21 foot Class A with Diesel? Does it exist?

Daveinet wrote:
Unless they build that thing with a slide out, their idea of entering the US market is a joke. Yes, I know there are some who have no desire for a slide out, but both of you is not considered a market.

You would be surprised, there is quite a significant number of people in US who are looking for smaller, lighter, and more economical RVs. We live right now in the Joshua Tree area, in CA, and there are a lot of RVs coming to this area right now, over 50% of them are small RVs with young 20-40 year old couples without kids, traveling in small 20-24 foot RVs. The demographics for the RV market are shifting, and I think there is a real market for small and light RVs designed for couples.

Slideouts are nice, but the problem with slide outs is that RVs built with slideouts are not really designed at all to function well if the sides are not slid out. And, in my case, for instance, that just would not work. Slide outs work if you are parked in an RV park, but not so much, if you are parked in a parking lot, street, national park, or basically any other place. Ideal would be, of course, an RV with slideouts for the main area, but designed to work really well with the sides in or out.

- Bogdan

Daveinet wrote:
Unless they build that thing with a slide out, their idea of entering the US market is a joke. Yes, I know there are some who have no desire for a slide out, but both of you is not considered a market.

We rectify it by adding Slideouts I think what Winnebago has done basically to their design,would have annoyed them. Well you do not get sales by sitting on the sidelines
Europeans can do it for a Ducato sized Motorhome, why not a Sprinter?

Unless they build that thing with a slide out, their idea of entering the US market is a joke. Yes, I know there are some who have no desire for a slide out, but both of you is not considered a market.

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I wonder if there are any German-built Hymers for sale over here....the one at this link is diesel, just about twenty-two feet long, and the steering wheel's even on the right side for North America!

But Germany seems like a long way to go to buy one...;)

No there are none and Hymer wants to get into the U.S. market. There are no Gas, Class C or A Motorhomes outside of North America
Still Hymer has left it a bit late to enter the market because of obvious reasons

x0054 wrote:
I love the looks and the interior of the Dethleffs GlobeBus! I wish that was available in the US. That's the ideal size for me and the wife. I wish it was rear wheel drive, but I think by keeping it front wheel drive they can keep the floors and the profile nice and low. Too bad you can't get them in US, from what I can tell :(

We have similar here, but nothing that short as. as a Class A. The AVIDA (used to be Winnebago) Esperance Premium is slightly Longer than the Winnebago Via and Itasca Reyo, weighs roughly the same as they do but tows a lot more. Comes with Slideout or Drop down bed model
AVIDA Esperance Premium Video

1985air: But if it was easy it would not be fun!!I removed the rad from our front engine BB and it was a task. Bluebird never used any small bolts. Lots of Grade 5/ 1/2 inch. First the CAC has to be removed. The rad itself is heavy. I was by myself and had to use a floor jack to support the weight. I would hate to have service something behind the rad while on the road! Our Dynasty with a Cummins rear rad is fairly accessible. Belts are right there. Before we bought our Bird I tried to find an Argosy. I flew from Tucson to Kentucky to see one and it was a disaster. Almost like when hot rodders find a field car with a tree growing through the middle. Our Dynasty and the Bird could both handle 10,000 lbs. of toad. I have been looking at Barth Regals and they too have very low tow capacities. The frame on the back of those P30/32's is almost non existant. Life is a compromise!

Moisheh,

Yes. I understand completely! The Classic Airstream motorhomes have a (very low) 2,000# tow limit. Good luck finding a dinghy weighing less than that. The Argosy motorhomes have rear springs so my tow limit is 4,000#. I plan on towing a 1974 VW Beetle.

The Isuzu powered units are underpowered but with all RVs, there are tradeoffs with power and fuel mileage.

Yes, I own an Argosy MH. I like Airstream/Argosy units but I understand their limitations. Yes, service for any vintage motorhome is a real challenge. The radiator repair on my Argosy cost quite a bit more since the front end needed to be dismantled to even get to the radiator.

As for serviceability, I've been tempted to buy an MCI bus where all of the engine service is done after removing the rear panels! The typical MH seems to have the engine tucked away and hidden.

198air: Let me expand on my post. Having restored a number of Classic MH's I can state that owning any Classic is not for everyone. One has to appreciate anything Classic and realize that there are shortcomings. The Isuzu units are grossly underpowered. Especially those with no Turbo or an AS installed Turbo. They are noisy as well. Any of the Classic Airstreams have limited towing capacity. IIRC it is only a few thousand pounds. I happen to like those silver bullets but as I stated they are not for everyone. The Safari's with the 6.5 are trouble on wheels. I had 3 of these engines in our fleet and none gave good service. Lots of fuel pump problems. Expensive to fix and very few shops that want to work on them. One should not confuse a MH that is bought for every week use vs. a crowd catcher that has limitations. From your handle I assume you are an AS owner and I would hope you understand my post. Our last Classic was a FC35 Bluebird and we loved it!! But repairs ( not that it needed a lot of repairs)were very difficult and I was not getting younger!

Moisheh

tatest wrote:
Winnebago built some LeSharo motorhomes on Renault chassis with diesel engine, but most sold here were gas. I think the LeSharo came in at about 22 foot length, weight no more than a big SUV.

ViewRVs.com - Winnebago LeSharo

.... and this has to be one of the funniest RV commercials ever!

1986 Winnebago Le Sharo/La Mesa RV Center Commercial

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I wonder if there are any German-built Hymers for sale over here....the one at this link is diesel, just about twenty-two feet long, and the steering wheel's even on the right side for North America!

But Germany seems like a long way to go to buy one...;)

RE this and other suggestions about European RVs, self import is a possibility if you can find a shop to do the modification for DOT certification. Last I checked, about 12 years ago, the cost was running $20K to $50K for specialty cars, but those were cars selling in the $500,000 -$2,000,000 range and either not available here or even higher priced on the collectors' auction market.

It is possible to import without DOT certification if the vehicle will not be used on public highways, but it can still be subject to EPA standards for off-road equipment of the same type. Not likely one would import a motorhome to not drive it.

No experience with rules that might be specific to RVs, just passenger vehicles, light trucks, and competition vehicles.