5 Reasons Motorhomers Should Thank Will Smith

Update: Four years after I wrote this post, Anderson Mobile Estates is still going strong and has made it into this weekend’s newspapers courtesy of Ashton Kutcher, who has hired Anderson’s Baby Girl rental trailer to be his home from home while filming Two And A Half Men – Kutcher is replacing the recently-fired Charlie Sheen. Kutcher’s trailer is available for $8,750 a week, or you can buy one for $2m!

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Anyone who has been in a motorhome or RV in the last few years knows that the days of peeling veneer, damp walls, running condensation and primitive facilities are well and truly over.

Even though many luxury motorhomes are already fitted out like a cross between Buckingham Palace and the Playboy Mansion, some people are just never satisfied – especially people like Will Smith, a.k.a. the Fresh Prince.

When he got wind of a new concept in motorhomes, he just had to have the first one – a bargain at $1.8m. It’s based around a full-size tractor-trailer unit – an articulated lorry to my UK readers!

You might think that this is way out of your league – but the great thing is that (almost) all of these features will end up trickling down to the motorhomes and RVs you and I buy – probably sooner than you think*.

So here are 5 reasons we should thank the Fresh Prince:

(If Will Smith isn’t your style, Robert de Niro has one, too.)

1. Let me just take you upstairs…

That’s right. Two floors. Upstairs & downstairs. This must be the coolest motorhome invention since the rock ‘n’ roll bed and the pop-top roof. Look at this party space:

Maker Anderson Mobile Estates has patented the technology used in Will Smith’s trailer – but I guarantee you that in a few years’ mainstream motorhomes and RVs will start extending upwards as well as sideways.

2. Electric privacy glass

Having completely blackened glass all the time is maybe a little too “Pimp My Ride” for some holiday parks – and it makes it a bit dark inside, too.

The solution is obvious – switchable privacy glass. At the touch of a button, all windows go from clear to opaque and you have complete privacy.

3. Wireless touchscreen controls

Darling, could you just turn down the heat? Oh, and switch off that light too, and turn up the music?

Imagine having a remote that controls everything. Wireless touchscreen controls are completely programmable and can be hooked into almost any system. They look cool, too.

4. A bathroom that would shame most hotels

No more turning on the spot, smacking your elbows on the walls and feeling like you’re in a sensory-deprivation chamber. This is how bathrooms should be – with real granite, porcelain and chrome in all the right places:

5. Man, I gotta lay down some tracks tonight…

You won’t necessarily want a full-on recording studio in your motorhome, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t benefit from the quality multimedia system design that enables the studio to work. Think about the cleverly-concealed wiring, electrical power and soundproofing this place needs.

Mobile home cinema, anyone?

*Proof: The future is here already!

Just in case you don’t believe me, some of these features are already arriving in motorhomes aimed at regular holidaymakers. Just take a look at this Knaus C-Liner, as owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay:

Click here for pics of the Knaus C-Liner

This German model is aimed at the European market and “only” costs around £42,000 ($85,000). The C-Liner is large enough to accommodate two people in comfort and small enough to go almost anywhere.

It boasts a fully-integrated multimedia system, electric, sun-reflecting blinds and a stylish bathroom with a separate, circular shower cubicle and a proper toilet. It all comes packaged in a modern, high-quality design that really is in a different universe from the motorhomes of the past.

Thanks, Will.

All pictures copyright of Anderson Mobile Estates.