20 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know About the Iconic EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle from Stripes

What happens when Hollywood turns a luxury motorhome into a military assault vehicle using nothing but plywood, Christmas lights, and pure imagination? In this video, we're exposing the hilarious truth behind the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle from the 1981 comedy classic Stripes. This supposedly intimidating military machine was actually a GMC motorhome covered in fake plywood armor, powered by windshield wiper motors, and held together with construction adhesive and hope. From toilet paper tubes disguised as high-tech sensors to theatrical smoke machines creating "military-grade" smoke screens, we reveal twenty bizarre behind-the-scenes facts that prove this beloved movie vehicle was essentially a recreational vehicle playing dress-up, complete with stagehands pulling ropes to deploy weapons and a radar dome powered by a satellite TV motor. 01:55: #20 – Born From a GMC Motorhome 02:50: #19 – Armor Made of Plywood 03:30: #18 – Guns Made From Sports Equipment 04:10: #17 – Hidden Civilian Tires 04:46: #16 – A Civilian Engine in a Combat Body 06:03: #15 – Weapon Racks Powered by Stagehands 06:49: #14 – A Smoke Screen Straight From a Haunted House 07:44: #13 – Fake Sensors Made From Trash 08:30: #12 – The Battering Ram That Couldn’t Batter 09:15: #11 – A Back Door Cut With a Chainsaw 10:51: #10 – Christmas Lights as Military Tech 11:51: #9 – Real Navy Periscopes, Real Problems 12:49: #8 – Armor Plates That Popped on Command 13:38: #7 – Frankensteined Suspension 14:27: #6 – Slow Speed, Fast Tricks 16:01: #5 – Paint So Flat It Vanished at Night 17:01: #4 – The Radar Dome From a Satellite Dish 18:05: #3 – A Generator That Nearly Killed the Cast 19:08: #2 – The Fake Interior That Was Bigger Than Reality 20:44: #1 – A Cult Icon Built from Plywood and Dreams #movies #filmmaking #comedy #vehicles #behindthescenes