Often, I will spot something, do the research about it and tell you the story. With this one, I am going to let you do the research. The main reason is, that this really stretches the credibility factor and you will have see for yourself, what is available and that what I am about to tell you, is mind boggling.

This majestic motor home rolled into Tisdale yesterday and was seen parked by McKay Towers this morning. It is a late model Prevost bus conversion. Vehicles like this are the top of the line when it comes to motor homes. The convention RVs we see, big or small are just toys compared with these units.

They are listed as motor homes or "tour buses" as many are made up for entertainers as their home away from home and those come equipped with a stateroom at the back and six bunk beds amidship. Most, never served a day as conventional buses, although you will find many on the market that are indeed converted buses, that have been taken into a special shop and for around $100,000, a bus shell is converted into a motor home.

Most that I found on the market, both for sale at lots dealing in such things and on e-Bay, were built as dedicated tour bus/motor homes. But this is where it really gets interesting, what do you think they are worth? As I mentioned, I saw them on e-Bay and for sale from agents who specialise in the product and only very old ones can be bought for under a quarter million. The range in price for ones similar to the one in this picture go from $300,000 US to just a tad under $900,000 US.

The standard configuration for these units involves sleeping about eight people and like the one in this picture, multiple air conditioner units, this one has four, they have at least one auxiliary power unit, but most have a back up, they carry 100 US gallons of fresh water, can handle 100 gallons of waste water and 60 gallons of "black" water. It is not unusual for them to be fitted with a washer/dryer combination and it seems almost all have everything in terms of communications and entertainment equipment. Satellite television systems that work on the roll are not uncommon.

When you consider the direction real estate is going these home on wheels, that get about ten miles a US gallon and are designed to whistle down the road at seventy miles an hour, (interstate speed or around 120KPH) are really not so expensive. "A" class motor homes are not as big, most are around 37 feet whereas a Prevost is either forty, or as seen in the picture, forty-five feet in length. "A" class motor homes sell new for between $200,000 and $300,000 but excellent quality used ones are available between $50,000 and $90,000.

As I looked over these things and checked out "C" class motor homes (those mounted on full size van frames) which are available at as little as $4,000 on e-Bay for late 80s models, it seemed clear that recreational vehicles have what seems like a limitless range of prices, from $4,000 to a million and then look at the price of fuel and one wonders what does all this mean.

During the 1920s the difference between most people who lived at the subsistance level and the very few who were ridiculously wealth, we know that those roaring twenties contributed to the ultimate collapse of the economy in 1929. Looking at rolling palaces, close to a million dollars when there are so many holding down more than one job to make ends meet on their car and mortgage payments and the large number of people who are renters, one wonders if this has not all happened before.