May 13, 2022 | By Jilli Cluff
Will Smith’s name may not be the first that comes to mind when you think of glamping. But Anderson Mobile Estates, a prized maker of celebrity RVs, is poised to change that.
7744 Ranch sounds like a suburban enough address, but that’s not quite the case. Located in the once-quaint Austin, Texas, the humble-sounding 7747 Ranch is a new home to some of Hollywood’s showiest retired land yachts.
The company behind the RV resort is Anderson Mobile Estates (AME), a brand that engulfed the custom celebrity motorhome market in the 1990s — and continues to design high-end RVs for the rich and famous. Now, AME is tapping into the tourist industry and repurposing some of its flashier, retired estates as stationary rentals.
As a custom RV designer, AME has catered to Sin City A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, J-Lo, Stallone, Mariah Carey, Vin Diesel, and Simon Cowell, to name a few.
The price tags on many of its mega buses graze seven figures, and Will Smith’s $2.5 million “The Heat” RV is the most expensive AME movie trailer of all time. At 1,200 square feet, it’s also one of the biggest motorhomes in the world.
After 20-plus years of service, “The Heat” is now back in AME’s hands and ready to live out its retirement as a 7744 Ranch glamping rental. Here’s the hitch (get it?): One night in this rig costs around $9,000.
Before you clutch your pearls in sticker shock, consider the list of amenities “The Heat” has to offer — or, better yet, take a video tour. This two-story rig, not unlike its polarizing former occupant, absolutely slaps (depending on your POV) — and takes the concept of a rooftop tent to a whole new level.
Anyone generally familiar with current trends likely knows that Austin is one of the hottest destinations on the map. Once known as the music capital of the American West, the weirdest little holdout in Texas is now a burgeoning hub of tech, real estate, and celebrity culture.
Gas-guzzling mobile homes — even the overly opulent ones — are decidedly less fashionable. Chalk it up to concerns over climate change and income disparities. Today, the market favors low carbon footprints and less excess for the sake of excess.
Autoevolution.com has even speculated that some celebrities are selling their mobile mansions back in order to avoid public criticism. So AME’s entry into the Austin tourism market through glamping seems like a clever way of leveraging its older luxury trailers to appeal to changing, hipper tastes. It’s sort of reinventing its own wheel.
At the time of publication, the company’s 7744 Ranch RV resort was still on the verge of launching. Those interested in spending $9,000 a night to rent a trailer can join its “growing waitlist” at 7744ranch.com.
Jilli grew up in the rural southern Colorado mountains, later moving to Texas for college. After seven years in corporate consulting, she was introduced to sport climbing — and life would never be the same. She now works as a contributor, gear tester, and editor for GearJunkie and other outlets within the AllGear family. She is based out of Atlanta, Georgia where she takes up residence with her climbing gear and one-eared blue heeler, George Michael.
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