Rexpeditions by Bunkhouse Productions :: 2006 Blue Bird All American A3 FE 2803A

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Rexpeditions by Bunkhouse Productions :: 2006 Blue Bird All American A3 FE 2803A

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Rexpeditions by Bunkhouse Productions

KC5AGO

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Join Date: May 2018

Location: Stonewall, Gillespie County, Texas, USA

Posts: 3

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General Information

Vehicle Name	Rexpeditions by Bunkhouse Productions
Year	2006
Make	Blue Bird
Model	All American A3 FE 2803A
Length	28' 8"

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Basic Info

Purchased on 27 June 2018 in an online GSA auction from Altus AFB, Altus, OK, where the Bus was received in 2006 as brand new from the Blue Bird, Fort Valley, GA manufacturing facility.

I picked-up the bus at Altus AFB, OK on 02 July 2018.

The Blue Bird was outfitted as a commercial bus with school bus style windows.

The drive-train consists of a Caterpillar C7 ACERT diesel engine. An inline 6-cylinder turbo-charged diesel with a displacement of 7.2 liters or 441 cubic inches. The engine reportedly can produce from 210 to 300 HP, depending on the make-up of the pistons in each particular engine. (I don't know the particular HP as of this post.)

The automatic transmission is an Allison 2500 PTS (5? or 6? speed, not certain).

Wheelbase: 142 inches.

Rims: 8.25" x 22.5"

Tires: 11RX22.5H

Weight: 17,060 lbs

Payload: 13,140 lbs

GVWR: 30,200 lbs

Rear Axle Ratio: 5.29

The Air-Conditioner refrigerant is circulated by an engine driven compressor. When I picked-up the bus, the two interior mid-ship mounted A/C evaporator units delivered very minimal cooling and the evaporator fans were delivering a very weak flow to the ducts. The A/C was basically useless. Possibly low on refrigerant due to a leak. The engine introduced far more heat into the interior than I would have ever dreamed of. The ambient temp was ±100°F. Unfortunately it was an extremely hot and uncomfortable ±360 mile drive home, about 8 hours with one fuel stop and two pit stops along the return route.

Some exterior areas of paint are peeling (20%?) and some exterior paint is chalking (40%?).

While the bus was parked at my home in TX, one school bus style window was found to be leaking during a thunderstorm.

So far, I have found little to no rust in the underside inspection.

Most of the seat bolts have no rust at all and they unscrewed with standard effort. I removed all thirteen bus style seats.

The ceiling is acoustic perforated metal, riveted in place, as is most everything. Supposedly the perforated metal is used for sound absorption, but I don't know.

Mileage: 51,539

Engine hours: ±8,500

The 2006 delivery price to the USAF was $63,439.00

INTERIOR DIMENSIONS:

LENGTH from backside of driver's seat to rear door: 23.5 feet or 282 inches.

WIDTH: 7.5 feet or 90 inches.

CEILING HEIGHT at center of aisle: 6.3 feet or 76 inches.

FLOOR AREA behind driver's seat: ±6,840 sq. inches or ±176.25 sq. feet.

The bus being USAF property, had never been titled by a State registrar, i.e., there was NO TITLE. I had to contact the GSA for their Form SF-97 in order to generate a Title and Registration in my home county. I received the SF-97 via "UPS 2nd day air???" 6 days after I was informed (& was confirmed in online tracking) that it had been processed for pick-up by UPS in Philadelphia.

Armed with the following seven documents, I entered the County Tax Assessor/Collector Office:
(#1.) The U.S. Goverment "Certificate To Obtain Title" Form SF-97,
(#2.) The "Application for Texas Title and/or Registration" Form 130-U,
(#3.) The "Texas Rebuilt Vehicle Statement" Form VTR-61;
(#4.) Texas Department of Public Safety Vehicle Inspection Certificate;
(#5.) A Certified Vehicle Weight Certificate from a Public Scale;
(#6.) Proof Card for Current Minimum Liability Insurance;
(#7.) A photo of the vehicle;

Texas State Registration, Title, and License Plates were granted on 07/24/2018, total fees including Sales Tax, $413.38. Rexpeditions, or "The Bunkhouse Blue Bird" is thankfully now a motor home (MH) in the eyes of the law.

Given time and resources, I intend to convert it to an off-grid, self-contained, boondocking capable motor home that can safely get off-pavement for my personal use.

Modifications

Interior

Removed all 13 OEM gray vinyl bus-type seats.

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