“I really like the styling of your motorhome” is a statement that you hear about as frequently as “I wish they kept making the Murano CrossCabriolet” or “why can’t Jason Torchinsky be more interested in amber turn signals on seventies cars?” The fact is that most campers today are essentially boxes covered in lurid colors and graphic stripes in an attempt to make them more appealing. I think that in some cases they’re purchased in spite of their appearance.
I’m not picking on Jayco or any of the manufacturers out there now. Making these things in the most cost-effective way possible tends to push this type of approach, but it doesn’t mean that a handful of nicely designed, aesthetically pleasing motorhomes haven’t existed in the past.
In the eighties we had the compact Vixen motorhome, a rear engined low profile machine that could fit in a garage.
The seventies brought the front wheel drive GMC Motorhome, which was a landmark design that showed what a clean sheet of paper approach could do:
Airstream, typically know for their aluminum trailers, made self-powered motorhomes that used their iconic silver lozenge shape that refuses to ever be characterized by words like “trendy” or “dated”.
Still, when we go back further in time we get some motorhomes (and buses that have been turned into motorhomes) that can still stop traffic with their beauty. The movie RV was a less-than-Oscar-quality 2006 film made partially watchable by the talent of the late Robin Williams and the presence of a gorgeous vintage motorhome based on a 1948 Flxable bus.
Even non-car people watching the movie are enamored with this photogenic piece of rolling sculpture. Amazing how a type of vehicle that is usually frowned upon by homeowner’s associations can actually be an object of desire. I’d love to make a modernized version of a camper like this, but in doing so we might as well have the basis be arguably the greatest bus or truck concept ever made: the GM Futurliner.
As amazing as the GMC Motorhome was at its debut in 1973, the Futurliner makes that vehicle looks rather pedestrian. Now coming up on ninety years of age, I can’t imagine how the people of 1939 reacted when twelve of these things rolled into town. Yes, that’s right: introduced for the World’s Fair, the Futurliners went on a 150 city “Parade of Progress” tour where at each stop they assembled around a central tent. Telescopic lights rose out of the roof, and the side of every Futurliner opened up to reveal an exhibit of new technologies. Electric appliances! Advanced farm equipment! The “March of Tools”! People were really much easier to entertain back in the day, weren’t they?
The Parade of Progress continued up until 1956 when the newfangled witchcraft the exhibits promoted like televisions were already in most people’s homes, and they weren’t about to give up watching The Honeymooners to look a bunch of dioramas in things that resembled big red metal elephants. After the end of the final tour, one of the Futurliners was destroyed in an accident, while the others went on to the fates you would expect of a cast off commercial vehicle. Most ended up in junkyards or abandoned in fields but remarkably nine of the original dozen remain accounted for. The “March of Tools” bus sold at a 2015 Barrett-Jackson auction for four million dollars; for once you can look at a stratospheric price like that and think that the buyer got a lot of vehicle for their money.
A motorhome is merely a metal framework and a fiberglass or aluminum body, so why can’t the shape be more complex and attractive? With some modifications, could the Futurliner shape be adapted to our modern retro interpretation? These classic GM buses look enormous in photos, like you could fit a semi trailer inside of it, but a quick check of the dimensions had me almost fall on the floor. Every measurement is within a foot of the average size of a Class A motorhome.
It’s like the Harley Earl-the famous GM design chief who penned the Futurliner-is REACHING OUT to us from beyond the grave to make this throwback happen. I think it needs to; look at the current camper below the Futurliner in the image above. I fully understand the need to make things economically but is that really what over eighty years of progress looks like?
We’ll still have to switch many things up. For one, lack of lower windows on the Futurliner looks cool but is entirely impractical, so we’ll add glazing down lower but with a graphic band to help tie it all together and stay as true to the original as possible. I’ve also added more standardized aluminum wheels and tires to make replacements easier, but certainly spun aluminum full covers could be a possibility.
A rounded shape does no favors for space utilizations, but I think the sacrifices of a radiused nose, tail, and top edge will be worth the trade-off for aesthetics. In back, the extremely rounded tail presents the same challenges, but since that’s really just a full-width bed back there I think we could make it work.
Along the center of the roof and wrapping down the back is a multi-piece “mohawk” skylight, sort of like the feature found on certain Nissan Maximas some years back. A power shade can close for privacy and light control. You can see in this view looking back at the main bedroom how the sunroof wraps down the back of the bus (the crossbars above are for the steel structure that holds the fiberglass body.
One salient feature of the Futurliner is that it takes the idea of “commanding driver’s view” and pushes it into the “terrifying driving from a basketball hoop” level. Steps inside the corner-mounted front doors of the bus allow access to the steering wheel and dashboard, eight feet off the ground. I’d think a drive around the block would subtract ten years off of my lifespan, if not subtract my lifespan from my lifespan. It’s a bit reminiscent of the bridge on a 747 which was decades away from existing.
There’s no way that we’ll have this thing piloted from a perch that high, and dead center of the vehicle. The driver in our design will sit at a more “normal” height behind the lower windshield, but the windows up top can remain to surround an upper sleeping area (which lowers down when then motorhome is stopped, just like on many current models).
The original Futurliner was powered by a supercharged 4-71 Detroit Diesel four-cylinder, pumping though a 4-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels (after the war the powerplants were replaced by 302 cubic inch straight sixes) so likely it just sort of gained momentum instead of truly accelerating. Ours would be built either on a standard motorhome chassis with a Detroit V8 or on an EV “skateboard” chassis. The fiberglass molds and steel support structure could honestly sit on top of anything.
I’m hoping that better looking motorhomes will become a thing; with a six-figure investment on a motor vehicle I’d want to be damn sure that my rig won’t look out of place in twenty years. While I’m as sick of “retro” design as anyone, I’m all for showing a rather forgotten masterpiece from nearly a century ago some well-deserved appreciation.
Does A Daydreaming Designer’s Semi Sleeper Concept from 1990 Make Sense? – The Autopian
Would You Sleep In An RV Made Out Of A Hearse? – The Autopian
Parts Bin Puzzle: Can You Guess The RV From The Movie ‘RV’? – The Autopian
How Our Daydreaming Designer Would Turn A Scion xB Into A Delightful Camper – The Autopian
This would be the motorhome to end all motorhomes! I’d definitely want that seat to remain in the original position though. I’ve been lucky enough to see two different Futureliners in person, and actually got to sit in one of them. It’s amazing. My daughter was with me – around 7 or 8 years old at the time. She just started giggling maniacally when it was her turn to sit in that driver’s seat.
I’d name mine Sluggo.
This is just so, so, so excellent. The Futurliner is an all-time favorite for me and your rendition is spot on.
Looking back to last week, it would have been right at home in Gattica, too. This and the Flxible Clippers just draw the eye immediately.
Think I’d rather keep the upper deck cockpit, though. I drove a 45-foot long inter-urban bus for a year based in a city with streets unfit for horse carriages, which, while challenging, was also a hoot because of the high driver seat and the panoramic view to the front. Out on the highway it was like piloting an ocean liner. I often thought about what it would have been like to sit about three feet higher as in a Futurliner. An “I’m the king of the world” moment, for sure.
This is a genuinely great design exercise (as always), but I can’t help taking exception to this sentence:
“ People were really much easier to entertain back in the day, weren’t they?”
Hmm.
How to entertain people, ca. 1939:
One of America’s biggest corporations builds a large fleet of bleeding-edge mega-vehicles and sends them out across the country to showcase the latest technological innovations in everything from toasters to turbines, not really selling anything, but just as a way to show off what they’re doing.
How to entertain people, ca. 1993-present:
Take 5-second video of a cat doing absolutely anything. Upload to Internet.
yeah, but did you SEE the expression on the cat’s face?? Did you???
Yup. I can romanticize an era in which “Goodness, Jethro, look at this exceptional grain drill!” is a more authentic response than “OMG kittehz!” but it’s a hard sell.
Bishop this is truly the most beautiful design I have seen from you. I always thought the old GM buses with side windows plus a 4 inch window above would make a nice base to convert to an RV.
Nice rendering, now you just need to put feelers out for a metal fabricator to showcase their work on the cheap,maybe let them put a company logo somewhere, and convince Mercedes that your new mobile headquarters needs her best bus to live it’s best life.
Bishop this is an excellent take!
I couldn’t help but think of…
Luigi Colani, so many unique designs to highlight & discuss here.
His semi truck designs could easily be adopted to be an A class RV
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LuigiColani-DesignTrucks.jpg
the Mercedes logo rotating wiper is awesome on that one. By the way, Colani’s daily driver was a Lincoln Mark V. I’ve seen pics, and he spoke at our school and we asked him to confirm!!
The high driving position reminds me of the Blastolene Decoliner. There are videos on youtube of the thing being driven from its flying bridge, which seems like fun.
Yes! Love the idea. Add some trolley-top windows along the intent of the roof line to let in the light too. Trolley-top windows make everything better.
Love it. This is a great reimagining because, as you suggested, you start with a really strong design. Would be cool to create a trailer in the same style. Many A-class RVs are housing and conveyances for people into racing, and a matching trailer that functions as mobile pit area might be an attractive add-on.
Considering all of the terrible ideas that are actually being built in the RV industry these days, I’m a bit flummoxed that nobody has at least tried this. Apparently there’s a market for multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars RVs with a gimmick, and this is a way better gimmick than most.
One would think that there’s at least one modern bus shell on the market that could easily be converted into an attractive and solid RV platform, rather than the fiberglass-and-particle-board fall-apart designs of the last 40 years, that some smart RV maker could use to make an RV that would maintain both value and physical integrity in the out years. And yet.
I think that’s what Prevost conversions generally are, but they don’t run in the hundreds of thousands, they run in the seven figures.
Well… I was thinking a bit smaller than that, but you’re right.
I like it. Rounded front aids in aerodynamics, making highway travel more pleasant and a bit more efficient (yeah, I know – motorhome). I’d upgrade the sleeping area to a King bed – personal preference – and add a slide to the kitchen side to add main cabin space. Swap out the dinette for a table & chairs – yes, I’d sacrifice the storage for seating and space flexibility. Propelled by a pusher diesel, with the usual storage & support stuff underneath. This has possibilities.
Check out Volkner motorhomes, they can even come with a tray underneath that rolls out to load/unload your supercar!
“…based on a 1948 Flxable bus.”
I believe you mean Flxible.
Mike- yes, I do. Hey, it’s hard spelling an intentionally misspelled word correctly!
I sympathize as a former Galaxie, Sonett, and Xebra owner.
Spell check will give you fits!
Every time I see one of those RVs, I picture a graphic designer in wraparound sunglasses wearing Zubaz and a polo shirt with a popped collar. He puts the final razor edges on some swoopy curves with a chisel point paint marker. “Rad.” he says, flips his visor around and rollerblades down a flight of stairs.
If ever you want to sketch out a 5th wheel, might I suggest the Labbatt truck as a starting point:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Q7iuY1_08&t=190s
starts at 3:10 if the timestamp in the link is borked.
brb going to get a decommissioned school bus and credit card debt.
It really is shocking just how ugly modern campers are. My dad’s of the RVing persuasion and he previously had a class a from the mid 90s.. I honestly couldn’t tell you what it was (I’m lying, I could look through 2 year old pics, but who cares?) but I distinctly remember it actually had a modicum of styling, not just a box on 6 wheels.. I have yet to see a modern class a that doesn’t make me nauseous.
What’s more weird is this phenomenon only really seems to apply to RVs… sailboats from today (not including power yachts, even if that is the closer comparo to a class a, because ew), though most production boats are cheaply built, are not hideous. They aren’t generally as romantic as boats from the 30s or 40s, but they’re sleek and nice to look at. The same definitely cannot be said of any camper, minus airstream. DEMAND BETTER RV PEOPLE.
I don’t care how tall it is, I wanna drive from the upper deck! Maybe a flying bridge?
Make everything drive-by-wire so it can be dual-control. Just make sure the control selection is password-protected or key-locker so the kids can’t take control and force you to Disneyland.
Frankly, I think it’s a good idea, you’d hit a lot fewer low bridges and such.
As someone planning on vanlife-ing it in the near future, this is right up my alley. I’ve considered all sorts of platforms, but this one is probably the coolest of them all. How I wish it were possible.
My uncle drove one in the 1950’s parade, the only person who could drive something that large with a stick. Sadly he passed.
If you put a real black tank in there this could be a nice option. I would consider a slide to allow people to pass by each other.
Other modern touches would be no propane and solar on the roof. Still need a generator to be useful but panels can augment it.
that’s amazing history there! Your uncle was obviously running one with the later postwar drivetrain (which was still reportedly glacially slow).
It was more of a meander or project vs parade.
I can’t help but imagine that announcing the “March of Tools” coming to town in a caravan of Futurliners would still precipitate an epic stampede of Autopian readers in the region.
Particularly if the display included an un-loseable 10mm socket..
What, no whitewalls? C’mon.
I KNOW, I KNOW, but a quick search found none readily available. I must have not looked in the right place. Also thought about spun aluminum wheel covers, at least over the lug bolts.
What?!? Coker doesn’t make RV/truck tires?!?
Bishop, a few years ago (in 2014 or ’15) I was extremely lucky to get a guided tour of the museum in the back of Coker Tires in Chattanooga, TN, where the guide showed me and my friend a mold they had just used to make twelve tires for a Futurliner! At a cost of something like ten thousand dollars per tire!! The customer only wanted two so they had ten spares…
I knew they had to exist in some form since the restored 4 million dollar one had them!
Ha, yeah, if one can spend 4 million dollars it’s probably not that big of a deal to spend 10 thousand on one tire. Still boggles the mind.
Bishop has now stepped on Torch’s, Tracy’s, and now Mercedes’ turf. Next he will redesign the Mondial, go junkyard hunting, and reimagine a streamlined suspension for the Studebaker Hawk.
Maybe a rusted 4WD chassis with a Tatra body on it, and a pop-up camper on the roof? Would that combine everything in one?
Also, a 1961 Hawk 4 speed was supposedly traded for the new 1965 Mustang I was brought home from the hospital in. It was a rusted mess by the time I actually remember it. I wanted my parents to trade it for a Mustang II with amber signals (yeah, I was like six years old, so the fact that the ’65 was an Ivy Green convertible with a 4bbl 289, rallye cluster and Pony interior meant nothing to me).
I was driven away from the hospital in a 1960 Dodge Lancer. I think the whacko styling affected my brain.
Does that mean my taste for simple boxy cars was the result of a 64 Valiant? FWIW the Valiant was replaced with a W108 S-Class when I was 4.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the YJ I was driven home in affected my taste in cars, always looking for the wrong version of a car and a non normal offroader (my current being a 98 explorer)
I hate the stupid swirly graphics trailers and motorhomes have been using since the 90s. Something like this would be amazing!
Honestly, I would settle for the same RVs they are making now, minus the disposable coffee cup graphics. Aesthetically speaking, anyway. I would also like for them to stop making hot garbage with dismal build quality, but a man can dream, can’t he?
Yes, and I want one very, very, very much. I wouldn’t even FFS the price I want one so badly.