This Incredible Coach Bus RV Can Go 2,400 Miles On A Tank And Has A Chopped Up Honda Z600 In Its Belly

If you’re the kind of person who wants to live out your life on the road, a Class A coach is a great way to do that while bringing the space and amenities of an apartment with you. However, so many of these rigs either cost more than apartment or look like a casino inside. I found a motorhome so cool it might be worth its $205,000 asking price. This 1962 Silver Eagle Model 01 started life as a Trailways coach bus. Now, it’s a motorhome with an incredible solid wood interior, a groovy paint job, and even a tiny garage featuring a 1972 Honda Z600 that’s been cut in half. Let’s take a look.

I’ve often said the motorhomes of today are just a bit too boring. The vast majority of them are lengthy boxes and “styling” consists of some swoopy decals and maybe some cool automotive-style lights. Tiffin goes as far as to recreate the taillights of Dodge products. Still, I feel older coaches have a sort of beauty to them that you don’t really find anymore. Take this Silver Eagle coach. It has corrugated siding, some classy stainless steel trim, some pinstripes, and oh yeah, a mural!

This is a coach that I could stare at all day. If it weren’t for the asking price, I’d say this should be the Autopian RV. I mean, it’s diesel, used to be a commercial bus, and comes with the weirdest little car!

Eagle Coach

As Phoenix Coach, a successor to Eagle International, writes, in 1954, Greyhound debuted the General Motors PD-4501 Scenicruiser on its line. Back in those days, General Motors produced bus designs that were favored far more than any other. GM’s bus had air-ride, air-conditioning, a monocoque construction, and a design that some would come to call iconic decades later. General Motors was so good at building buses that it led the market, and second place wasn’t even close. As Bus Conversion Magazine writes, by 1956, General Motors controlled 84 percent of the intercity bus market. Flxible was second and it managed a scant 7 percent share.

As the PD-4501 was exclusive to Greyhound, other bus lines wanted their own 40-foot bus. Some operators bought up 35-foot GM PD-4104 buses. Continental Trailways picked up the Flxible VistaLiner, which had a similar layout as the PD-4501, but with a shorter 35-foot length. They also had a rubber spring torsilastic suspension (essentially a torsion bar suspension) as opposed to the air bags of the GM model. Continental Trailways liked the Flxibles and they were more reliable than the GM buses, but the operator wanted an even better bus.

Trailways had limited options. GM’s domination meant there weren’t enough scraps for everyone else, leading to the closure of many bus builders. There were bus builders left in America, but Continental Trailways couldn’t strike a deal with any of them, so it set its eyes on Europe.

In 1950 or 1951, Karl Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke GmbH in Ulm, Germany, created a novel bus. The S-8 did away with the traditional heavy truck chassis. Instead, Kässbohrer built its bus with a lightweight load-bearing lattice frame with steel panels mounted to it. The result was a rigid body that held itself up. This bus was described as “selbsttragend,” which translates to “self-supporting.” The bus is perhaps better known as the Setra bus.

The S-8 was a successful bus, but Kässbohrer was itching to make a larger model. Unfortunately, local demand for buses began to sink. After considering a bus builder in Ireland and then Britain, Trailways found itself in Germany. It wanted to buy Neoplan, but that deal fell through. That’s when Trailways met Kässbohrer, and it was a match made in heaven.

Continental Trailways gave Kässbohrer a wishlist. It wanted a 40-foot bus like the Scenicruiser. Also like the Scenicruiser, Trailways wanted its bus to have a window for the elevated deck. At the same time, Continental Trailways also wanted the rear lounges featured in Flxible VistaLiners and that neat torsilastic suspension, too. Kässbohrer would deliver on those wishes while also providing its input, building the new buses with the same innovative technology developed for the Setra bus.

Continental Trailways acquired an eagle logo trademark when it purchased American Bus Lines in 1953. Continental decided to name its new bus the Golden Eagle and slapped that eagle logo right on it. A prototype was built in 1956 and shipped off to Houston, Texas for testing. Continental liked what they saw and after some changes, greenlit the buses for production.

Golden Eagle buses were luxurious, featuring a galley, carpeting, pillows, and tables. Silver Eagle buses did away with the lounge, galley, and tables. Unlike the Golden Eagles, they also didn’t have gold siding and went for silver sides. Those Silver Eagle coaches would become the backbone of Continental Trailways.

In 1958, Continental Trailways decided to further its relationship with Kässbohrer, asking for a new front-end design and an American-sourced powertrain. Just a year later, Kässbohrer decided to focus its efforts on Europe, ending its relationship with Continental Trailways by selling all Eagle plans and tooling to Continental Trailways.

The bus line did some more shopping around and in 1960, it landed at La Brugeoise et Nivelles in Belgium, a company known for its railcars. Bus & Car, N.V. was established with a factory in Belgium where Eagle coaches would be built. At first, La Brugeoise built 85 New Silver Eagles that Kässbohrer was supposed to, and then it got to work on the next evolution of the Eagle bus, the Model 01. That brings us to today’s bus.

The Eagle’s Nest

This bus started life as a 1962 Silver Eagle Model 01 before an extensive conversion. American components were shipped to Belgium to be placed in these buses. Thus, these were technically foreign buses sporting Detroit Diesel power and Spicer transmissions. Other American components included brakes from Lockheed, compressors from Carrier, and steering from Ross. In terms of design, the Silver Eagle Model 01 buses looked similar to the New Silver Eagles built by La Brugeoise. These buses measured 40 feet long, 96 inches wide, had manual steering, torsilastic suspension, and power from an 8V-71N engine backed by a four-speed manual transmission.

According to the seller, this Silver Eagle operated in Continental Trailways until its retirement in 1979. A year later, the bus was picked up by private owners. In 1981, those owners took the bus to Northwest Coach Conversions in Oregon to build it into a motorhome. This conversion took 11 years and even included chopping up a Honda Z600 to fit in a bus basement compartment. A site detailing the conversion states that the bus was stripped bare, including the removal of the entire interior, drivetrain, body panels, windows, walls, and floors. Then, the bus was rebuilt from its bare parts to be a motorhome. The result is a coach that doesn’t look like it started life as a commercial bus.

There’s so much going on here, so I’ll start with the engine compartment. The original Detroit Diesel 8V-71N was tossed out for an 8V92T. The original 8V-71N was a 9.3-liter V8 diesel that, depending on tune, was good for 318 HP and 863 lb-ft of torque. The 8V92T is 12.1-liter V8 diesel with a turbo. The addition of the larger engine is good for 430 HP and 1,186 lb-ft torque.

Sadly, the manual transmission was lost in the conversion. In its place, the bus gets an Allison four-speed automatic. The seller notes the addition of a large hydraulic cooling fan, custom air intakes, and a roof exhaust. There’s also a compression brake to aid with driving the coach down hills. The bus has upgraded air brakes for better stopping power.

While we’re still on the subject of equipment, the bus has a 12 kW Kohler marine generator. This exhaust also exits through the roof. The seller notes that the exhausts were set up this way to direct diesel fumes away from people on the ground. This generator is noted to be able to power the entire coach. It will run everything from the coach’s three air-conditioners, washer, 220V dryer, and heating systems. If it’s electrical, the generator can run it.

Aiding the generator and Detroit Diesel in cold weather starting is a diesel Webasto water boiler. This boiler not only keeps that equipment warm, but it also heats the coach’s walls, floors, and luggage compartments. Cozy! That’s a lot of diesel gear, and the bus feeds all of it with a large 300-gallon fuel tank. For comparison, the first Silver Eagle Model 01 buses had just 130 gallons for fuel.

It must be shocking to fill up on fuel. On my trip to Florida last month, most diesel stations along my route were charging around $4.30 a gallon for diesel. At that cost, this bus sucks $1,290 out of your account for a tank of fuel. If you’re lucky, you might see 8 mpg, which still translates to an incredible 2,400 miles of range. Put another way, I could drive this bus from Detroit to Los Angeles nonstop and still have fuel to spare. Cannonballers, is it time for a bus run?

Closing those rear engine bay doors, let’s take a look at the body. The build site says every body panel was removed and stripped of all evidence of the bus’ past life as a Trailways unit. Damage was repaired and then the panels were painted in an ultra-shiny black paint. A car artist from California was then brought in to do the pinstripes by hand while an artist from Oregon was put to work creating multiple murals. The murals took five months and after all of the $100,000 paintwork was complete, it was sealed under five layers of clear coat. It should also be noted that when the bus was in pieces, the roof was raised by 10 inches, which is why it no longer looks like a highway coach.

Other exterior work includes a lot of custom metalwork. Those lightning bolts are stainless steel and don’t bother trying to identify the bus by its bumpers, because those are custom, too. These bumpers are made out of chrome-plated steel and feature updated lighting. The headlights are said to come from some General Motors car of the early 1990s or so, but I can’t put my finger on which one. Other outside goodies include ditch lights, spotlights, and power mirrors with heat. Finally, the exterior is capped off with custom fenders and Alcoa aluminum wheels wrapped with Toyo tires.

The Eaglet

Before we go inside, I have to talk about the motorhome’s garage. Once you park the Eagle’s Nest somewhere, you may want to leave your campsite. Most people just tow a car behind their motorhome. Some of the more outrageous motorhomes out there have a garage for something like a Mini or a Smart. The builders of this motorhome had to work with the baggage compartments of this bus, which are smaller than most production cars.

To get around this issue, the builders bought a 1972 Honda Z600, removed its roof, and then hacked the center of the car down until it fit in the baggage compartment. Remember, the bus is 96 inches wide. That means you’re looking at a car shorter than 8 feet in length and a couple of feet tall. More height is added by the removable windshield, which needs to be detached for the car to fit in the luggage compartment. The seller says the car is still road-legal and it has been used in parades. The car gets in and out of the bus using a winch.

Power comes from a 598cc twin making 36 HP. That must feel like a rocket in its current state!

Inside

The greatness of the Eagle’s Nest continues with the interior. The seller states the entire interior is covered in solid walnut wood. Starting with the driver compartment, the steering wheel comes from a Western Star truck and offers tilt and telescoping adjustment. The dashboard continues the walnut theme, and features include adjustable seating, a Pioneer sound system, heat and air-conditioning, an electric entry door, a backup camera, and controls for the powered leveling system.

Moving back and into the kitchen, there is more walnut to be found in the walls and the cabinetry. The seller also says you get a vintage mirror plus touches including Corian counter surfaces, etched tiles, and brass fixtures. Kitchen appliances include a cooktop, microwave, refrigerator, ice maker, instant hot water heater, garbage disposal, trash compactor, and water filters. There’s also a washer and dryer for your clothes.

Continuing in the interior, the seller says the floors are of the hardwood variety, there’s deep plush carpeting, and there’s a cabinet for knick-knacks that you want to display. The living room is said to have skylights and a separate Bose sound system. So, your driver has their tunes while you have yours.

The bathroom continues more of the same with a Corian sink plus brass fixtures. This bathroom seems spacious enough and the seller says there are 24K gold inlay tiles to look at in there, too.

Finally, we arrive in the bedroom, which features more of the walnut we’ve seen before. There’s a dressing area in here plus another skylight and yet another radio. It isn’t just the radios that come in threes. The bus was built to have three heating and cooling zones, each with an air-conditioner and thermostat. So, someone like me can have the bedroom icy while Sheryl has the living room blazing hot. In terms of holding tanks, there’s no word on black or grey storage, but the fresh tank is 200 gallons. So, you could camp off-grid for as long as those huge tanks hold out.

When you aren’t running the generators, house power is provided by eight 6-volt AGM batteries and two 2500-watt inverters. The seller also states that the bus got an entirely new electrical system during the conversion

Expensive, But A Beauty

This bus has been for sale off and on throughout the years. The seller says it has won awards and been featured in magazines. I haven’t found any evidence of this, so those awards and magazines probably predate the rise of the Internet. Considering the incredible attention to detail here, I believe that people went crazy for this thing in 1992.

We’re now 31 years past the conversion so some of the equipment in there looks dated. I mean, that backup camera is very old-school. Still, this is a well-executed conversion that’s so pleasing to the eye and was seemingly overbuilt enough that you could comfortably use it today. Will I ever need to go from Detroit to Los Angeles in one shot? No, but I do like how long legs were baked into the build.

Something that’s also interesting to note is the fact that the bus has driven just 35,000 miles since its conversion into a motorhome. The seller says the coach was stored indoors and was used so rarely that the plastic protecting the carpet was never taken off. It’s essentially a brand new old camper based on an even older bus.

I love it and would buy it tomorrow if I had the dough. The coach is located in Tucson, Arizona, which would even make for a good shakedown run. However, I don’t have $205,000. Believe it or not, that’s a discount from what an owner wanted in 2016, which was $300,000. Is this 1962 Silver Eagle Model 01 worth $205,000? I’m not sure, but it looks so much cooler than what you can buy today.