The Vehicles of Possum Lodge
With many shows, the vehicles help to define the show and bring out things about the characters we would not normally find out otherwise and further grow the show. With what RGS is all about, it is no surprise that this holds true as well. After all, they say that a man's vehicle says a lot about them. You be the judge. Below are some of the beloved vehicles of Possum Lodge
The Possum Van
The Possum Van being used to make apple sauce.
The original Possum Van was a 1985 Dodge Ram Van (2nd Generation, B Series). The van itself was the extended version. There are several explanations as to how Red got the van throughout the series. Early in the series, Red mentioned he paid $500 bucks for it. In later seasons Red eluded that he received the van as a gift. In particular on one occasion he mentioned it was a gift from his parents for graduating high school. In Season 10, after appearing in the first 200 episodes of the show, Red decided to retire the original van. In doing so, he decided to convert it into an air boat on a Handyman Corner segment. After this, there were two actual Possum Vans used for filming the show. There was an extended version of the van used on occasion towards the end of the series, but primarily they used a regular sized model. The regular sized van was a newer model than the original Possum Van (presumed an 86 or 87) and can be picked out on the show as it had a sunroof option (The original and the extended version used for filming did not) and a noticeably shorter wheelbase. You could notice this clearly when Red built a snowball thrower in the opening of a season 13 episode to get back at kids throwing snowballs at his van. The license plates on the Possum van are Ontario plates that say "Possum". They visibly stand out as they are yellow which in Ontario signifies dealer plates and are used so that car dealers can move cars around their lot or quickly throw them on for test drives without having to go through registering each vehicle.
Since the show, it has been said on the RGS website that all of the remaining vans were cut up into pieces and sold off for scrap. Steve Smith's reasoning was so that this would ensure one of the vans does not turn up in a compromising situation like "sitting out front of a strip club". Much like the Canada's Avro Arrow, there has long been speculation that one van did survive and still exists today (an example is here). What is interesting about this shot is that under the "possum" paint, you can faintly see what looks like a phone number from a contractor (you can see the dark/light blue 55) which was also visible while Red was talking to Dale at the gas station in season 9 episode 1. This scene included a close up of the front drivers door where it is obvious.
Check out my Links page for a great website about a scale modeler who replicated the Possum van in 1:25th scale.
Since the show, it has been said on the RGS website that all of the remaining vans were cut up into pieces and sold off for scrap. Steve Smith's reasoning was so that this would ensure one of the vans does not turn up in a compromising situation like "sitting out front of a strip club". Much like the Canada's Avro Arrow, there has long been speculation that one van did survive and still exists today (an example is here). What is interesting about this shot is that under the "possum" paint, you can faintly see what looks like a phone number from a contractor (you can see the dark/light blue 55) which was also visible while Red was talking to Dale at the gas station in season 9 episode 1. This scene included a close up of the front drivers door where it is obvious.
Check out my Links page for a great website about a scale modeler who replicated the Possum van in 1:25th scale.
Dougie Fanklin’s Monster Truck
Similar to Dougie's truck in Season 3
Dougie Franklin's truck is nicknamed "Imelda". In the first 2 seasons of the show, the monster truck is a late 1970's jeep which has been completely rebuilt and raised with swamper tires and an upgraded big block V8. This is shown in the pictures below. This monster truck was particularly noticeable from its "Meals on 4 Wheels" signage. In season 1, Dougie talks about his community service and using his monster truck to deliver food to the disabled and needy. He felt he had a helpful advantage since he could pull along to a 2 story house and just"deliver the food right through the second story window". He also takes time to mention the cost of his monster truck and how he mentioned to the bank it was a motor home and got a 35 year lease. There was a decent buyout after 15 years (approx. 2010). He also did a demo to show Red a bit more about the truck which included everything which was or had a "quad" along with the Predator carburetor which can run on testosterone outside of the fact that they "couldn't get stations to carry this yet".
Starting in season 3, Dougie had move to a new location and with that was driving a new monster truck. This time he was driving a 1988-1992 Chevrolet Scottsdale monster truck. No reasoning was given for the switch of trucks, however the last interview in Season 1, Dougie mentioned his license was taken away after an accident at a "yuppie"BMW dealership where he flattened several cars. It is believed his monster truck either had heavy damage to the under body and was written off, or was seized as evidence.
Starting in season 3, Dougie had move to a new location and with that was driving a new monster truck. This time he was driving a 1988-1992 Chevrolet Scottsdale monster truck. No reasoning was given for the switch of trucks, however the last interview in Season 1, Dougie mentioned his license was taken away after an accident at a "yuppie"BMW dealership where he flattened several cars. It is believed his monster truck either had heavy damage to the under body and was written off, or was seized as evidence.
Glen Braxton’s RV
A Chevrolet G30 RV similar to Glen's from seasons 1 and 2.
Glen Braxton’s RV is named “Delores” and only shown in the first 4 seasons of the show. In the first 2 seasons of the show, it is a Chevrolet G30 Cutaway Van with camper. The colours are white with brown striping (similar to the picture except the white would be where the tan is). In seasons 3 and 4, his RV now looks like a 1970's Winnebago. It’s colours are blue and white and is noted for its plywood spoiler which Glen was installing during one of Red's visits. During season 3's Cross the Lake, We find out that Glen has Ontario license plates on his RV that read "924 NTT".
Glen's RV has traveled extensively including the trip to Florida in Season 2's "Glen's RV" where everyone wants to take his RV to Florida, but try to find ways in doing it without Glen (they eventually con him into riding in the boat they were hauling on a trailer behind the RV by rigging a draw). Its also been damaged like when Bob drives golf balls through the windshield/sunroof in Season 2's "Skeet-Golf".
In Season 1, Glen's RV has a spare tire cover on the back of the TV that states that the RV was purchased at Sunset RV in Burlington, On. Can be seen in episode 13.
Glen's RV has traveled extensively including the trip to Florida in Season 2's "Glen's RV" where everyone wants to take his RV to Florida, but try to find ways in doing it without Glen (they eventually con him into riding in the boat they were hauling on a trailer behind the RV by rigging a draw). Its also been damaged like when Bob drives golf balls through the windshield/sunroof in Season 2's "Skeet-Golf".
In Season 1, Glen's RV has a spare tire cover on the back of the TV that states that the RV was purchased at Sunset RV in Burlington, On. Can be seen in episode 13.
Winston Rothschild’s Sewage Truck
An example of Winston's sewage truck
This was first seen at the introduction of Winston’s character in season 4 and has been with the show ever since. It was popular for use in Winston’s commercials on the show. It is a mid to late 1980's International pump truck. The colour scheme was a maroon with brown/gold striping. Also it can be noted that Winston always had a maroon with black lettering business sign on both doors to let everyone know who's truck the smell was coming from. During the later seasons, he upgraded to a mid 1990's International but kept the same paint scheme and signage.
Buzz Sherwood’s Plane
Buzz Sherwood's plane is called "Beauty". It tends to get beat up and thoroughly driven as Buzz loves to take tight maneuvers and hit things. Beauty can often be seen on the show nestled by the dock during Red's visits. Occasionally it is flown at the end of the segments and is often seen with thick smoke billowing out of the engine during these moments. Buzz has a stereo installed in the plane and loves cranking blaring rock music during his flights which is also shown during segments where the plane is flown or attempted to be flown. On one occasion Buzz installs a remote control device from a model plane into Beauty and flies it around the lake on camera before it gets out of control and nearly takes both Red and Buzz out.
Buzz's plane also takes on various colours through the years as it starts off being light blue and black (as shown above) and then ends up being a white colour with "Buzz off" spray painted in blue on the side of the engine bay as well as having a missing door.
Buzz's plane also takes on various colours through the years as it starts off being light blue and black (as shown above) and then ends up being a white colour with "Buzz off" spray painted in blue on the side of the engine bay as well as having a missing door.
Duct Tape Forever
While some of the vehicles that you know and love like the Possum Van were used in the filming of the movie, many new vehicles were also used to help with the plot and flow of the movie.
The following IMDB page is an excellent resource as it lists all of the main vehicles used with a brief background on the model type or any other relevant infomation
https://www.imcdb.org/movie_286915-Duct-Tape-Forever.html
The following IMDB page is an excellent resource as it lists all of the main vehicles used with a brief background on the model type or any other relevant infomation
https://www.imcdb.org/movie_286915-Duct-Tape-Forever.html