Ford E-450 4x4 Overland School Bus by Ujoint Offroad

I got the chance to shoot this 2013 Ford E-450 Thomas School Bus recently for Four Wheeler magazine. It belongs to Steven Merrill, who works at the go-to Ford E-series 4x4 van specialist Ujoint Offroad in Fletcher, North Carolina.

[@reidcrosby6241]

Most folks dont know just how COOL the 5r110 tranny is. I have had two 2014 6.8s with that tranny ....LOVE it!! The mountain descents are the awesome thing when you hit that "tow" button on the end of the gear shifter. It'll put you into the windshiled.

[@fmxman1564]

nice bus! props for doing it!

[@BitzerDogTaylorsVersion13]

I ACTUALLY WISH this were my bus to school every day

[@rspurdie]

I’ve been watching this bus for a while. Really cool spotlight video 🤙

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

Thank you! It’s such a cool build.

[@chrisnaaa3378]

can you please tell me where you saw the build? thanks

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

@@chrisnaaa3378 I’m not sure if this question is for me, but the only place I believe that Steven has uploaded photos of the progress is on his Instagram. (@steven.merrill)

[@davids2885]

@@chrisnaaa3378, you can also see it on the UJoint TH-cam page.

[@bobmoss4578]

What an amazing build congratulations

[@828findadventure]

Very nice build.

[@josephvalentjr7677]

Excellent build.

[@jdtankvideos2584]

You have the totally awesome TH-cam channel keep up the good work my friend and totally awesome school bus

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

Thank you! I appreciate the compliment.

[@sixyonex7385]

Nice, Buses can be a very good platform to build out.

[@alexl2981]

Very cool & practical.

[@johnnysapper]

Great job man!

[@MacsSpecialitiesMotorsports]

That is one cool 😎school 🚐 bus!!

[@user-dg6ub6xp9j]

Amazing

[@kevinfenton2781]

Great Great job as usual 👍👍🍺🍻

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

Thank you!

[@savagewagon6038]

Pretty sure I saw this bus in black mountain a few days ago. Very nice

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

That was most likely him. He lives around that area.

[@richardkamara5532]

Thank you Mansour for mentioning the price.

[@gouchmcdougal7831]

Looks great!!! Luke 9:62

[@HighCountryRambler]

Does this mean no more snow days? Curious why your running your rear tires so deflated? Also considering the swap from dual rear wheels to single, did you have to add a wheel spacer or anything else? Lastly, what's the rating on those rears? Thank you nice work boys...

[@stevenmerrill739]

we deflated the rear tires after attempting to drive out of the pit with no success so we aired down to around 20psi and she crawled right out no problem, i did add 2' wheel spacer to the rear with a little extra backspacing on the wheels to fill out that wheel well, and by rating i assume you mean weight rating witch if i remember correctly is 3500lbs, and that is how i'm able to run singles in the rear.

[@Thesaltymedic36]

I know it snowed ❄️ but you’re still going to school 😂

[@D_Cali_Life]

4th Child ? wow, i'm 32 and can't even have my 1st lol and own several vans and schoolies lol

[@nickyp310]

What I"m seeing here is a grown man who owns a functioning, fully passable school bus with a queen sized mattress in the back.

[@johnluniewski1791]

Sold❤

[@ktanner11]

50k? Insane. That will buy you a really nice used slide in and a pickup. With Left over money.

[@laforja_]

how much did this cost? both to make and modify?

[@mattg3153]

What is the towing capacity for this bus? I’m looking at doing a build and wanting to be able to tow my jeep. Just can’t find any answers on towing capacity online for busses.

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

A stripped E0450 cutaway van for that year had a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. With that bus body, it likely cut that in half. I know that's the case with most motorhomes on the same chassis.

[@hilostateofmind]

How much did the 4x4 conversion cost?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

He works for the company that sells the conversions. Pricing depends on a few different things. You can actually see all of the price breakdown here. www.ujointoffroad.com/products/e-series-4x4-conversion/

[@FluffyCookie_]

What lift kit did you use for it

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

The bus was built by Ujoint Offroad. It uses their six inch lift 4x4 conversion kit.

[@FluffyCookie_]

@@Ali_Mansour_Editor thank you, I really like the build

[@aminghasemi6121]

Anyone knows how much does this (4wheel conversion) cost here on this bus???

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

It depends on what parts you need and if you are going to do the conversion yourself. You can find parts pricing on Ujoint's website here: www.ujointoffroad.com/products/e-series-4x4-conversion/

[@D_Cali_Life]

Anywhere from $10,000 - $25,000 depending on lift, springs, dana 60 vs dana 60 wide. Usually buses you want the wide track axle due to the weight.

[@IntuitiveUniversity]

Why are the tires so soft?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

He aired down. They place we were shooting the video was very sandy.

[@paulfmurphy617]

why an open rear diff?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

It's on his list of future upgrades. For most of the camping/wheeling adventures he takes his family on now, he can get away with an open rear diff for now.

[@nwobodougochukwu9616]

I like tho bus.
How can I get it?
I live in Nigeria

[@rndmprsn3532]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[@industriousus]

You have to build it. Me too.

[@VerypopularSkylineGT-RS]

Idc I wanna hear the sound of this scoo bus bruh

[@cuh720]

Best $50k

[@sairHernandez-zg4hh]

Cuánto bale esté bus y donde lo encuentro

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

It was built by Ujoint Offroad.

[@coldsteelrail1123]

This isnt a diesel? Wow

[@grandpawolt1349]

How’s the mileage?

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

I believe he said he only gets around 7 or 8 miles per gallon.

[@laforja_]

ah....at the end $50K