Wanderlodge Prices and History

[Ed Wimberley]

All
Forget the issue about the drip rails over the windows. Most all vintage Wanderlodges, pre one piece roof's have the same drip rails they are "Hidden"behind the aluminum drip cap we now have running from front to back. If you look you'll see sections screwed on over the "schoolie" roof's most of us have. Back in the day all Wanderlodge's were built on both sides of the street in Fort Valley.

Chassis was built on school bus side,sent over to Wanderlodge side where tanks wiring and MANY other components were installed,then back to school bus side where body was mounted,then back over to Wanderlodge side for finish of interior.

Body was built on school bus side also,as a shell,sent over to Wanderlodge side pre wired,several other components added,then back to school bus side where foam insulation was sprayed into and under shell,then into paint shop "insulated Wanderlodge shell went" then Wanderlodge shell was married to it's school bus chassis just like Magic we now have "almost"a true Wanderlodge, back across street for install of MANY MANY more components. Suddenly we have a "TRUE" Wanderlodge. We wondered if Wanderlodge meant it wandered from side to side of the street.

Yes Blue Bird used many "butt splices" to connect wiring between top and bottom when they were joined "don't blame PO on all the butts installed.
Yes my wife and I both worked there in 70's her in inspection"QA" me in maintenance,both sides, actually helped install water lines to Bird's Nest prior to leaving in 1979.

Anybody seen or heard of 4 wheel drive WANDERlodges??
Next tale.

[Ed Wimberley]

Stephen
Back in 1978 "OPEC" [Saudi]??,special ordered 3 four wheel drive units.
They were built with 3 doors one was normal side entry.Other 2 were up front one on each side driver and co-pilot was rumored to be SECURITY.
Drivers compartment was seperated by sound deaden wall just behind seats. Inside OFFICELODGE area was a BIG chair in front facing several other chairs along both sides, rear area was two bathrooms just toilets and sinks no shower.
These units were to be used for mobile meetings of OPEC in desert to set pricing on OIL, rumor was one actual and other two decoys for security.

As before chassis and body transferred from side to side. My job duties required me to help load chassis onto rail car for transfer to
??somewhere?? don't remember for 4 wheel drive conversion.
They came back with LARGE tires front and rear Larger no longer duals on rear , also installed was PTO driven winch that looked like units on tank retreivers.

Woody
Know anybody that can cruise Saudi and retreive. Bet they are low milage no rust but proably needs paint.

[rwoody]

Saddam and his motor home: a near-death experience in 1991

Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 1:11:56 AM

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Saddam Hussein was almost killed back in 1991 thanks to an American who shared the Iraqi leader's passion for motor home travel. Saddam, whose post-war whereabouts are today unknown, was the prime target of a US bombing campaign to oust the Iraqi invaders from Kuwait.
His television appearances with his war cabinet were limited to tight shots of the small group in what appeared to be a small, nondescript room dominated by a table and chairs.
Watching one such meeting on television, David Winclair was hit by a bolt of recognition: it was the inside of a luxury Bluebird Wanderlodge 79 motor home, just like one that Winclair himself owned.
"During the Persian Gulf War, a Friday evening, I saw some propaganda Iraqi TV footage on an American television," Winclair told AFP from his home in Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest.
"They said, 'He is in a fortified command bunker in Basra.' I knew this was incorrect. Because of my familiarity, I recognized immediately the inside of a Wanderlodge and I knew for a fact that he had some.
"I have a 79 Wanderlodge," said Winclair. "Because of their limited production, people know things and talk, that this or that movie star owns one, like Tom Cruise.
"It was known in the Wanderlodge community that several Arab leaders had them, especially that Hussein had 17 to 18 of them, similar to mine."
Winclair told the Pentagon what he had recognized, and a motor home in a convoy believed to be occupied by Saddam was targeted in the southeastern Iraqi desert near Basra, but the president narrowly escaped.
Winclair was rewarded for his efforts two years later with a letter dated May 24 1993 from Lt Col Ronald Sturmer, US Army Foreign Intelligence, which read in part: "When you saw these television pictures you recognized that the scenes were not in a bunker but were in fact in a large recreational vehicle.
"As a result of your astute observation and patriotism, this information was reported to US military forces in the Persian Gulf for its use," Sturmer went on. "Many thanks for your contribution to the Gulf War effort."
Winclair says the US military also promised him, in 1999, a five million dollar reward, along with a request for discretion. The reward promise was never put it writing.
A few years ago, handicapped after a series of multiple cardiac by-pass operations and sorely in need of cash, Winclair asked the US military, and vice President Dick Cheney, who was defense secretary during the Gulf war, to make good on the reward promise, but has gotten nowhere.
"Your request for compensation is not a valid claim," said a December 5 2001 letter he received from the US Army Claims Service, Office of the Judge Advocate General.
Asked about Winclair's claim, Col W. Patrick Lang (ret), who in 1991 headed the Middle East Section of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told AFP, "I don't think we would offer a reward like this.
"Intelligence business laws are pretty clear. Paying people for intelligence information on a one-time basis would be very exceptional. We believe this is a patriotic duty."
New York Lawyer Bunji Fromartz has been pressing Winclair's claim that he was promised five million dollars by Lt Col Joseph Barry Hughes, US Army deputy chief of staff for intelligence, but with nothing in writing to prove the five million dollar promise, he has made little headway.
In the meantime, according to his lawyer, Winclair is out of work, homeless handicapped.

[rwoody]

http://wweek.com/editorial/2830/2814/

[sanibel]

Scandalous. The guy (and his lawyer!) want 5 million for doing his patriotic duty????????

[DonB]

So today someone posted this in rec.outdoors.rv-travel, in a thread about expensive RVs:

"Reminds me of the way the original Blue Bird manufacturer got into
higher end RVs. They were making $75,000 to $100,000 diesel
motorhomes and placed a trade ad for the next dealer show. They didn't
catch the mistake in the pricing in the ad until they arrived at the
show. The new show model was suppose to be an upgrade to a $125, 000
rig, but the ad said it was a $225,000 rig. They had the best show
ever, selling the $225,000 rig that was not even on display!!"

That does not sound right to me - are there any elements of truth in it?

[iamflagman]

Don,

Since you started this thread, we will add whatever kind of Wanderlodge History related questions or information that comes up on the forum to your thread.

The Vintage 'Birds have an excellent section on their website with a lot of historical information about the Wanderlodge models, it can be found at http://www.vintagebirds.com/history.htm

[Randy Dupree]

Don,i had ever heard that story.

[Green_Bird]

The paperwork I got with our '83 had a copy from a leasing company listing the price as $147,000.

[Rick]

The wife and I would still like to know if anyone has knowledge of Mary Lou Luce. Her name appeared on the title of our Bird as a PO. Is there a connection with her and "The" Luce family?