Dale's Recreational Vehicle (TV Series)

This article is about Dale's RV in the TV Series. You may be looking for Dale's RV in the Comic Series.

1973 D-27C Winnebago Chieftain
Status	Destroyed (Burned by the barn fire)
Manufacturer	Winnebago Industries
Production	1969 to 2010
Model Years	1969 to 2010
Used By	Dale Horvath Rick Grimes Andrea Harrison Glenn Rhee Jimmy
Body & Chassis
Class	Recreational vehicle
Body Style	3-door Motorhome

Dale's Recreational Vehicle is a 1973 D-27C Winnebago Chieftain owned by Dale Horvath in AMC's The Walking Dead. The RV was used to travel to and from various locations. It was used to save and shelter people, store and carry supplies, and for killing zombies.

Uses

• Transportation from different locations
• Save people when they were surrounded or cut off by a group of zombies
• Killing zombies and hostile survivors as well as potential hostile survivors
• Shelter for group members and newcomers as well as hitchhikers
• Storage for different weapons, equipment and supplies
• A vantage point to observe and shoot from the distances
• As a bathroom as it contained both a toilet and a shower

Post-Apocalypse

The RV was first seen in Season 1's "Days Gone Bye" where Dale Horvath and other Atlanta survivors were seen outside of the city, taking shelter. It was mainly used as a shelter and allowed people to sleep in the back, as well as to use the bathroom facilities. Dale largely used the roof of the camper as a vantage point and for receiving a sufficient viewpoint of the area. Amy Harrison attempted to use the RV's bathroom, where she was bit. When Jim was infected, he spent his last moments in the RV's bed, resting but ailing. Eventually, Rick Grimes and the group of survivors used the RV to head to Atlanta to get to the CDC. Finding no luck there and the building being completely eradicated, they once again used the RV to escape the city and head towards Fort Benning.

In Season 1, Dale had a canoe which Amy and her sister, Andrea Harrison, used to go fishing in the quarry-lake. When the group left their camp at the quarry, heading for the CDC, the canoe was tied up on the roof of the RV, and when leaving CDC, heading for Fort Benning, the canoe was still tied up on the roof. But, in Season 2, when the RV broke down on the Vehicle Jammed Highway, the canoe wasn't on the roof, probably left behind, thinking that it may just be in the way, and just being extra weight.

Throughout most of its appearances, the RV had trouble with its radiator hose. In "Guts," Dale and Jim examine the engine and discuss the severity of the problem. In "Tell It to the Frogs," while discussing lending his bolt cutters to Rick Grimes, Dale requests the radiator hose from Rick's stolen cube van as part of the deal as it will work nicely with the RV. Rick agrees that if they succeed, the van can be stripped down. However, it is stolen in "Vatos" by Merle Dixon, forcing Dale to drive the RV without replacing the hose in "Wildfire." As a result, the RV breaks down and Dale tells everyone that the hose is basically held together with duct tape which he is out of. Despite this, Dale manages to get the RV going again to continue on to the CDC.

In "What Lies Ahead", the RV blew its radiator hose completely on the Vehicle Jammed Highway. However, Glenn, as the group scavenged through the cars, was able to secure a replacement hose from a truck on the highway. During the passage of a massive walker herd, Dale hid out on the roof while Andrea hid inside. However, the RV door was accidentally left open and a walker wandered in and cornered Andrea in the bathroom. Using a screwdriver passed to her through the sunroof by Dale, Andrea was able to kill the walker. After the herd passed, Dale repaired the RV but held off on announcing it to buy more time in the search for Sophia Peletier.

From "Bloodletting" to "Save the Last One," the RV remained on the highway and acted as the base of operations for the search for Sophia. Following the departure of Lori, T-Dog and Glenn when Carl was seriously injured, only Dale, Andrea, Carol and Daryl remained with the RV. With no one able to sleep, Daryl and Andrea performed a night search while Carol and Dale kept watch from the roof, but had no success.

In "Cherokee Rose," the RV was moved to the Greene Family Farm following Carl's successful surgery. Instead, a message was left for Sophia on a vehicle on the highway along with supplies. Daryl began using the farm as a base of operations to search and after his first unsuccessful search, returned to find that Carol had cleaned up the RV for Sophia's sake when they find her.

From "Cherokee Rose" to "Better Angels," the RV remains parked at Rick's group's camp on the farm. It often serves as a lookout post for walkers by Dale and Andrea who is noted in "18 Miles Out" to spend a lot of time on watch by Lori instead of helping with the farm chores. In "Chupacabra," an attempt by Andrea to kill an assumed walker from the RV roof results in her nearly killing Daryl who recovers in the RV afterwards.

In "Better Angels," shortly after Dale's death, the decision is made to move the RV next to the barn when Hershel agrees to allow Rick's group to move into his house. Andrea attempts to move the RV, but can't get it started and assumes it has been sitting too long. Remembering that Dale told him that sometimes the contacts corrode on older vehicles such as the RV, Glenn is able to fix the problem and get the RV started again.

In "Beside the Dying Fire," Jimmy drives the RV during the defense of the farm. Jimmy is able to move around the property shooting walkers and is directed the barn by Daryl in case Rick and Carl set it on fire and are trying to escape out the back. Jimmy arrives in time for Rick and Carl to jump on the roof and then off the RV's back, but the RV's front is swarmed by walkers and more manage to open the side door. Several walkers board the RV and devour Jimmy while Rick and Carl manage to escape. The RV is eventually engulfed in the fire from the barn its parked beside, destroying the RV, Jimmy's body and all of the walkers inside of the vehicle.

Appearances

TV Series Season 1 "Days Gone Bye" "Guts" "Tell It to the Frogs" "Vatos" "Wildfire" "TS-19" Season 2 "What Lies Ahead" "Bloodletting" "Save the Last One" "Cherokee Rose" "Chupacabra" "Secrets" "Pretty Much Dead Already" "Nebraska" "Triggerfinger" "18 Miles Out" "Judge, Jury, Executioner" "Better Angels" "Beside the Dying Fire"

Gallery

Trivia

• The RV lasted longer in the comic series than it did in the TV series.
  • The RV also lasted longer than Dale in the show, which it did not in the comics.
• The RV's radiator hose would persistently break or rip.
• Jimmy was the last person to drive the RV before it was burnt and destroyed at the Greene family farm.
• When the survivors departed Atlanta in the Comic Series, they only had the RV; however, in the TV Series, they had several more vehicles.
• The RV appears as a purchasable Avatar Prop for the Xbox 360 called 'Dale's RV'.
  • Dale's RV is one of the few Avatar Props available for Purchase, the others being Little Girl and Rick's Tank.
• The name of Dale's wife, Irma, is seen on the side of the RV. (See images Vatos and Better Angels)
• In Season 5's "The Distance", the group drives an RV back to the Alexandria Safe Zone after they are recruited by Aaron. On the way, the RV's battery dies and they must replace it. Only Glenn knows where to find the spare battery, a reference to his time with Dale and their constant work on Dale's RV, which provided him with a knowledge of RVs in general.