A friend sent me this listing, as I’ve been thinking about buying a vintage camper this summer. But there’s something significant missing from the ad. Perhaps the seller doesn’t know what they have….or they’re keeping it on the down low. Airstream’s motorhomes are relatively rare compared to their travel trailers, and this is a handsome rig in apparently great condition. It’s listing, here on Facebook, offers minimal photos, but the seller describes it as a “powerhouse, extremely reliable, low maintenance and low repair costs if ever needed!” They go on to say it has only 19,000 miles and is one of 32 ever produced by Airstream. Near the end, they add, somewhat cryptically, “no bathroom, no plumbing.”

The mere minor detail being left out…their “classic RV” is a hearse. Yes, that’s right. Way back in 1979, GMC had just discontinued their revolutionary front-wheel drive MotorHome, and Airstream jumped into the Class A market. Due to a recession and gasoline crisis that had people waiting on long lines to get fuel, their new RV wasn’t selling well. Needing to move units, Airstream diversified and built a couple of executive models: a mobile meeting room known as the Air Coach, and a traveling display unit called the Sales Coach. 

An innovative funeral director named Dale Kloss approached Airstream with a proposal to reduce funeral procession traffic while providing a dignified way for the family to travel together, and in 1981, the Funeral Coach made its debut. It could carry 14 (living) people, one casket, and up to 20 baskets of flowers from the funeral home to the church to the cemetery. While it was a pricey vehicle at $85,000, it could replace a $40,000 hearse and two standard $60,000 limousines, requiring less fuel and fewer employees than driving three cars.

The Air Coach and Sales Coach are so uncommon, no one’s sure how many are still out there, but 32 Funeral Coaches were built between 1981 and 1991, and one is destined for the Airstream heritage museum in Jackson Center, Ohio. While doing my research, I found that apparently this same coach showed up on Barn Finds last year! Looks like it’s been for sale for some time now.

Since then, the price has come down quite a bit, and the funerary aspect of it is being glossed over. If you want to see more detailed pictures, this old listing shows the flower gallery and the casket compartment.

What can I say? People are weird about mortality. A buddy of mine swears he was only able to afford his house because disclosure revealed that a previous occupant had died inside it, and this scared off the other buyers. If you’re not superstitious, there are great opportunities out there. Here’s an entrepreneur who’s turned a couple of Funeral Coaches into mobile escape rooms. They look pretty sweet! Would you roll the bones on this classic Airstream?