RV Roundup - plus Labour Day Bonus

Road trip over - for me - there are still many others out on the road in a wide and wild variety of RVs.

An unusual van, with a German Hymer RV fit out showed up today with Connecticut plates. Based on the Fiat Ducato Professional, and bearing Hynmer's own Hymercar logo on the grille, this one would not be remarkable if it was carrying German plates. However is carrying Connecticut plates and Dodge hubcaps with the Ram logo.

I guess a European / American cross of some sort.


Three axle arrangements are not common on RVs of any sort, but to see two in two days is a bit of a coincidence.

This one, more or less fresh off the boat is based on the Mercedes Sprinter cab, with Bocklet expedition type RV box. Boklet Fahrzeubau GmbH of Koblenz builds a full range of RVs up to and including full tilt Dakar types.

 

 

 This one was obviously too big for just two axles, so a third (trailing) axle was added.

 For three "axle" units however, there is nothing to beat the traditional GMC Motorhome:

 This classic is one of the most prized RVs in existence. Built entirely by GM, using the Oldsmobile front wheel drive engine from the Toronado, it has an extreme low floor as a result. To minimize wheelwell protrusions, the non-drive rear wheels, were dualed in tandem.

The RV frame is aluminum and the body panels are fibreglass and aluminum, and therefore extraordinarily durable. That is why so many of the 13,000 built are still on the road. Production was from 1973 to 1978!

Speaking of GM, this new GMC T7500 cab forward has been fitted out for fifth wheel hauling:

 A complicated boat rack and launching system spans from front bumper to box body, without touching the independently suspended cab. The front frame is hinged on the bumper, so must be movable to tilt the cab.

 The body comes from Intercontinental Truck Body (ITB) of Coaldale, and Calgary, AB and Surrey BC. The company builds all sorts of specialized and custom truck bodies. It also has a US subsidiary TriVan Trucks of Ferndale, WA.

Not to leave General Motors completely, this RV lives in Halifax, and is not on the road very much. 

It carries a well worn Chevrolet "bow tie" over the front grille, hinting at a Chev undercarriage and mechanicals. There is no manufacturer's name on the van body, which is most unusual. It's rear window appears to be an early hatch back.



September 3 
It's Labour Day so I will save the effrot of making a new post, by adding this one:

This giant MAN from France is a TGM 18,290 model. (M meaning medium duty.)

The crew cab option is one of three cabs avaialbe in this model.

 (Day cab and sleeper are also offered). 

It would take a certain type of agility to get in and out of this rig.

I am not sure about who made the RV box - I couldn't see a label from the front, but it looks like a conversion of a standard cargo body.

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