Move on, Monaco. Make way, Winnebago. The world of recreational vehicles is quickly filling with a batch of beefier competitors offering more power, better stability and greater durability. In a word: trucks.
Although not a new phenomenon, truck-based RVs are fast becoming the tool of choice for serious outdoor enthusiasts whose idea of camping includes a full-size refrigerator, color television, air conditioning and sleeping accommodations for six. In the past, these were mostly homemade machines built with trucks that had been retired from freight-hauling duty. Now, however, the market has embraced the concept, and a growing number of manufacturers are competing for their share of consumers recently smitten with the notion of driving a Freightliner, Kenworth, Mack or Peterbilt.
Ralph Dickinson, founder of Kingsley Coach, deserves much of the credit for this change. A pioneer in truck-based RV development, he built his first unit in the mid 1990s, a rig intended for both personal recreation and marketing purposes. One evening in 1996, he drove to a LeAnn Rimes concert, hoping to show his creation to the (then) 13-year-old singer's father, Wilbur. The two men met and, after some discussion, Dickinson pocketed a sizeable deposit and an order for three units. This was Kingsley Coach's first sale.
Today, the Kingsbury, Penn.-based company has become a household name among wheeled households. It has a reputation for crafting high-end luxury models, each different from any other. "They're all custom made," says Dickinson, "right down to the lighting, interior wood and fabrics, even the doorknobs. It's just like building a house."
Dickinson says trucks provide a superior foundation for recreational vehicles because they're more rugged than the standard fare, and designed to handle a lot of weight.
Gary Olinger agrees. He's the sales manager at Bristol, Ind.-based Renegade, one of several companies that cater to the racing crowd. "Most of our customers pull some pretty big trailers," he says. "They need the heavy-duty chassis and axles of a truck. Traditional motor homes are usually built up to their maximum weight-carrying capacity. If people start towing trailers with them, stuff breaks."
Worse yet, the brakes can fail. That was the concern of Scott Dehm, a racing fan from Normal, Ill., who spends most summer weekends supporting his son's budding quarter-midget career. Dehm had been using a Dodge dualie and 40-foot trailer to haul his son's car, but soon realized that, in an emergency stop, the odds were stacked against him. "It wasn't quite as safe as I'd like," he says.
Dehm, the body shop manager at Central Illinois Trucks, has seen numerous consequences of unsafe equipment, and he was determined to protect his family from such hazards. The best way to do this, he figured, was with Class 8 equipment. He bought a fire-damaged Volvo 610, cut off the melted sleeper, stretched the frame, and fitted it with a 28-foot motor home module that he bought through the Internet. Working on the rig evenings and weekends, he expects to have everything done before this year's racing season begins.
Building your own truck-based RV is less expensive than buying a manufactured product, which can range in price from (roughly) $165,000 to $700,000, depending on features and size. Still, the effort isn't cheap. Ron Frericks, owner of an auto repair shop in Pine Island, Minn., had budgeted $48,000 for his conversion project, but spent the entire amount well before the job was completed. His total investment eventually climbed to nearly $60,000. "I got a lot of good merchandise," he says with a shrug. "Everything except the windows and doors was new." Frericks, who built his motor home body from scratch, says the single biggest expense was the truck, a used Peterbilt 377. The second biggest expense was an Onan generator. "Beyond that, it was $500 here and $400 there. It all adds up," he says.
Undeterred by the financial commitment, Frericks is already planning his next RV. "I'm actually going to build three of these," he says. "By the time I get to the third, my finished cost will be reasonably low. I like fabricating things, and I normally don't get to do that in my normal work."
Whether built in a backyard or on an assembly line, truck-based RVs seem like an idea that's here to stay. This could be good news for truckers whose status is sure to grow among KOA and Good Sam Club members.
