Without a doubt America’s, most well-known motor coach traveler is sports commentator John Madden. Madden, who constantly travels during the football season, started commuting between venues via motor coach in 1987. When Madden coached the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, he traveled to games on airplanes, but he grew increasingly claustrophobic in the cramped quarters and abandoned traveling by air in 1979. From 1979 until 1987, he journeyed to distant locations on trains, and then in 1987 he acquired a converted Greyhound bus and has traveled by bus ever since. The most recent incarnation of the Madden Cruiser is a 45-foot Motor Coach Industries MCI E4500, sponsored by Outback Steakhouse.
The custom interior on the Madden Cruiser, fabricated by Klein Interiors Specialists of Nolensville, Tennessee, is finished in stained rosewood. The front lounge includes a sofa sleeper, and the adjacent galley features a convection microwave oven, a 3-burner glass-top electric stove and a side-by-side refrigerator. The dinette area, which doubles as a studio for his live radio shows, includes granite tops and accents. The bedroom office suite features a queen-size bed that slides to the side but can be centered for sleeping. The coach contains 2 baths, with an extra-large steam shower in the master bath.
The office area includes a built-in desk, computer, cell phone system with 3 telephone lines, and a fax machine. Three Sony plasma televisions can be viewed from virtually any location in the coach. The focal point of Madden’s communication apparatus is a KVH TracNet Mobile High-speed Internet System, which supplies a broadband connection even while moving along the highway. Courtesy KVH Industries.