Support Page for wide-body 1987-1991 Revcon RV's
The 1988 year RV pictured here is the culmination of twenty years design & engineering on the "Revcon" or "REVolutionary CONcept" Motorcoach. The concept for the initial Revcon motorcoach dates back to 1968, when John Hall conceived the idea of a low-profile, front wheel drive RV with a lightweight aluminum monocoque body. This was not entirely a coincidence since John was the stepson of Wally Byam of Airstream Trailer fame. A special drivetrain based around the Oldsmobile Toronado was to provide the platform for the Revcon from 1968 until 1979. A downsizing of the Toronado forced Revcon to change in 1979 to the General Motors 454 from the Oldsmobile 455 (and for two years the Oldsmobile 403) platform. A special driveshaft coupled with a transfer case and a Dana 70 differential (that actually runs backwards in this application) formed the platform for 1979 to 1991 year coaches.
The Revcon, due to its unique design, use of first-quality materials, and its aircraft-style construction was a rather expensive coach to purchase. Unfortunately its operating company suffered from financial troubles due to various causes and ended up in receivership during 1985. The factory operation was combined with that of the Apollo Motorcoach during that year and remained until 1991 with the end of regular production. There were no Revcon coaches produced in 1986.
The Revcon name lives on, however as at least two commercial ventures have produced RV's using the Revcon name after this series of coaches ended. One coach in particular, the "Goliath" was an attempt to make a true 4 X 4 coach using the 1985-1990 design of regular Revcon bodies right as regular Revcon production was winding down in 1990. There were only two prototypes made of this coach, although it was another breakthrough design concept. One of the two prototype coaches was for sale in Texas in mid-2008, however its current whereabouts are now unknown. There was only one 1991 coach produced. The 1991 coach was distinguished from earlier years of Revcon coaches by the shape of the nose, it is quite unique if you ever see one.
A number of Revcon employees teamed together to build the "Silver Motorcoach" in 1992, this coach used many components of the famous GMC recreational vehicle combined with the engineering know-how of Revcon. Several coaches were produced but this effort was, as well, doomed to eventual failure.
My reason for creating this page is that there is a good deal of information on the net about earlier model year Revcon coaches, but almost none about the "last gasp" of regular Revcon production (the 1987 through 1991 model years). This support page is an attempt to hopefully fill the gap and provide fellow coach owners some useful resources so you can enjoy your coach for many years to come.
Here's a shot or two of the Revcon we purchased in August of 2006.
The pics were shot in mid-2007, the exterior shot was taken at the GMC Co-Op in Orlando, Florida where we had the coach reworked. Just a little history, this coach was sold via EBAY, the seller assured us up & down the coach was sound before we bid, that we could do a fly & drive from Tennessee to Florida without problems, etc etc.... BALDERDASH! When we arrived we found four out of six tires were badly dry-rotted (which had to be replaced before we got on the road), we had to replace the coach battery at the dealership, and there was a problem with the windshield wipers in addition to the turn signals being out. The oil pressure gauge was completely out, the switch for the oil pressure warning light was non-op (meaning no warning light if things go bad), and there was an un-disclosed water leak coming from the bathroom vent cover. When we had the tires replaced a few miles down the road at a local service center we found a cracked right front brake rotor, which we had no choice but to travel on with as at that time we did not know the correct parts interchange for the brakes.
After overnighting in Forsyth, GA we started down I-75 and went about 25 miles before the engine lost almost all power. The short version is we ended up getting towed via AAA almost 900 miles back to beautiful Central Florida. The problem with the engine was traced back to a low oil condition caused by what we believe to be seal leaks, we didn't catch it as when we checked the oil it was full and both the pressure gauge & light were out, so no warning when things started to go South on us. You can guess what came next... engine rebuild time! More about the mods & rebuild later however.
On the West Coast of the US, Marty Moore's Motor Homes is one of your best options for Revcon service, they also have a very extensive inventory of OEM parts. Marty's is located at 4019 Hicock Street, San Diego, CA 92110. Telephone 877-893-8669. Marty is basically a living Wikipedia on the Revcon coach, he is the best available technical expert working on Revcon coaches today. As you are at the last remaining OEM service facility if you use Marty's, be prepared to pay a premium for service & parts!
On the East Coast of the US, one of your best options for Revcon service is Cooperative Motor Works, 5971 Anno Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32809. Phone (407) 857-5777. The owner is Jim Bounds, wonderful person to deal with. Jim gets a personal endorsement from me as being a honest & fair business owner, as well as being very well versed in front wheel drive RV's. Jim also specializes in custom mods and innovative designs for these coaches and can handle anything from minor service to powertrain changeouts and complete frame-off restorations. Make sure to call ahead with Jim's shop as he has RV's coming out every possible nook & cranny at his place. He also schedules months ahead for service due to high demand from the GMC community. Unless you have a genuine emergency, broke down on the road, etc etc... please schedule in advance with Jim.
Based on information provided by “Revcon_Curious” Yahoo Group members, the wide-body series of Revcon coaches started with production number #2641 in 1984. If this is correct, the production run on this last series of Revcon coach is probably less then 150 units total. There were no coaches produced in 1986, this was during the time of the first Revcon bankruptcy and their co-location with the Apollo production facility. I had the pleasure of speaking via EMAIL in early 2007 with the former Chief of Engineering for Revcon (Mr. Peter Bryant). I was told by Mr. Bryant that after the (first) bankruptcy (in 1985-86) it was difficult to build coaches because the suspension uprights had been sold off with the sale of assets prior to the re-organization. The production figures seem to bear this out.
Production figures derived from actual coaches built between February 1987 to February 1989 (using serial number information from coach data plates) indicate only thirty-seven coaches produced, essentially an average rate of 1.5 coaches per month from the factory after the 1985-1986 bankruptcy. If you look at the raw numbers it looks like production was really falling off between April 1988 and February 1989 (four coaches produced in ten months), opposed to the production between February 1987 and March 1988 (thirty-two coaches in thirteen months). Here’s the raw data I have been able to gather for coaches from 1984 on in this series for you statistical types out there.
08/84 - Coach #2653
08/84 - Coach #2655
10/84 - Coach #2672
01/85 - Coach #2693
01/85 - Coach #2694
02/87 - Coach #2715
09/87 - Coach #2729 (Stan's Coach)
03/88 - Coach #2747
04/88 - Coach #2749 (Paul's coach)
04/88 - Coach #2751 (Marty Moore's Coach)
02/89 - Coach #2752 (my coach)
It is known there were some 1990 model-year coaches produced before regular production slowed down, exactly how many has not been determined (only anecdotal information that says “very few”). The one 1990 coach I have been able to locate was purchased by the Portland, Oregon Fire Department for use as a mobile communications/command vehicle. As of January, 2008 this Revcon mobile command coach was for sale by a private owner in Idaho (Portland sold the coach at auction in October, 2007). Other municipalities that were known to be using later Revcon mobile command coaches include Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, CA, West Covina Police, CA, and Los Gatos Police, CA. The California Office of Emergency Services donated their coach to Yolo County SO several years ago. There are pictures of some of these coaches in the Revcon Curious picture sections on Yahoo groups. Revcon also manufactured what they called the "Independence" which was a modified 33-foot coach with a wheelchair lift. There were several of these produced, at least two of these coaches were sold on EBAY in 2007. The only one I have been able to get firm information on is as follows:
10/87 - Coach #T643 - Revcon Independence
There is also a picture on the Revcon Curious group pages of the one & only 1991 coach that was built by Revcon, its currently up for sale in CA by a consignment dealer. Information from Marty Moore via another Revcon owner indicated this coach was constructed from leftover components right before the factory closed, and that the coach had some serious quality & maintenance issues, hopefully all of which have been addressed.
If you are a fellow Revcon wide-body coach owner and have your serial information and date of production (found on a plate just in front of your coach door) I’d love to hear from you and add your information to my research. You can EMAIL me by using the button below.
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