Hello from Austria!

[The Revconeer]

Hi, my name is Matt!

I own a 1979 Revcon Camelot 30ft. with the 403 L80 Oldsmobile Toronado FWD UPP powertrain which is similar to the GMC Motorhome.



I bought the Revcon from an owner in Germany in June last year. He had the Motorhome for over 20 years and he was the second owner. It´s a monster!


Revcon and GMC Safari High Top.

Nobody drives such a beast on the small and winding roads here in Europe. We do! Local ordinary mortals stick to their high-priced small and tiny Volkswagen Camper Tin Boxes with their "clean" Diesel engines, so I´m a fine dust terrorist in their sight.

I hope to find here some helpful technical solutions concerning my vibration problem caused by the FWD.





Thank you very much for the admission into your forum society!

BR
Matt

 

[The Revconeer]

Driving my monster on Austrian highways is a big (financial) problem because of the high toll we have to pay for vehicles over 3.5 tons. Let me tell you, the distance to go from West to East across Austria is about 120 Euros (145 USD) toll fee in ONE direction (440 km / 273 miles) on the Autobahn. Now you can imagine why a Class A Motorhome is such a rare event on Austrian Highways. But no problem: You can use the country roads for free.



It takes a little bit longer to get to your destination although the difference is not that high. The speed limit on the Austrian Highways for RVs over 3.5 tons is only 80 km/h (50 mph). On the country road it is 70 km/h (40 mph).


Gas is expensive here in Europe.

Now, what for Heaven´s sake is my reason to drive such a big coach on bendy Austrian country roads? In short it´s all about the feeling and besides that, it´s all in the reflexes as Jack Burton would say. I have been driving American Cars for almost 30 years on a daily basis mostly full size. I started with a black 1971 Ford LTD 6.6 V8 4-door in Feb. 1994, I owned a blue 1977 Chevrolet Impala Station Wagon, a red 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a black 1978 Ford LTD2 5.8 V8 4-door, a red 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham 5.0 V8 4-door, a black 1977 Ford LTD Hearse from the Vienna Central Cemetery and a white 1971 Ford LTD Convertible.

Right now I´m driving a black 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P-71 Police Interceptor, ex California Highway Patrol (ID-1147), bought on Ebay and imported by myself with 2 stealth light bars (front/rear), wig-wag, hidden strobes, radar, siren, Motorola Data Terminal, PA, LED traffic advisor, Eyewitness video system etc.



Our family van is a 1997 GMC Safari Gulf Stream High Top with lots of wood inside, ambiente lights, 2 fullHD screens, rear AC, leather, captains chairs, electric bed/sofa etc.








Our travel speed on German Autobahns - no speed limit.

 

[The Revconeer]

I forgot to mention some other U.S. Cars which I owned during the years: I also had a red 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis. I converted it into a “Sheriff Project Car“ with decals, lightbar, antennas, spotlights and so on. In 2006 I bought a red 1990 Chevrolet Caprice in Germany. It was one of the first new curved models (whale) and fully loaded. I also imported two Caprices with the 9C1 police package from the U.S., one 1996 - a former prisoner transporter from Miami equipped with the so-called “Baby LT“ engine 4.3 lit. V8 and the other one was used as a College Police Car, a 1993 Caprice 5.7 V8 with only 62.000 miles. The years went by and I wanted to share the feeling of riding in an old North American car together with the whole family. I could never forget the sound of an old carburator engine from the 70ies. So the idea of buying an old motorhome came into my mind. When I was young I stayed in Fairbanks for 2 months. In that summer I saw hundreds of big Motorhomes on the Alaska Highway. Of course, I was impressed but I had no intention to buy such a giant - compared to European dimension for myself. Almost 30 years later...and here we are...

 

[The Revconeer]

Driving a U.S. fullsize car in the 90ies in the countryside was not that easy...before Austria joined the European Union in 1995, the country especially the countryside was very old fashioned and small-minded. It still is in certain parts today. I was born in Vienna and we lived there until I was 8 years old, but my father finally got a well paid job in Lower Austria so we moved north to a small village close to the Austrian-Czech border - the iron curtain in those days. As we all know, borders can also exist in your mind. The big dream of every driver' s license newbie in this small town was a German car, a VW GTI for example but not for me! How come? You could blame my father for my U.S. Car enthusiasm, a nice and silent man who was satisfied with driving a Saab. Every evening, when my mother was on night shift in a residential home for deaf-mute children, he let me watch TV until I felt asleep. What was on in those days? The Streets of San Francisco! And who were also stars in the series? Two big Ford Galaxie 500 Sedans (green and brown) and some other LTD models! Ford did a good job to get enough airtime for their cars. Malden and Douglas could often be seen just sitting in their Fords talking about their case, drinking coffee or cruising around. There were a lot of outside shots where you just watched the Fords arriving, parking or performing a U turn. Those takes went directly into my young brain - I was 5 years old at that time. German, European, Japanese cars??? YUK! I want such a U.S. fullsize car!!! And as fate has ordained, my first American Car was a bad and black 1971 Ford LTD Brougham, for sale at a dealer located in Vienna who was a former pimp. The typical stereotype in those days. If you think:“What does this have to do with a Revcon Motorhome???“ Relax, everything is connected, I just like to provide a full description of how I became a Revconeer.

 

[Matt Colie]

Well Greetings from another Matt!

And yes, you are very welcome to join us here and will be at the old forum as well.

As a ship's engineer, I remember well my first time in Bremmerhaven. Once ashore, as usual, first you find a bank to change currency, then you find a bar or something like, then you find a post office to mail letters home. While trying to find my war around, I saw a Chevrolet Impala with US military markings. It looked like a Monster. I could not get over how big it looked by comparison to the other cars on the street...

I admire your tenacity. Both my family and I have owned some European cars, but usually those with good US representation. The odd one being a 1959 Mercedes 190D. My parents visited family and brought it back. A used car cost no duty in those days. There were no local dedicated dealers, but a Studebaker dealer tried to sell and service. This was still an unfamiliar number. So, when parts were needed, we would dive in to the parts book that came with the car and contact family in Germany to acquire and ship what we needed.

I have never seen such parts books for any US made vehicle. I would have to guess that you have it figured out.

Over at GMCMI <gmcmi.com> there is a parts interchange page that gives substitute part numbers for lots of things. That might be of some value to you.

As it is an HEI vehicle, you might consider locating the three parts under the distributor cap. This is a pick-up unit, the ignition module and a coils. I suggest that you carry these and the tools to replace them.

Welcome Matt

 

[LARRYT]

NICE story with pic,s, give us an idea of your auto world ! Larry 78/455 xpb

 

[The Revconeer]

Thanks Matt, for your warm words. The funny thing is that old U.S. Cars here in Austria or in Germany are much cheaper than European cars because of their gas consumption, ambivalent reputation and broad-meshed dealer net.

I´m quite good in trouble shooting - thanks to the internet - and I am able to order the right spare parts - thanks to rockauto.com ore ebay.com. I´m doing a lot of research on the net mostly when the kids are in bed.

Thanks for your advices. Funny, I thought exactly the same about the pick-up unit, the ignition module and coils.

Here is the sound of my Revcon 403 L80 engine:

Here are some "Autobahn impressions":

Cops - They are always curious when they see my Crown Vic:

Driving 115 mph can also be surprising but I' m used to it. I go up to 120 mph several times when doing a 560 m trip on the weekend. The average travelling speed is about 100 mph. My P-71 Interceptor can handle this.

But you also need good brakes when driving at night on our small roads in Austria. I have upgraded my braking system and there is a Belltech Anti Sway Bar Kit installed in my Safari Van:

Sometimes we play "Cops" too, mostly on U.S. Car Meetings all across Europe, Hungary for example. A police helicopter is also involved:

My Motorhome is equipped with 2 onboard rear cams. I third one for the front is going to follow.

 

[The Revconeer]

So, what is the purpose of having an old U.S. Motorhome here in Austria, where owning such a huge vehicle and keeping it on the road is so expensive?

In short, we don´t have the plan to use it a lot in my country. My life companion is from Germany and the border is just 40 minutes away. Operating a car or RV in Germany is much cheaper than here in Austria because there is no toll for Motorhomes. The same in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. I have been a couple of times to Sweden during the last twenty years, the country always reminded me on the US and the Swedish American car culture is an attitude towards life, especially in the summer months where meetings take place all across the country. We filmed some clips there just for fun:

Power Big Meet 2012 -

2013 -

2014 -

Hot Rod Reunion Malmby 2019 -

So our plan is to visit all the mentioned northern European countries with our Revcon in the next 10 years. The former owner was also in Finland and Sweden several times, in Spain, in Russia and in Cornwall - GB. The Revcon never let him down. Sweden will always stay our primary target for multiple visits because I have a lot of friends there. In 1996, when I was working in the US, I met a lot of great Swedish people around Boston and our friendship stayed alive over the years...Another advantage of the North is called "freedom to roam". You can park your RV without any problems, near a great lake for example and nobody will bother you. In Austria it´s only allowed on (expensive) campgrounds. Camping somewhere in e.g. Lower Austria can be fined with up to 2.500 Euros (corresponds roughly to 2.990,-- USD).

Why is that so?

A hotel room in Austria near a lake for a family with 2 children starts from 1.800,-- Euros (2.150,-- USD) a week - half board. Any questions?

The added value has to stay in the hands of the (Austrian) hotel owners, nobody should be able to go on vacation in his own RV for free...

In 2019 we drove up with our GMC Safari, we rented a big farmhouse for 2 weeks (700,-- Euros per week - 837,-- USD), we visited Stockholm etc. (footage boat tour and farmhouse appears at the end of the clip:

)

We paid 2.800,-- Euros (3.350,-- USD) for 2 weeks in Sweden.

Now, the Revcon allows us to extend our stay with the same budget like in 2019, we don´t have to spend money on a rent or a campground.

I calculate a trip with the Revcon to Sweden with all the costs (gas, ferry, food, beer etc.) also with 2.800,-- Euros (3.350,-- USD) for 4 weeks.

Yes, gas is expensive (1.90 USD per liter), but we still save a lot of money.

So, these were our preliminary considerations before buying an U.S. Motorhome.

 

[The Revconeer]

And when we are bored we like to produce some Music Video Spoofs. Nice weekend activity with some friends.
Here for example we used among other cars a 1968 Buick Riviera and a 1979 Winnebago Dodge Winnie Minnie RV as props. Filmed in the middle of nowhere in Lower Austria.

 

[The Revconeer]

Well, what have we done so far?

Summer 2020



Arrival in Saxony - Germany. We bought the Revcon in Koeln. Distance was about 320 miles.
The ride was very exciting because the alternator was not working properly - but we made it.



We found out later that the cable was the wrong way round plugged in. You can see the burned contact.
So the engine took all the electricity directly from the AGM battery. Red battery charge indicator was on all the time. Once the Revcon was very close to break down and started to stall, but when I turned off the headlights it recovered.



There was a water spot on the ceiling in the bathroom so we took care of this.
We replaced the Fuzzy Seals of the Sliding windows...



...and started to paint the roof.





The Result:



New headlights - they also fit for an Astro Van (before facelift). The fog lamps (Hella) under the bumber are new too.



A rear fog lamp is mandatory in Europe. And we also installed new back up lights.



Converting the garden shed into a Revcon docking station.



Temporary over the fence. I am working on a better solution.



The parking space in front of our house is a little bit too tight for our coach.

 

[The Revconeer]

The plan is to repaint the Revcon including a new trim. The foil doesn´t look good anymore. So my specialist took measurements last year.



There was only one cam installed on the RV. It had the motorbike carrier in focus. The cam is heated and saltwater-resistant.



I ordered a CB set with an external loudspeaker.



In fall 2020 I bought a pair of yellow Bosch fog lamps - Made in Sweden. There are already two nasty holes on the top of the front bumper so I thought that they would fit perfectly in. They are NOS from 1979. Every bus was equipped with these yellow lens fog lamps in those days. BMWs and VW beetles too.





The good-looking rear roof markers are gone, there are even no holes anymore. I bought red vintage tractor lamps to replace them.



By the way...I get almost everything from ebay.com or ebay.de. The Revcon was also offered on Ebay. For spare parts I prefer rockauto.com. Then my mechanic sent me this picture in October 2020:



All of the Dexron 2 transmission fluid was gone! My mechanic used a tractor to pull the coach from its parking space. And this faulty line was responsible for the mess.



The Revcon has been in Finland, Sweden, Spain, Cornwall GB etc. with its former owner...but it broke down at my mechanic´s repair shop. Shit happens, but before we went about 2.500 km (1553 miles) without any troubles in summer 2020.






The pictures were given to me when I bought the Revcon.

I have found some interesting videos about Revcons and GMC MOTORHOMES (!) on YouTube:

Outside and inside of a 1979 Revcon from a RV collector in California.

This 1978 Revcon Camalot Twin Bed in very good condition was for sale.

Feel free to compare the interiors with the one in my 1979 Revcon - Do you want to go for a ride?

 

[The Revconeer]

What have we done in 2021 so far?

Well, in January I ordered a VIAIR Air Horn - Dual Trumpet (128db).





Do you want to hear it? It´s like that:

It was on the Standard Equipment list, but it got lost during the years. The same happened to the Spotlight and the Icemaker...

 

[The Revconeer]

In May 2021 my mechanic installed a new moniceiver sound system from Pioneer with a subwoofer...





...and the Albrecht CD Radio set.



He also added an original NOS Trabant antenna. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant



In July I started to help him, but I´m not a qualified car mechanic expert...



We installed a new 4row radiator in order to get rid of the well known Alu L80 Oldsmobile 403 V8 temperature problem.





This did the trick. Now, I don´t even have to switch on the 2 additional electric fans anymore.



There is another small transmission fluid cooler under the bumper. The former owner said that these were all his helpless attempts to reduce the engine´s working temperature.



We sealed the mounting oft the self-adjusting satellite dish. There was a leak beneath and so water dripped directly into the wardrobe.



The roof marker lights. I didn´t want to drill holes into the roof so my mechanic placed the lights on the top of the motorbike carrier.



We had to change the seal between carburator and airfilter.

 

[The Revconeer]

For those of you who don' t know anything about Revcons - here are some informations and if you see one for sale...buy it!

After driving many of the typical motor homes built on truck chassis, John Hall knew that this was not the best way to build a motor home. In fact, it was a terrible way to build motor homes. The truck chassis rode too harshly over bumps and the center of gravity was too high to handle corners well. The harsh ride often jarred cabinets, light fixtures and even the walls loose. The high center of gravity turned twisting roads and passing trucks into white-knuckled events. The wooden roof and walls often leaked, creating a world of rot and mildew that no coach owner wanted.

But John Hall had an idea: an all new motor home, all new from the ground up. John knew that his motor home would have to be front wheel drive to get the low center of gravity needed for the superb handling he wanted. He also knew a wooden roof and walls weren't what he wanted, so this new motor home would be made out of aluminum like an aircraft. This was an all new idea, a totally new concept, a REVolutionary CONcept: a REVCON!

The Airstream Connection

It's no secret that Revcon construction bears a striking resemblance to Airstream trailers. It's also no coincidence. John Hall was the stepson of Airstream founder Wally Byam. John knew that the all aluminum construction was far superior to anything else being built at the time. The entire shell was aluminum framing, with aluminum sheets riveted to the inside and outside. The walls and roof were built this way, with no seams in the roof to leak. It was also much more rigid than the typical wooden studs with thin aluminum siding stapled to the outside and cheap plywood paneling stapled to the inside.

The GM Connection

In 1966 GM's Oldsmobile division rocked the auto industry with the introduction of the Toronado. The Toronado was all new, nothing like it had ever been seen before. With swooping curves, hidden headlights, big-block power and front wheel drive, it was as luxurious as it was innovative. Powered by a 385 horsepower 425 cubic inch V8, GM's revolutionary Turbo-Hydramatic 425 transmission propelled the front wheels, an American first in 30 years. John Hall knew at once this was the drivetrain he needed for his Revcon. The front wheel drive would eliminate the need for a driveshaft from the front of the coach to the rear, and would permit the low profile and low center of gravity he envisioned.

The Amazing Result

In 1968, the first Revcons were built. They included aircraft aluminum monocoque body construction, and a custom built chassis with Oldsmobile Toronado front wheel drive. The lightweight, low profile and front wheel drive made the Revcon handle as well as any American car of the day, quite a feat for a 12,000 pound motor home. It certainly helped the fuel economy, consistently 2 to 4 MPG higher than the competition. The innovation didn't end with the drivetrain and body, Revcon took it to the interior as well. Lightweight materials were used throughout. Cabinets were constructed of aluminum honeycomb core sandwiched between 2 thin layers of formica. Not only did this save weight, it was much more durable than the plastic or pressboard cabinets that were typical of the era, and are still the industry standard today. Everything was then trimmed with genuine teak accents. Some coaches were built with the optional solid teak galley, to give the look of high-end custom cabinets, which in fact they were. The interior walls were aluminum sheets, with high quality vinyl wall covering. The wall paper inside my Revcon is over 42 years old and looks as good as it did when new. Quality didn't stop where you couldn't see it either. John Hall's new coaches were fitted with copper tubing for the fresh water system, rather than the industry standard plastic. At a time when most motor homes were built with so called "wet baths", where the entire bathroom doubled as the shower stall, all Revcons had "dry baths" with separate shower stalls, just like a smaller version of your bathroom at home. Regular production started in 1971, with Revcon leading the industry in innovation and luxury. By this time, Oldsmobile had increased the size of the Toronado engine to 455 cubic inches, even more suited for motor home use. Early models, affectionately called Flat-Noses, were built until 1977 and could be had in 4 models, the 220, 250, 260 and 290, with several floorplans built in each model.

Continuous Improvement

Revcon realized that it's flat-nose design left a lot to be desired in the aerodynamics department, so in 1978 they introduced the second generation Revcon, commonly called the Slant-Nose. This new design was much more aerodynamic than previous models, brought a more modern look to a motor home that already had the most modern drivetrain. Ironically, while Revcon was improving the exterior of the coaches, Oldsmobile was downsizing the Toronado. The new 350 cubic inch engine and smaller Turbo-Hydramatic 325 transmission wasn't suited for motor home use, so Revcon was left with no choice but to design their own drivetrain. My 1979 Revcon has the "weak" but clean 403 V8 L80 Oldsmobile engine and UPP drivetrain including the 425 transmission which was also used in the GMC Motorhome. In 1979, they introduced the first Revcon powered by a 454 cubic inch Chevrolet engine and heavy duty Turbo-Hydramatic 475 transmission, with a transfer case mounted to the rear of the transmission and a driveshaft headed up to the heavy duty Dana front differential. The whole system looked similar to a four wheel drive truck, without the rear driveshaft and differential. The interior could be customized in almost any way a customer could imagine. Real ceramic tile countertops, genuine hardwood trim, including cherry, oak, and the Revcon tradition, teak. Customized coaches were the norm for Revcon, not just for RV customers, but for commercial customers as well. Several commercial units were built, used as mobile emergency response units for police and fire departments, local broadcast units for TV and radio stations, and even "bookmobiles" for libraries. Revcons were not just getting better, they were getting bigger too. The new Slant-Nose could be had in even longer lengths than the Flat-nose models, all the way up to 34 feet. Revcon remained the industry leader in quality, innovation and luxury up until the last Slant-Nose was built in 1989.

 

[The Revconeer]

1968 First Generation - Revcon Flat Nose Pics:









1978 Second Generation - Revcon Slant Nose Pics:



Almost like twins...Revcon Slant Nose and GMC Motorhome:





No wonder, it's built on an Oldsmobile Toronado front end, similar to your GMC motorhomes. In fact GM required Revcon to do significant stress tests on the Tornado FWD drive train, and then later introduced its own GMC Motorhome after Revcon proved the concept. So Revcon was a kind of concept coach for the later produced GMC Motorhomes, but Revcon was not the only one who used the FWD Oldsmobile Toronado UPP.

Prior to the introduction of the GMC Motor home, a handful of other manufacturers made use of a similar front-wheel drive configuration and inspired the GMC configuration. These included the Cortez Motor Home from the Clark Equipment Corporation which initially offered a four-speed manual transmission with front-wheel drive, available from 1963 to 1970 until the division was sold to Kent Industries. From 1972 to 1977, a redesigned Cortez-SD was manufactured, initially by Kent and later a group of investors, using the same Oldsmobile 455 and three-speed automatic transmission that the GMC motorhome adopted in 1973.





My 1979 Revcon:











No air suspension. It has got a Hendrickson Tandem.

 

[The Revconeer]

On a hot day in the summer of 2021 we started to clean the roof in order to prepare the repainting of our coach.



It was hard work to get rid of the foil. My fingernails!!! Amazingly it came off after 42 years almost without any debris.





We removed the mouldings and started to sand off the sides of the Revcon.



The taping took some time. Prime coating was the next step.





Crackerjack! My mechanic from Eastern Germany did a heck of a job - alone in two hours. Maybe he had some experience with painting army trucks from Russia anyway... He sometimes tells me interesting GDR stories...





The mouldings are back on. He has already painted the roof in 2020.



The dark red color is going to be restored this fall...



Repainted Jerry Can and tow-bar.

 

[The Revconeer]

The Sealand toilet valve was leaking caused by a cold winter.





I didn´t want that experience again so I chose the freezing condition option.



Fortunately Sealand and Dometic use the same (metric) measurements for RV (Yacht) toilet installations so I was able to get the accessories in the Baumarkt (hardware store) around the corner.



Safety inspection in Germany was also an issue. The size of the Revcon went past the limit. It is registered as an oldtimer, but its weight exceeds 3.5 tons, so it has to pass the inspection every year. The TÜV (inspection sticker) in Germany for ordinary cars under 3.5 tons is valid for 2 years.

 

[The Revconeer]

Well, I finally found an inspection station (DEKRA) for trucks in Plauen - Germany which was willing to deal with the size and the technical aspects of the Revcon. Some young graduate engineers took a close look.

They made a complaint about:
1. Headlights - low adjustment
2. Contamination of engine and transmission.



This mess was caused by the leaking transmission line, we forgot to clean it up.

3. Mufflers with tiny holes in it.



4. Parking break uneven (more than 60 percent).



5. Bleed valve of the front brake leaking.



This was also our fault. My mechanic let the air out of the system but we didn´t clean up the breaking fluid.

Emission test was fine - thank god. So I´m glad about the "weak" but clean Oldsmobile L80 6.6 V8.
The Propane System didn´t leak and worked as it should.

The graduate engineers just told me to keep an eye on some corrosion concerning the undercarriage:







So we processed the complaints and received a valid inspection sticker for one year 3 weeks later.

Now some words about my window leaking problem...

The outer window seals on almost every big window have lost their sealing force. They are leaking from above.



It is very hard/impossible to get the correct seals.







The seals inside are in quite good condition but also not available.



We installed two types of flocked glass run channels:



This one was very tight. We had to use a hammer in order to close the windows. The window on the passanger side in the bedroom was so jammed that it didn´t open up since. Mysteriously it can be opened now after almost one year.

Then I found this flocked glass run channel on the internet which fits a little bit better:





I think that we will use ordinary e.g. Sika adhesive instead of seals on the outside to tighten the windows of my coach.

 

[The Revconeer]

While we were installing the second wireless backup camera we experienced some pairing problems.

The cams have night vision and they are saltwater resistant. The price was about USD 500,-- for 2 cams with a 7'' monitor.



The second cam was not found and the first cam had some blackouts too. So I took a powerbank and placed the camera directly next to the monitor. Surprise: The picture appeared on the screen immediately.





At the second step I put the camera together with the powerbank on the motorbike carrierer. I thought that I could be a broadcasting problem. It´s a long way from the back of the coach up to the dashboard.



In the end we found out that the problem was a drop of the electric voltage.
11.2 Volts - engine off
12.4 Volts - engine running

The roof marker lamps are also connected to the same cable, this is too much. So our plan is to pull a new electrical wire from the fuse box under the dashboard to the cams on the back of the Revcon. I want to activate them with a seperate switch. Right now they are running on the parking lamps circuit.



What I have learned is:

Wireless is nice for installing, but the low power licence-free frequencies they work on are very crowded so expect dropouts, frozen screens and blank screens. It seems to me that wired cameras are much more reliable in operation. I have one in my GMC Safari High Top Conversion Van. We installed the rear cameras above the rear window on the top of the motorbike carrier looking down. One can be used as a "rearview mirror", the other one is a perfect help when backing up without a signaller because I have always an eye on the outer edge of the motorbike carrier.



The system can be used for up to 4 cams and video recording.

I added some new custom-made carpets for a cosy feeling.







The next big event which took place in August was the removal of the old Frigiking AC. The unit has never been serviced in 42 years but it still blew cold air - for about 30 minutes. After that time the electricity of the AC was suddenly cut off by the main switch which is located under a hatch on the outside of the Revcon. The rubber sealing around the Frigiking was also crumbling. So I decided to buy the largest AC available in Europe, a Dometic FreshJet 3000 for about USD 2.825,--.

RV Air Conditioners | Powerful, Quiet, Polished

Upgrade your RV comfort with smart design and powerful performance. Dometic Air Conditioners offer innovation, comfort, & sustainability wherever you roam.

www.dometic.com

My mechanic used a forklift to get the old AC down and the new Dometic up.







It cools down the temperature as it should but only in the bedroom. The cool breeze from behind fades away in the kitchen area. The old Frigiking with its big ventilation wheel was not so bad after all. In summer 2022 I´m going to buy a second AC unit for the front part of the Revcon in order to create 2 climate zones. This was in the most cases the original configuration - two AC units on the roof.



The FreshJet 3000 is equipped with 2 bright LEDs...



...and a remote control.



By the way - the mysterious leaking problem of the big window - water from above - in the bedroom stopped as soon as we installed the new AC.

 

[The Revconeer]

A/C’s are not common in Europe, even in regular homes and when it comes to motorhomes, even less so. You’ll rarely (if ever) see a rig sold with A/C already installed. Not only does it take up precious weight, but since European motorhomes are pretty well-insulated, most caravaners just prefer to rely on fans and natural through-flow of air instead. That said, A/Cs DO exist after market and the ones they sell here are really nice (super quiet).

Generators are heavy & noisy and rarely welcome anywhere in Europe. Not only do they take up precious weight (yet again), but Europeans are very noise-sensitive, so many campgrounds limit or ban their use altogether! Also, European RVs tend to be really LOW power (extremely low phantom draw) and rarely have any heavy-power-draw accessories (no A/Cs, remember), so they’re not really that useful either. You’ll never see a motorhome with a pre-installed generator and almost no-one carries one. When folks want to charge their batteries here they simply plug-in, or drive for a bit (and let the alternator do the work), or slap on some solar panels on their roof (see below).

Inverters are also uncommon in European motorhomes, mostly because the rigs are traditionally DC run. So, everything in the rig is made to run either off propane (e.g. stove, fridge etc.), or 12V DC (e.g. lights, TVs) straight from the batteries. This is changing slowly mostly because of modern technology like cellphones, PCs etc, plus people like to be able to use their kitchen gadgets & such while dry camping. So more and more folks are asking for inverters to be installed to run these things off their batteries. Still, it’s rarely (if ever) part of the original sale and is usually an after-market add-on.

So far, so good. But I have an inverter (3.000 watts sinus) and it is capable of running the big Dometic 3000. But for how long? That´s the questions. I just tried it once for about 20 minutes.



I´m going to install a 12 volts AC (R134A) OFF by indelB Plain-Aircon on the front roof hatch of the Revcon in summer 2022, powered by an extra 280 Amp AGM battery located under the sofa. One 280 Amp AGM battery is already in the back of the coach. Unfortunately our Revcon ist not equipped with a factory installed engine powered AC. The OFF AC can be used without letting the engine run all the time.



There is already an electric outlet under the sofa. Perfect for connecting the charger of the AGM. So it needs only a power line from the sofa up to the roof hatch and we´re all set.



One more point...the only thing what is left from the original 6500 Watts Onan generator is its manual. It´s not so easy to find a new one which fits into the generator compartment.



The Onan had only 16 working hours on the counter, but it was too noisy for European campgrounds. Obviously it had to go.



I wanted to get a Honda but they are too big (tall) for the Revcon and also very expensive. So I´m thinking of buying a 3500 Watts Pramac inverter generator for 720 Euro (814 USD). It hasn´t got an electric starter but the switches and plugs are located on the side so they are readily accessible. And most of all: The dimensions are suitable for the compartment.