The 2001 SOL Tour's follow vehicle needed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable. We tried to get as close to a "0" footprint as functionally feasible.

For this task, we hired Bill Barillaro of Coach Engineering. He helped locate and purchase the most appropriate vehicle given budget and design specs. He chose a Motor Coach Industries Model MC-8 - a retired greyhound coach with no engine or transmission.

The "Mothership" was taken to PedCo Engineering where it was to undergo a rebirth. PedCo installed a rebuilt 8U71 Detroit Diesel Engine and a 740 Allison 4 speed automatic transmission after which it was delivered to Coach Engineering in Burbank, California. The next step was to basically gut the interior of the coach.


Now comes the fun stuff: source, deliver and install:

3 roof vents
eight 6 volt batteries
a deep cycle battery bank
a 12 volt 100 amp alternator
a 120 volt 8kw Hemp oil powered generator
a 3000 hearth inverter
two 75 gallon waste water holding tanks
one 80 gallon fresh water tank
a 12 volt water pump
Four 100 w 1 r volt solar panels
One murphy bed
6 navy ship bunk beds
shower / toilet
pre-wire for stereo, tv, vcr, heating and a/c
(though heating and a/c will not be used at this time)
lighting
refrigeration
stove
flooring
side walls
headliner
and on and on and on.

Wherever possible and when available products purchased and/or used in construction/remodel were sourced through sustainable companies. All fabrics used on the interior of the bus are made from 100% hemp. The flooring and underlay is made from cork which is harvested from trees every ten years and actually promotes growth.

The primary electrical power source of the Mothership is solar. This is achieved by setting the regulators to allow the batteries to be charged by solar as the primary instead of the alternator or generator. In the event of not having solar source we use the hemp fueled power generator to charge battery banks. The Honda EV is charged in the same manner and will be used when the SOL tour needs a smaller vehicle.

The fuel used in the Mothership is hemp fuel. The purpose is to test both consumption and emissions. We have acheived better perfomance than gasoline while also greatly reducing harmful particulates and emissions, thereby promoting the use of an alternative renewable fuel source.

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