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Old 04-15-2007, 11:41 AM   #1
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My TC2000

picking it up next weekend. the window delete is a factory thing. i don't have much planned for it. just some interior upgrades, clean up the rats nest of wiring inside, and lots of trips.








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Old 04-16-2007, 03:09 PM   #2
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Paddy wagon?
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Old 04-16-2007, 03:27 PM   #3
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What was that bus originally used for? SWAT team?
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Old 04-16-2007, 03:34 PM   #4
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Riot control?
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Old 04-16-2007, 03:50 PM   #5
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I noticed the smooth eyebrow over the windows like some of us talked about around here
somewhere earlier. Not a rub rail, but not divided up like the regular window eye
brows either.

The front cap looks taller than normal. Or is it an optical illusion?

They sprung for curved windshield glass, so maybe they didn't really plan to trash it?
Must have an interesting history.
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Old 04-16-2007, 10:09 PM   #6
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it was originally used by a tool salesman (like snap on, matco, or something) in pennsylvania. a friend of mine bought it off ebay a couple of years ago. he did the very basic conversion you see pictured and used it to stay in and tow his rock crawling tube buggy on trips.

from what i've found, it's called a "shell" model which deletes the windows, emergency lights, etc. blue bird offers them on special order basis. as far as i know, all of the dimesions and everything else are standard tc2000.
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Old 04-16-2007, 10:39 PM   #7
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Ah, tool sales truck. That makes sense. But I was hoping for something more... exotic.

Keep us posted, Wanderer!
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Old 04-18-2007, 01:55 PM   #8
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I think my accord has a longer wheel base than that thing. Can you say tail swing?
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Old 04-18-2007, 02:17 PM   #9
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One nice thing about that size is you can make uturns in places that a 15 passenger van can't. And even though they don't ride as smooth as a 40 foot tc they don't ride too bad. It will be louder inside then most conventional buses.
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Old 04-18-2007, 02:19 PM   #10
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I like the roo-bars. I think your bus is taller. If you look at my Blue Bird, the eyebrows line up with the top of the drivers window. On yours, it seems to be higher. If that's the case, you got extra headroom without knowing it.
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Old 04-18-2007, 03:31 PM   #11
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Compare the front cap with mine (in my signature).
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Old 04-18-2007, 06:25 PM   #12
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does having such a short wheelbase compared to the overall length cause stability issues? Seems like that thing would have, what the hell is the term I'm thinking of? a high moment of inertia or some such physics type crap. What it basically means is, once this baby starts pirouetting, it don't wanna stop. It probably wouldn't do to well on a road course.
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Old 04-18-2007, 07:41 PM   #13
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Quit scaring The Wanderer, Pete!

But you bring up a good point about road racing. The short wheelbase could actually do
better at Sears Point than a longer bus -- but a bus doesn't belong there.

(Warning. Elliot is getting ready to preach again.)

You know all these SUVs that tip over these days? And the critics say they are too tall and unstable.
Well, there is nothing wrong with them. They are what they are. There is something wrong
with the way many people drive them -- like they were sports cars! This applies even
more to larger vehicles.

Wanderer, I suggest you make a habit of paying attention to that rear overhang.
The biggest risk is probably when you pull away from the fuel pump.

(Lecture over.)
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Old 04-18-2007, 08:00 PM   #14
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It isn't any taller, it is just mounted a little bit higher to allow the use of trasit style windows. I often use a transshuttle (tc1000) and it has the same thing just mounted higher. Now since the one I often use is a tc1000 it has the 19.5 rims instead of 22.5.

I will also say that one is very stable around corners. Going around a highway clover leaf I have gone 35 mph without the bus leaning, but of coarse anything that isn't tied down tends to move to the one side of the bus. I do take the corners faster in the tc1000 as to my f250. It is the wider axle on the bus that makes it more stable. Now since it is so short there isn't much weight in the back so in snow it didn't do too well until we got the bright idea to bolt a 500+ pound block of concrete between the frame rails behind the rear axle.

by the way for those instested. The little tc1000 also has 3.54 rear end gears with a at545 and will cruise 70mph at 2750rpms and doesn't have much trouble getting going. But it is also a 1998.5 model ISB 5.9 cummins with a powerpuck installed for a little extra kick.
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Old 04-18-2007, 08:00 PM   #15
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One need only spend a few minutes in my molested Toyota to understand that the driving dynamics of certain vehicles varies greatly from an F1 car.
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Old 04-18-2007, 09:42 PM   #16
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Old 04-18-2007, 10:32 PM   #17
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good pic, there does seem to be a slight difference. i'll have to investigate that after i pick it up.

i actually like the tail swing. since a 32ft. trailer will be strapped to this thing alot of thing time, it'll help alot making turns.

the only thing i am concerned about is the see saw effect with a shorter wheelbase, but the current owner assures me it rides pretty well with the air ride seat.

i picked up a new thertford toilet today on the cheap.
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Old 04-18-2007, 11:00 PM   #18
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In trucking, having the attachment point for a trailer way out back like that is known as
"stinger steering". Logging trucks, who travel on tightly winding mountain roads, use
this arrangement a lot.

One time, I was going east on SR 20 towards Fort Bragg with a load of groceries, when
a logger came the other way in a sharp turn. Yiiikes, that was close! Afterwards, I
found a chunk of bark stuck to the outer edge of my mirror.

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Old 04-19-2007, 03:02 AM   #19
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Quote:
One time, I was going east on SR 20 towards Fort Bragg
small world. i'm in raleigh, nc. how long did you live here?
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Old 04-19-2007, 09:39 AM   #20
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I think he means Ft Bragg, California. It's on the coast (left) about 150 miles north of nutbagville (San Francisco).
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