Road Icon: The Fleetwood Bounder was a Giant Leap

During the winter of 1984, John C. Crean realized he needed to build something groundbreaking—or, rather, floor-breaking. As he and his wife traveled from the West Coast to Michigan, the plumbing in their motorhome froze solid. With no ability to use a toilet or shower, the trip was a disaster.

After returning to Riverside, California—home of Crean’s pioneering motorhome company, Fleetwood—he searched for solutions. As fate would have it, he revolutionized the RV industry in the process.

Crean gutted the standard floor design found in most motorhomes of that era, including Fleetwood’s. He raised the floor several inches to enclose the entire water tank system. This innovation simultaneously allowed tanks to be heated during cold weather and created basement storage beneath the rig—now almost a standard feature. He redesigned the windshield, flattened the front of the coach, and created a panoramic, bus-like driving experience.

Photo Credit: Fleetwood RV Archives

Crean called his innovative new coach the Bounder. Trade show customers and RV dealers alike considered it one of the ugliest motorhomes they’d ever seen. But it was by far the most functional rig on the market— and sales were immediate. In fact, the Fleetwood Bounder became
so popular, that it still claims the title as the best-selling motorhome of all time. Precisely how many units have been sold is unknown, according to Fleetwood’s sales and production manager Doug Miller, but he says the number is certainly in the tens of thousands.

“It’s a product that works,” Miller says. “From the 1980s to the 2020s, people have found value in it. Products don’t last that long if the reputation doesn’t back it up.”

The Bounder also carved itself a niche in popular culture. In 1997, its chassis was used as the research lab in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. More recognizably, a 1986 Bounder served as Walter White’s meth-making base in the TV series Breaking Bad; a replica of that beige-and-brown classic now resides in the Recreational Vehicle and Motor Coach Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana.

Photo Credit: Recreational
Vehicle and Motor Coach Hall of Fame

In the real world, it’s not uncommon to see Bounders from the ’80s still, well, bounding. The first owner’s club was formed in 1987. Today, Jon Glazer runs a Facebook group and website where he and others celebrate and troubleshoot early-era Bounders. “It is a very well-founded community,” he says, noting that many people love their rigs so much they’ll do just about anything to keep them running. He also suspects many of the earliest models are still out there somewhere. “You can’t find Bounders in a junkyard,” Glazer says. “They’re still on the road.”

Share your memories of Bounders and other vintage rides at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in Wildsam magazine. For more Wildsam content, sign up for our newsletter.

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