New to all of this

[jonesy311c]

Today I apparently won a bus from a school district auction and I have no clue what I am going to do with it. So after doing a little looking I found this site. As I said I purchased a 2005 Blue Bird Vision with 106,000 miles from a school district in NJ. Didn't even set out to buy it. Kinda just bid on it and didn't think I would win. Now I'm trying to figure out how to register and insure it, which seems to be the first big hurdle once I actually go to pick it up. I've never driven a bus, but I have driven quite a few box trucks. I hope it's more or less the same.

[TomA]

Sometimes that is the best way.

In St. Louis (Gateway to the West) there are apocryphal tales of wayward young men and women with a hankering for something new pairing up at the spot where the covered wagon trains to California formed up, plunking their money down, taking the reigns together and heading out- knowing nothing about each other or anything west of the Mississippi. Some of those adventures lasted a lifetime. Of course, some of them starved to death in the Rockies, too, like the Donner Party, but that was before Google Maps...


Here's to your new Prairie Schooner taking you safely all the way!


Welcome aboard. You will find many resources and much wisdom here.

[TomA]

First piece of advice:


Before you go 10 feet in a bus, put on the brakes firmly. It should stop so hard that standing passengers would be thrown into the windshield. If the brakes don't do that, something is wrong with them.


Shut it off right there, and get somebody who knows what they are doing have a look.


Oh, and YouTube up on how to use air brakes if you don't already know. Your new bus probably has them. That's the second piece of advice, but a common theme- you must know how to stop 15 tons before you can safely make it go...

[jonesy311c]

Originally Posted by TomA

First piece of advice:


Before you go 10 feet in a bus, put on the brakes firmly. It should stop so hard that standing passengers would be thrown into the windshield. If the brakes don't do that, something is wrong with them.


Shut it off right there, and get somebody who knows what they are doing have a look.


Oh, and YouTube up on how to use air brakes if you don't already know. Your new bus probably has them. That's the second piece of advice, but a common theme- you must know how to stop 15 tons before you can safely make it go...

Definitely need to stop! I checked the VIN with Blue Bird and it appears that it has hydraulic brakes. I also checked with the NJ MVC and it was last inspected in March. Since all of this COVID thats probably the last time it was used. I guess I will figure some form of action by Monday. Like how the hell do I get this thing home.

BTW This is what I found from BlueBird....



Unit Dashboard
Body: B102239
Chassis: F218351

OWNER = FREEHOLD TWP BOE
ORIGINAL CUSTOMER = AMERICAN BUS & COACH, LLC
DEALER = BP0004759 - JERSEY BUS SALES INC
STATE OF OPERATION = NJ
MAKE = CAT
MODEL = BB CV 6600
MODEL YEAR = 2005
VIN = 1BAKFCKH75F218351
BUILD DATE = 03/01/2004
DELIVERY DATE = 05/05/2004
WARRANTY START DATE = 06/03/2004


BODY NO. B102239
CHASSIS NO. F218351
MODEL = BB CV 6600
MODEL-CODE =
VECH-CLAS = SCHOOL BUS OVER 10,000
HEADROOM = 74
W/S-STYLE = 4FF
SKIRT = 16
STATE = NJ
BODY PLAN =
SEAT PLAN =
BODY SCHEDULE 423
CHAS SCHEDULE 420
LENGTH = 6600
NBR BODIES = 6
VIN = 1BAKFCKH75F218351
ENG MODEL =
STEP = 27
HGT =
GVWR/FT =
GVWR/RR =
FACTORY SVC NO. = BBBCV10140580
PICKUP DATE = 04/12/04
P/O NUMBER =
MAKE = CAT
PRINT DATE = 02/23/04
BRAKE TYPE = HYD
WHEELBASE = 252.0
COWL-AXLE =
TIRESIZE =
GVWR/TOT =
MODEL YEAR = 2005
CHAS FACTORY SVC NO. = FBBCV20155170

[cadillackid]

CV6600 should be a bluebird vision.. I love the family truckster look of those.. many of them had cummins 5.9 engines with allison 2000 series transmissions.. Nice bus.. if its not a New jersey rust-bucket then its likely a good one to hang onto!!
-Christopher

[jonesy311c]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

CV6600 should be a bluebird vision.. I love the family truckster look of those.. many of them had cummins 5.9 engines with allison 2000 series transmissions.. Nice bus.. if its not a New jersey rust-bucket then its likely a good one to hang onto!!
-Christopher

I'm hoping its all solid. I got it sight unseen. I figure that it should be ok, considering it passed safety inspection in March. The listing said minimal rust. So hopefully its just some surface rust if anything. My wife thought I was kidding when I told her we won a bus. Where are we going to park it? Do you even know how to drive it? What the hell are we going to do with a bus? Those questions still remain unanswered. Still don;t even know how to get it registered to drive it home.

[TomA]

You're probably right, the bus may well have been sitting from just after salty road season until now.

Just wear old clothes and bring sheets of cardboard so you can slide around easily underneath and do a thorough "pre-flight" inspection. Underneath you are looking for leaks and signs of weeping from the brakes, axle seals, transmission, steering, hard lines, engine and radiator- especially around the wheels, brake drums and fittings. Tubing tends to leak at the fittings, but it also rusts out around the brackets that hold it to the frame (which collect salt slush) and anywhere its scraped or damaged. Wiggle the flexible lines from the axles to the frame to make sure they aren't crusty.

Under the hood, check all the rubber and see if any wiring has been chewed by animals or deranged by mechanics removing stuff before it left the school fleet.

I lived in the rust belt for over 40 years. No vehicles like to sit unused outside on the eastern seaboard very long. You have to be more careful if it sat than if it just came out of service- especially fluid levels.

I would stop halfway for fuel and have another quick look, then a really good one once I got home. Going from four months sitting to four hours driving can kick over a bunch of problems that it didn't have, or maybe were just getting started, when it was parked.

Good luck; enjoy the ride!

[BamaBus]

Originally Posted by jonesy311c

I'm hoping its all solid. I got it sight unseen. I figure that it should be ok, considering it passed safety inspection in March. The listing said minimal rust. So hopefully its just some surface rust if anything. My wife thought I was kidding when I told her we won a bus. Where are we going to park it? Do you even know how to drive it? What the hell are we going to do with a bus? Those questions still remain unanswered. Still don;t even know how to get it registered to drive it home.

I hope I don't ruin it for you, but here is the listing:

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...97&acctid=7571

If it runs and drives home you can at the least flip it and make some $$.
Probably has a Caterpillar C7 and the Allison 2000 series trans. An '05 made in early '04.

Get it insured! Don't rely on it being covered through any existing policy unless you have it documented that this bus is covered. Get coverage for the trip home at least.

Since you will traveling just in your state check with the DMV about driving with the bill of sale so you don't have to worry about registration just yet. School system should supply you with the current title unless NJ is different than AL and GA. So you should have the title, BOS, and an insurance card for the drive home.

[BeNimble]

Fortunately, that is a rather small loss to take as a lesson on bidding for things that cost 10x times to move than to buy.
I've got a 40ft shipping container for you too, and a 50ft sailboat that doesn't float..

[jonesy311c]

I have no idea why it sold for so low. The other ones sold for a lot more. Hopefully they were honest in the fact that it runs. I guess as long as it runs I could always take it to the closest scrap yard if it’s complete garbage

[BeNimble]

scrap yards may not take it..without removing engine trans tires glass etc. I just asked about my truck chassis here in CA. It MIGHT be a great deal, runs good, etc. You live in an apt in the city right? and will park it there? lol Bus storage require current registration when I checked on one in WA that was only $2k, but needed a CDL to drive off the lot too.

However, that was so cheap, you can spend 10 days to figure it out and if it won't work out, just bail and it was less than the gas cost to even go see it.
I don't know any rules for NJ, so can't help you.

[musigenesis]

Wow, a bus for $129. If it runs, I don't even know what to say.

If you're swinging by Philly on the way to the bus or from it, hit me up. Maybe I can help fix something.

[jonesy311c]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Wow, a bus for $129. If it runs, I don't even know what to say.

If you're swinging by Philly on the way to the bus or from it, hit me up. Maybe I can help fix something.

YUP $129. Nobody believes me. It says it runs, so hopefully thats true. With that being said I never thought I would win it. So I never really looked into the whole registration and insurance thing. Progresssive Commercial gave me a pretty cheap quote, so I will probably go with them. As far as tags hopefully my friend that works at a dealer can get me temp tags. That'll at least get me legal enough to go the 50 is miles home. NJ seems to have extended temp tag expiration for like another 90 days after the initial 60 days. So as long as all is good then from there I'm probably going to either go the VT route or just throw it up on CL.

I'm up in Warren county, but work in Easton. So I might have to take you up on your offer! Trying to convince my brother in law to drive down with me and follow me back.

[musigenesis]

Cool, I'd like to see this thing. I can't offer any mechanical help with the drivetrain or anything like that (other than maybe bringing some tools you might need), but if the bus is missing its floor I might be able to whip something up.

Freehold is only about an hour from me. It's a weird thing about living in Philly that we're surrounded on three sides by New Jersey - and they have a battleship on their side too.

[jonesy311c]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Cool, I'd like to see this thing. I can't offer any mechanical help with the drivetrain or anything like that (other than maybe bringing some tools you might need), but if the bus is missing its floor I might be able to whip something up.

Freehold is only about an hour from me. It's a weird thing about living in Philly that we're surrounded on three sides by New Jersey - and they have a battleship on their side too.

Thanks!
The battleship is there in case Gritty decides to breed and tries to swim across! lol

[musigenesis]

I don't know how govdeals works - did the seller maybe just forget to set a reserve on this?

[jonesy311c]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I don't know how govdeals works - did the seller maybe just forget to set a reserve on this?

I looked at their other 2005 Visions that closed. They all sold for over 2000. Same description, basically the same picture. Never saw any reserves. When it ended I emailed the business administrator and she told me to call the garage on Monday to arrange pick up. I pay Comcast more a month for cable, so to have a vehicle that presumably runs and drives and has lower miles than my 15 Sonata is insane. I was thinking too try a DougDeMauro and take it to CarMax!

[AutumnB]

Give us an update when you get it home.

[DWJoyce]

Originally Posted by TomA

Sometimes that is the best way.

In St. Louis (Gateway to the West) there are apocryphal tales of wayward young men and women with a hankering for something new pairing up at the spot where the covered wagon trains to California formed up, plunking their money down, taking the reigns together and heading out- knowing nothing about each other or anything west of the Mississippi. Some of those adventures lasted a lifetime. Of course, some of them starved to death in the Rockies, too, like the Donner Party, but that was before Google Maps...


Here's to your new Prairie Schooner taking you safely all the way!


Welcome aboard. You will find many resources and much wisdom here.

Just a minor correction: The Donner Party died in the Sierras of California. The place they died is now called Donner Pass on I80 North of Lake Tahoe.

[BeNimble]

I bought an item that went fairly cheap because they had three of them for sale at the same time, and this one was the worst of them, so the bids went to the other two. Might be similar issue.