While the world of custom cars and trucks may seem extreme at times, it has nothing on custom RV and motorhome builders. Think rock stars, actors, TV hosts – anyone with a busy travel schedule and a few hundred thousand to spend will likely have at least one executive coach in their fleet, and they’re tricked out to the nines. Now, some of these are built by manufacturers on a to-order basis, while others are total one-offs built by coachbuilders specializing in bus and RV conversions. This is a 1984 Neoplan Jetliner which appears to be somewhere in the middle, as Neoplan has a wide range of luxury coaches in its portfolio but no two of them appear to be exactly the same. Find this wild custom coach here on craigslist with an ask of $29,950.
Custom motor coaches like these immediately make me wonder who owned them previously. I know of one locally that is owned by a prominent attorney, and he uses his for bringing to Lime Rock for race weekends where you can park a motorhome in the paddock. It beats paying for a hotel or camping out, and heck, if you use it for business travel once in a while – tax write-off! Still, you have to have a place to park it, and it’s not exactly an easy vehicle to maintain. It seems like plenty of these coaches can look absolutely incredible inside but still need a whole host of deferred maintenance items addressed. Hell, just tires – how much will that cost on a rig like this? Still, there’s no denying the interior accommodations are incredible and would make long-distance travel a pleasure.
The seller notes this behemoth is powered by a familiar engine from the bus world, that being a Detroit Diesel 8V92 V8 engine. This is a two-stroke diesel that features a displacement of 738 cubic inches or 12.1 liters. The seller describes it as running strong and making good power, while the automatic transmission shifts as it should. The most fascinating detail, however, is the seller’s note that they purchased this rig from an estate that had over 200 cars, trucks, and RVs! If you own multiples of luxury coaches like these, well – that’s an impressive bit of real estate and wealth in your control, as you’re not parking this in your guest parking spot in the condominium parking lot.
The seller jokes that it looks like 1984 inside, and he’s not far off. It looks like 1984 on the outside, too, and the overall excess of the paint scheme and interior really does scream cocaine cash to me. As the listing notes, it was hugely expensive when new, and I have no doubt this would cost deep into the six figures to replicate in today’s dollars. It comes with a Kubota diesel generator that runs excellent, but no other details are shared regarding the operation of sinks, cooking equipment, or the bathroom and shower it presumably has. I’m not sure who the target market is these days for a vintage luxury coach like this, but I sure would like to meet them. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Paul G. for the find.
This would make an ultra-luxury meth lab too!
That’s a fascinating turbo intercooler setup!
Well, if you are the type of person that likes to attract attention ; this is THE machine to do it with on a budget
Man , you cant go un noticed with this baby !
In my case , i would do a forest run , forest run because of the maintenance on a bus like this …
It’s too bad the seller does not include more pictures or description of this beast. This thing has one of the nicest / coolest interiors I’ve seen on an old RV. If it’s in good shape this might be a good deal.
I’m curious what is on the top of this thing? It has a huge bumped out top but it does not appear in the interior.
That’s for the roof A/Cs and the awnings. You’re not missing anything.
Man does this bring back memories for me. I worked for a band
leader who had one of these only not as nice as this one. Oh sure, his rig was built to sleep 6, but I’m blown away by this one.
As for the object on the roof, it could be some type of solar array to charge the bus’s batteries or power up the interior electrics while the bus is parked. I should send this to my GF!
She’ll probably tell me there’s no way she could drive it!
Those graphics and paint scheme is phenomenal. While I’m not a fan of the dated interior, getting that outside would be well worth it.
Wow, I just love this! If I had this in a building (which I don’t have either) I would smile every time I walked up to it. The good life!
Well the thing about Neoplans if I recall is that they had a chronic problem of cracking frames, and also had a tendency to catch fire, in addition to a myriad of lesser reliability issues. The manufacturer notoriously denied these problems were safety issues, and continued that denial right into their eventual bankruptcy.
I, if purchased, would institute the John Madden #2 rule as #1 for all passengers.
This was built in the years when Detroit only put a Turbo on top of the motor. Add a bolt on Super charger and this rig will put out 550hp at 2100 RPM. Seeing as this coach has a single rear axle and no tag axle it probably weighs in at about 35000 lbs fully loaded. I would be concerned with the air system and the frame based on its age.
Single rear axle? I see two.
This was built in the years when Detroit only put a Turbo on top of the motor. Add a bolt on Super charger and this rig will put out 550hp at 2100 RPM. Seeing as this coach has a tag axle probably weighs in at about 40000 lbs fully loaded. I would be concerned with the air system and the frame based on its age.
The cabinet on the driver side of the interior pic looks to be hanging loose from the top— odd angle and not a match to the other side! In person inspection probably a good idea…..
This will make a nice coach for someone with its age I would start to be concerned about replacement parts for the mechanical systems even for your standard RV a new fridge can run $1500 bucks and if this on is obsolete finding one that fits can be a pain
“Danger, Will Robinson!”
Located in Mesa, AZ
Whata motor,
U! play w/it.
Can B run w/ reverse sided (frnt’n back) intake/exhaust.
the wheel covers are worth the price of admission cool rig and engine good for another 200K easy
As Matt G said, Neoplans are an iffy proposition. The frames used mild steel and were subject fractures and rust. However, the amount of modifications done to this one kind of leads me to believe it was retrofitted by an engineer who would take note of all the frame shortcomings and do a whole lot of reinforcement before doing anything with that 8V92 Detroit in it. The rest doesn’t look too bad. At the transit district I worked for they had a Gillig-Neoplan medium duty transit coach which were a nightmare as they were equipped with a Ford 534 engine which was originally designed for stationary generator or well pumping. Worse yet they fed it Propane.
I’m in Vegas, worth a trip to Az. Love unusual things. I might just buy it!