I'm now a member of a couple of Facebook bus-related groups, including the creatively named 'School Bus Conversion' page, and on there someone posted a link to a Kijiji ad' for a dog-nosed bus in Calgary. Now I'd already decided I didn't really want a dog-nose because of the extra length and poor visibility the front engine creates but this had a high ceiling and a white paint job which could potentially save me two big jobs. It also had a good engine, low km's and storage boxes under.
I decided it was worth a look especially as it was also the ex-shuttle bus from Sunshine Village ski resort so came with a cool (literally, ha ha) history and sent the seller a message asking for more details about the bus - size, transmission, etc. The ad said he usually replied within 2 hours so I was surprised when I hadn't heard back by the next day. Sent him another mentioning his usual response rate and joking that I was feeling ignored. Still no reply. Then I noticed that the ad' had been edited! I sent him another message, noting that and finally got a reply saying, in a somewhat irritated tone, that "Sorry, they'd been busy". Too busy to respond to interest but not so busy that they couldn't edit the ad'?! They suggested that I could always come and just see it. I pointed out that I was a long way away and I wasn't going to waste more time and money after the Van' experience to see something that wasn't suitable. I suggested ways to make answering the questions I had re: measurements easier, said I could come view on Wednesday, a couple of days later, and waited for a reply. 2 days later nothing! I decided to give him one more chance, messaged to ask him if he'd sold it yet and that I could come at the weekend. He replied soon after saying he'd not had time to do anything due to flooding at the family home but that a couple of other people were interested. I decided I needed to push him and said that I was a fair buyer and if the bus was ok for the asking price I'd not be looking to knock him down. That got his interest and me informed that I could come on Sunday. Got his details and said I'd confirm nearer the date.
Meanwhile, I'd had the day off on the previous Monday because I'd had a big, 12 hour work day on Sunday and the weather was spectacular. I spent the morning doing bus research on all sorts of subjects including importing a bus from the US then, as I'd recently got new tires for my bike and had a driving/cycling holiday in Nova Scotia coming up in 3 weeks, decided to go for a ride to try out the tires and get some training in. New boots! (I built this bike in 2003 and I still love it)
On my ride I happened to be passed by a couple of school buses, one a shorty with 'A1 Bus Lines' on its side, and a gorgeous Bluebird operated by Revelstoke School District. One thing I'd forgotten to do in the morning was call the school district to see if they had any info on procuring a bus. Later on I was just cycling back from a dead-end and found the Bluebird turning round at the junction where it had just dropped off a school kid. I hailed the driver and had a quick chat with the friendly lady at the wheel. She had no idea if they'd be getting rid of any buses at the end of the year but encouraged me to call.
As soon as I got back I called A1 Bus Lines, who I found were in Vernon, and spoke to Trevor who, after I told him what I was looking for, said that he had a couple of buses that he would consider selling if I wanted to come down and have a look. This was exciting - more than one bus to look at and, also, from the dry Okanagan so hopefully no rust! He was very amenable to viewing whenever so I said I'd get back in touch when I knew when I could make it down.
As soon as I got back I called A1 Bus Lines, who I found were in Vernon, and spoke to Trevor who, after I told him what I was looking for, said that he had a couple of buses that he would consider selling if I wanted to come down and have a look. This was exciting - more than one bus to look at and, also, from the dry Okanagan so hopefully no rust! He was very amenable to viewing whenever so I said I'd get back in touch when I knew when I could make it down.
I also called the School District but all their buses were supplied by, and disposed of, by the Province, presumably through auction.
A couple of days later Friday revealed itself to be a good day to go down to Vernon so I called Trevor and arranged to meet around lunchtime. A mostly uneventful drive down (other than the crash scene where a semi tractor was being hauled out of a ditch!) got me to a hot Vernon. I'd been awake early so pulled into a fuel station, grabbed some lunch, had a 15 minute nap, then called Trevor to find out where to meet. He was in a meeting for 20 minutes and said that the buses were not at the company address so I let him know where I was and had another nap. Once he found me we drove 15 minutes west towards Falkland to a field where there must've been 30 buses in various states of repair, one having been used as practice for fire-fighters using 'jaws-of-life'.
We talked generally for a bit then he offered to show me his first offering - a rear-engined '95 Bluebird TC-2000 84-seater with a Cummins 8.3 litre, 6 cylinder, 12 valve mechanical injection engine (a very desirable, simple, bullet-proof motor). It also had huge, full-width storage boxes underneath, was in WAY better condition than the Van' bus and had tires with what seemed like 1/2" of tread. It had 340,000 kms on it but that's just broken in for a bus. We took a look at the VIN number, called up a local supplier and found that the transmission was an Allison MT-643, another very desirable component. The first bus we looked at and it was almost perfect - I was stoked!
A couple of days later Friday revealed itself to be a good day to go down to Vernon so I called Trevor and arranged to meet around lunchtime. A mostly uneventful drive down (other than the crash scene where a semi tractor was being hauled out of a ditch!) got me to a hot Vernon. I'd been awake early so pulled into a fuel station, grabbed some lunch, had a 15 minute nap, then called Trevor to find out where to meet. He was in a meeting for 20 minutes and said that the buses were not at the company address so I let him know where I was and had another nap. Once he found me we drove 15 minutes west towards Falkland to a field where there must've been 30 buses in various states of repair, one having been used as practice for fire-fighters using 'jaws-of-life'.
We talked generally for a bit then he offered to show me his first offering - a rear-engined '95 Bluebird TC-2000 84-seater with a Cummins 8.3 litre, 6 cylinder, 12 valve mechanical injection engine (a very desirable, simple, bullet-proof motor). It also had huge, full-width storage boxes underneath, was in WAY better condition than the Van' bus and had tires with what seemed like 1/2" of tread. It had 340,000 kms on it but that's just broken in for a bus. We took a look at the VIN number, called up a local supplier and found that the transmission was an Allison MT-643, another very desirable component. The first bus we looked at and it was almost perfect - I was stoked!
We took a look at a couple of others but neither were the complete package that the first was. I asked about price and he said $6-7000 which was pretty reasonable, especially compared to the Van' bus. I was starting to feel very glad I hadn't got that one and quite sorry for the young couple who bought it with no service history, no confirmed mileage, almost worn-out tires, etc, etc. This one had a complete service history and even the original factory order sheet listing every specification item.
It had actually come from Sooke on Vancouver Island so not an Okanagan one after all but still, despite all that rain, it was solid underneath. Road salt seems to be the real problem for rust.
Trevor seemed busy and was happy to leave me to crawl all over the bus with my tape measure for a while. I found that it was a good 4-5' longer than the SketchUp CAD model I'd drawn up of my proposed floor plan so hopefully, depending on how things worked out around wheel wells, I'd have more room for the living area. Left feeling very positive, not least because Trevor seemed like a very genuine, honest guy and I like dealing with people like that. I'm sure he got it for less than he's asking but that's ok - I'm happy to pay a bit more to avoid the risk of buying at auction. A great day it was, until I tried to get home and found that there had been another accident on the highway, very close to where the other had been, and the road would be closed for 6 hours while they cleared up. Well, at least I just had to wait and hadn't been part of the accident - it didn't sound pretty.
The following Sunday I headed to Calgary to view the Sunshine bus. I could see from the ad' that it was only an 11-window and probably too small for my purposes but I just couldn't let it go without checking it out. The seller had added a couple more photos to the ad' which showed, despite the sellers claims, that there was a little body rust. I set out in pouring rain, a marked contrast to the beautiful weather I'd viewed the Vernon bus in - it had been raining hard when I viewed the Van' bus and I wondered if this was an omen.
Finding the seller, Kent, proved to be a little tricky as Google Maps didn't really know where he was but got me close enough to figure it out, in the middle of the Albertan prairie, complete with wind and spitting rain. He already had it running and we dived inside for shelter and warmth. Its providence was proved by 'Sunshine Village - Ski Banff' stickers all over it.
The head height at 6'6" was good but I realised that even with the extra height the windows were the same height so the view, standing up, was still of the curved wall-roof section. It was only 26' long from entry steps back so 5' shorter than the SketchUp model floorplan I'd drawn up that only just accommodated my needs. A tour around the outside confirmed my loss of interest revealing a dinged rear corner, smaller storage boxes that weren't full width and a rust problem as severe as the Van' bus - I could see that trying to remove anything threaded would be a pain.
We took it for a little drive down the dirt road outside his place and everything seemed harsh, rattly, worn out, etc. That might have been largely to do with the state of the road but it sealed the deal for me - no deal. I'd been right about the weather!
I rang Trevor in Vernon in the afternoon just before I went into the town Library/Aquatic centre to do some 'office' catching up away from my digs. I confirmed my purchase and we figured out details of payment and delivery over the next month - I was going to be away from the 10th to the 28th May, wouldn't be getting my Air Brakes training and endorsement until June 3, if I was bringing it back then I had to get all the seats out prior to comply with BC licensing for my class of license, etc so it wasn't as simple as just going, paying, and taking away. He still had to replace some minor parts they'd scavenged to keep another bus running while they waited for spare parts.
I'd already called an acquaintance, Keith a speciality lumber sawmill owner, that I'd discussed renting a piece of his sawmill property from, to park and work on the bus, and maybe even live there while I did, hoping to discuss and confirm that deal, but hadn't got through. 10 minutes after sitting down in the waiting area of the Centre (the library was closed Mondays) he emerged from the changing room! That explained why he hadn't answered but didn't explain why these random incidents keep occurring - I'm gonna stick with the Universe continuing to confirm I'm in alignment with it and doing the 'right' thing.
That seemed to be confirmed when, as I left Golden where I’d stayed with friends over the weekend that morning, I decided to drive past my old house that I’d sold a couple of years previously. To my astonishment, in the driveway of an old next door neighbour, was a dog-nosed skoolie conversion, complete with a newly-sheeted ‘window band’ and new RV windows.
You just can’t make this up.
That seemed to be confirmed when, as I left Golden where I’d stayed with friends over the weekend that morning, I decided to drive past my old house that I’d sold a couple of years previously. To my astonishment, in the driveway of an old next door neighbour, was a dog-nosed skoolie conversion, complete with a newly-sheeted ‘window band’ and new RV windows.
You just can’t make this up.
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