couch and balances. Took out blinds and added curtains; refurbished the cabinets and put Petoskey stone pulls on them; added backsplash to kitchen; built two bunk beds and pull-out pantry with trash can; made a river table with Petoskey stones in it. Added LED lights and USB charging ports. Recarpeted the bedroom. Put new wallpaper in the bathroom and added shelving. Recalked the windows and touched up the paint. (~$6,000 not including our labor of over 500 hours)
●Four new house batteries and two new starter batteries were put in the summer of 2023 (~$1,000)
●New water pump in summer of 2023 ($80)
●Gasket fixed for the coolant leak on the engine in September of 2023, along with regular maintenance, fuel filters changed, oil changed, bus greased/lubricated, brakes checked and tightened ($1800)
●Starter, starter relay in back panel and rear passenger side airbags replaced in May 2024 - $3,300
●Passenger side Radiator re-cored in June of 2024 due to a small leak ($1,030)
●New water heart in July of 2024 ($250)
Minor problems/annoyances that we know of:
●Whether you are buying a new RV or a used one, things will go wrong. We had a family member buy a new 5th wheel and she had to take it in to the dealer 5 times in the first year. So, having said that, we have fixed most everything on the bus, but things will go wrong eventually…In all transparency, here are some of the small problems or annoyances we still know of:
●The bus has a Webasto thermal heating system. We have never used it and I don’t know if it works. We just use a small electric oil heater to heat the bus if it needs it.
●The transmission has a small drip that only drips when the engine is running. We have only had to put in 1 gallon of transmission fluid over the past year and a half and we have put about 8,000 miles on it running across the USA. I don’t think it is worth getting it looked at since the drip is so small.
●The generator works great, but you can’t start it from inside the bus, as there is a bad connection somewhere. You need to do a “MacGyver” type of trick to start it outside, but it is simple enough to do.
●The previous owner installed a backup camera; however, I have never been able to get it to work. It you want one, I would suggest just buying a wireless one for $100-200 and installing it.
●The bus runs pretty smooth and level, however when you shut it off and it sits overnight, it will lean slightly to the left. We just put stabalizer Jacks under it when parking for more than a night. This also keeps it from rocking back and forth when walking since there is no autoleveling system on it. It also keeps the weight of the bus off of the airbags and will help them to last longer.
