RV’s play a big part in our lives and on the big screen! RVs are employed on practically every large-scale movie shoot, usually used as production trailers, changing rooms for actors and actresses, and as mobile production offices. While RV’s are certainly a big part of the movies behind the scenes, they’ve also played a big part on camera. Here are just a few movies featuring our favourite homes on the road:
RV (2006)
Starring: Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels
Featured RV: 2005 Forest River Georgetown
Potentially the most well-known RV movie out there is the 2006 Robin Williams vehicle (pun intended), RV! As a cure to classic american family dysfunctionality, the Munro family take an RV trip to bring them closer together. There are numerous classic RV tropes in this movie, from dealing with the sewer dump to bottoming out the RV, you may even encounter a few mistakes you’ve made in the past. Needless to say, their 2005 Forest River motorhome does not survive the journey unscathed.
BREAKING BAD (TV SHOW 2008-2013)
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul
Featured RV: 1986 Fleetwood Bounder
While it’s not a movie, few RVs have become as culturally iconic as the 1986 Fleetwood Bounder used as a rolling meth lab by Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the TV series, Breaking Bad. The poor RV in question gets shot at, burned out, smoked out, the battery dies, and is used to transport far too many dead bodies. While the RV only survived for the first few seasons of the show before being permanently retired, it’s still one of the most memorable pieces of Heisenberg’s legacy.
SPACEBALLS (1987)
Starring: Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, John Candy, Mel Brooks
Featured RV: 1986 Winnebago Chieftain (Modified as a Spacecraft)
A very obvious parody of Star Wars, Spaceballs was birthed from the crazy mind of comedy legend, Mel Brooks. Space pirate, Lonestar, and his faithful co-pilot, Barf (a Mog – half man, half dog), travel around the galaxy in a modified 1986 Winnebago Chieftain. It can’t reach ludicrous speed, but it can go pretty fast.
WE’RE THE MILLERS (2013)
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis
Featured RV: Coachmen Encounter
Jason Sudeikis as a small time drug dealer lands himself in hot water when he has to retrieve a shipment from Mexico. He employs people to pose as his family as they travel over the border in a Coachmen Encounter and run into all sorts of trouble. Fortunately, the motorhome survives unscathed.
STRIPES (1981)
Starring: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis
Featured RV: EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle (Based on a GMC Palm Beach Motorhome)
Featuring comedic acting legend, Bill Murray, this pre-ghostbusters movie had Murray and Harold Ramis commandeering a high tech urban assault vehicle disguised as an RV. Hilarity ensues and the pair become accidental heroes.
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989)
Starring: Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo
Featured RV: 1972 Ford Condor II
This Christmas classic about the Griswold Family’s ill-fated attempts to celebrate the holidays features Randy Quaid as ‘Cousin Eddie’. His family Ford Condor isn’t in the best of condition, and he even manages to almost blow up Uncle Lewis when he dumps the highly flammable sewage contents into the public sewer system.
THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)
Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd
Featured RV: 1976-78 Fleetwood Southwind On Dodge chassis
Driven by the ‘Good Ol Boys’, this Fleetwood Southwind failed to capture Jake and Elwood Blues, along with over a hundred chicago police cruisers (all of which were crashed for the purposes of the movie and even held the world record for most cars destroyed in a movie for a little while).
