The REV Group recently celebrated the 40,000th Fleetwood RV Bounder rolling off the assembly line since Fleetwood joined the REV Group in 2008. Next week, General RV’s flagship location in Wixom, Michigan, takes delivery of that coach. On April 10, there will be a private celebration and then General RV becomes the exclusive dealer for this Bounder Class A motorhome.
Fleetwood’s origins date back to 1950, when John C. Crean formed Coach Specialties Co. in southern California, as a maker of window blinds for travel trailers. Around 1953, Crean renamed the company to Fleetwood, a name inspired by the automotive bodies incorporated into various Cadillac lines of automobiles.
The company experienced massive growth in the 1980s, mainly due to the Bounder Class A basement motorhome that Crean personally designed and introduced in 1985. The Bounder was the first motorhome with a basement, according to history from the company’s website. At first, most dealers shunned the taller vehicle, but the idea caught on because basement storage comes standard on all Class As today. The Bounder became the quintessential family vehicle, perfect for cross-country road trips. At one time, one out of every 10 new motorhomes sold nationwide was a Bounder.
Perhaps the Bounder is most famous outside the RV world as the star vehicle in the AMC hit TV series “Breaking Bad”, where the coach served as Walter White’s mobile meth lab. The studio that owns the rights to the original RV has it somewhere on its lot, but a duplicate is on display at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana.
This celebrated Bounder was No. 40,000 manufactured since Fleetwood RV and American Coach both joined REV Group in 2008. Holiday Rambler became part of REV Group in 2013.
As General RV writes on its blog, promoting the upcoming appearance: “Still known as ‘the greatest (selling RV) of all time,’ these luxury RVs offer a 1-2 punch of power and balance perfection, thanks to the Power Platform Ford chassis. Fleetwood Bounders are simple, affordable, and functional; just like John Crean intended it to be!”
