February 1999 (updated August 2003) The
bigfoot bus is
not your average tourcoach |
| OFFROAD enthusiasts
usually appreciate something a little different - and they don't come much more different
than Western Australia's `bigfoot bus'.
Retiring from a speedway career that had seen him tour the UK and Europe almost nonstop for 10 years, Doyle sought a venture that would combine his mechanical knowledge with the skills of his trade as a fitter and turner. Somewhere in that process he came up with the idea of a bigfoot bus, joking now that it was probably the result of "one drink too many!" His first step was to find the bus, eventually purchasing a 1982 USA schoolbus built by the Carpenter company in Mitchell, Indiana, and bringing it back to Australia.
Its running gear, however, reads like the stock inventory list of a heavy machinery disposals dealer - massive Firestone tyres (66x43.00-25) ride on 36 inch agricultural rims, mounted on axle assembles originally fitted to a heavy duty all-terrain crane. While the gearbox is a relatively ordinary Allison 4-speed automatic, the 4WD transfer case is of uncertain origins, Doyle able to confirm only that it is of "US military type - from a tank, I think…" Nothing so mysterious about the engine, a 5.8 litre (350ci) Chevrolet V8 which has been mildly modified with Scorpion headers and a reprofiled camshaft, in search of bottom-end `grunt', but the steering was a project unto itself.
Removing the basic seats from its days as a 36-seat schoolbus, he replaced them with coach style seats and reduced its seating capacity to 24, which resulted in greater comfort for passengers. The big yellow bus now earns its keep as the main attraction of Doyle's company, Desert Storm Adventures, and is regularly seen making its way up and down the steep sand dunes of Lancelin, a little over an hour north of Perth. Covering an area of over 400 hectares, this is the largest area of mobile sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. At their peak, the dunes can reach heights of up to 50 metres and are one of the few groups of sand dunes in the world that flow to the water's edge. Part of the bus's refit included fitment of a 1000watt stereo system, and the standard one and a half hour tour of the dunes is accompanied by a specially created CD that includes informative commentary and, of course, great Aussie rock music.
Despite its lofty height (almost two metres taller than original), the wide-set track of the huge Firestones endows the bus with stability that is frankly astounding. The screams of passengers as it slews its way up and down the dunes are very real, but so is their safety, thanks to the thought and preparation Doyle has dedicated to the project. Near the end of each tour, the bus halts and a selection of sandboards is pulled from its luggage hatches, allowing passengers to lose their breath all over again as they plummet down slopes that the bus was shortly before crawling down. The bus is registered as an Offroad Vehicle, allowing access to the gazetted offroad area of the Lancelin dunes. But Doyle's face assumes a wistful expression as he reflects on the fact that getting to the offroad area from his jumbo-sized garage would be easier on the bitumen.
"If I could get it licensed it'd really be a sight on the road, wouldn't it?…" You may not be able to ride in it on the road, but you can experience its offroad ability (and give your heartrate a little workout!). Update: August 2003
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parts at great prices, |
Accurately dubbed `the
world's biggest tourcoach', this home-grown monster is the brainchild of former champion
speedway rider Glenn Doyle.
The bus's
body sits
on its original chassis, but that in turn rests on a second massive spaceframe chassis designed and
built by Doyle.
Wanting the bus
to be manouvreable despite its length, Doyle fabricated a hydraulically operated
rear-wheel steering system, controlled from the driving seat, which allows the rear axle
to turn opposite to the front wheels. That actually necessitated the only major body
modifications, cutting away sections of bodywork to accommodate the rear wheels.
Having paid
their $35 (children $25), passengers are alternately thrilled and terrified as the yellow
monster noses over the peaks of razorback dunes and descends at angles that might give
some very experienced offroaders pause for thought.
"The bus
conforms to all safety requirements, with seatbelts for all occupants, and it's geared
down for low speed anyway," he says thoughtfully.