RV manufacturers love to talk about thinking outside the box, but you’ll often find that their innovations amount to placing a toilet in a different place or building a trailer that finds exciting ways to break. But some brands truly went big, and one of them was LaMarr Motor Coach. In 2000, this startup tried to reinvent the RV with a massive fiberglass fifth wheel with a design inspired by cars, aircraft, and boats. The LaMarr Stiletto slipped through the air and crouched down onto the ground, but the company went belly-up before a single production model was produced. Now, you can own what is believed to be the sole surviving prototype.
As I’ve written about many times before, fiberglass trailers are seeing a resurgence in popularity. It’s easy to see why as fiberglass units are known for pairing durability with a low base weight, important in this era of crossovers without high tow ratings. However, what if you love that fiberglass form factor, but don’t want to sleep in something possibly smaller than your own tow vehicle? There are larger fiberglass trailers out there, but even they are still smaller than some of the monstrous towables out there.
Currently, one of the largest fiberglass trailers you could buy is the Bigfoot RV 2500 series, which measures 25 feet, and 6 inches. Here’s a picture of what that trailer looks like:
In the 1980s, Bigfoot RV produced the Silver Cloud, a rare fiberglass trailer that measured as long as 28 feet. Here’s a photo of one of those below:
In the 1990s, there was another fiberglass trailer called the Sun Trek Vista, and those units ballooned to 30 feet. A Sun Trek Vista 30T is so rare that I’ve found just a single photo of one, and we cannot publish it here. Click here if you want to know what it looks like.
I think I illustrated the point. Not every fiberglass camper manufacturer has stuck to making something compact. The LaMarr Motor Coach Stiletto would have been longer than all of them, clocking in at 38 feet in length.
LaMarr Motor Coach
Not much is known about the attempted sale of Stiletto trailers, but I’ve been able to piece some of it together through old news articles and camper club postings.
The LaMarr Motor Coach story begins with Washington trailer manufacturer Trail Wagons Inc., then the parent company of Chinook RV. At Trail Wagons, Stuart LaMarr was the company’s executive vice president while Charles McGhee was the vice president of sales. In 1999, LaMarr founded LaMarr Motor Coach and set up shop in Pasco, Washington. McGhee would follow LaMarr to the new startup and attempt to reinvent the fifth-wheel trailer.
LaMarr’s problem with the typical RV was really no different than the same complaints everyone still has about them today. He didn’t like how wood-framed RVs had a tendency to fall apart after some time. More than that, LaMarr correctly noted that most RVs back then, and such continues today, are often heavy and sit high off of the ground, making entry and exit difficult for people of limited mobility.
LeMarr Motor Coach, which also appears to have done business as Coach & Carry Manufacturing, sought to solve all of those problems and more with the Stiletto 38′.
The LaMarr Stiletto
What LaMarr and his team created was a coach so amazing that it would still be pretty advanced today, two decades later. In an archived interview with Trailer Life Magazine, LaMarr said the Stiletto’s differences started with its construction:
“I wanted to bring technologies from other industries such as automotive, aerospace and marine into the RV industry,”said LaMarr. “For example, instead of the typical flat-panel stick construction, we’re using the coach’s form as the structural component. The Stiletto has no framework. Instead, it’s all structural composite, and its various curves and arches are what create the trailer’s structural integrity. The Stiletto uses a two-piece, nine-layer shell comprised of fiberglass and
high-density foam with bonding agents, which is then vacuum-drawn. The pieces are joined in similar fashion to a deck and hull on a yacht, according to LaMarr. “There is no plywood in this coach,” he says. “It’s all composite — the flooring, the interior walls, the studs… everything. The only wood is the solid hardwood Cherry cabinetry inside.”
Trailer Life Magazine then goes on to note that the trailer does have a steel tube frame, but even it is a bit different than you’d expect. LaMarr Motor Coach molded channels for the frame into the composite. The frame rails are then integrated into the composite and are secured using bonding and bolts.
Also notable are the windows, which LaMarr said were similar laminated glass that you’d find on a car’s windshield.
Even the Stiletto’s suspension was different from what was typical in 2000. Trailer Life Magazine notes that there are no traditional axles. Instead, there are 1.5-inch steel plate control arms and airbags, making for a four-wheel independent suspension. This suspension was fed from a 175 psi air tank with a compressor. When not handling the coach’s suspension, the air tank was equipped to run air tools and to inflate rafts or tires.
Going with the air ride was so that the Stiletto could lower itself onto the ground at the campsite. That way, a person of limited mobility can have an easier time getting in. The air suspension also raised 20 inches, allowing the coach to tip-toe its way over obstacles to a campsite. LaMarr stated that when the coach is lowered, the first step is just four inches off of the ground. Then there’s just one more step five inches higher than that.
If that was too much, the Stiletto was going to be available with an ADA-compliant entrance. If you’ve ever entered a modern trailer before, you know there can be some high steps to get in. Every summer, I watch my parents stumble to get into their camper and practically fall down on the way out. A Stiletto would be an improvement.
It is inside of the Stiletto where you begin to see its age. The interior is lavish and includes lots of cherry wood and leather surfaces. There’s a primary bedroom in the rear featuring more wood and a queen bed. In the front overhang is where a bunk would normally be in a normal fifth wheel, but the Stiletto uses that for a wood-trimmed entertainment center. This would have featured a 36-inch television, a VCR, a CD player, and a surround sound system. Remember, this was 1999, so most 36-inch TVs would have been rather massive units. That’s likely why it had to go in the overhang.
Other amenities include an optional central air-conditioning system, a heat pump, and a 200-gallon tank for fresh water. That water drains into a 100-gallon grey tank and a 100-gallon black tank. LaMarr wanted this coach to be able to sustain itself for a while, and it shows with the capacity for 24 gallons of propane, those tanks, and the 6.5 kW Onan generator. Climate control features included a 30,000 BTU furnace and two roof-mounted air-conditioners. As noted before, central air was supposed to be an option.
LaMarr Motor Coach said you got all of that in a package that weighed 12,000 pounds for $78,000, or $146,418 in today’s money. The Stiletto was just the launch trailer of a brand that was supposed to have different coaches. LaMarr Motor Coach sought to have trailers of different lengths as well as streamlined fiberglass trailers with slides.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. Production was slated to begin in late 2000, but apparently, that didn’t occur. A business records search suggests that LaMarr Motor Coach went out of business in late 2001, only two years after its founding. Hurricane Composites ground to a halt a month later.
Thus, it’s believed that the prototype Stiletto you’re looking at here is the only one in existence. LaMarr indicated that the company reached its goal weight of 12,000 pounds with its prototypes, but it’s otherwise unclear how many of the features are included. The seller of the Stiletto, Scott L, says that he found it abandoned in a boatyard in 2018. Scott reports that the coach was never titled or registered over nearly two decades, so he went through the process to make it road-legal.
Sadly, the coach is either unfinished or was damaged during its slumber because there are parts strewn across the interior and the air suspension system has failed. Scott says he wanted to restore the trailer but never found the time to do so.
The Stiletto story does not have to end here. For $25,000 or a trade for a different vehicle, you can bring this unique trailer back to life. The trailer is currently sitting in Sequim, Washington and it’s noted that you’ll either need to bring a flatbed or figure out what’s wrong with the suspension.
Once you do, you’ll have a trailer that, even two decades later, looks and feels ahead of its time. No other fifth wheel on the road looks like this and since there’s probably only one of them, you’ll have a trailer that might be the talking piece of your camping trip.
If you know anything about LaMarr Motor Coach, I’d love to learn about the company and perhaps what happened to it. Send me an email at mercedes@theautopian.com.
(Images: Scott L, unless otherwise noted.)
Love the article!
I can think of another reason this product likely would have trouble finding a home, that weight is obscene! Heavier construction is just that, heavier. One reason why RV construction techniques likely have not changed much has to do with weight. I used to own a 38ft bunkhouse trailer. Front queen, 4 rear bunks, plus dinette and sleeper sofa. Empty it was around 8,000 pounds. The Stilleto is 50% heavier! More than what a 3/4 could likely tow if you follow the weight guidelines. A for idea, F for execution.
Okay if you truly want a new trailer or even RV out of the box thinking how about this. For the smaller market design a trailer and/or RV where the vehicle is a minimal length for travel but uses slide-out technology to increase the length once you arrive at your destination.
Like this?
https://www.motor1.com/news/517004/camper-expands-three-times/
No I couldn’t get any semblance here
Yes but with windows and wheels
There’s pop-ups that do more or less that, but vertically. Good for MPG and clearance, bad for storage space when traveling.
I was thinking pop-ups are fabric on the top half.
Mostly, but there’s A-frames that are kind of a mix, and Hi-Lo that are all hard-sided.
You know, there are four things I’ve said I will pretty much never own – an RV, a motorcycle, a plane, or a boat. Despite that, I still find myself reading every article you put about about those four things because, well, it’s interesting.
This seems like a cool trailer that would be worth saving and restoring/customizing.
A friend’s parents lived in a travel trailer for 20 years of retirement. I am not sure how it affected his witness protection detail, wasn’t a criminal, but they made it work with the same trailer. I think minimum travel helps.
We’ve owned 3 campers and progressed from tent->pop-up->small travel trailer->30 ft travel trailer…While the damn things are nonstop maintenance and headaches the memories we made were pretty priceless I think. If we did it again I’d honestly go higher dollar and buy a camper well made with no slides so nothing to break/leak like that. Probably an airstream.
I have owned 3 of those…looked into a fractional plane ownership once, but the maintenance is just brutal.
I like reading about these kinds of things even though RVs sound like a circle of hell to me. Some good ideas here, too, particularly in regards to the suspension. If I was into RVs, this is the kind of thing I’d take on to restore and use.
I had wondered why trailers weren’t built like boats. Figured it was because it’s so much cheaper and possibly lighter to make them out of construction waste and chewing gum as long as people are still willing to pay for them. Too bad this didn’t work out. I wonder if “boat and aircraft” style construction more like homebuilts might work, though, with marine ply and fiberglass sandwich. It’s not setup for mass production like large female molds for fiberglass sections, but it also doesn’t have the setup costs, doesn’t lock in the design as much, and should be light and strong.
It seems every few years someone tries to build an RV that isn’t construction waste and chewing gum, and quickly goes out of business. There seems to be no market for good quality RVs.
Even the Prevost bus conversions, while having a good chassis, use most of the same unreliable RV accessory systems.
I think this would make a great Autopian mobile HQ. I can see the David Tracy headline now. “I have 24 hours to restore this trailer. I’m over my head!”
Yeah but it’s fiberglass. No rust = Tracy’s not interested.
But it also needs a tow vehicle, so that will obviously need to have more rust than usual to overcompensate.
Think Lotus Europa Series 1. How’s the glued in frame?
A potential rust story?
A kneeling suspension is a great idea for a camper trailer, not only does it make it easier to get in and out but it greatly reduces the need for, and the size of, leveling jacks.
I agree. I’ve always wondered why trailer stick with beam axel suspensions. They could ride so much lower with something like this. And if it’s bumpy at the site, raise it up!
Some trailers are starting to move to independent suspension, but they still maintain high ride height. Everyone wants to believe they can go trailblazing in the 25ft Camping World Special and/or tow it with their giant truck and no drop hitch.
To be fair, big trailers like this are so terrible off-road they need all the help they can get. There are lots of places where people take big fifth wheels that just wouldn’t be possible with less clearance.
I’m not as sold on the independent suspension. Trailers keep beam axles for the same reason everything else running similar axle weights do: it’s the simplest, cheapest, most durable, and lightest way to build a suspension for this kind of load.
Airstream has been running independent suspension (Dexter torsion axles) for many years and they do quite well. A handful of other trails manufacturers are running those as well.
the Dexter torsion setup on my boat trailer was still a beam axle, just torsion suspension instead of leafs.
I wonder how it copes with parking on a slope?
agreed. For a while it seemed manufacturers were going toward lower suspensions…but not really. Having owned a few, the problem is multi-fold. Getting longer RV’s in and out of tight spaces often involves grades, and those long overhangs will scrape…a lot!
That’s pretty neat! It’s begging for a remodel/refit!
This Stiletto appears to be very well-heeled.
You’re a shoe-in for pun of the week.
Bless your sole
After the Super Bowl, I think we’ve all had enough foot jokes.
It is instep with the times.
One of these days, you’re gonna get the boot for all these puns.
Bite your tongue!
Don’t be such a heel.
Well, if we’re lacing this thread with puns I’d say the Stiletto wasn’t cobbled together.
Yeah, it might need a paint job, but I’d hate to have to sandal that down.
It gives me the kick in the ass I need to implement my rv ideas.
Last picture needs to be a dog captioning contest LOL
Black dog: OOOO a brown leaf
Brown standing: You want a leaf instead of the ball right next to me?
Brown laying down: You 2 are morons
What an interesting find. I love the RV articles you do Mercedes. It’s an industry that I know very little about.
That’s cool! Hell of a shell for a modern update! With those bones and today’s tech, it would be pretty easy to make that a pretty comfy independent full-time unit.