1972 Chassis

Freshly rebuilt Detroit Diesel 8v71 with Tubo and Jake brakes

Allison V730 automatic transmission

1999 High quality conversion with beautiful cedar/marble/oak interior

All the features of coaches costing 10 times as much!

High-def LCD TV, large house battery bank

1969 Austin Mini baggage bay car with winch loading system

Well maintained; ready to drive anywhere!

See full feature list below

Now here’s something you don’t see every day! This is a unique motorhome, built to rival the million dollar “rock star” coaches in features and usability and has a few things even they don’t! All the top end motorhomes are built starting with a bus, not a lightweight motorhome or van chassis. I hope you’ll excuse me as I go on and on about it. It’s been my favorite toy for the last four years and I’ve done lots of interesting things with it and to it, but now it’s time to move on, so it’s looking for a new home.



Starting with the bus itself, this is a 1972 GM model 4108A 35 ft. bus. This model was called a buffalo because of the distinctive roofline that stepped up from the driver’s area to the passenger area. This coach has the desirable R&M front and rear caps, plus their custom tailgate which give it a modern coach appearance and shape, plus lots of headroom in the front of the coach. The buffalo design also means that it has some of the largest baggage bays of any bus ever made, which is why the little car fits (more on that later too). Why a bus? In brief, once you drive a bus, you’ll never want a normal motorhome. Motorhomes are built on a usually overloaded light truck chassis, with a wood or fiberglass box perched on top. A bus is made like an aircraft—a rib structure with a structural skin.



A bus like this one is made to carry 47 passengers plus all their luggage in safety and comfort—to use one as a motorhome is a wonderful overkill. Buses are designed to last 30 years and go 3 million miles in heavy service. As a motorhome, they’ll last forever if maintained. I have friends with buses decades older than mine and they drive them everywhere. GM made great buses since they are almost all aluminum and don’t rust. Unfortunately someone used some smaller steel panels alongside the larger aluminum ones when re-skinning this bus for conversion, and this combination has caused some small areas of surface rust to push the paint up in small bubbles. I’ve fixed these and touched them up, but you can tell if you look closely. From a distance it looks perfect.



The bus has a Detroit Diesel 8v71, one of the most reliable engines ever made. This one was rebuilt in 1999 when the most of the motorhome conversion was done, and a turbo charger was added, which really helps the pickup and fuel mileage. The engine is paired with an Allison V730 automatic transmission, making it quite easy to drive. At the time of the rebuild, they also installed an oversized radiator, which cools the genset also. The bus has lots of power, and gets up the mountains fine with no overheating problems. Oh, if you’re concerned about maintenance, don’t be. There are a number of shops with experts on these older coaches, and any number of places to get parts. The coach comes with a full set of manuals too. Plus there are great internet groups with lots of helpful knowledgeable people. They bus is a pleasure to drive—big and solid—you feel like king of the road and everyone treats you that way!



The little car is a 1969 Austin Mini (later called the Mini Cooper) and was created by a custom auto shop in Canada for a similar bus. It’s been shortened, has step-over entry, and a removable windshield. Other than that it’s a normal, but very small, car. It loads and unloads in about 5 minutes using the ramps and pipe-guide system (like the wheel guides at a car wash) and a special winch mounted on a 4x4 beam to the bulkheads. The winch is controlled by a small wireless remote control. The little car runs great and is a kick to drive. I replaced the tires, wheels, generator, thermostat and a few other odd parts.



OK, now to the fun part…the motorhome in the bus. The walls and ceiling are unique. Apparently the converter’s brother in law was in the custom wood business, and got him this beautiful knotless white cedar (called Port Orford Cedar) and both the walls and ceiling are covered with this tongue and groove siding. It matches the oak cabinetry perfectly. Let’s take a brief tour.



The driver area has a newly factory re-upholstered air-suspension seat. Since I often travel alone, I’ve moved many of the controls that were scattered around the coach to panels reachable from the driver’s seat, including controls for the water pump, water heater (electric and gas), front air conditioner, speakers, stereo power and driver’s 2-speed fan. Also here is a round marine-type remote control panel for the Sony car stereo, including the 10 CD changer and XM radio.



The power system is something I’m particularly proud of, since I re-did it and it’s the equal of any high end, million dollar coach. Start with the house battery bank—eight 6 volt GC2 golf car batteries for a total of 500 amp hours at 24 volts. The bank is connected to a 4000 watt pure sine wave inverter—some say it’s the finest inverter ever made—the Trace SW4024, with the LCD display/control panel wired to a custom control panel inside the coach. This inverter has several special features that make the coach power system very flexible. You can set it to limit the power it draws from the shore power cord, so if you’re plugged into a 15 amp circuit or a 30 amp, you can still run everything you want and the inverter will draw power from the batteries when it needs it, then replace it when it doesn’t.



The power system is monitored by Trimetric monitor which uses a special shunt to measure the current flowing into and out of the battery bank, and shows the percent capacity remaining in the battery bank. I installed a custom battery watering system so you can top up the distilled water in all the batteries with a few squeezes of a bulb pump. There are also two 100 watt solar panels and a Heliotrope controller. All of this power is switched via a set of marine-type battery switches in the battery bay. The shore power wiring (all new) leads to an auxiliary breaker box in the utility bay with separate breakers for a 50 amp and 20 amp shore power connections. It all works great.



If you love electronics as I do, this is the coach for you! I installed five of the best sounding speakers I could find—these are Infinity 6” component speakers with external crossover networks and they sound fantastic. The speaker switches up front switch the five speakers between the Sony car stereo (used when driving) and the surround sound amp (used when parked with TV). There’s also a huge JBL powered subwoofer up front. The TV is a breathtaking 27” LCD HDTV (high definition TV) that is stunning, and much larger than most coaches have. It’s mounted on an articulated swing arm so you can position it to face the couch, the table or in between. With the surround sound system, subwoofer, high end speakers and a good movie on DVD or satellite, it’s better than most home theater systems!



The kitchen is practical and has an LP gas stove and oven with a stainless sink. I didn’t use it much so I built a custom butcher block wood counter that matches the table and washer/dryer cabinet top and lays on top of the existing kitchen counter to provide a large working space, bookshelf, etc. You’ll see photos below both with and without it. It just lifts off if you don’t want to use it—it’s not permanently attached.



I replaced the original freestanding little dining table with a much larger, nicer peninsula-shaped table, anchored solidly to the wall and supported by a custom 3” black steel column. I used this for a desk, but it would make a great dining table for normal people who would rather eat in their RV than work :) There’s a nice skylight above the table.



Next is the matching cabinet with the combination washer/dryer, and a closet or pantry with shelf above. The refrigerator runs off of either propane or 120 VAC and is wired to the inverter so that it will run off of the bus alternator while underway, along with the electric hot water heater and the front air conditioner—the powerful inverter will handle it all.



The clever matching wood door serves as both the bathroom closet door and the door between the living area and the bathroom, depending on which way you swing and latch it. There’s a custom heavy raw silk curtain between the bathroom and the bedroom.



The water system in the coach, of which the converter is especially proud, is very nicely done. Fixtures and plumbing are all standard home type, so easy to service, and are installed well. By changing valve settings you can use water from the city supply and turn the coach pump off, or fill the fresh water tank from the same city hookup. The pipes are insulated in the bay underneath and there’s a thermostatically controlled heat tape so everything works fine, even in freezing weather.



Speaking of cold weather, the coach is well insulated, and has both a ducted central propane forced air furnace with electronic digital thermostat, and also three separate ceramic heaters in the living room, bath and bedroom. The bath heater has a towel warming bar. When connected to shore power, use one, two or all three of these heaters and the coach stays nice and warm without burning any propane.



The bedroom has a well built hinged platform with storage underneath and a full sized bed. There seems to be room for a queen sized bed if you wanted to put one in.



Well, that’s the tour. I can tell you I would not hesitate to take this bus anywhere there’s a road. The 35 ft. length means you can get into any campground or RV park, and it’s easy to maneuver around city streets even while towing a car. There are probably features I forgot to tell you about, since I keep adding things. I told you—it’s a giant toy. I keep it serviced, most recently by the best shop in the country for these coaches and their work is excellent. It’s ready to go on short trips or long—weekend trips or full time living (I’ve done both in it). You won’t be disappointed with this coach!





Coach:



1972 GM 4108A “Buffalo” bus chassis

R&M Fiberglas front and rear caps for modern coach look

Fresh Detroit Diesel 8v71 350 HP diesel engine with Turbo (rebuilt by Southern Oregon Diesel, 1998)

64k mi on new engine/trans; approx 300k total coach miles

Allison V730 Automatic Transmission

Power Steering

Jake Brake

Back Up Camera and monitor

Gauges: Tachometer, Pyrometer

Speedometer with Trip Odometer

Oil Pressure Gauge

15" computer/video monitor at dash for navigation, video display, etc.

Oversized radiator works for engine and genset

Radiator spray system

Engine block heater

Aluminum wheels

Truck style front door latch and lock

New rear end, rear drive axles, brake pads.

Trailer hitch with 2” receiver and towed vehicle lighting connector

Full Manual set including maintenance and parts books

All service up to date and documented, fluids, filters, brakes, air bag



Interior:



Solid Port Orford Cedar wood walls/ceiling (natural blonde color—not red cedar)

Oak cabinets

Drawers have marine-type slam latches; won’t open underway

Bostrom air-suspended driver seat with new gray velour upholstery (2007)

Gray Dygart two-toned passenger seat (new 2003)

Beige leather sofa

Beige storage bench/ottoman

3-drawer file and storage cabinet

Peninsula shaped dining table with custom column leg

Skylight

Tile shower with glass door and enclosure

Sealand Ceramic Toilet

“Temple Gray” Marble tile in kitchen and bathroom

Carpet in front entry area, living room and bedroom

Full sized bed with high quality mattress and foam topper

Bed platform storage with hinged top and air springs

Pleated shades in kitchen and dining

Designer curtain rods and curtains in living room

Day/night shades in bedroom

Oak window frames

Power System:



Wrico Diesel 8000 watt diesel generator with removable tall exhaust stack

Eight 6V GC2 house battery bank (500 AH at 24v)

Battery watering system (fill all batteries at once in seconds)

4000 watt Trace SW4024 pure sine wave inverter with inside remote control panel and battery temperature sensor

200 watt solar panels with Heliotrope charge controller and battery temperature sensor

Automatic generator / shore power transfer switch

50 amp, 30 amp and 20 amp shore power hookups with circuit breakers

Battery switches allow charging of house or starting batteries from inverter or solar

Automatic charging of house batteries from engine alternator when underway

Dual 12 volt accessory outlets near couch

Steel power strip under table with dedicated circuit

Trimetric battery system monitor, shows % left in battery bank via precise shunt measurement



Entertainment:



Sony 500 watt high-end car stereo system with cassette, 10-disc changer, XM satellite radio and marine remote control panel convenient for driver

Five Infinity 6.5” component speakers; toggle switches select Sony car stereo or home theater system

Boston Acoustics 2.0 200 watt surround sound receiver with DVD, Dolby ProLogic II, component and optical outputs and component inputs for high def satellite receiver

27” LCD Olevia high-def LCD TV on swing arm mount; can face sofa or table; can function as computer monitor also



Systems:



Suburban hot water heater, propane with electric hot rod option

Suburban 3-burner propane range with oven

Norcold refrigerator/freezer

Suburban SF30 ducted to driver, living room, bath, bedroom

Electronic digital thermostat

Three electric ceramic heaters

Equator Washer/dryer

120 Gallon Fresh Water tank

80 Gallon Gray water tank

40 Gallon Black water tank

Three fantastic fans: living room, bedroom and custom kitchen range hood

Driver two-speed fan

Two Dometic roof air conditioners; front runs off inverter while underway and has driver-reachable thermostat

Antique style Holmes three-speed oscillating fan in living room

Water heater controls, front A/C thermostat, speaker switches and driver fan wired to custom oak driver control panel

Water pump with pressure accumulator tank and pressure fill from city water

Twin 40 lb. propane cylinders in sheet metal box in baggage bay; vented through floor, automatic switchover

Smoke and CO detectors in bedroom

Car and loading system:



1969 Austin Mini; shortened to 89” length to fit bay

Fully registerable as a car

Can reach highway speed

New tires; replaced steel wheels, new baby moon hubcaps

New battery, generator, thermostat

Huge “Ahh-ooh-gah” horn

Removable windshield

Removable suede racing steering wheel

Steel ramps and pipe guides to load and position car precisely in bay

Winch and cable with wireless remote to pull car into bay, and lower out

Loads/unloads in about 5 minutes

Storage:



Under bed storage area

Large closet in bathroom; small in kitchen

Numerous drawers and cabinets in kitchen, bath and bedroom

Two laundry hampers in bedroom

Craftsman 5-drawer steel tool chest

Other



Cell phone antenna

Cat 6 Ethernet cable hookup

Cobra CB Radio and external antenna

Bay Inventory:



Front bay: genset, batteries, AC circuit breakers, storage space

Middle bay: Austin Mini and loading system, propane tanks, inverter, two large storage bins

Rear bay: water and waste tanks, pump, plumbing, tool chest, shore power, water and waste connections, hose and cord storage, extra storage space with cargo mats



The following photos show some furnishings that came with the coach when I bought it. These things are in storage, and are included with the coach, if picked up from storage. These pieces include:

Green Recliner

Matching Green co-pilot chair

Small dining table and oak chairs

Two oak storage chests matching interior