MISSING: Have you seen this bus?? (Just kidding, we have it and it's for sale!)
Sale price: US $2,500.00 Make an Offer
| Condition: | Used | Model Year: | 2002 |
| Fuel Type: | Diesel | Make: | Thomas |
| Type: | School Bus |
Arvada, Colorado, United States
Vehicle description
We would like to introduce you to one of our dearest friends. She’s not shy, likes to party, and is absolutely gorgeous. Her name is Dragon Wagon. She sometimes goes by Dee-Dubs for short. We think you’re really gonna like her!
She runs like a champ and deserves a good, caring home. We really don’t want to sell this amazing astral plane certified machine, but due to Covid our nonprofit is forced to shut down and offload assets for less than they"re worth.
Quick & Dirty Details: 2002 38’ 84 Passenger Thomas Built Cabover (Forward Control) 121,xxx miles VIN: 1T88S3B2921113289 Caterpillar 3126A SN: CKM06507 Allison 2000 Series SN: 6310087508
We"ve owned and operated this bus since 2016 as part of our 30-bus fleet. She"s been one of our most reliable runners with very minimal downtime. The low mileage on this bus is remarkable - so we’re remarking on it!
Drivetrain Notes: She"s able to haul herself at full capacity westbound up I-70 past Morrison and Genesee with no problem. She"ll hit & hold 70mph on flatlands. How, you ask? Simple. The Cat 3126A kicks butt. Plus, it"s paired with a worthy Allison 2000 Series transmission. In the medium duty diesel engine market, Caterpillar has always made a pretty darn good offering and did in 2002 as well, no doubt. (Cat mainly competes with Cummins and International / Navistar in this market segment). The 3126A was one of the most reliable and powerful options available in the industry, with excellent low end torque, quick turbo spool-up, and a wide powerband. However, Cat made the 3126B during this era with very similar specs (simply an engine model iteration ‘upgrade’). Those are absolute trash and every single one I"ve come in contact with is toast. Same goes for others I know who’ve owned and operated them. There was a design error with the fuel injector cup seals and the valvetrain is known to fail on the 3126B. If you find one that’s somehow still kicking - don"t buy it! The 3126A however, I would swear by. I’d trust this platform to save my family in a zombie apocalypse when we were forced to choose a bus and convert it to a Mad Max survival rig. Which is saying a lot. Dragon Wagon can do this for you, too.
Radiator / Cooling Systems: This Thomas / Caterpillar radiator setup is actually the best and most effective setup I"ve encountered on any medium or heavy vehicle - they simply don"t overheat. Fan kicks on the moment she hits 210 and she cools down to 190 in under 60 seconds like clockwork - doesn"t matter if it"s 100 degrees outside and you"re headed up an 8% grade. We don"t hesitate to send this bus to places like Telluride because we know she"ll crush it up the mountains and won"t leave a bus full of people stranded outside of cell coverage. Like I said, we’re really sad to see her go.
She’s given rides to a few thousand of our community members over the past four years, including two specific strangers who met for the first time whilst riding in her ample and luxurious party cabin. Brought together by chance, steel, and turbocharged, oil-burnin’ torquey twists of fate in this unlikely freedom vessel, they started down a beautiful path. Together. They fell deeply, deeply in love. They would later go on to get engaged, and at their wedding, they had us handle transportation (obvi). Of course they requested THIS BUS to fulfil the honor and privilege of carrying them and their family on their special day. Dragon Wagon can make this kind of magic happen for you, too. (*please note, that story is completely made up and enlarged to show texture).
She’s gently loved and of course, a bunch of stuff rattles. Sure some stuff is broken, but more stuff is not broken than is broken, so with a school bus that means you’re all set! (Runs and drives, passes DOT annual inspection, can drift and do doughnuts in the right conditions). She’s made of steel and her bones are solid. No rust (except for one spot on the rear emergency exit door - chassis and suspension are c l e a n). Please also note: We nabbed some pictures off social media, and some show her paint when it was brand new and supa-fresh in 2016. It’s now 2020 (we think?) and the spray paint is a little flakey in some spots - factory bus paint and Rustoleum base coat are great tho.
Fleet maintained on a schedule. Loved. Seriously Loved. Not kidding, we sometimes hug this bus. If you’re interested in this piece of history, and would perhaps like to make some history of your own, please reach out and we’d be happy to go over her quirks with you, do a FaceTime call and walk around, and/or you can come see her in person and take her for a spin!
She would make the most excellent and loyal skoolie conversion, rafting bus, church bus (hope we didn’t offend you in this ad), toy-hauler, stunt vehicle, etc… This vehicle is capable in so many ways, and you’re getting so much machine per dollar here - it’s nuts.
Finally, we’d like to say that we can’t guarantee the bus after the sale or provide any kind of warranty, and school bus maintenance / repair is an expected part of the ownership equation. That said, during our ownership we’ve done a fair amount of work on this bus (. .and her twin sister - another bus of ours one VIN number away from Dee-Dubs), as well as multiple other Thomas / Cats) and we have a ton of information on these gals. We have spare parts, part number matrices, assembly diagrams, supplier contacts, tribal knowledge of install/uninstall tips and tricks, etc. If you end up buying this bus from us and need some help down the road, we’d be happy to be available for you and offer you all the support we’re able.
Thanks for looking.
Love, - Matty & Crew at Bus to Show
P.S. If you’re looking to convert a skoolie and need a bus with some resources - ya kinda just hit the jackpot. You can buy the bus from us and, mega bonus, we share our lot with Chrome Yellow Corp. They’re the dopest and mostest originalest skoolie converters in the land (seriously, multiple HGTV episodes, magazine covers, full write-ups, etc. under their belt). Google ‘em. Just sayin’.
P.S.S. We might be able to figure out a delivery of the bus if you’re absolutely not able to come pick it up. We’re closing the company down and stretched pretty thin, but if that"s an absolutely necessary component for this gal to get to a good home, we can prolly work something out (price for delivery [if we can swing it] is usually around $700-$800 to lower 48).
P.S.S.S (sheesh) We can have two employees remove the seats and haul them to the dump for $250 before you take the bus, if you"re into that kind of thing.
She runs like a champ and deserves a good, caring home. We really don’t want to sell this amazing astral plane certified machine, but due to Covid our nonprofit is forced to shut down and offload assets for less than they"re worth.
Quick & Dirty Details: 2002 38’ 84 Passenger Thomas Built Cabover (Forward Control) 121,xxx miles VIN: 1T88S3B2921113289 Caterpillar 3126A SN: CKM06507 Allison 2000 Series SN: 6310087508
We"ve owned and operated this bus since 2016 as part of our 30-bus fleet. She"s been one of our most reliable runners with very minimal downtime. The low mileage on this bus is remarkable - so we’re remarking on it!
Drivetrain Notes: She"s able to haul herself at full capacity westbound up I-70 past Morrison and Genesee with no problem. She"ll hit & hold 70mph on flatlands. How, you ask? Simple. The Cat 3126A kicks butt. Plus, it"s paired with a worthy Allison 2000 Series transmission. In the medium duty diesel engine market, Caterpillar has always made a pretty darn good offering and did in 2002 as well, no doubt. (Cat mainly competes with Cummins and International / Navistar in this market segment). The 3126A was one of the most reliable and powerful options available in the industry, with excellent low end torque, quick turbo spool-up, and a wide powerband. However, Cat made the 3126B during this era with very similar specs (simply an engine model iteration ‘upgrade’). Those are absolute trash and every single one I"ve come in contact with is toast. Same goes for others I know who’ve owned and operated them. There was a design error with the fuel injector cup seals and the valvetrain is known to fail on the 3126B. If you find one that’s somehow still kicking - don"t buy it! The 3126A however, I would swear by. I’d trust this platform to save my family in a zombie apocalypse when we were forced to choose a bus and convert it to a Mad Max survival rig. Which is saying a lot. Dragon Wagon can do this for you, too.
Radiator / Cooling Systems: This Thomas / Caterpillar radiator setup is actually the best and most effective setup I"ve encountered on any medium or heavy vehicle - they simply don"t overheat. Fan kicks on the moment she hits 210 and she cools down to 190 in under 60 seconds like clockwork - doesn"t matter if it"s 100 degrees outside and you"re headed up an 8% grade. We don"t hesitate to send this bus to places like Telluride because we know she"ll crush it up the mountains and won"t leave a bus full of people stranded outside of cell coverage. Like I said, we’re really sad to see her go.
She’s given rides to a few thousand of our community members over the past four years, including two specific strangers who met for the first time whilst riding in her ample and luxurious party cabin. Brought together by chance, steel, and turbocharged, oil-burnin’ torquey twists of fate in this unlikely freedom vessel, they started down a beautiful path. Together. They fell deeply, deeply in love. They would later go on to get engaged, and at their wedding, they had us handle transportation (obvi). Of course they requested THIS BUS to fulfil the honor and privilege of carrying them and their family on their special day. Dragon Wagon can make this kind of magic happen for you, too. (*please note, that story is completely made up and enlarged to show texture).
She’s gently loved and of course, a bunch of stuff rattles. Sure some stuff is broken, but more stuff is not broken than is broken, so with a school bus that means you’re all set! (Runs and drives, passes DOT annual inspection, can drift and do doughnuts in the right conditions). She’s made of steel and her bones are solid. No rust (except for one spot on the rear emergency exit door - chassis and suspension are c l e a n). Please also note: We nabbed some pictures off social media, and some show her paint when it was brand new and supa-fresh in 2016. It’s now 2020 (we think?) and the spray paint is a little flakey in some spots - factory bus paint and Rustoleum base coat are great tho.
Fleet maintained on a schedule. Loved. Seriously Loved. Not kidding, we sometimes hug this bus. If you’re interested in this piece of history, and would perhaps like to make some history of your own, please reach out and we’d be happy to go over her quirks with you, do a FaceTime call and walk around, and/or you can come see her in person and take her for a spin!
She would make the most excellent and loyal skoolie conversion, rafting bus, church bus (hope we didn’t offend you in this ad), toy-hauler, stunt vehicle, etc… This vehicle is capable in so many ways, and you’re getting so much machine per dollar here - it’s nuts.
Finally, we’d like to say that we can’t guarantee the bus after the sale or provide any kind of warranty, and school bus maintenance / repair is an expected part of the ownership equation. That said, during our ownership we’ve done a fair amount of work on this bus (. .and her twin sister - another bus of ours one VIN number away from Dee-Dubs), as well as multiple other Thomas / Cats) and we have a ton of information on these gals. We have spare parts, part number matrices, assembly diagrams, supplier contacts, tribal knowledge of install/uninstall tips and tricks, etc. If you end up buying this bus from us and need some help down the road, we’d be happy to be available for you and offer you all the support we’re able.
Thanks for looking.
Love, - Matty & Crew at Bus to Show
P.S. If you’re looking to convert a skoolie and need a bus with some resources - ya kinda just hit the jackpot. You can buy the bus from us and, mega bonus, we share our lot with Chrome Yellow Corp. They’re the dopest and mostest originalest skoolie converters in the land (seriously, multiple HGTV episodes, magazine covers, full write-ups, etc. under their belt). Google ‘em. Just sayin’.
P.S.S. We might be able to figure out a delivery of the bus if you’re absolutely not able to come pick it up. We’re closing the company down and stretched pretty thin, but if that"s an absolutely necessary component for this gal to get to a good home, we can prolly work something out (price for delivery [if we can swing it] is usually around $700-$800 to lower 48).
P.S.S.S (sheesh) We can have two employees remove the seats and haul them to the dump for $250 before you take the bus, if you"re into that kind of thing.