Xplorer Motor Homes Xplorer Motor Homes has been in continuous production for 35 years in a rural agricultural area 75 miles north of Detroit, MI. Ray Frank, a farmer in the area, began tinkering with motor homes for his family's use back in the mid-1950's. He produced 3 or 4 coaches on his farm, and in 1958 he got involved with a number of business owners who collectively created an Industrial Development Corp. to financially assist Mr. Frank in launching his new enterprise, Frank Motor Homes. Mr. Frank was vitally instrumental, from the engineering standpoint, in the development of the Dodge motor home chassis. His alliance with Chrysler Corp. continued and grew, and eventually his coach became known as the "Dodge Motor Home". Because of this early development, Chrysler Corp. became and remained a dominant force in the production of recreational vehicle chassis for many years.

In the early 1960's, Ray Frank began the development of fiberglass body motor homes. These huge 27' fiberglass body molds revolutionized the RV industry! Today, fiberglass is the most vital composite in the RV industry. In 1963, Mr. Frank's company was sold to two Detroit businessmen, Peter Fink and Ken Robertson, and they re-named the company and the product, "Travco". Mr. Frank expanded his idea to create a small motor home, but to make it garageable, and the Xplorer 21 was born! He created the Xplorer moniker, the company, and the product in 1967, and was off and running again. Over the course of the next 35 years, numerous models were developed; Class C's, Class A's, but primarily, Xplorer has been a Class "B" product manufacturer for all of these years. Recent acquisition now moves the business to Elkhart, IN under the ownership of Startracks Custom Vehicles owned by Robert Helvie.

Xplorer units are built on the popular Sprinter Van chassis. They are basically a custom-build manufacturer, though they will build models for dealers to sell off their lots. Xplorer has made great efforts to use propane only as much as is necessary; preferring to use diesel for as much as possible. Toilets in their units don't use black water system. A product called Liquid ceramics is used as an undercoat to reduce noise. Their best selling Class B is a 21' Sprinter Xplorer Xtreme 3500. It uses the popular Freightliner or Dodge Sprinter. It is fitted with a CDI 5-cylinder Turbocharged Diesel Engine & 5-speed auto transmission while maintaining an average of 22 mpg from a 26.5 gallon tank. Offering acceleration power when needed and significant fuel cost reductions to counter the rise in fossil fuels prices.

Comments: This company has a long and respectable history and should certainly be on anyone’s list of companies to consider if you are looking for a nice, true class B unit. It is frustrating, we understand, to not have a clear idea of what their pricing structure is but I get a strong impression that they work closely with customers on planning and building their chosen unit so price range is one of the first things that they will discuss with you.

Related Information: Winnebago Recreational Vehicles

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