Model · Blue Bird Wanderlodge
Blue Bird Wanderlodge FC
The FC was the front-engine, forward-control Wanderlodge built on Blue Bird’s All American school bus chassis. It began in 1963 as the Blue Bird Transit Home. Apart from nine rear-engine coaches built in 1969, the Vintage Birds owners’ club lists it as the only Wanderlodge until the rear-engine PT arrived for 1982, growing from a single 31-foot gasoline coach to 31-, 33- and 35-foot diesels, with 1989 as its last year.
Photo: bus-stuff.com (brand photo)
About this model
The first coach was built in 1963 and shown that October as the Blue Bird Transit Home, priced at $12,000. Regular production started in 1965. For ten years it came only as a 31-foot coach with a Ford gasoline engine. By 1968 it was called Wanderlodge and cost $25,000. A 33-foot model was added for 1974 and a 35-foot model for 1975.
The Caterpillar 3208 diesel arrived in 1977, at first naturally aspirated and rated at 210 horsepower by Vintage Birds, and gasoline engines were gone after 1978. Air suspension became standard in 1980. For 1979 a 35-foot XV marked the line’s fifteenth year. For 1982, when the rear-engine PT appeared, the front-engine coach was labeled FC and got a new bathroom and dash.
For 1983 the 3208 was turbocharged, at 225 and then 250 horsepower, and Rear Bath (RB) floor plans joined the mid-ship Side Bath (SB) layouts. For 1987 the floor plan was redesigned, a 300-horsepower Caterpillar was fitted with a ZF transmission, and the front end got rectangular headlamps and a new grille. Only the 35-foot was listed for 1988, and 1989 was the last year of the forward-control coach; the single-axle SP took its place.
For several years Blue Bird also sold a cheaper companion, the Blue Bird Inn, built from a conventional school bus shell. Few were sold, and Wikipedia says it was dropped in the early 1970s. Specifications for 1977 through 1987 come from year pages kept by the Vintage Birds chapter of FMCA; they are an owner-club summary, and the lengths are nominal model lengths.