Car manufacturers tend to stay out of the RV market. They’ll happily provide cutaways, powertrains, and chassis to the RV industry, but will largely stay out of building motorhomes themselves. But what if automakers dared to explore? What automaker would make a great RV?
In decades past, America’s automakers loved to build vehicles that weren’t cars. Each of the Big Three used to build semi-tractors and other non-cars. General Motors used to dominate at building locomotives and buses, while Chrysler famously built air raid sirens. All of the Big Three used to flirt with aviation, with the most famous example being the Ford Tri-Motor. Yet, America’s automotive might hasn’t often flirted with RVs.
If you’re a reader of this website, you’re almost certainly about to mention the iconic GMC MotorHome (the ‘H’ was capitalized in advertising). This is an excellent example of what Detroit could do with RVs. The MotorHome of the 1970s was decades ahead of its time as a coach that was built to last, easy to drive, insanely comfortable, and low-slung for an RV. The GMC MotorHome is so legendary that instead of spending $500,000 on a brand-new Class A motorhome, some people spend that money updating old GMC MotorHomes into the modern day. The GMC MotorHome was such a great and aerodynamic coach, that when someone wanted to break the motorhome land speed record, they modified a GMC!
Honestly, the GMC MotorHome was probably the apex of motorhomes, period, which is amazing because it wasn’t built by an RV company. Sadly, GM’s peers didn’t build anything close to the MotorHome. Sure, Ford once slapped its brand onto a fiberglass truck camper called the American Road, but this wasn’t an in-house build. Instead, Ford partnered with Starcraft RV to bring it to market.
The most famous Dodge RV is the Dodge Motor Home, but this wasn’t the work of Dodge’s team. Instead, it was Dodge’s name slapped on a creation by RV pioneer Raymond C. Frank.
Even when Toyota was slinging motorhomes in America, its coach bodies were designed and built by someone else. That makes the GMC MotorHome unique. GMC didn’t just slap its name on someone else’s work, but saw the RV industry and used its brilliant in-house team to do better.
So, that makes me think. If a car manufacturer were to get into making RVs again, which manufacturers would make great ones? General Motors is an obvious pick here – the General could just make a 21st-century version of the MotorHome. But let’s get more creative here.
I’d be interested in seeing a motorhome from Dodge or SRT. I’m not talking about farming out the body to someone else, either, but totally in-house. Knowing the brand’s current image, this coach would probably be all blacked-out or purple with racetrack-style taillights, halo headlights, a front splitter, and at least Hellcat power. But the cool thing is that since Ram is in bed with Cummins, boom, the 6.7 Cummins is right within reach.
I’m not sure what kind of interior a Dodge Hellcat motorhome would have, but I would imagine it would be black with red accents, maybe some red lighting, and of course, Hellcat logos all over the place. In true Dodge fashion, the motorhome would be surprisingly affordable for what you get and the motorhome would ride on an old platform like the medium-duty truck platform that Dodge sold in Mexico. Okay, I’m only joking about that last one.
Would a Hellcat motorhome be silly? Absolutely! But I love it when RV manufacturers don’t take themselves super seriously and build something fun. Alright, so now I turn it to you: What car manufacturer would make a great RV?
BMW! It would be needlessly over-engineered with an engine that would be (flip a coin) either bulletproof or subject to catastrophic failure on a regular basis. Most of the rest of the car’s systems would be quite reliable with the exception of two or three which would be inexplicably cheaped out on and would break at regular intervals requiring expensive repairs. There would be a way-oversized (like four feet tall) beaver-tooth grill in front. For a significant upcharge, you could get some cosmetic add-ons and a bunch of M logos all over it. There’d also be a true M version that would be scary fast and which would break a lot more often then the regular one. It would come pre-stocked with bratwurst, pretzels, and beer.
Scania needs to make a behemoth based on their cabover.
I think Honda would do well. Their space utilization has always been great. The earlier CR-V’s had flip-up front arm rests, that let you walk through from the front passenger seat to the back. Some of them had a folding picnic table tucked into the trunk. The Element had flip-up rear seats that flip up to the sides away from the floor. The Fit had Magic-seats that flip up from the back hinge and clear the floor.
Toyota! Bring back the Dolphin!
Maserati. They need to find something to do. Besides an RV is perfect for a nice soft leather interior and fine wood veneers. You can live in it
ifwhen you break down and have to wait while until you can afford maintenance and repairs. And it would be wildly overpriced like most RVs.Daihatsu are masters at making small kei vehicles that are incredibly space-efficient. They’re the first maker that came to mind, and I think they’d do a dandy job at making small kei-sized RV’s.
Volvo.
Who else can capitalize on maximizing the space of an RV through Nordic minimalistic styling?
I’d love to see a Volvo wagon converted into an armored car – not a bullet proofed passenger car the wealthy use to sneak around in the presence of us plebs, but the kind of thing security companies use to move money around. The Volvo Vault. It would pretty much market itself.
The “right” answer is Toyota, as they would be the most likely to produce what RV buyers actually need. The fun answer would be Porsche. They have done enough non-car design that an RV wouldn’t be an issue. They would provide something that looks like one of these yachts in RV form.
Yep. Toyota, at least recently, has leaned into the whole “overlanding” thing that they were ubiquitous for anyway, and have their own catalog of OEM products for spending the night in your car.
Part of making the modern motorhome workable is dealing with all the fixtures that have to survive and work after being jostled and bounced on the road. In terms of supplier network, I’d be delighted to see something like a Toyota motorhome outfitted with Panasonic entertainment and appliances. Both good companies with good QA and a willingness to actual deal with the edge-case use cases of their products. And Toyota has their TNGA, which would allow for fairly straightforward extensibility.
Toyota already makes prefab homes, too.
Land Rover.
Drive to the far corners of the Earth. When it quits running, you can call it camping. Smoking wires become rustic campfire smoke. Dark evenings enhance star gazing.
How about Car Designer?
I would hire Pete Brock in a heartbeat to design me a custom RV.
Between his expertise in cars such as the Shelby Daytona and all the Datsun’s of BRE, and also inventing the amazing Aerovault Car Trailer, I think he could make one amazing 5th Wheel or RV.
Fuck it. I wanna see what stupid-ass idea Tesla would come up with.
It would look like an ICE paddy wagon.
It would BE an ICE paddy wagon.
Yeah, sadly, this is a good answer. Coming in 2026, trust us.
Dead and gone, but: Saturn.
No frills, durable body that bounces back from campsite mishaps with little more than a scratch. “GM, but for people that hate hassle”.
Stellantis is in a deep enough hole that it’s worth trying anything. Electric isn’t working out for them and they can only keep that whole Hemi thing going for so long. But give the job to Chrysler. They have nothing else to offer and it might add some prestige back to the brand.
I would say maybe the now much later tot he party EREV half ton chassis could potentially work.
thing is, motorhomes are all across the board on size and configurations. Ford still makes a tone of RV chassis and even cab chassis designs for the RV people to use as a basis. I don’t know that the volume and profit are enough for the MFR to want to try to compete and remove a portion of the business on the chassis side.
GM did once, they could definitely do it again.
Toyota and Ford both were fairly cozy with RV companies a few times over the years, I feel like they wouldn’t find it too difficult.
Now, the one manufacturer who would knock it out of the park on their SECOND try, would be Hyundai.
They’ve got a history of an “okay” first attempt at something followed by a damned good second attempt, whether it’s the XG being “okay” for a Hyundai luxury car and then the Genesis knocking it out of the park, or the Tiburon being an “okay” sports coupe followed by the Genesis Coupe being criminally underrated, they learn from their mistakes relatively quickly and tend to get it right on the second try.
I spotted a GM motorhome yesterday. Boxed in by a few other vehicles and all were almost invisible due to moss growing on them. A real shame to let it just sit there being eaten by nature from all directions. Roughly in the Lake Killarney area of Washington state. Spotted on a drive to the Pacific Bonsai Museum.
Volkswagen.
Because you’ll see the same model appear as:
Skoda – for families on a budget
SEAT – for families who’ve got financial issues
VW – for more well-off families
Audi – for financially-over-extended families trying to show-off
Porsche – for the well-to-do who want a sporty model
Bentley – for the very wealthy older couple
Lamborghini – for someone exceptionally wealthy who keeps it in a garage just to say they have one
Seeing what Hyundai did with the Staria conversion, I’d be interested to see what they could do.
Fun is not profitable, unfortunately.
But since we can dream, two things come to my mind:
I think 1980’s Mercedes could come up with an RV with a boring, but solid exterior and a classy, if not staid, interior that would hold up for decades.
I think 2025 Mercedes would look like a bar of soap on the outside and a bad Latvian strip club on the inside.
Have never been in a bad Latvian strip club, can’t say how bad it can be.
Will take your word as true.
Honda.
My reasoning: https://www.hondajet.com/
A large vehicle with a large engine is out of their wheelhouse, but if they DID commit to making one, it’d be fantastic. Throw in the fact they have developed aluminum manufacturing (NSX/Insight) far before anybody else, and I think they’d make something pretty incredible with amazing ergonomics and fantastic efficiency.
Also as cool as the GMC is, I think the Vixen is better. I’m still trying to track down an owner to let me drive one.
Honestly, you hit it in your post: GM could just release the MotorHome again with no visible exterior changes, new interiors, modern running gear and accessories and it would be a hit. Hard to top perfection.
You’re right, absolutely. But I don’t think that GM currently has a transmission/transaxle in the parts bin that’s a modern equivalent of the THM425. FWD cars with a torquey, longitudinally-mounted V-8 no longer exist. The UPP concept was very much of its time.
Not longitudinal, but the LS4 from the FWD V8 GM cars from 2005 to 2009.
Rebranded Jaguar.
I want a seamless brushled stainless steel obelisk made of a single developable surface driving down the highway.
While I like the idea of a Lexus motorhome that’s as luxurious, durable, and reliable in 20 years as when it was sold, I’m more interested in seeing what kind of crazy ideas and space utilization a company like Suzuki or Daihatsu that are big into kei cars can come up with.
I think Rivian is almost there, they created cargo vans for Amazon and they have a good foodprint to make a nice conversion for a RV. Just add some windows and good insulation. You already have a HV battery sitting there to go off grid, add solar panels and some ammenities and you are good.
I came here to say Amazon, close enough. But if they really want to lean in to the outdoor lifestyle, Subaru.
Well, you’re asking for it:
SMART. Think about the benefits of being able to park your RV perpendicular to the curb.
https://www.theautopian.com/imaginary-mercedes-streeter-buys-the-ultimate-holy-grail-a-2009-winnebago-smarthome-camper/
They’ll probably invent a way for you to sleep standing up.
Interesting question. For me it is room and cargo.People love and think they want vans and hear 800lbs, great. Except people are considered cargo. And there is no room.
For me Chevy commercial line. Already cut away, add a good shell and slideouts. With the diesel you can two a around town vehicle. Maintain it? Dealer or truckstop.