Date:         Thu, 22 Jun 1995 08:19:16 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Schwarze <des@teleport.com>
Subject:      Re: Crazy Winnebago/Eurovan Motorhome.

william killian writes:
> 
> On Wed, 21 Jun 1995, David Schwarze wrote:
> 
> > Yup.  It's called the Rialta, and it's a pig.  Stock engine, horrible
> > ground clearance, unacceptably little interior space.  But, it's
> > relatively cheap (not much more than the Westy) and has a really trick
> > slide-out bathroom thingie.  Stop by your local RV dealer for a peek, I
> > did.  :)
> > 
>  Someone who drives a '73 bus thinks something ELSE is underpowered?  has 
> little interior space?  I checked one out.  I'm probably gonna buy one in 
> a year or so.  Okay so I might wait until the V6 engine is in it.  BUT 
> according to a guy who works at a VW dealer in Penn.  the Rialta IS NOT 
> stock VW.  THe VW dealers can't work on them because Winnebago fiddles 
> with them a bunch.  They even supposedly have a turbo version.  

Hmmm... the dealer where I saw the Rialta claimed that it had a stock
motor, with 108 (I think) horsepower. 
> 								 as happy
> as I am with the Eurovan and it PLENTY powerful engine I'm not too 
> worried about the power.  The EV power is pretty good at the low end but 
> for a vehicle its size it is almost AMAZING at the high end - its the 
> transmission not the engine that could lead one to think there is a lack 
> of power.

 I didn't mean to imply that the Eurovan is underpowered, certainly not
 compared to my bus - driving 2,000 miles behind Pete Sellers in his
 Eurovan proved that to me (but when I get the 2.0 installed, then we'll
 see!).  My gripes are specifically with the Rialta.  With all the extra
 weight and (what I was led to believe was) the stock engine, I doubt I
 would be very far behind it up grades.  The sewer drain pipe thing on
 the side was a mere 5 inches off the ground - liable to hit it on speed
 bumps!  The advertise it as having over 6 feet of headroom inside, but
 that is only in the entrance way - a small area about 3 feet square.
 The rest of the camper has about 5'9" headroom, and I can't even come
 close to standing upright in it.
 
> Drove many years in a '72 bus - pretty close in 'power' to a '73 I'd imagine.
> Did they put a 1800 in the '73? not much more than a 1700...

No, 73 still had a 1700 but I went up to 1800 when I rebuilt it, cause
the cylinder kits were the same price.

Again, I wasn't trying to slam the Eurovan - just giving my impression
of the Rialta conversion.  Sorry if I offended anyone.

-David

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David Schwarze                     '73 VW Safare Custom Camper  (Da Boat)
San Diego, California, USA         '73 Capri GT 2800            (Da Beast)
e-mail: des@teleport.com           '87 Mustang Lx 5.0           (Da Sleeper)
http://www.teleport.com/~des       '93 Weber WG-50              (Da Piano)
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