Everyone knows Blue Bird as the maker of school buses. Indeed, the company built its first yellow passenger bus in 1927, and buses remain its primary product today. But Blue Bird also made an outstanding luxury diesel motorhome called the Wanderlodge. In fact, the company built its first Wanderlodge in 1963, as Blue Bird sought to expand beyond the school bus market.

While most diesel pusher RVs are built on other company’s chassis, late-model Wanderlodge M380 and 450 LXi models utilize a Blue Bird chassis, of course, as well as aluminum or steel body panels. The Blue Bird Corporation employs more than 3,000 workers at three facilities. Its headquarters is in Ft. Valley Georgia, which is also the HQ for the RV division.

UPDATE: In 2007, Blue Bird decided to focus on its core products: buses. It discontinued production of RVs, and sold its Wanderlodge division in July 2007 to Coachworks Holdings Inc., whose parent company, Complete Coach Works Inc., based in Riverside, Calif., is the nation's largest supplier of remanufactured transportation vehicles and wheelchair lift retrofits. Coach Works will introduce a new Wanderlodge luxury coach for 2009.

Owners Club: None