GunnyVP
New Member
My project’s a 2003 Thomas Saf-T-Liner bus with a pretty interesting backstory.
Matthews Specialty Vehicles was awarded a contract for $150,000 to build a “bookmobile” for the San Bernardino County library. One tech spec was that it had to weigh less than the 26,000 GVWR federal standard for CDL so a CDL wouldn’t need needed to operate it.
According to county employees familiar with the purchase, the intent was for the vehicle to be operated by library staff and avoid hiring a full-time driver, which had not been budgeted for. The librarians’ union balked at that and the librarians declined to drive the vehicle.
The county’s management then placed a change order with Matthews to have the bus converted to a mobile classroom for teaching students Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM). This change order resulted in this bus’s interior and livery being changed at an additional cost of $26,000, pushing the total cost to $176,000.
But, luck wasn’t with the county’s managers
because the teachers’ union also balked at teachers driving the bus. And the county still didn’t have a budget to hire a full-time driver. Matthews told the county it had to take delivery of the bus, so it had it trucked to San Bernardino County and delivered to the county motor pool in October 2003.
County employees told me it was placed in front of an elementary school and used as a science lab for the rest of the 2003-2004 school year. Then it was sent back to the county’s motor pool and transferred to the Department of Public Works (DPW). Until Jan. 1, 2025, the county DPW used it as an onsite project management vehicle for new flood control / sewer projects.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CAR
prohibited California state, county and local public agencies from buying, titling, registering and operating diesel vehicles. The way CARB wrote the law it’s not even possible for a temporary registration (an “in transit” registration) to be obtained to even move a diesel under its own power after the auction clearinghouse sells it. The idea is to make it impossible for a Californian to buy a diesel vehicle and to hasten a diesel’s trip to the scrapyard. Though by this time the bus had only 35,000 miles on it odometer, it was deemed “unserviceable” and sent to the state’s auction clearinghouse, and I bought it from there as an out-of-state buyer by using a buyer’s agent who was registered to place bids. I had it delivered to me.
It was delivered on a foggy night and parked on the street. The delivery guy handed me a red plastic key, showed me the slot for it by the battery, and said, “Put this in first before starting it.” Then he left. The next morning I went out to play with my new toy, put the key in the slot, turned it… and learned the bus has an alarm system that activates when the battery bank cutoff key is inserted! A very loud one. My neighbors whose house I parked it right next to learned this, too. Thank goodness they’re very understanding people! That day I found storage lot to put it away while I started figuring things out.
For the next couple months I giddily went through a discovery and learning process about my “new to me” bus. I found in it all the build spec sheets from Thomas, all the Cummins, Allison and other manuals, its maintenance records, and more. I contacted Matthews Specialty Vehicles and obtained the original design elevations, the proposal and contract with San Bernardino County, and even photographs of its from-the-factory liveries. I submitted information requests to the county for information (including the budget requests) and simple with librarians and other who knew the history. I also obtained a new title from the Utah Department of Taxation, registered it, obtained insurance, and confirmed a CDL is not required to operate it. I had a diesel shop go through everything, do a complete service on it, and make a couple repairs (it needed an AC hose and belts). They even dated the tires to 2023, confirming that San Bernardino County took care of it even though they didn’t use it. The shop technician said, “These engines aren’t even considered broken in until they get 100,000 miles on them.”
Other than driving it around a little bit, I really didn’t do much except clean it, clean and reseal the roof seams with 3M self-leveling epoxy, paint it, put on new AC shrouds, repair the headlight bezels, do the body pre-paint prep, and consider my project approach. I painted it early because I live in a community with an HOA (the streets are public), the bus was flat black and had “Special Operations” in white lettering under side windows. and I didn’t want my neighbors thinking the CIA was in town snooping on them.
I guess it can be said my bus is a “classy” instead of a “skoolie” since it was built as a mobile classroom?
Here are the liveries it has had:
1. Originally painted white by Thomas.
2. Painted green on white by Matthews Specialty Vehicles for Sam Bernardino County Public Library.
3. Painted black and wrapped by Matthews Specialty Vehicles following change order.
4. Vinyl wrap removed, painted black and stenciled by San Bernardino Department of Public Works.
5. Painted red in cream by me.
Next thread will be a lost of its features and a
look back at what the interior looked like and my starting point on the project.
Enjoy!
Matthews Specialty Vehicles was awarded a contract for $150,000 to build a “bookmobile” for the San Bernardino County library. One tech spec was that it had to weigh less than the 26,000 GVWR federal standard for CDL so a CDL wouldn’t need needed to operate it.
According to county employees familiar with the purchase, the intent was for the vehicle to be operated by library staff and avoid hiring a full-time driver, which had not been budgeted for. The librarians’ union balked at that and the librarians declined to drive the vehicle.
The county’s management then placed a change order with Matthews to have the bus converted to a mobile classroom for teaching students Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM). This change order resulted in this bus’s interior and livery being changed at an additional cost of $26,000, pushing the total cost to $176,000.
But, luck wasn’t with the county’s managers
because the teachers’ union also balked at teachers driving the bus. And the county still didn’t have a budget to hire a full-time driver. Matthews told the county it had to take delivery of the bus, so it had it trucked to San Bernardino County and delivered to the county motor pool in October 2003.
County employees told me it was placed in front of an elementary school and used as a science lab for the rest of the 2003-2004 school year. Then it was sent back to the county’s motor pool and transferred to the Department of Public Works (DPW). Until Jan. 1, 2025, the county DPW used it as an onsite project management vehicle for new flood control / sewer projects.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CAR
prohibited California state, county and local public agencies from buying, titling, registering and operating diesel vehicles. The way CARB wrote the law it’s not even possible for a temporary registration (an “in transit” registration) to be obtained to even move a diesel under its own power after the auction clearinghouse sells it. The idea is to make it impossible for a Californian to buy a diesel vehicle and to hasten a diesel’s trip to the scrapyard. Though by this time the bus had only 35,000 miles on it odometer, it was deemed “unserviceable” and sent to the state’s auction clearinghouse, and I bought it from there as an out-of-state buyer by using a buyer’s agent who was registered to place bids. I had it delivered to me.It was delivered on a foggy night and parked on the street. The delivery guy handed me a red plastic key, showed me the slot for it by the battery, and said, “Put this in first before starting it.” Then he left. The next morning I went out to play with my new toy, put the key in the slot, turned it… and learned the bus has an alarm system that activates when the battery bank cutoff key is inserted! A very loud one. My neighbors whose house I parked it right next to learned this, too. Thank goodness they’re very understanding people! That day I found storage lot to put it away while I started figuring things out.
For the next couple months I giddily went through a discovery and learning process about my “new to me” bus. I found in it all the build spec sheets from Thomas, all the Cummins, Allison and other manuals, its maintenance records, and more. I contacted Matthews Specialty Vehicles and obtained the original design elevations, the proposal and contract with San Bernardino County, and even photographs of its from-the-factory liveries. I submitted information requests to the county for information (including the budget requests) and simple with librarians and other who knew the history. I also obtained a new title from the Utah Department of Taxation, registered it, obtained insurance, and confirmed a CDL is not required to operate it. I had a diesel shop go through everything, do a complete service on it, and make a couple repairs (it needed an AC hose and belts). They even dated the tires to 2023, confirming that San Bernardino County took care of it even though they didn’t use it. The shop technician said, “These engines aren’t even considered broken in until they get 100,000 miles on them.”
Other than driving it around a little bit, I really didn’t do much except clean it, clean and reseal the roof seams with 3M self-leveling epoxy, paint it, put on new AC shrouds, repair the headlight bezels, do the body pre-paint prep, and consider my project approach. I painted it early because I live in a community with an HOA (the streets are public), the bus was flat black and had “Special Operations” in white lettering under side windows. and I didn’t want my neighbors thinking the CIA was in town snooping on them.
I guess it can be said my bus is a “classy” instead of a “skoolie” since it was built as a mobile classroom?
Here are the liveries it has had:
1. Originally painted white by Thomas.
2. Painted green on white by Matthews Specialty Vehicles for Sam Bernardino County Public Library.
3. Painted black and wrapped by Matthews Specialty Vehicles following change order.
4. Vinyl wrap removed, painted black and stenciled by San Bernardino Department of Public Works.
5. Painted red in cream by me.
Next thread will be a lost of its features and a
look back at what the interior looked like and my starting point on the project.
Enjoy!
