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Walter The Bus Is World’s Biggest VW Bus, Unstoppable Party Animal

For Walter, life is a non-stop party. Like, literally. Walter has no other job and no other responsibility in life than to make people happy – and he does so by welcoming them all aboard, playing loud music and creating the perfect venue for an all-night party.
Walter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the world 10 photos
Photo: WalterProductions.com
Walter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the worldWalter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the world
Walter may unofficially be the biggest Volkswagen bus in the world, but he bears no relation to the VW brand. He may bear some resemblance to one, but it’s not an actual VW vehicle. In fact, he started life in 1963 as a lifesaving airport crash truck at the Luke Air Force Base, built by the Walter Truck Company. Hence his name.

After his time there, he was briefly used as a firetruck, but he was eventually decommissioned. In 2003, current owner Kirk Strawn found him at the Gold King Mine in Jerome, Arizona, and his heart broke. This boxy, massive truck had been left there to rot away, after all the years of service. He bought it and started working on it: as he explains in an interview with Barcroft Cars from earlier this year (see below), he saw the similarity with a VW bus and came up with an idea. He would create the world’s biggest VW bus.

Walter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the world
Photo: WalterProductions.com
It would take Strawn three years and a team as large as 100 people to build Walter a new body. The chassis of the Walter truck was kept but everything else was stripped down, and a custom made body was added. Today, Walter has left his heroic days behind and does the party circuit: he’s been to Burning Man about 11 times and even did events for Google and SpaceX. He may be a big, funny-looking bus, but he moves around in select circles, and is in both with the young and the older crowd.

Walter can carry up to 50 people comfortably. There’s a big party platform that’s situated on what would have been the roof of the old truck, and the driver’s cabin is above the original one. Mechanic Nate Matzenbacher says in the video at the bottom of the page that driving Walter is like driving a second-story building – from a second-story window.

“We generally have spotters and walkers that come along with us and ensure that nobody walks under a tire or something like that,” the mechanic explains.

Walter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the world
Photo: WalterProductions.com
The bus is 30.7 feet (9.35 m) long, 13.2 feet (4.02 m) tall and 8.3 feet (2.53 m) wide, and weighs 19,500 pounds (8,845 kg). It packs a 7,000-watt generator, a large 360-degree sound system with 85 speakers (many of them hidden from sight) and four amps, wireless audio and lighting sync, a DJ booth, and a mist machine. To make it truly party-ready, over 20,000 colored LED lights adorn it both inside and out. Walter, in short, is the perfect mobile party companion.

Speaking of driving Walter, it’s powered by a 330 hp engine with three-speed manual transmission with air clutch and torque converter. It has a 40-gallon (151-liter) gas tank, but neither Strawn nor Matzenbacher mention anything about efficiency. When you have such an awesome rolling party platform, that’s probably last on the list of priorities.

Kirk says he would love to try and build another crazy vehicle, but it doesn’t look like he’s ready to say goodbye to Walter just yet. This bus-like truck is not just a great conversation starter, it’s also his livelihood: you can rent it out for parties and even round trip transportation to various events, including corporate ones.

Walter The Bus, the unofficial biggest VW bus in the world
Photo: WalterProductions.com
There’s also the sentimental bond they have forged in all these years. Strawn sees Walter as part of the family – and you can’t (or shouldn’t) give family members away.

“Really he’s only had one purpose, and that was to save lives, so it’s fun to see him having this second chance at doing something different,” Strawn tells Barcroft. “I think Walter is the ultimate ride because there's only one and he is such an interesting vehicle with an interesting history. He has changed so many people's lives including mine.”

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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