RVs have featured prominently in many movies and TV shows. This is the ultimate list of over 85 RV movies and TV shows.

Early travel trailers featured in movies, like the 1950s comedy “Long Long Trailer.” Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball play a honeymooning couple.

“Breaking Bad” featured a mobile meth lab RV. It’s iconic in TV, alongside RVs in animated and horror films.

Some of these movies are based on books, such as RV travel memoirs, while some are completely fictional.

This list features RV movies and TV shows, from recent to the 1943 film “What’s Buzzin’, Cousin?”

Know other RV films or TV shows? Contact us and we’ll update the list!

Here’s the list of RV movies and TV shows:

2021

Resident Alien

Resident Alien

Resident Alien (2021) is a sci-fi comedy-drama TV series about an alien named Harry who crash-lands on Earth and disguises himself as a doctor in a small Colorado town. Tasked with a secret mission, Harry’s encounter with human life leads him to question his duties and develop empathy towards humans, blending humor, mystery, and drama as he navigates his new life and identity. UFO hunters from the government are searching for him in a Class C RV.

2020

Nomadland

A critically acclaimed film featuring Frances McDormand as a woman who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living in her van as a modern-day nomad. This RV movie is based on the award-winning nonfiction book called Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder which follows older Americans living full-time in RVs around the country for a year.

2019

Toy Story 4

Bonnie’s family goes on a road trip in an RV, which plays a significant role in the toys’ adventure. The RV setting provides a backdrop for much of the action and character development in the movie. It serves as a mobile base for Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the toy gang as they embark on a rescue mission and encounter new friends along the way.

The Far Green Country

A young couple, struggling to stay afloat, set out on the road in a class A motorhome in search of the hope of healing. This real-life documentary tells of the comedy, the hardships, and the passion of living intentionally and adventurously in marriage and with children.

2018

The Toy Box

In this movie, an estranged family take a trip to the desert in their used RV but become stranded and isolated in the scorching terrain. They soon learn their RV holds terrible, haunting secrets, and it starts killing them off one by one.

2017

The Leisure Seeker

A runaway couple go on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker, traveling from Boston to the Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West. They recapture their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end.

Highway to Havasu

In this RV movie, the last Spring Break of high school is fast approaching and Dylan, a senior from Bend, Oregon, has just been dumped by his longtime girlfriend. His childhood friends Billy and Maxi want to help out but they haven’t been as close while Dylan has been in a relationship. So Billy and Maxi kidnap him in a stolen RV and head to the epic Spring Break destination of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

CamperForce

CamperForce is an RV documentary that focuses on older Americans turning nomadic for work, including in Amazon warehouses. It highlights retirement insecurity and gig economy impacts.

2016

The Detour

In this comedy TV series, the RV plays a central role as the mode of transportation for the Parker family on their road trip from New York to Florida. The trip is intended as a family vacation, but it quickly turns into a series of misadventures and comedic escapades. The RV serves not just as a vehicle but also as a setting for much of the show’s humor and family dynamics, encapsulating the chaos, bonding, and challenges the Parkers face.

2015

The Lady in the Van

The Lady in the Van tells the true story of Alan Bennett’s strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric homeless woman whom Bennett befriended in the 1970s before allowing her temporarily to park her Bedford campervan in the driveway of his Camden home. She stayed there for 15 years. As the story develops Bennett learns that Miss Shepherd is really Margaret Fairchild (died 1989), a former gifted pupil of the pianist Alfred Cortot. She had played Chopin in a promenade concert, tried to become a nun, was committed to an institution by her brother, escaped, had an accident when her van was hit by a motorcyclist for which she believed herself to blame, and thereafter lived in fear of arrest.

Dusk

John Whitmore wakes one morning to find himself in the midst of a real-life nightmare. His wife, Anne, disappeared from their bed during the night and a recorded ransom message now remains in her place. This mysterious recording instructs Whitmore to contact a man named David, who will escort John and his life savings to a cabin deep within the woods, where he will be reunited with his wife. He does as directed, but not before calling a life-long friend for help. David forces the men into a rusted RV and the three hit the road. John attempts to calm himself by piecing together the events of the previous evening, but instead he finds himself questioning David’s motivation and, eventually, the entire situation. It becomes obvious he will need to take a stand to save his wife…and, quite possibly, himself. Told through fragments of the past that shatter the present, Dusk explores the darkest recesses of the mind through a night of chaos, deceit and paranoia.

2014

Tammy

In this RV film, after losing her job and discovering her husband’s infidelity, Tammy (played by McCarthy) decides to hit the road with her hard-drinking grandmother, Pearl, portrayed by Susan Sarandon. They use Pearl’s car at first, but after it breaks down, they switch to traveling in an RV. The RV becomes a central element of their road trip adventure, facilitating comedic situations and character development as they journey to Niagara Falls.

Child of Grace

9-year-old Katie has spent most of her life traveling the country in an RV with her father. One day she sees a portrait of herself on a missing child poster and realizes that the man she thinks is her loving father may be her kidnapper. As Katie contends with this discovery, a small-town sheriff, her grandfather, simultaneously tries to figure out the truth of her disappearance when new evidence surfaces. This RV movie is based on the novel June Bug by Chris Fabry.

The Bus

The Bus playfully explores how a post-WWII German utility vehicle, AKA Volkswagon bus, evolved into a cultural icon that represents freedom and the open road. Beginning in Germany with the vehicle’s creation, into a wild ride that changes the world, The Bus is an adventure from beginning to end. From Wolfsburg to Hollywood, Burning Man to Baja, people from all walks of life share their stories and passion in The Bus in this award-winning RV movie.

Barefoot

The ‘black sheep’ son of a wealthy family meets a young psychiatric patient who’s been raised in isolation her entire life. He then takes the naive young woman home for his brother’s wedding, traveling via RV.

The Houses October Built

Beneath the fake blood and cheap masks of countless haunted house attractions across the country, there are whispers of truly terrifying alternatives. Looking to find an authentic, blood-curdling good fright for Halloween, five friends set off on a road trip in an RV to track down these underground Haunts. Just when their search seems to reach a dead end, strange and disturbing things start happening and it becomes clear that the Haunt has come to them.

Big Time RV

This RV TV show gives viewers an all-access pass inside Lazydays RV dealership located in Tampa, Florida. The expert sales force and first-rate service center work together to satisfy the demands of RV lovers looking to buy or rent the biggest, most over-the-top RVs. There are four seasons.

Asthma

Our filthy hero Gus mutters to himself, just before stealing a white Rolls Royce. He happens upon Ruby, a stunning tattoo artist he’s always had a thing for, and waves her into the convertible. The misfits escape the city and into nature, sharing a joint, wondering why things used to be so much cooler in the ’70s. Asthma is a modern romance that explores addiction in a fresh and honest way. She warns him not to fall in love with her, but the higher you are the harder you fall. The movie features a rock star character played by Iggie Pop who has a canned ham trailer that he uses as a guest house.

Angels in Stardust

An imaginative teenage girl, living in a mystical and dangerous community built on a deserted drive-in movie lot along the Texas/Oklahoma border, struggles to realize her potential, and escape the world she was born into. The movie features a mix of 1950s and 1960s vintage trailers and other RVs as the housing community where the girl lives.

2013

We’re the Millers

Small-time pot dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished; trying to help some teens, he is jumped by thugs and loses his cash and stash. Now, David’s in big debt to his supplier and — to wipe the slate clean — he must go to Mexico to pick up the guy’s latest shipment. To accomplish his mission, Dave devises a foolproof plan: He packs a fake family into a Coachman Encounter RV and heads south of the border for a wild weekend.

Rock My RV

Originally on the Travel Channel, this TV show unveils a first in-depth look into a world that Bret Michaels, the ultimate RV enthusiast, has never revealed before. Legendary rocker Bret Michaels transforms RVs into bad-ass mobile mansions.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Having left San Diego for New York City, Ron Burgundy is living the high life with his wife Veronica Corningstone and son Walter Burgundy. However, when the boss decides to promote Veronica to full time lead anchor and fire Ron, everything changes. Now heading back to San Diego, Ron is washed up and working part time at Sea World. His shot at redemption though comes in the form of a man named Freddie Schapp, who’s an executive producer at the Global News Network, the world’s first 24 hour round the clock news channel. He hires Ron, who proceeds to reunite the news team of Champ, Brick, and Brian, and head back to New York City. While there Ron and his news team are given the graveyard shift and a challenge. Ron comes up with a radical new idea to transform the news and that puts him at the top of the game once again. But how long will Ron’s newfound fame last? And will Brick finally find true love? A GMC motorhome is featured in the film, including a scene about the perils of using cruise control without anyone actually driving the RV.

Grandma’s Blessings

A local TV talk show host, Drayton Taylor, who dreams of making it big and finally lands an interview of a lifetime that is sure to gain him national exposure. The combination of his nervousness and some well-meaning co-workers who offer him sedatives (among other things) to calm his nerves get the best of Drayton and this proves disastrous. Needless to say, the interview goes horribly wrong causing Drayton to lose his job and consequently all his possessions as news of the interview hits the airwaves. To make matters worse, Drayton receives a phone call from an attorney that his Grandma Sadie, who lived in Austin, Texas, has passed away and left him a special gift. Drayton flies off to pay his final respects and to claim his inheritance. Upon arriving at what used to be Grandma Sadie’s home, he discovers an old abandoned Champion RV just sitting there, practically rooted to the ground. Joshua Wright, a trusted friend of Grandma Sadie, helps Joshua to get the RV running again, but just barely. During his journey back home to Georgia, the RV breaks down several times, driving Drayton to meet some oddly remarkable characters.

2012

Extreme RVs

Millions of Americans hit the road in their RVs each year, but these days it’s not all about family bonding time. The TV series ‘Extreme RVs,’ takes viewers inside incredible megamansions on wheels. With unbelievable amenities and designs, these vehicles put most homes to shame. In each episode, the teams from three shops put it all on the line through each cut of metal, every bolt they turn, and every gallon of paint they spray to perfect the caravans. With custom-themed designs and luxurious interiors, the builders must keep on budget and finish on time.

Sightseers

Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn in this RV movie.

Crowsnest

This is a ‘found-footage’ movie from Canada about five young friends who go on a trip to a cabin back in 2011, but on the way (while filming it) they head off the beaten track to a place called Crowsnest where they have heard that you can buy beer for half price. They get the beer but at the same time they receive a warning to head back where they came from or they will die. But they don’t take the warning too seriously and keep driving in to the forest. But they seem to be lost, then an RV hits one of them and all hell breaks loose. There’s something about the people in the RV. Will the friends survive?

2011

Paul

Two sci-fi geeks take a pilgrimage to America’s UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. When he discovers he’s been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town – a rented RV containing Earthlings. Chased by federal agents, they hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship.

Hollywood to Dollywood

Gay twins Gary and Larry have always loved Dolly Parton. They left their small town home ten years ago to make it in Hollywood and are finally ready to get their script to Dolly. In an RV named Jolene, the boys embark on the adventure of a lifetime. This road trip is also a journey of self-discovery and an attempt to resolve mommy issues that have divided them since childhood. This RV movie features 15 of Dolly’s classic songs.

The Cabin in the Woods

Five teenagers head off for a weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods. They arrive to find they are quite isolated with no means of communicating with the outside world. When the cellar door flings itself open, they of course go down to investigate. They find an odd assortment of relics and curios, but when one of the women, Dana, reads from a book, she awakens a family of deadly zombie killers. However, there’s far more going on than meets the eye. The characters travel in a motorhome.

2010

Winnebago Man

This RV movie is about a true story of an RV salesman. A search for the legendary RV salesman whose hilarious, foul-mouthed outbursts were caught on video and became an online phenomenon. Winnebago Man is a laugh-out-loud look at viral culture and an unexpectedly poignant tale of one man’s response to unintended fame.

Refuge

Amelia accidentally kills her abusive husband, Jack, and is on the run with his body in the back of her RV. In the heat of the desert, she encounters Darryl. While looking for a landfill to bury his failed first novel, the disillusioned writer had become stranded with his motorcycle. Darryl sees, what he thinks, is an abandoned RV and checks inside. Just as he notices a lifeless body in the back, Amelia emerges with a loaded gun in hand and instructs him to take the wheel and drive! As they embark on a road trip across the state, the dead body decomposes in the back, a lifeless novel dries up in the front, and two lost souls seek refuge and redemption on New Mexico’s roads, mountains, and farmlands.

The Walking Dead

When the world is ravaged by a zombie apocalypse, police officer Rick Grimes and a small group of others must face a terrifying new reality. Can they survive ‘the dead’ and each other? Dale’s 1977 Winnebago Chieftain plays a large role in how the cast is able to stay safe from the zombies in the first two seasons of this popular TV series.

2009

Our Time

America has questions about today’s youth, what we care about, and where we’re headed. We had those questions too. So, after graduating college, four of us loaded an RV and embarked on a journey looking for answers. We traveled to all of the lower 48 states, talking to our peers about growing up, 9/11, race, the Internet, careers, sex, love, and the American Dream. Along the way, we met a wide cross-section of young Americans, ranging from a cancer researcher in Boston to a drug dealer in New Mexico, from an Iraq veteran in Florida to the founder of Facebook in Silicon Valley. The film ultimately leads to the recent historic election, where our generation finally stands up to make its voice heard. Our Time is a passionate portrayal of a generation, a meditation on coming of age in 21st-century America, and a rallying cry against apathy.

A Good Funeral

A Good Funeral (2009)” description=”At her father’s funeral, Junior Talmadge remembers back 30 years to the last time she saw her Dad: the summer of 1979. Junior was graduating from college and had just gotten engaged. Her dad surprises the family when he arrives with a brand new motorhome. He entices his kids into a final ‘family summer vacation,’ the only way he knows how: he tells them he has cancer. Thus begins the family’s road trip to California, and their quest to become a real American family, the old-fashioned way, by being on a real American TV game show. As the family arrives in LA to audition for the show, secret after secret is revealed about their dad, forcing Junior and her brothers to confront the reality of who their Dad really is.

2012

Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth’s core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world’s population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world’s leaders race to build arks to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world. An RV features prominently in many scenes, including jumping a gaping hole as they are escaping a volcanic explosion from Yellowstone.

The Devil’s Ground

While traveling from California to Bangor through a lonely road, Carrie Mitchel is advised by the gas station attendant Jimmy to rest in a hotel; however, she decides to continue driving through the night. Later she almost hits the teenager Amy Singer that is wandering on the road wounded with blood on her face. She gives a lift to Amy who tells that her friends from the Boston University and she had traveled in a RV to Arrowhead to research the area as part of a discipline in their course. When they stopped in a gas station, the attendant Billy advised them to avoid the place in Bradford City called ‘Devil’s Playground’ by the locals. While digging in an area where a mine collapsed on 19 December 1967 killing 239 coal miners, they find preserved bones that they believe belonged to the Indians. However, when they find teeth with golf fillings and a watch on the wrist of an arm, they realize that the deaths have recently occurred and they are in a dangerous situation.

Breaking Bad

Mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White thinks his life can’t get much worse. His salary barely makes ends meet, a situation not likely to improve once his pregnant wife gives birth, and their teenage son is battling cerebral palsy. But Walter is dumbstruck when he learns he has terminal cancer. Realizing that his illness probably will ruin his family financially, Walter makes a desperate bid to earn as much money as he can in the time he has left by turning an old Fleetwood Bounder RV into a meth lab on wheels. The RV is emblematic of the show’s themes of desperation, innovation, and the American dream gone awry. It’s where Walter first applies his chemistry expertise for criminal purposes, marking the start of his transformation into the alias ‘Heisenberg.’ The motorhome’s rundown appearance and its use as a lab in the middle of the desert encapsulate the contrast between Walter’s former law-abiding life and his new criminal underworld. The RV is featured prominently in this TV series.

2008

A Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour

This is a feature length documentary about Gregg Gour, a 48-year-old gay man with AIDS, who, when given six months to live, takes the road trip of his life. After giving away all of his belongings, Gregg buys an RV and travels across the United States with his dog, Cody, saying goodbye to family and friends who have to come to terms with Gregg’s decision: That rather than suffer a long, painful death, he will end his own life before allowing the progressing illness to take away his independence. The documentary is a loving and powerful portrait of Gregg’s journey, which is at turns heartbreaking and surprisingly upbeat. The filmmakers were given access to his most personal moments and the result is an open and unflinching chronicle of a man’s decision to live the final chapter of his life his way.

Jack Be Nimble

In this RV movie, a group of young men travel across the country in a beat-up RV in order to compete in a series of stunt inline skating competitions. They belong to a small subculture of athletes that has been banished from the now mainstream world of extreme sports. Along the way they try to establish their community as a ‘real’ sport deserving of respect from mainstream culture, while at the same time discovering that the activity which once represented rebellion, innocence and individuality has brought them to a crossroads between growing up and following their passion.

2007

Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life

In this award-winning documentary, Darius Weems, a 15-year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, had never left his hometown of Athens, Georgia. In the summer of 2005, he and a group of young college students traveled across the country in a wheelchair-accessible RV to test accessibility in the United States. Their ultimate goal was to reach Los Angeles and convince MTV’s hit show, ‘Pimp My Ride,’ to customize Darius’s wheelchair. Along the way, they found joy, brotherhood, and the knowledge that life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.

Night Skies

A group of friends embark on a trip to Las Vegas in an RV. After getting lost on a shortcut, they notice lights in the sky that appear to be following the RV. While entranced by them, they crash while swerving to miss a stranded motorist. Now, stranded together on an isolated country road, they are about to witness one of the largest UFO sightings in history. Prepare for a terrifying encounter as this thrilling film recreates the unexplained events of that harrowing night in this sci-fi RV film.

Into the Wild

Based on a true story. After graduating from Emory University, Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire savings account to charity, and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters who shape his life. RVs are featured in many scenes.

Ultimate Factories: Winnebago

Go behind the scenes as Ultimate Factories explores manufacturing goliaths and brings to life some of the greatest one-of-a-kind factories in the world. This episode focuses on how all of the pieces of a Winnebago come together to build an RV.

Diary of the Dead

When a group of film students making a horror movie in the woods discovers that the dead have begun to revive, they turn their cameras on the real-life horrors that suddenly confront them, creating a first person diary of their bloody encounters and the disintegration of everything they hold dear. An RV is featured in the film.

2006

Borat

In this mocumentary, roving journalist and the sixth-most famous person from his native Kazakhstan, Borat Sagdiyev travels to the Unites States to learn about American culture with hilarious results. In one scene, Borat interviews drunk frat boys in an RV.

RV

The ultimate RV movie! In Columbia Pictures’ family adventure-comedy RV an overworked executive, Bob Munro (Robin Williams), persuades his wife and children to give up their Hawaiian vacation for some family bonding on a cross-country RV trip. But it’s all a ruse. Bob has other, more career-oriented reasons on his mind than sending quality time with his family in the Rocky Mountains.

Little Miss Sunshine

In Albuquerque, Sheryl Hoover brings her suicidal brother Frank to the breast of her dysfunctional and emotionally bankrupted family. Frank is homosexual, an expert in Proust. He tried to commit suicide when he was rejected by his boyfriend and his great competitor became renowned and recognized as number one in the field of Proust. Sheryl’s husband Richard is unsuccessfully trying to sell his self-help and self-improvement technique using nine steps to reach success, but he is actually a complete loser. Her son Dwayne has taken a vow of silence as a follower of Nietzsche and aims to be a jet pilot. Dwayne’s grandfather Edwin was sent away from the institution for elders and is addicted in heroin. When her seven-year-old daughter Olive has a chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, the whole family travels together in their old Volkswagen campervan in a funny journey of hope of winning the talent contest and to make a dream.

The Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards is a comedy film that intertwines several stories based on the Darwin Awards, which are given posthumously to people who accidentally eliminate themselves from the gene pool in incredibly foolish ways, thereby supposedly contributing to the improvement of the human gene pool. One of the segments in the movie involves a couple who attempt to have sex while driving an RV, leading to a catastrophic and humorously tragic accident.

2005

Motor Home Massacre

This RV horror movie features seven young friends who climb aboard a vintage RV — a 1975 Airstream Argosy — headed for a fun-filled weekend in the woods when they encounter a night vision goggled, machete-wielding psychopath.

Domino

In ‘Domino,’ an RV is used in a sequence where the main characters, including Domino Harvey, portrayed by Keira Knightley, embark on a bounty hunting mission. The RV serves as a mobile base for the team, fitting the film’s action-packed and adventurous narrative.

2004

The Incredibles

A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world. This Pixar animated adventure has the family traveling through the city in a motorhome as they attempt to save the world.

Meet the Fockers

This is the sequel to ‘Meet the Parents’ comedy film. Now that Greg Focker is ‘in’ with his soon-to-be in-laws, Jack and Dina Byrnes, it looks like smooth sailing for him and his fiancée, Pam. That is, until they travel to Florida in their RV to meet Greg’s parents, the Fockers. The hyper-relaxed Fockers and the tightly-wound Byrneses are woefully mismatched from the start, and no matter how hard Greg and Pam try, there is just no bringing their families together. This all adds up to a disastrously funny time of getting to know you.

Rolling Family

On her 84th birthday, Emilia gets a call from her sister in Misiones inviting her to be matron of honor at a family wedding. Emilia tells her family that all of them are making the trip. Her two daughters, their husbands and children, one great-grandchild, and one child’s friend jam into truck camper atop an old Chevy pickup. They leave from Buenos Aires. Engine trouble, a toothache, a stray dog, mosquitoes, and the heat complicate the journey. Cousins kiss, a melancholy brother-in-law tries to re-kindle an old flame, and the infant’s father shows up uninvited.

Dead and Breakfast

Six friends are traveling in an RV to get to the wedding of their friend in Galveston, Texas. They stop for the night at a quaint bed and breakfast in the sleepy town of Lovelock. After a night that ends with both the inn’s owner and his chef dead, the gang finds themselves under suspicion by the local sheriff. The mystery quickly unravels when the already bizarre residents of the town become possessed by an evil spirit and pin the friends down at the B&B.

2003

What Alice Found

Young Alice has hit the road in her beat-up Ford Escort, escaping from her dead end life in small town New England. She’s off to Florida, following her friend Julie who’s gone to college in Miami. But Alice gets into trouble on the road, and she’s saved by Sandra and Bill, an older couple traveling in an RV. They take Alice under their wing, but are they really good samaritans, or did they have something else in mind? And is Alice telling the truth to them about herself?

2002

About Schmidt

Warren Schmidt has led a safe, predictable life working in the insurance industry in Omaha, Nebraska for many years, yet now faces retirement. At the same time he is forced to take a hard look at his wife, his life and his relationship with his estranged daughter. An often hilarious series of events follow as Schmidt embarks on an unpredictable RV journey to attend his daughter’s wedding in Denver.

This is Nowhere

Across North America, RVs have set up camp in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart. In this RV show, these 21st century pioneers share their perspectives on freedom, nature, consumerism, politics, and notions of what the American Dream is all about. With a mix of curiosity and comedy, this RV documentary takes the viewer on an ironic journey of passion, homogeneity, and cultural contradiction.

2000

Beethoven’s 3rd

This RV comedy movie begins as Richard Newton, his wife Beth, daughter Sara and son Brennan prepare for a cross-country drive to a family reunion in an RV. For Richard, it’s a dream vacation. For his family, it’s boredom on wheels – until the appearance of a surprise passenger: the huge, rollicking, slobbering, lovable dog, Beethoven. Richard has promised to take Beethoven to the reunion and deliver him to his owner, Richard’s brother. Beth and Brennan are less than thrilled with this news, especially when the excitable Beethoven unleashes a string of canine calamities! But when two bumbling thieves threaten the safety of the Newtons, it’s Beethoven who sets out to put the bite on the bad guys and forever win a place in his new family’s hearts.

1999

How’s Your News?

This is a documentary chronicling the travels of a team of reporters and crew across America in a hand-painted RV. Five outgoing reporters with mental and physical disabilities hit the road interviewing everyone they meet. Follow the news team as they explore honky-tonk bars in Nashville, alligator farms in Arkansas, the Grand Canyon and the wild streets of America’s cities and towns. Unassuming, funny, and genuine to the core, this is not your typical news show.

1998

The Wild Thornberrys

Eliza Thornberry is not your ordinary kid. It’s not just because she travels the world in an RV with her parents Nigel and Marrianne, famous nature show hosts. Eliza is doubly unique because she was granted the magical ability to talk with and understand animals. Together with her teen-age sister Debbie, her pet monkey Darwin, and her wild-boy foster brother Donnie, Eliza gets involved with many different wildlife (and wild adventures).

Tourist Trap

A middle-aged father, disillusioned with his monotonous job and yearning for adventure, embarks on an RV journey with his family. Guided by an ancient Civil War diary, they aim to trace the path once taken by his great grandfather.

Paulie

Paulie, an intelligent parrot who actually talks, relates the story of his struggle to a Russian immigrant who works as a janitor at the research institute where he is housed and neglected. Paulie’s story begins many years earlier when he is given as a gift to a little girl who stutters. Eventually, he teaches the girl to speak correctly but is taken away by her father because he believes the girl cannot distinguish fantasy from reality because she believes the bird can talk. Paulie goes through a series of adventures with a pawn shop owner, an aging widow who drives him cross country in an RV, a Mexican-American troubadour and a would be thief before being taken to the institute where he now lives.

1997

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there, while an InGen team approaches with another agenda. They use a mobile science lab set up in an RV as a shelter from the angry dinosaurs.

Campfire Tales

A group of teens, stranded in the woods after a car accident, entertain themselves by telling classic horror stories. What follows is a series of eerie tales that include monsters, psychopaths, and ghosts, and that remind you that things aren’t always what they seem. An RV is featured in several of the tales.

1996

Promised Land

In this RV TV series, when Russell Greene loses his job, he decides to go on the road with his family. So he gathers his wife, Claire, his son, Josh, his daughter, Dinah, his mother, Hattie, and his nephew, Nathaniel and hits the road. With only an old Suburban, an Airstream travel trailer, and a dream, Russell and his family are now traveling across the country in search of adventure and helping many people along the way.

Tin Cup

This is a romantic comedy about a washed up golf pro working at a driving range who tries to qualify for the US Open golf tournament in order to win the heart of his successful rival’s girlfriend. He lives and travels in a 1973 Winnebago Indian motorhome.

Independence Day

On July 2nd, communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. It is soon learned by the military that a number of enormous objects are on a collision course with Earth. At first thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species. After attempts to communicate with the aliens go nowhere, David Levinson, an ex-scientist turned cable technician, discovers that the aliens are going to attack major points around the globe in less than a day. On July 3rd, the aliens all but obliterate New York, Los Angeles and Washington, as well as Paris, London, Houston and Moscow. The survivors set out in convoys towards Area 51, a strange government testing ground where it is rumored the military has a captured alien spacecraft of their own. The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom. A 1967 Winnebago Brave is featured in the film.

From Dusk Till Dawn

In this action-horror flick Quentin Tarantino stars with George Clooney as a pair of bad-to-the-bone brothers named Seth and Richie Gecko. After a string of robberies that left a river of blood in the Geckos’ wake, the sadistic siblings head to Mexico to live the good life. To get over the border, they kidnap a widowed preacher and his two children. Once south of the border, the quintet park their RV at a rough-and-tumble trucker bar called The Titty Twister, where Seth and Richie are supposed to meet a local thug. After a couple of drinks, they realize that they’re not in a typical bar, as the entire place begins to teem with vicious, blood-sucking vampires.

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

In this 1996 animated comedy film, Beavis and Butt-Head, the iconic characters from the MTV animated series, embark on a cross-country adventure. During their journey, they unwittingly become involved with a couple of criminals, Muddy and Dallas Grimes, who are on the run. The duo travels in an RV as part of their escapade, which leads to a series of comedic and chaotic events. The RV serves as a crucial setting for several key scenes in the movie, contributing to the film’s road trip theme.

1994

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Two drag-queens and a transgender woman contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. They head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla. En route, it is discovered that the woman they’ve contracted with is Anthony’s wife. Their bus breaks down, and is repaired by Bob, who travels on with them. These drag queens did skoolies right in this RV movie.

1993

Judgment Night

Four pals are on their way to a boxing match, but get stuck in heavy traffic while driving a lavish new RV. To get to the boxing match in time they take the first exit they find to find another way to the venue. As they are driving around lost in gang-land they get stuck and witness a brutal murder. The killer wants no witnesses and tries to kill them too. The four pals get away the first time, but the killer is soon back on their tail again while they are trying to find help in the middle of nowhere.

Lake Dead

The Lake sisters – Brielle, Kelly and their step-sister Samantha – receive a surprising inheritance from their unknown grandfather that has just died. Brielle and Kelly join a group of friends and travel in an RV to visit the Lake Motel and decide what to do with the property. Soon they find that their unknown relatives are deranged psychos.

1991

My Girl

A young girl, on the threshold of her teen years, finds her life turning upside down, when she is accompanied by an unlikely friend. Jamie Lee Curtis lives in a motorhome in this cute comedy film.

1989

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen, and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie, and his family show up unplanned and start living in their motorhome — a 1972 Ford Condor II — on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs. This RV movie has become iconic, due to the scene in which Cousin Eddie, wearing only a bathrobe and a hat in the chilly weather, starts emptying the contents of his RV’s chemical toilet into the sewer while cheerfully exclaiming, Shitter was full!

1987

Spaceballs

A rogue star pilot and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a princess and save the galaxy from a ruthless race of beings known as Spaceballs. They pilot a winged and grungy space Winnebago known as Eagle 5 to attempt to rescue the princess.

Near Dark

A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars. Part of his initiation includes a bloody assault on a hick bar. The film features a group of roving vampires who travel in an RV.

1985

Lost in America

A husband and wife yuppie couple in their 30s decide to quit their jobs and material lifestyle, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago. They encounter comic cross-country calamity in this comedy movie.

1981

Stripes

Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun. The story features an EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle that was built from a 1970s GMC motorhome which comes with bulletproof shields and flamethrowers.

1980

The Blues Brothers

After his release from prison, Jake (John Belushi) reunites with his brother, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) — collectively known as the ‘Blues Brothers.’ Jake’s first task is to save the orphanage the brothers grew up in from closing, by raising $5,000 to pay back taxes. The two are convinced they can earn the money by getting their old band back together. However, after playing several gigs and making a few enemies, including the police, the brothers face daunting odds to deliver the money on time. They travel in an old RV that features predominantly in several scenes in the comedy.

1977

The Van

This is a comedy starring Harry Moses and Danny DeVito. A high school graduate attempts to win over his dream girl by purchasing a van kitted out with technology.

1975

Three for the road tv series

Three for the Road

Three for the Road was a 1975 American TV series on CBS, featuring a widower and his two sons traveling the U.S. in a motorhome, exploring life and healing after loss. Starring Alex Rocco, Vincent Van Patten, and Leif Garrett, the show was short-lived, airing for just one season.

Escape to Witch Mountain

This fast-paced Disney endeavor stars two adolescents with acute psychic powers. The kids are actually space aliens, but suffer from amnesia and are unaware of their origins. Pursued by greedy business-mogul Ray Milland, who wants to harness their special powers for his benefit, the kids are rescued by likeable camper Eddie Albert. He and the kids escape to the mountain of the title when Albert’s RV suddenly acquires the power of flight.

Race with the Devil

Frank and Roger and their wives take off for Colorado in an RV, looking forward to some skiing and dirt biking. While RV camping en route, they witness a Satanic ritual sacrifice, but the local sheriff finds no evidence to support their claims and urges them to continue on their vacation. On the way, however, they find themselves repeatedly attacked by cult members, and they take measures to defend themselves.

1973

Slither

James Caan stars as a parolee who just wants to go straight . . . but for whom fate seems to have other plans in this offbeat comedy. While searching for a small fortune of embezzled money, an ex-con, a small-time bandleader, his doting wife, and a kooky drifter find themselves being followed. Their chase takes them to trailer camps, bingo halls, laundromats, and ultimately, a showdown with a group of unconventional bad guys.

1972

Pink Flamingos

This film is written and directed by John Waters. Sleaze queen Divine lives in a caravan with her mad hippie son Crackers and her 250-pound mother Mama Edie, trying to rest quietly on their laurels as ‘the filthiest people alive.’ But competition is brewing in the form of Connie and Raymond Marble, who sell heroin to schoolchildren and kidnap and impregnate female hitchhikers, selling the babies to lesbian couples. Finally, they challenge Divine directly, and battle commences.

1970

The Partridge Family

In this RV TV series, were they a part of the original skoolie movement? Suburban widow Shirley and her kids tour the country in a wildly painted bus performing music as a family. Their agent Reuben hates kids, so Danny gives him a bad time.

1954

The Long, Long Trailer

In this hilarious RV movie, Lucille Ball convinces her new husband (played by Desi Arnaz) to buy a trailer to take on their honeymoon. Anyone who has ever pulled a trailer will certainly identify with the situations in which they find themselves in this mid-century RV’ing comedy.

1943

What’s Buzzin’, Cousin?

Freddy Martin and his band go on a trailer vacation, taking along Rochester as a handy man. They run out of gas in a ghost town and have to spend the night in the deserted Palace Hotel. The next morning, Ann Crawford and her three friends, Josie, Billie and May, arrive as Ann has inherited the hotel and most of the surrounding property, and she and her friends have pooled their savings to pay off the debts and formed a company to run the hotel. Jimmie Ross, singer with the band, decides to help the girls and has the hotel done over at his expense. Rochester, digging in the Victory Garden he has started, finds a gold nugget and the rush is on. Gangster Pete Hartley and his henchmen move in with intentions of taking over. He succeeds, over Ann’s protests, in buying the property from her friends. Jimmie returns and thinks Ann has double-crossed him and they quarrel and part. Jimmie discovers that Rochester’s gold nugget was his own gold inlay. Later, back on the radio with Freddie’s band, Jimmie sings a song especially to Ann, who he hopes is listening.

Final Thoughts on RV Movies and TV Shows

It’s clear that RVs are more than just vehicles; they are vessels for storytelling, adventure, and transformation.

From the comical escapades of “Long Long Trailer” to the gritty reality of “Breaking Bad,” RVs have proven to be dynamic settings that reflect the diversity of human experience.

This ultimate list, featuring over 85+ RV movies and TV shows, showcases the rich tapestry of narratives that RVs have facilitated, bridging decades, genres, and emotions.

RV movies offer a unique lens through which viewers can explore themes of freedom, family, and the pursuit of the American dream, among others. Whether you’re a fan of drama, comedy, horror, or animation, there’s something in the world of RV movies for everyone.

So, grab your popcorn, settle into your favorite viewing spot, and embark on an adventure through the most iconic, entertaining, and sometimes unexpected journeys on four wheels.

Remember, the next time you see an RV on screen, it’s not just a mode of transport; it’s a character, a home, and a story waiting to unfold.

The diversity and appeal of RV movies make them an enduring part of film and television history, inviting audiences of all ages to join in the ride of a lifetime.