Old Schoolbus Converted Into Handy Flatbed Truck

Old Schoolbus Converted Into Handy Flatbed Truck SCHOOLBUS CONVERSIONS Schoolbus Conversions 26-1-4 "We use it for hauling everything from our weigh wagon to bulk seed boxes to water tanks. We can do a lot more with it than we could with an ordinary flatbed truck," says Jim Klassen, Benson, Minn., who converted an International Harvester 65-passenger bus into a flatbed truck complete with a traveling office. Klassen is a seed dealer and also does yield checks on corn for area farmers who grow test plots. His converted "bus truck" has a big cab with a countertop at the back that supports a computer and printer. They're powered by a 12-volt converter wired to the bus's battery and are used to record and print test plot results. There's also a diamond plate steel toolbox on one side of the cab that's used to store grain testing equipment. To convert the bus, he cut 22 ft. out of the middle of the body, moving the back section up to create a 5-ft. work area behind the driver's seat. He also cut off about 4 ft. of the frame that extends behind the rear wheels. He bought a used truck flatbed 8 1/2 ft. wide and 20 ft. long. He bolted it onto the frame and bolted a 2-in. receiver hitch onto the back. "I use it all year long," says Klassen, who hired Klassen Repair of DeGraff, Minn., to do the work. "The bus's 9-liter, V-8 diesel engine and Allison automatic transmission were in good shape, and the bus had good tires and a new battery and brakes. My total cost was about $3,000. I couldn't have bought a commercial flatbed truck in the same good condition for that price. "I use the bus truck during spring to deliver seed to farmers. I pull a trailer behind with a forklift on it, then load bulk seed boxes and pallets of seed on the flatbed. In midsummer I use the rig to haul water and chemicals to our field sprayers. "During harvest the bus truck is used to yield check corn and soybean plots for area farmers. I remove the wheels from my Pioneer weigh wagon and bolt it onto the flatbed. This puts the wagon about 3 ft. higher, which makes it easier for the combine to unload into it. I mounted lights on back of the cab so I can work at night. "I made about 60 on-farm test plot yield measurements last fall. The mini office lets me provide the farmer with computer-generated printouts of his test plots before I leave the field. I use the rear emergency door while sampling and grading each hybrid. I just walk out onto the flatbed to get a sample while the farmer harvests the next hybrid. The cab has good interior lights and stays warm and quiet even on cold, windy days. It works better than trying to use a laptop computer and a printer inside a pickup, because it's handier and less dirty." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jim Klassen, 645 Hwy. 29 S.E., Benson, Minn. 56215 (ph 320 843-4176 or 800 958-2059).

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