How to transport non running bus conversion?
Yes, another one of those questions that I'm sure has been covered a million times, but I can't think of the proper keywords to use, thus I'm getting a ton of hits on people wanting to use the coach as a tow vehicle, and not towing the coach itself.
While perusing Craigslist, and dreaming of things well beyond my budget, I came across an old GMC conversion bus, and the wheels started spinning in my head :D This particular one has blown head gaskets according to the owner, and is approx 300 miles away on the other side of a mountain range, so it's not something I'd want to attempt to nurse home with a bunch of water with me.
Realistically, having never owned a diesel before, and certainly not having any experience with such an animal, I don't see myself taking this particular animal on as a project, but it did get me thinking - how do you transport something like this in the case of catastrophic failure? I'm sure it's not something I could call AAA on, lol. I looked at the Good Sam towing plan, and while it's unlimited distance, it's also to the "nearest service center", which wouldn't do me a whole lot of good as I'd want it as my house for repairs.
Would this be the kind of thing to call a heavy duty towing service for, or would I be looking at transport specific services? I found one heavy tow company in South Dakota that listed rates (though I'm in Arizona, I was just looking for listed rates to use to get a general idea of what this kind of stuff would cost) - $200 hook up charge, $3.50/mile, and $100/every half hour after the first half hour. One way costs at this point add up to $2045. I'm also assuming that if I was to contact a towing service, either by the coach, or from my side of town, that I'd probably be getting at least a mileage charge both ways, which would bring the total to almost 4 grand...suddenly the "good deal" seems like less of a good deal, lol.
While perusing Craigslist, and dreaming of things well beyond my budget, I came across an old GMC conversion bus, and the wheels started spinning in my head :D This particular one has blown head gaskets according to the owner, and is approx 300 miles away on the other side of a mountain range, so it's not something I'd want to attempt to nurse home with a bunch of water with me.
Realistically, having never owned a diesel before, and certainly not having any experience with such an animal, I don't see myself taking this particular animal on as a project, but it did get me thinking - how do you transport something like this in the case of catastrophic failure? I'm sure it's not something I could call AAA on, lol. I looked at the Good Sam towing plan, and while it's unlimited distance, it's also to the "nearest service center", which wouldn't do me a whole lot of good as I'd want it as my house for repairs.
Would this be the kind of thing to call a heavy duty towing service for, or would I be looking at transport specific services? I found one heavy tow company in South Dakota that listed rates (though I'm in Arizona, I was just looking for listed rates to use to get a general idea of what this kind of stuff would cost) - $200 hook up charge, $3.50/mile, and $100/every half hour after the first half hour. One way costs at this point add up to $2045. I'm also assuming that if I was to contact a towing service, either by the coach, or from my side of town, that I'd probably be getting at least a mileage charge both ways, which would bring the total to almost 4 grand...suddenly the "good deal" seems like less of a good deal, lol.
