Blue Bird Wanderlodge
Wanderlodge is a retired series of recreational vehicles built by American bus manufacturer Blue Bird Body Company (now Blue Bird Corporation). Introduced as the Blue Bird Transit Home in 1963, the Wanderlodge was a derivative of the Blue Bird All American school bus for over year; two further generations were produced, adapting motorcoach body and chassis design.
Blue Bird Wanderlodge | |
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"Large Marge" a 1980 Blue Bird Wanderlodge FC33 on Sanibel Island Causeway, Florida | |
Overview | |
Type | Luxury Recreational Vehicle |
Manufacturer | Blue Bird Body Company (1963–1992) Blue Bird Corporation (1992–2007) Complete Coach Works (2007–2009) |
Also called | Blue Bird Transit Home (1963-1967) |
Production | 1963–2009 |
Assembly | Fort Valley, Georgia |
Designer | Blue Bird Corporation |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Class A |
Layout | Front-engine 4×2 Rear-engine 4×2 Rear-engine 6×4 |
Platform | Blue Bird |
Related | Blue Bird All American (1957-1988) Blue Bird LTC |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Gasoline Diesel |
Transmission | Automatic |
Dimensions | |
Length | 31'–45' |
Width | 96"–102" |
Assembled by Blue Bird in Fort Valley, Georgia, each example of the Wanderlodge was built to customer specification. In complete contrast to Blue Bird school buses, no two Wanderlodges were alike; each example was assembled with a hand-crafted interior, with over 200 available options (with some examples adding additional customization). Through much of its first generation, the Wanderlodge was priced in comparison to a medium-sized American home (dependent on customization); latter examples would rise significantly in price, competing against coaches from Newell and Prevost. Highly prized by their owners, many examples were sold to middle/upper-class families, with some examples sold to celebrities and heads of state around the world.
As part of a reorganization of Blue Bird Corporation, the rights to the Wanderlodge model line were sold in 2007, with the model line ending production in 2009, after 44 years of continuous production.