Equipment unit · VIN-decoded · NHTSA vPIC

1997 Thomas Built ER TRANSIT (ENGINE REAR)

1T75U4B20V1155359 · Bus - School Bus · BUS
Carriers run under2
28 mo
Inspections7
all-time
OOS inspections0
of 7
First seenOct 31, 2023
CA
Last seenFeb 13, 2026
CA
Inspected under 2 different carriers in 28 months
A unit that bounces between many operators can indicate slip-seating, heavy sub-haul, or double-brokering. Review the carrier timeline below for load integrity — context for human judgment, not a verdict.
01

Decoded identity

From the 17-character VIN via NHTSA vPIC

VIN
1T75U4B20V1155359
Make
Thomas Built
Model
ER TRANSIT (ENGINE REAR)
Model year
1997
Body class
Bus - School Bus
Vehicle type
BUS
GVWR
Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above)
Decoded at
Jun 21, 2026
vPIC returns make / model / year / body class / GVWR. Fields it does not resolve are shown as Not decoded rather than guessed.
Decode evidence & sources

Deterministic structure

These fields come directly from VIN positions and the published checksum calculation, with zero store IO.

World manufacturer identifier
1T7

Deterministic · VIN positions 1–3.

Vehicle descriptor section
5U4B2

Deterministic · VIN positions 4–8.

Check digit
0 · valid

Deterministic · position 9; calculated value 0.

Model year candidates
1997 or 2027

Position 10 repeats every 30 years; both candidates are retained and neither is silently selected.

North American serial sequence
155359

Deterministic · positions 12–17 for a North American WMI.

Sourced platform inference

The prefix store publishes only at support ≥ 3 and purity ≥ 90%. Prefix confidence is shown beside every established platform claim.

Not established

No supported platform claim is established for this prefix

The resolver answered successfully but returned no row above the evidence floor. This does not mean the vehicle has no platform or that no data exists; it means this store cannot make the claim.

Federal observation (NHTSA vPIC)

What the federal corpus observed directly for this exact VIN — independent of, and sometimes more specific than, the prefix-level inference above.

Observed model year
1997

Observed directly for this VIN via NHTSA vPIC.

Observed make
THOMAS BUILT

Observed directly for this VIN via NHTSA vPIC.

Observed model
ER TRANSIT (ENGINE REAR)

Observed directly for this VIN via NHTSA vPIC.

Observed body class
Bus - School Bus

Observed directly for this VIN via NHTSA vPIC.

Observed vehicle type
BUS

Observed directly for this VIN via NHTSA vPIC.

GVWR
Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above)

Observed directly for this VIN via NHTSA vPIC.

Not established

  • platform make
  • platform model
  • model line
  • generation
  • cab type

These are withheld claims, not negative findings.

02

Inspection history

Every roadside inspection of this VIN, newest first · Oct 31, 2023 – Feb 13, 2026

DateStateLevelViol.OOSCarrier (DOT)Plate
Feb 13, 2026CAV · Vehicle-only0SUREWAY SCHOOL BUSES LLC 45129328MCE159/CA
Feb 13, 2026CAV · Vehicle-only0PAUL W SHARPE 26636178MCE159/CA
Nov 13, 2025CAV · Vehicle-only1PAUL W SHARPE 26636178MCE159/CA
Apr 11, 2025CAV · Vehicle-only0PAUL W SHARPE 26636178MCE159/CA
Nov 12, 2024CAV · Vehicle-only0PAUL W SHARPE 26636178MCE159/CA
Jun 12, 2024CAV · Vehicle-only0PAUL W SHARPE 26636178MCE159/CA
Oct 31, 2023CAV · Vehicle-only0PAUL W SHARPE 26636178MCE159/CA
03

Carriers this unit has run under

2 distinct carriers · grouped by DOT · newest activity first

CarrierDOTFirst seenLast seenInsp.State
PAUL W SHARPE2663617Oct 31, 2023Feb 13, 20266CA
SUREWAY SCHOOL BUSES LLC4512932Feb 13, 2026Feb 13, 20261CA
Names are left-joined from the FMCSA census; a DOT with no census match falls back to its number.
04

Plate & unit-number history

The same truck under different plate registrations across carriers

PlateState / prov.Unit no.CarrierDate rangeInsp.
8MCE159CAPAUL W SHARPEOct 31, 2023Feb 13, 20266
8MCE159CASUREWAY SCHOOL BUSES LLCFeb 13, 2026Feb 13, 20261
Sources: FMCSA SAFER · L&I · NHTSA vPIC · decoded Jun 21, 2026