somewhereinUSA build

[somewhereinusa]

HI all,
Another newbe here, after 20 yrs over the road trucking I'm calling it quits in November. Since I needed a new adventure and didn't really get to see that much of the USA, I've bought a bus and am going to convert into a motorhome. (Isn't that a novel idea?)
I got a 40ft 1991 Bluebird AARE from Southern New Mexico, so there shouldn't be much rust. When I get home Tuesday, I'm going to hop on a Greyhound to NM and drive it home.
I won't have much time to work on it until I get off the road, but I'll try to keep things posted. I have one small advantage, my son is an engineer in a rv factory, doing travel traliers now, but did motorhomes for a number of years. He's in the process of converting an ex Grayound for himself.

[Rudy]

Welcome, you've come to the right place.

Rudy

[Stealth Camper]

Welcome!

This is a very good place.

[ezrablu]

Nice to have you here and look forward to you sharing your new adventure! Please post photos of your new ride so we can all see your new home to be

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Nice to meet you Somewhere Posting some pics would be great and if you can, post some pics of your sons retired hound as well

[tamangel]

1991 Bluebird AARE

like this one?



and welcome...

Mike

[yugogypsy]

Hello and Welcome, I'm pretty new myself, and I love it here.

Lois

[Bob]

Congratulations on calling it quits and here's to your new adventure!!!

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

here's to your new adventure!!!

Here here!

[somewhereinusa]

1991 Bluebird AARE

like this one?



and welcome...

Mike

Yup,pretty much just like that one. Only high roof.


Here's a really crummy side view.


I couldn't have found a better match to my criteria if I had ordered it.

My "must have list"
40 ft pusher
high roof
air brakes

My "would be nice to have list"
low miles
highway gears/enough horsepower to run them
no rust
air suspension

I have been watching all of the lists that I could find, and was actually going to stop in Tennessee later in the week to look at some buses that came close.
I had kind of ruled out Bluebird because I didn't know they offered a high roof.
I stopped in Moriarty, NM to get fuel and I always get back on the interstate by going back the way I came, but today I went the other way through town.
Spotted some buses at the local Chevy dealer and one was a large pusher. I turned around and went back to inquire(I NEVER turnaround(ask my wife)) When I asked
the price, I thought at first I had heard wrong. To make a long story shorter, this is what I bought, for a little less money than asking.



91 Bluebird AAER 40 foot 171,150 miles
250HP Cat
77 inch interior headroom
brand new Bostrom air ride seat
factory air
air brakes
pass through luggage compartments
120 gal fuel capacity
I'm a photographer and the roof rack will really come in handy.(Don't judge my work by that second photo, or the first one for that matter))

NO rust (was in service about as far South East in New Mexico as you can get)

It was an activity bus, so it was never used for student pickup. It passed NM DOT inspection a year ago and has hardly been used since then because they got a new bus.

[ezrablu]

I think that was supposed to be my bus...it has my lucky number on it

You did real good for yourself! That's a nice looking bus I'm feeling wrongfully envious But glad it fell into the right hands....and that you turned around

It will be exciting to follow along with your progress...thanks for posting the photos!

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Welcome to Mr. Sharkey's!

It looks like you have found a really nice bus.

Since it was never used as a to/from bus the miles on that bus will be relatively easy ones. Comparing the hour meter to the odometer will give you a really good idea of how easy those miles were. Most school buses when those numbers are compared have an average of less than 25 MPH.

Currently the prices for used buses have gotten about as low as I have ever seen them. The asking price is lower than the reasonable offer price of five years ago.

[somewhereinusa]

I can't understand why my wife never wants to go anywhere with me. 2700 miles in 5 days.

The first half of the trip involved a chauffeur driven limousine with 50 or so strangers.


For the trip home I had 1st class accommodations.

Master bedroom


Bathing area.


Clothing storage area.


Food storage area.


Food preparation and dining area. Note the houte cuisine.


Notice the very expensive looking faux wood grain metal paneling. Tres chic.

She is a pleasure to drive. No rattles or squeaks. Very little wind noise, unless it's really blowing. Even empty the ride was quite nice. Not much different than the Grey dog.
( a couple of them were quite noisy) Noisiest thing about her is the heater blowers. She behaved like a real lady. She does like to go fast though, I did have some trouble keeping
down to the speed limit. I need to get cruise control added before any more long trips.

I did some fuel mileage checks. At 55 mpg. (found out later really 52 by gps) 8.98 mpg. At 65(65 by gps) with strong headwind and about 4 hours idle time. 7.44.
Curb weight with full tanks. 24,080 lbs.

So that I may keep in good standing with the Skoolie crowd here is the mandatory "seats are out" picture. I had been dreading this, but as it turned out,
not all that bad of a job. Took about 5 hours.


Observation: The farther toward the rear kids ride, the more of a pig they become.

Indiana doesn't allow yellow, or flashing lights to stay, so that's next on the agenda.
But for now it's back to work for a while.

Dick

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Nice Now, Geton wit it

[Rudy]

Dick, Buses are great. Much stronger than factory motorhomes. I am happy for you.

Perhaps you could post a photo of yourself on the Other Stuff forum on the What Do You Look Like thread.

Welcome to the family.