A piece of Elvis Presley history hit the interstate with no air filter, no prior fuel stop, and 1,659 miles ahead. Jimmy’s World had only driven the RV made from Elvis Presley’s jet a few short times, so this trip looked like one giant test drive with Graceland as the destination.
The trip was hot, funny, stressful, and strangely successful. The Elvis Jet made it to Memphis, got asked to leave Graceland again, and still kept rolling toward Oshkosh.
Join the trip in the video at the end of this post.
The first highway run started with nerves
Before the first real highway push, the crew found a trashed air filter buried under parts, then realized it was Sunday, and most stores were closed. The plan became simple: Get it onto I-4, reach a truck stop 10 miles away, add fuel for the first time, and hope nothing leaked.
Grizzly packed like a man expecting the end of the world, with a sleeping bag and his beloved “wooby,” while Jimmy admitted he was nervous. The RV had only gone about 8 miles at 40 mph before this, and it had touched 65 mph once for about three seconds. Then came “clear prop,” warning lights on the dash, and the first merge into traffic. Cars immediately honked, slowed down, and filmed it like a parade float with wings.
Fuel, fans, and the first wave of problems
The first fuel stop was a win. The Elvis Jet took 62 gallons, the custom filler neck did not dump fuel on the ground, and the receipt landed at $88.34 after a fan and snacks (that’s changed now). The fan helped with the heat, although it also sat in a spot that did not help visibility much.
Soon after, the trip turned into an electrical hunt. Flashers, turn signals, a high beam, brake lights, and later, a flickering headlight switch all caused trouble. Rain showed up, but the wipers needed airplane power, so Rain-X had to do the job.
At another stop, the crew checked mileage and got 11.3 mpg over 382 miles, better than expected for something that looked like a private jet and drove like a bus.
Nashville grades exposed what this thing really was
By day three, the route to Nashville meant hills, heat, and one missing piece the team wanted badly, the exhaust brake switch. They could not find it after the earlier teardown, so the plan became manual downshifts, light brake use, and a lot of hope.
A scale ticket gave one of the best clues about why the jet felt odd at speed. It weighed 22,000 pounds, with 9,000 on the front axle and 13,000 on the drive axle. That matched the old motorhome’s empty weight almost perfectly. On a 5 percent downhill grade, the crew managed speed with gears instead of panic, and a trooper in the rain still did not pull them over.
Graceland finally happened, then ended fast
The Elvis Jet made it into Graceland’s parking area, paid the oversized fee, and got a warm reaction at first. Staff liked that people could walk up to this jet, touch it, and look inside, unlike the covered aircraft nearby. Then one older man told them to move it, so visit number two ended much like visit number one.
After Memphis, the RV life part got louder. Fresh water vanished, gray water readings made no sense, a sink backed up, lights went out, and one fuse had melted completely. The good news was that several of the worst issues came down to blown fuses, so brake lights, turn signals, and hazards came back.
Jimmy also said the employee who welcomed them at Graceland lost her job, and he tried to help her find work. The trip still rolled through a Bass Pro car show and all the way to Oshkosh, without a single traffic stop.
The road trip worked because it stayed weird
This run was never clean or smooth. It was hot, loud, under-tested, and full of roadside fixes, yet the Elvis Jet still made the trip it set out to make.
That is what makes the whole thing memorable. More of the build lives in the Elvis Jet video series here.
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RVT1261
Haha, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a “-6” JetStar by Lockheed but I recognized the fuselage immediately. The “dash 6” version had the auxiliary fuel tanks centered in each wing while the later “dash 8” version had the tanks slung below the wing for better aerodynamics and also had bigger turbofan engines.
You’ll see the JetStar in old movies because it originally was used for VIP military transport. Many companies purchased the JetStar as corporate jets, the old Republic Steel being one. That’s when I was exposed to them, working on them in corporate aviation.
Anyone know why the frosty reception at Graceland?