Every day I search the Internet for weird things in the RV world and over the years I’ve found some great stuff, like airplanes turned into motorhomes and school buses with rooftop observation decks and fire pits. Then there’s this 1999 Dina Viaggio GV1000. This vehicle started life as a coach bus before someone added a second deck, eight battery banks, gaming computers, and oh yeah, a shower that’s also a faraday cage. I’m not even sure what you should call this thing.
This bus is currently for sale in Ashland, Oregon for $35,000 and I just can’t stop looking at the pictures of it. Every time I look at a picture I see something new, be it just the solar panels placed randomly over the thing or the fact that there are bars over only a few of the windows. The seller says it took 17 years and $210,000 to create this bus, and it’s frankly just entirely off the wall. The more you look at this thing, the more questions you’re going to get.
I’m going to try my best to answer the questions of this mad machine, starting with what the heck even is a Dina Viaggio?
An International Affair
The first thing that caught me about this bus is that it wasn’t built by a particularly popular manufacturer in this part of North America. Usually, you’ll see old Prevost and MCI coaches converted into motorhomes, but not a Dina. What even is a Dina, anyway?
This bus has origins with Marcopolo S.A., a transportation equipment manufacturer that was founded in 1949 in Brazil. The company, which started as Nicola & Cia Ltd., had all of 8 partners and 15 employees. In a little facility in Caxias do Sul, the handful of Nicola & Cia began building buses by hand. By 1952, the company says, it was constructing its buses with metal bodies. In 1968, the company launched its first Marcopolo coach bus, named after the Italian navigator Marco Polo. By 1971, Nicola & Cia changed its name to Marcopolo S.A. Carrocerias e Ônibus.
Today, Marcopolo claims to be a world leader in bus manufacturing, but it has had only limited penetration into the North American market. That changed with the help of Grupo Dina S.A., a Mexican bus manufacturer that was founded in 1951 by the Mexican government. Since its founding, Dina has frequently partnered up with other firms for technology and manufacturing, often making Dina bus derivatives of existing buses from other companies. Dina has partnered with companies far and wide from Cummins and Fiat to Å koda and Chrysler plus a bunch of bus manufacturers.
Dina says it entered into a partnership with Marcopolo in 1990. This partnership resulted in Marcopolo sending semi-knock-down bus bodies to Dina, where Dina would then bolt the bus body to its own chassis with a drivetrain from another partner. This partnership brought Marcopolo Paradiso and Viaggio buses to Mexico beginning in around 1992. Then, Dina acquired some Motor Coach Industries factories a couple of years later, opening the door for Dina to bring these buses to the United States.
The Dina-Marcopolo Viaggio sold in the United States until about the year 2000. So, these aren’t super common buses and if the folks at the Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board are to be believed, only 26 are left in service in the United States, all of them with the Valley Transit Company of Harlingen, Texas.
If true, this Viaggio GV1000 is a bit of a rare beast, but that’s not really bad news. What you’re looking at here is essentially a 43-foot body from Brazil, a chassis from Mexico, but a powertrain from the United States. Housed in the rear of the coach is a familiar engine, a Detroit Diesel Series 60 11.1 liter straight-six making 365 HP.
This alone is fantastic. The Series 60 was Detroit’s most successful engine and you’ll find countless examples of them still in service today, many with over a million miles.
Dina then paired that engine with an Allison B500 five-speed automatic, Rockwell axles, and Ross Gear TAS 65 steering. So, despite the exotic name this isn’t that much of an exotic bus. What is outlandish is what happened to the bus after its service life came to an end.
The Mobile Command Center
The most obvious change you’ll see immediately is that the bus body has been dramatically changed.
The Viaggio GV1000 is not a double-decker bus, but the builder wanted to keep the main deck open for various activities. The roof was raised about a foot, giving the bus a height of 13.3 feet, or about the same height as a large Class A coach. This roof raise allowed the builder to store the coach’s beds — all eight of them — entirely on the upper level. One touch I like is that unlike the roof raises on a school bus conversion, the builder actually added windows to the upper level. That should help the massive bedroom not feel like a dungeon up there.
The seller says all of the custom windows on the coach are double-pane security glass, so there’s probably some decent insulation going on there. The confusing part is that some of the windows have metal grates over them, but some do not. Sadly, I have not been given an explanation for why that’s going on. It looks like the grates are perhaps cheap versions of the Molle panels we see on every overland-style vehicle today.
The exterior continues being weird with a bunch of ladders to reach the roof and weird hatches cut into the side of the bus body that don’t give access to the interior. It all looks a bit prepper-like but then also not, because again, some sparse thin metal grates don’t really scream “apocalypse-ready.”
What’s Going On, Here?
Then we get inside, and here’s where things really come off of the rails.
You might ask why a 43-foot-long bus needs to have an upper level just for sleeping. Well, that’s because the lower level appears to be for a gigantic LAN party or something. Interior photos show a long table with workstations, laptop docks, and more. In the center of it all is a lone gaming chair. How crazy is this bus? Even the driver gets a laptop and a webcam.
I’ve reached out to the seller about this, but is this bus supposed to be a rolling game room or something? Are you supposed to bring your Asus Rog to play some Call of Duty on the road with your friends? Or is this more of a covert thing? A mobile WeWork deal? What’s going on here?
The seller says the bus has a Xantrex house power system that runs off of 8 battery banks, solar power, and a generator. Then there’s a gigantic air-conditioning system to keep the bus cool when presumably, there will be lots of hot computers generating heat in there.
But it doesn’t stop there. The coach has a double-basin stainless steel sink, an electric cooktop, and double refrigerators. We’re also told that the bathroom is all stainless steel, featuring a shower that doubles as a faraday cage. Then, maddeningly, we’re not given a picture of it. See what I mean when I say you get more questions than answers?
The interior is a mix of neat and questionable, too. There’s some nice wood paneling used for the ceiling, but those desks, the dinette, and the floor seem like afterthoughts. It doesn’t feel very cozy, but I suppose it’s not supposed to be. Still, it’s sort of wild this is what the builders got after 17 years and a supposed $210,000 of work into the bus.
Oh yeah, and here’s what that upper deck looks like. There isn’t standing room or mattresses:
The seller originally tried selling this coach for $250,000, calling it an “alternative power source mobile home.” Now the price is reduced to just $35,000. Sadly, we’re told that the bus has a radiator leak and will probably need a new one before driving far. Then, I guess, you can have the mobile command center of your dreams or your nightmares. If you’re not sold on it yet, the seller says it comes with new tires and a half-tank of diesel.
I’ve reached out to the seller for more information. I’ll update if I hear back.
I’m not entirely sure what to make of this bus. It’s equal parts confusing and fascinating. A part of me wishes I had enough gamer friends to make this a thing. I’d finish out the interior with a lot of pink and RGB lighting. Just really lean into the crazy. Maybe I’d cover up the drab floor with one of those rugs with cartoon city streets on them or something. Either way, this might be the craziest RV conversion I’ve seen in a long time. It’s just so, out there, man.
(Images: Torne U, unless otherwise noted.)
Did the builder steal the massive jewel from Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo?
This makes me think of the Lost World trailers.
Yeah, this thing is really weird…
is this the new Autopian bus?
Well it’s no wonder they’re so hard to find. Someone always cheats in that game and doesn’t answer when they’re supposed to.
Now I kind of want a mobile LAN party bus. Not this one, obviously, but something where I can relive the glory days of The Pit and The Halo Cave.
Stop judging me. I can hear you through the screen. 😛
What’s the bronze bowl on the front dash…key party?
I think it’s a singing bowl but your thing might be more fun
Yeah, this place looks like a blast. haha… NOT
The exterior has a certain appeal. It’s kind of Mad Max meets Star Wars. But the inside sucks.
DINA (Diesel Nacional) purchased 100% of MCI in 1994 but sold most of the shares in 1999. This Viaggio features a smooth riding Torsilastic suspension, which DINA first used in the 1960s when it began building the Flxible FlxLiner as the Olympico for the Mexican market.
I’m trying to imagine what this smells like inside. Either Doritos and neckbeard virgin sweat, or a porn studio.
This all screams nope based on the interior, but the outside (sans window bars), mechanicals and layout are great! But that interior….I know what Ashland can be like, and you might not be wrong.
I was thinking stale nag champa and faint body odor from ineffective natural deodorant
LAN “Sins of a Solar Empire II” tournament anyone?
Incel fever dream.
So you put your bedding down on the bench that holds the battery banks? Seems like a good way to self-sterilize. Also, doesn’t look like it would be exactly easy to escape in the event of a fire. “No dice” from me.
In a world where I could own such a thing and have no other consequences, like how to use it, where to park it, how to explain it to my family, I’ve thought of what it would be like to convert a Van Hool TD925 (MEGABUS) into a two-floor motorcoach. I don’t even know what I would do with it when I’m done, but that’s not important now.
There was an X-Files episode about this bus! It tried to kill Mulder after he got inside. Something to do with AI escaping its confines at a software company. Clearly the AI has learned that it’s much easier to freeze you to death with massive AC than poke you with a bitty little saw 🙂
It’s like if the A-Team were all PC geeks. (cue the music)
I mean it seems pretty clear that y’all need to buy this thing and make it the Autopian mobile headquarters, y’know for long road trip test drives and press events out in the desert or whatever. That stuff requires an on-site crew of a half dozen people or so right? Well it does once you buy this bad boy.
I’m not saying the image with the sink has the answer, but perhaps A answer. Is that a silhouette of an space alien kinda taking the place of a ‘child’ in a minivan rear window sticker set of what the family consists of?
Should be on the outside of the rear window – which this thing ain’t got!
So perhaps it was for a family reunion – kiddo had to travel VERY FAR to make it, wanted to see the sights with the family, who all may be of short stature due to – uh, gravitational effects keeping them down? Explains the short ceiling for the resting quarters.
But the overkill power and air con, hmmm – wait – perhaps in response to a quarantine? Couldn’t send the kid back to ‘boarding school’ (Alpha Centuri B has strong educational opportunities, I hear) – so they pulled the “homeschooling on the road” adventure card, had some good times, and thankfully things are better and they no longer need the wheels.
I mean – it’s a stretch.
:scott:
This feels like somebody’s Burning Man rig.
Holy shit, Xantrex. That’s a name I haven’t heard in a loooong time.
I tracks that this is in Ashland, Oregon.
This thing is basically the Winchester Mystery house of mediocre RVs. My head cannon on this vehicle is that an MLM girl boss of the essential oils / crystals / supplements variety wanted a mobile command to sell her wares from the road. However, she required protection from evil 5G / vaccine-rays. She commissioned her long time situationship, Chazz, to build this vehicle, but the complexity of the task drove them both to madness.
I feel like the actual purpose has to be more esoteric than just selling Herbalife or whatever. That might’ve paid for the endeavor, but I think this was going to like track down 5G towers or connect to public wifi networks to try to find mind control devices. Maybe just regular old alien or cryptid hunting. Whatever it was, the Man wasn’t gonna get these guys while they followed their noble(delusional) calling.
Yeah I’m thinking “whacko militia command post”.
Having spent time around both the essential oils crowd, and the end times are coming crowd, I think this particular platform skews more commerce than apocalypse. My humble case:
-It’s in Ashland (known for its Shakespeare festival and healing Lithia Springs waters)
-There are gun racks, reloading stations, external cameras or places to fight from
-There is a prominent crystal on the dashboard
-There is a nice decorative rug
-There’s a painting of Daniel in the lions den
-There aren’t Glock / H&K / Sig / punisher stickers anywhere to be seen
My thorough forensic analysis says Christians engaging in a hippy adjacent commercial enterprise.
You make a strong case.
I’m guessing you meant to say there are *NO* gun racks, etc…
I think you nailed it, I have no notes..
It must be one of those Antifa buses I keep hearing about.
A shower Faraday cage makes complete sense. You need to remove the tin foil hat while taking a shower. Now you are still protected from the 5Gs!
Came here for the tinfoil hat jokes; leaving well satisfied…
I’m going to propose that the grates over the windows are screwed into the metal framing of the bus body, potentially making them functional as EMI shielding if the rest of the bus body (not to mention the shower…) is properly isolated and grounded. So not for anti-zombie protection; light-duty screening is just fine. It looks like the only windows not covered are in the sleeping, and therefore non-computer-populated areas. However, with a fairly wide-open grid like that, microwave and higher-frequency radiation may still pass through. So it’s not easy to say exactly what they were shielding for. For broad-spectrum EMI blocking, hardware cloth — or even better, — all-metal-wire window screen bonded with a wire soldered to the rest of the metal structure is going to be more effective.
Now as for why someone might attempt to keep the computers in an EMI-shielded area of a converted bus — that’s still open to wild speculation…
One can only imagine but then again, these exist too, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I used to work in an underground IBM facility ringed by IBM buildings which was an island surrounded by undeveloped IBM owned land. I was told the company had bought all the land around the facility for quite a distance because they were concerned agents could tap into the computers wirelessly using parabolic antennas from the nearby hilltops.
Mind you this facility was built in the early 1970s, loooong before the internet.
As a child of the 80s, and a young IT security person of the early 2000s my two greatest fears are quick sand and Van Eck Phreaking.
Pretty sure they’d have just picked up porn. Not even good porn but engineer porn.
I think in Female Perversions* the movie opened with Tilda Swinton going at it with a structural engineer. The phone rang and he jumped out of bed to answer some questions from the jobsite.
That’s the closest thing to engineer porn I could recall.
*do not recommend. The movie is weird AF.
Triangle Reseach Park in NC had a lot of IBM buildings in the late 80s. One with massive concrete ‘patios’ below ground level was odd: the areas had no tables, benches—no place for people to be. I asked our maintenance contact, and he said the servers were below ground there—and the concrete space was to keep people with magnets from getting too close. (There was no access from ground level)
-always wondered if he was just feeding us BS
Those things must have prompted some interesting customer support calls 😉
People are funny.
Holy shit. Reading the comments from verified buyers has actually helped me understand how there is even a chance the Chickenshitler could be reelected.
They are truly eye-opening.
“family members keep removing it to get wifi”
I was out biking with my daughters when I heard a dudebro confidently explaining the ancient Atlantis empire. Podcasts have ruined our society.
I’m an electrical engineer who has built RF shielding. Those grates over the windows aren’t doing shit, no matter how you ground and bond them.
Oh yeah? Have you tried those grates in conjunction with a massive fake crystal? Big Engineering doesn’t want you to know about the power of $5 acrylic gemstones.
it looks like they have not one but TWO of them. So, you know they’re serious.