Just bought a 1997 Bluebird TC2000 Police Command bus

[Tnichols-SKO]

SO....just jumped all in with a 1997 Bluebird TC2000 outfitted by L&S coaches as a police command bus, former Manatee County Florida Sheriff bus. VERY low miles. Picked it up, started right up, no smoke, took it in for new tires, inspection, oil change...and now it started.

Its already set up with plumbing and electrical obviously...but we are gutting it and changing the floor plan.

Best part...TWO generators and a light tower....three airco units, already plumbed for a head and tons of power options thru the layout

But she needs some windows...brand new to the forum so will be looking on recommendations for parts. Want to add some windows and put back the traditional door opener. It has a switch for it on the dash but I guess the mechanism is gone.

Also has traditional heat/defrost/fresh air at the dash...has anyone ever added air conditioning? Just curious if there are times we want to not run the gens and maybe just cool the front end (primarily gonna live between NC and FLorida

 

[EastCoastCB]

Nice bus!

Got any color pics?

Are you in FL? If so hit me up if you ever wanna have some beers and talk buses.

 

[tugboater-SKO]

That is one cool bus! Congrats on the purchase.

 

[Whitestripes]

Congratulations!

Funny story is i actually won the auction on that vehicle from TMA back in 2016, then they pulled it out from under me to sell to another bidder on the down low. Found it online a month later for double my winning bid! It all worked out as i found another one closer to my West Coast home. You will have fun tracking down all the wiring!! And the light towers are fun at campsites during late nite arrivals

Here is the original auction video from TMA.

Have fun! i have found it to be a solid platform, and wanted a jump start to reduce build time. Keep as much as you can, and take pictures of every wire... ive had to go back and review when putting things back together.

Cheers,

 

[NiceBird]

Same Bus, or Twin from Manatee also

Hello.

Do either of you still ANYTHING related to that bus ?
Im considering buying its Twin, also from Manatee County,
They must have ordered more than 1


Any data, parts, pictures, documentation, manuals, etc.

Please contact.

 

[Whitestripes]

First off, it's a great platform for the right price!!

These are not always made by the same coach builder, and often are very custom.

That said be careful that they have not "decommissioned it" too bad. I found a lot of cut wires and electrical gremlins due to them yanking the police radios etc out. If it's pretty clean and they haven't pulled much your still going to need to figure out a lot with the wiring.

Because of the above mentioned items no "standard" manuals will help on the electric side. Only engine and base bluebird chassis documents will make sense.

As far as a skoolie goes these are wayyy above anything you will see DIY. I see a lot of bus conversions that look more like tiny homes (pretty cute), but once you hit the road everything will rattle itself to pieces.

These command center buses are legit rv's, and everything is glued and screwed down properly. I can attest to this with 5000miles and nothing has come loose (except some things I did).

Overall you will be way ahead and have a better chance actually finishing with these, however if you gut it your missing a big part of the value. Keep as much as you can, even if it's ugly and get on the road as soon as possible!!

Good luck!