Decoliner: The $500,000 Double-Decker Motorhome | RIDICULOUS RIDES
A RENOWNED automotive artist has built a $500,000 motorhome that you can drive from the roof. Randy Grubb, from Oregon, is well-known for building beautiful and unique chrome vehicles. Some of his masterpieces include the Blastolene Indy Special, Jay Leno Tank Car, Decoson and the $500,000 motorhome - the Decoliner. Inspired by the 1980s sci-fi space traveller Flash Gordon, Randy spent over $100,000 in parts and 6,000 hours in manpower on the stylised mobile home. Using the chassis of a 1973 GMC motorhome which sports a front-wheel drive, it allows the frame of the Decoliner to be very low to the ground, around 14 inches. This means that Randy had enough space to stack the vehicle as a double decker and for an additional driving position on the roof low enough to fit under most bridges and overpasses. Randy and his wife drove the Decoliner all over America, putting over 15,000 miles on the camper without being stopped for the unusual driving position. Randy told Barcroft TV: “I always get asked ‘is that legal?’ Well, it's not illegal." Recently, Randy was invited to the Frankenmuth Auto-Fest in Michigan to show off the 26ft aluminium Decoliner. Joining Randy was the new owner of motorhome, Mike Jahns, who first saw the mobile home on TV and fell in love with the art-deco design of the vehicle. “It’s an amazing vehicle to be involved with because everybody smiles profusely at it, it just brings a lot of joy to people,” Mike said.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 One of the coolest things about the DecoLiner is the fact that you can drive it from the
00:05 roof.
00:06 I always get asked, "Is that legal?"
00:08 Well, it's not illegal, and it's a very fine line.
00:23 I was never a big motor homer.
00:25 I always thought it was kind of weird driving around in a big box and sleeping in it.
00:29 Then I built the DecoLiner.
00:30 It's really cool.
00:31 We had a lot of fun with it.
00:32 I put over 15,000 miles on the DecoLiner.
00:34 The wife and I drove all over America.
00:37 While building the DecoLiner, Randy invested over $100,000 in parts and a whole lot of
00:44 time.
00:45 The DecoLiner was a 6,000-hour build executed over an 18-month period.
00:52 I know, do the math.
00:53 It's a serious medical condition.
00:56 It's seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day.
00:59 There were only 15 days taken off.
01:02 Yeah, I have issues, obviously.
01:05 It's not based on anything else.
01:07 The chassis under the DecoLiner started as a 1973 GMC motor home.
01:13 That motor home was a very iconic motor home.
01:15 It was way ahead of its time.
01:18 The DecoLiner has a 455 Oles and a front-wheel drive system in it.
01:26 Most motor homes, you walk up a flight of stairs to get above the engine and the drive
01:30 train.
01:31 Because the DecoLiner is front-wheel drive, the frame is only 14 inches off the ground,
01:35 and it allowed me to stack the roof and still keep it under the 13.6 legal max here in the
01:41 States.
01:42 The vehicle was recently sold for half a million dollars.
01:46 I had seen the DecoLiner on a couple of television shows and always loved the design of it, the
01:53 art deco aspect of the vehicle.
01:55 By happenstance, I met somebody who knew Randy, discovered that the vehicle was for sale,
02:00 so we arranged a meeting and worked out a deal.
02:03 It's an amazing vehicle to be involved with because everybody smiles profusely at it.
02:10 It just brings a lot of joy to people.
02:14 I've always thought of the DecoLiner as Flash Gordon's motor home.
02:17 One of the coolest things about the DecoLiner is the fact that you can drive it from the
02:20 roof.
02:21 I always get asked, "Is that legal?"
02:27 Well, it's not illegal, and it's a very fine line.
02:30 For a policeman to pull you over and write you a ticket, he's got to put down what vehicle
02:36 code you violated, and there's nothing on the books about driving a car from the roof.
02:44 And it'll probably come as no surprise that this isn't Randy's first build.
02:49 This is what I do for fun and profit.
02:51 I actually make a living building these crazy vehicles.
02:55 A lot of people know me for the Jay Leno tank car.
02:58 That was the very first car that I built, and that really put me on the map.
03:02 Believe me, when Jay Leno buys your car and gives it the thumbs up, you're a hero.
03:08 So here we are in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
03:11 There's this giant car show.
03:13 Really had fun bringing the DecoLiner and letting everybody see it and experience it
03:18 firsthand.
03:20 When I negotiated the deal for the DecoLiner, I also negotiated a deal for one of the DecoPod
03:24 motorbikes.
03:25 And after I got to know Randy better and got to experience the quality of his work, we
03:30 created a new vehicle, a Roadster.
03:32 The DecoLiner is the center of attention wherever it goes.
03:37 One of the lessons that I learned very early on about the DecoLiner is that there's a certain
03:42 responsibility that comes with driving it.
03:44 I was driving it to its debut in the Portland Art Museum up in Portland, Oregon, and I was
03:49 late.
03:50 It's showtime.
03:51 And I'm mobbed at the gas station with everybody wanting to know what this crazy thing is.
03:56 So I finally get fueled up and I'm like, "I need to go.
03:58 I need to go, you guys."
04:00 And then here comes a bus full of 30 deaf kids.
04:03 They all surround me, and the guy, he's asking me questions and he's signing to the kids.
04:10 And I'm in a hurry and I gotta go.
04:12 That's when it really hit me.
04:14 Wow.
04:15 You don't have time for 30 deaf kids?
04:19 What's wrong with you, guy?
04:21 That's when I realized, when you bring the circus to town, you better have the patience
04:28 to deal with the response, the smiles and the joy and letting the kids go up on the
04:34 upper deck.
04:35 That's what floats my boat.
04:37 It's really an honor and a privilege to drive this thing and make people smile and laugh
04:44 wherever it goes.
04:45 I'm a lucky guy.
04:46 I'm a lucky guy.
04:53 (upbeat music)