I could not have asked for a better outcome. As anxious as I was it was an absolute relief when the time had passed and the auction did not extend. That was one of the main thoughts that had been popping in my head all day. Having known that feeling from an auction just two months earlier.
It’s a 2004 Blue Bird All American with a 3126 and MD3060. It has 164,000 miles and was used as a reserve highway bus for the school district. They sold it to fulfill the terms of a grant. (Must sell a working bus…not parts or broken bus.)
This checks all the boxes and then some.
- Rust-free public school district (even better this one is local)
- 3126 or DT466 & Pusher
- Allison MD 3060 Transmission
- Pass through storage
- 6’2ish of headroom
- 40 ft
- Side door
- Tires… the tires are in great shape! (I budgeted for new tires!)
- Batteries… (Also budgeted for this as well, but they are new)
- 2003 or older. (This is close enough, I know I didn’t want anything newer than 2007).
It all starts with the rust belt. I have been searching for public school buses from Arizona specifically but also keeping an eye out in southern California and New Mexico. After losing an auction on a Blue Bird TC2000 in Kingman Arizona earlier this year, I knew the feeling and value of a quality bus. Thank the Maker I lost that auction. I did learn a lot about that 5.9 Cummins but it really wasn’t what I wanted.
This is the 5th bus I’ve bid on and probably the 50th I’ve seen or looked at buying. I could not be happier as this one is a government auction. I really wanted a public school district auction because of the maintenance. In April I visited the bus yard of a local private school district. They have then and now for sale 6 buses. These buses come from a public school district in Phoenix, so they are on their second life at this private district. There was something wrong with just about all of them. One thing or the other, like no A/C or a differential. At that time they were asking $4500 and firm at $4000 even when I pointed out these problems. I was going to buy the 2002 until I became aware of the differential issue. They still have a 2001 if anyone is interested.
So I stuck out again… until I found a local public auction.
Here’s where to start…
Before you can convert a School Bus into a Skoolie, you need to find that bus and buy it. This is the long journey to finding the perfect bus for me and all the places that provided information along the way.
First the three government sales sites. I have found buses on these websites.
- GSA Auctions
- Gov Deals
- Public Surplus
In addition to Craigslist, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace, Skoolie.net has a sales forum. Also, a lot of the social media accounts share buses for sale, however, most of those are already built out. If you are looking for a project, it’s best to stick to an auction or bus sales company.
Resources I found for engine, transmission, and recall information.
Caterpillar Serial Numbers https://www.depco.com/resources/cater…
Allison Transmission https://www.allisontransmission.com/p…
WHICH ENGINE/TRANNY DOES THIS BUS HAVE? http://www.buslandia.net/blog/2016/12…
Blue Bird Body Company VIN Equipment Codes https://www.angelfire.com/ca/TORONTO/…
School Bus Safety Assurance Program Recall Listing (January 1998 Through June 2005) https://icsw.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/…
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