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The Fleetwood Bounder, better known as the RV, was a recreation vehicle and motorhome that served as a mobile laboratory in which Walter White and Jesse Pinkman cooked methamphetamine. Jesse nicknamed the RV "The Krystal Ship." ("Gliding Over All",  "Breaking Bad")

History[]

Breaking Bad[]

Season 1[]

When Walter White and Jesse Pinkman decide to team up, Jesse informs Walt that he neglected to think of an appropriate location for them to cook, suggesting they purchase a "camper" so they can set-up a mobile lab, so Walt gives Jesse his life savings, an amount less than $7000, and tells him to buy an RV. In the following day, Jesse shows up with a 1986 Fleetwood Bounder, and they drive into the desert to start cooking. After the second cook session, the two are attacked by Krazy-8 and Emilio Koyama, with Walt being forced to cook his recipe to them. But Walt manages to trick them instead, poisoning them with phosphine gas and locking both inside the RV. A panicked Emilio tries to shoot his way out, but fails miserably, opening only five small bullet holes on the door that didn't manage to save his life. After the confusion, Walt tries to drive the RV away, carrying the bodies of both Krazy-8 and Emilio, but he ends up driving into a ditch. ("Pilot")

Walt and Jesse later paid for a man to help them get the RV out of the ditch, and they drove it back to Jesse's house after finding out that Krazy-8 was in fact still alive. It was used temporarily as the hiding place for the wounded Krazy-8 and Emilio's body, until the first escaped, but was brought back to Jesse's house, and Emilio's body was later removed from the RV to be dissolved. ("Cat's in the Bag...")("...and the Bag's in the River")

JesseWafting

Jesse cooking meth in his basement after the RV dies.

Jesse cleaned up the RV after the incident and decided to try cooking another batch, but this time with the help of his friend, Badger. They drive the RV into the desert and try cooking, but after failing in cooking a product as good as Walter did, Jesse and Badger get into a fight where half of the lab equipment is destroyed, but Jesse manages to ditch Badger out and drive away ("Gray Matter"). Walt decides to team up with Jesse once again, and after fixing the damage caused by Jesse and Badger's fight, they drive once again into the desert to continue production ("Crazy Handful of Nothin'")​. One day, the RV suddenly stops working, prompting the two to temporarily abandon it as their primary lab. ("A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal")

Season 2[]

After the confusion involving Tuco Salamanca, Jesse tells Badger to call his cousin, Clovis, who manages to tow the RV away and fix it in his yard while things cool down for Jesse ("Bit by a Dead Bee"). Some days later, Jesse visits Clovis' yard to get the RV back, but he doesn't have enough money to pay off for the troubles of towing it away and fixing it, so Clovis refuses to give it back to Jesse and kicks him out of the yard. At night, after being kicked out of his own house and with nowhere to go, Jesse breaks into Clovis' yard and spend the night sleeping inside the RV, but Clovis finds him in the next morning, kicking Jesse out once again. Jesse manages to break in once again and steals the RV, driving it to Walt's place to collect enough money to pay off Clovis. When he shows up at the driveway of the White family residence, Walt snaps and the two end up fighting inside the RV, breaking some of the lab equipment once again. As Walt calms down after the fight, Jesse is able to get the money. ("Down")

He drives the RV back to Clovis' yard, and pays the man off. He also manages to get Clovis to let the RV remain there while he is not using, as long as Clovis gets a percentage of Jesse's drug earned money. Walt and Jesse are finally able to go back into cooking Blue Sky, since the RV is now fixed ("Breakage"). They spend some time doing weekly sessions in random places in the desert area around Albuquerque, until Saul Goodman tells Walt to do as much meth as he can while he is still alive, so Walt tricks Jesse into going to a four days trip far away into the vast New Mexico desert to a non-stop cook session. When starting, Jesse tries to leave the keys on the counter, but Walt says that it is their work station and orders Jesse to put the key somewhere else where he won't forget them. Jesse leaves the keys in the ignition, not noticing that the indicator lamp on the dashboard lit up. This causes the battery to drain out after two days of cooking, forcing Walt and Jesse to find a way to recharge it. After spending almost two more days suffering from the lack of food, water and the desert heat, Walt manages to create a mercury battery that works and they are able to drive it back to Albuquerque. ("4 Days Out")

Season 3[]

At the beginning of the season, Walt leaves the drug business, damaged emotionally for what happened to his marriage ("No Más"). Jesse is also affected by an recent loss, and he decides to go back in the business after a long period without using the RV, driving it into the desert to cook a batch of Blue Sky ("I.F.T."). When returning from his session, Jesse passes by a gas station to refill the tank, and gives the cashier a small amount of Blue Sky instead of money to pay for the gasoline. At this point, Hank Schrader is in a serious investigation about a mysterious meth cook known as "Heisenberg", following every trace of the blue meth that appears anywhere in Albuquerque and its surrounding areas. Hank comes to this same gas station after the cashier was caught with the drugs, and he is able to get video footage from an ATM camera of the RV parking in the station to refill. ("Green Light")

1x01 - Pilot 8

The RV

In a flashback, it is revealed that back in the pilot episode, when Walt gave Jesse $7000 to buy the RV, Jesse actually spent almost all the money in a strip club with his friends Combo and Skinny Pete. In the morning, Jesse reveals to Combo what he was supposed to really buy with the money, so Combo steals his mother's RV and sells it to Jesse for the rest of the money. Back to the present, Hank continues to investigate about the RV caught in the security camera footage. He is so obsessed with finding Heisenberg that he refuses a promotion to keep investigating every single RV available in Albuquerque. His investigation leads him to discover the one and only unregistered RV in the entire city, which belongs to Combo's mother. Hank stops by her house to talk to her, but finds out that Combo was killed two months ago, he did steal the RV from her, but she didn't report it to the police because she didn't want to put her son in trouble. Hank searches Combo's house and finds a picture of Combo and Jesse in the night they went to spend Walt's money in the strip club. ("Más")

Jesse calls Badger and Skinny Pete, telling them that they are officially going back into the business, but this time they are going to "do it smart." While Skinny Pete is sent to buy some supplies, Badger goes to his cousin's yard to check if the RV is up and running. Meanwhile, Hank decides to spy on Jesse, hoping that this will take him to the RV, and finally getting his first solid proof on the Heisenberg case. Walt finds out about how close Hank is on finding the RV and decides to take action. He doesn't call Jesse, afraid that maybe his phone is bugged by Hank, so he drives to Clovis' yard and reveals that the RV is on the DEA radar and they need to get rid of it. Walt suggests that they take it to the desert and burn everything, but Clovis has a better idea. Badger, confused about this decision, calls Jesse and informs him on what's happening.

Walt drives the RV to Old Joe's Junkyard, and Joe ensures Walt that his crew is going to break the RV down, leaving no traces of its existence. While Joe goes out to set it up, Walt enjoys the moment to "say goodbye" to the RV where he had to go through many intense moments. Suddenly, Jesse appears, saying that Walt has no right to destroy the RV without consulting him, but this was a mistake on Jesse's part: He had just led Hank right where he wanted to go, to the mobile meth lab, with both himself and Walt inside. After and intense moment, Walt is able to make Hank go away with the help of both Saul and Old Joe. They are finally able to destroy the RV. ("Sunset")

Season 5[]

Three months after Jesse left the drug business, Walt pays him a visit at his house. The two remember about the old times when their lab was still the Bounder, Jesse comments that every time he stopped at a red light, he would pray for the RV not to die ("Gliding Over All"). The RV makes a special appearance in a flashback scene, showing Walt and Jesse during their first cooking session in the desert. ("Ozymandias")

El Camino[]

In a flashback to the aftermath of Walt and Jesse's misadventures in the desert, ("4 Days Out") the RV can be seen parked outside as the two eat breakfast. ("El Camino")

Better Call Saul[]

Season 6[]

In a flashback, Saul Goodman is transported into the desert via the RV after being kidnapped by Jesse and Walt. After agreeing to work for them, Saul is confused and impressed by the interior of the RV and further discusses their deal with them inside of it. Saul takes the passenger's seat as they prepare to leave, but the RV stalls, leaving the trio stranded in the desert briefly. ("Breaking Bad")

Conditions[]

The RV was in poor shape and often had difficulty starting. Jesse accidentally drained the battery when they were on an extended cook session and the vehicle had to be jumped via homemade batteries. ("4 Days Out") The RV has 5 bullet holes on the front door that were later covered up by tape. ("Pilot")

Trivia[]

  • Nickname, "The Krystal Ship":
    • The stylized spelling (or given Jesse's lack of book smarts, perhaps misspelling) of the nickname is confirmed on Jesse's Website, where it appears alongside his bio. ("Cat's in the Bag...") This is also the first appearance of the name in the series.
    • It is likely a reference to the 1967 psychedelic rock song "Crystal Ship" by The Doors. Its lyrics "Deliver me from reasons why. You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly", while possibly unintentional, mirror the pros and cons list Walt makes to decide whether to kill Krazy-8 in the next episode, ("...and the Bag's in the River") and subsequent internal struggle between Walt and Heisenberg.
    • Curiously, the phrase also appears in the Season 5 Malcolm in the Middle episode "Dirty Magazine", as the name of the school literary magazine.

Gallery[]

Exterior[]

Interior[]

External links[]

Appearances[]

Breaking Bad[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5A
Season 5B

Better Call Saul[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
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