Sarah and Mike wanted an RV that could handle road trips, carry the comforts of home, and feel nothing like a standard motorhome. What they ended up with looks more like a transformer than a camper: a wrecked RV trailer body on a retired fire truck.
Their rig, called Steve RV, turns every gas stop into a tour. It also comes with the usual RV truth: Something always needs fixing. We get a tour of Steve RV in the video from Mobile Dwellings at the end of this post.
How Sarah and Mike ended up with Steve RV
They spotted the vehicle in their neighborhood and passed by it every day. Then a for sale sign showed up, and that was enough. Someone had already mounted a damaged Class C RV onto a retired fire truck chassis, so the hard part of the concept already existed.
The chassis is a 2008 Spartan with a Cummins engine, and the original fire truck came from the city of Glendale, Arizona. The builder worked for a salvage company, bought the truck, then grafted the RV coach onto it. Sarah and Mike didn’t build it from scratch, but they finished what was left and made it road-ready for their honeymoon trip.
The specs
The quick numbers help explain why this thing gets so much attention:
- 31 feet long
- 10 feet tall at the truck, about 12 feet at the coach
- 23,500 pounds total weight
- Dually rear wheels, single fronts
Up front, Steve RV has a huge bumper that doubles as a picnic bench. It also has the Nacho lights Sarah and Mike love, although they only use them when parked because they’re blinding on the road. The red and blue siren colors are blacked out to keep the rig street-legal.
Outside storage holds tools, oil, flares, cones, hookups, and batteries. The engine bay lifts open with a remote, which fits the whole transformer vibe.
What it’s like to drive and live in it
The cab still feels like a fire truck. Mike uses the air brakes, Jake brake, retarder, rear camera, and high-idle controls, and the truck even has a quick siren shutoff and a CB. Fuel economy is around 13 mpg on the highway, which is part of the deal with something this heavy.
They’ve taken Steve RV through Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, and New Mexico.
The RV side of the build
Inside, the coach is compact but usable. A slide-out adds about 18 to 24 inches of extra floor space, and the dinette converts into a bed. There’s also a futon near the pass-through to the cab, so moving between the driver’s area and living space is easy during a trip.
The kitchen includes a three-burner stove, microwave, oven, pantry, Dometic fridge, and an espresso machine. In the back, the bedroom has a queen mattress, a TV, and overhead wardrobe storage. One solar panel and an inverter help with power, although they’d like more solar for longer off-grid stays.
The cost, the repairs, and what they learned
Steve RV cost $50,000 to buy, but the total is closer to $70,000 after brakes, steering repairs, electrical work, dually conversion, and interior updates. That number fits the lesson they’ve learned on every trip: RV travel shakes everything loose.
Mike compares driving it to putting a house through a 7.0 earthquake. Random screws show up. Parts fail. Because of that, they started documenting repairs and mistakes on their YouTube channel, 2 A-holes And An RV.
They also stress two things for anyone shopping for a rig. First, the vehicle needs to be mechanically sound. Second, the layout has to work in daily life, especially the bed setup and storage.
Why Steve RV sticks with people
Most custom RVs aim for comfort first. Steve RV does that, too, but it keeps the character of the fire truck alive, right down to the original first responder seats and the Glendale Fire Department badge on the door.
That mix is what makes it memorable. It’s a house, a project, and a conversation starter all at once.
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RVDT2943
Thank you for the video and summary, Cheri. This makes it easier to understand why there are so many types of RVs, floor plans, and options. So, the industry tends to lie between one-size-fits-all and all-get-one-exactly-as-one wants. Very interesting rig. We, too, have an RV on a Spartan chassis. It looks quite different from theirs, though. 😉 Have a great day and safe travels!