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Old 01-28-2013, 02:37 PM   #1
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Year: 1995
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

19,723 pounds.

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Old 01-28-2013, 05:19 PM   #2
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Location: Clearlake, Northern California
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Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

This will vary with the type of engine and other variables. I believe Blue Bird even uses the TC2000 designation for both front engine and rear engine models.

That said, my 1992 front engine weighed 19,200 pounds when I drove her home from the school district. Of that, 9,500 was on the steer axle and 9,700 on the drive axle.

My Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is 31,000, with 12,000 on the steer and 19,000 on the drive.

Best of luck.
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Old 01-28-2013, 06:09 PM   #3
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

Hey Elliot, how've you been. I was just guessing the weight. I came pretty close.
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Old 01-28-2013, 06:39 PM   #4
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

I'm well, thanks! And busy, but I try to stop in here once in a while. Many new faces, I see. Carry on!
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Old 01-28-2013, 09:53 PM   #5
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

I think your biggest problem will be finding WVO. You will be competing with many people, even cities like San Francisco for the stuff.
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Old 01-28-2013, 10:55 PM   #6
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by justuswalker
What engine were you running? A cummins 5.9? Was yours a 40 footer? So that gave you a max of 12,000lbs to play with?
Yes, Millicent has a 5.9, measures 40 feet long, and had seats for 84 kids. Apparently they figure 84 kids will not weigh more than 12.000 pounds (which would be 143 pounds each).

I would not bother with the WVO. It's probably a great hobby, but I'm under the impression that it does not work all that well, for most people.

I would also not buy a front-engine flat-nose again. It is very difficult to work on the engine, and it is rather noisy having the engine right there inside. And it is awkward to get in and out of the driver's seat, having to climb over the engine cover. So I recommend a "pusher" -- engine in the rear.

Most school districts seem to retire their buses before they reach 200,000 miles, so you should not need to buy one with much more.

As for towing a car, I would put it on a trailer. Much easier on the car, and easier to maneuver -- specially for backing up, which you may have to do some day.

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Old 01-31-2013, 12:31 PM   #7
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

I couldn't begin to say anything about your financial projections. Too many variables. Same with interior weight.

Obviously we gain some weight-capacity when we remove the seats, but I don't know how much. I doubt we can manage to put in as much weight as 84 high-schoolers. On one of our trips, pretty well loaded, although our toys are lightweight, we weighed 10.700 on the steer and 14.150 on the drive. That includes maybe 1.000 tongue weight from the trailer. Mind you, my engine is in the front.

For axle weights, it is the actual weight resting on the axle that counts, not the weight of the trailer, which rests on its own axles. But tongue weight adds to the weight on the drive axle (and takes a tiny bit off the steer, to be exact).

I find that Millicent rides awful hard in the back when empty or lightly loaded. When we stuff the back full of toys the ride improves a bit.

The reason I bought a Forward Control (driver sitting in front of the front axle with the engine beside or close behind him), was so I could build a "toy hauler" compartment and drive-on tailgate. If I had it to do over, I would buy a pusher but a shorter one, all for living area, and put all the toys in a correspondingly longer trailer. And I would raise the roof three feet instead of two feet, to make more room for upper bunks. (Our "crew" has expanded since we bought her.)

I drive around 57 mph. She will go 66, but fuel consumption increases noticeably. I think we average around 9.5 mpg with the trailer. Obviously, the additional 16 square feet of frontal area takes more power to push thru the air, but it is soooo worth it. I also find a slight advantage to the additional air resistance... when going down long grades. The one problem we have on trips is overheating the brakes on long downgrades, and I found that rather than use the brakes a lot to maintain 55, I can let it roll to 65 and the wind resistance increases so much that it acts noticeably as a brake and keeps the bus from going faster. Strange but true!

As for WVO, I have zero experience with it, but I have seen a couple of buses climbing grades at walking speed, smoking horribly and smelling of french fries. And I've run into a few people with WVO conversions in various vehicles, all very proud, and all having to admit that it does not actually work "at the moment".
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Old 03-22-2013, 05:04 PM   #8
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Re: BlueBird TC2000 40ft Specs?

Damn....good first post.....here's a cold one
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