1996 Rialta 21RC for sale by owner - West Newton, MA - craigslist (2024)

My 1996 Rialta isn’t going to win any beauty pageants—the paint and decals are faded and it’s missing the rear spare tire hatch and the two rear bumper corner pieces—but I’ve realistically priced it at about half what a prettier one would cost. If you’ve never driven a Rialta, the appeal is that it’s a Volkswagen Eurovan with a Winnebago body on the back. Little known fact: Winnebago actually did the camper conversions on the Eurovans (unlike Westfalia who did it on the old busses and Vanagons), making the Rialta sort of a VW camper on steroids (actual VW campers never had a toilet, a shower, and fresh, grey, and black water tanks). A Rialta has a very car-like feel, it’s got a small turning radius and outstanding visibility, the early ones like this are only 21 feet long making it so you can stop and park them just about anywhere, and they have much better fuel economy than big gas RVs. However, 1996 Rialtas like this one have the five-cylinder 110hp 2.5-liter 5-cylinder Audi engine, so it’s slow as compared with the later more expensive VR6-powered Rialtas, but it has done fine on New England interstates. If you want a VR6 Rialta, I understand. Stop reading and go buy one. It’ll likely cost you twice what I’m asking for mine.

The CarFax shows that this Rialta was first registered in Nevada, then Florida for a few years, then CA from 2003 through 2008, at which point it had 90k miles on it. It had two years in VT that added 8k, then was purchased by the previous owner in 2010 who put about 10k on it, using it mainly for trips from MA to Assateague Island in SC. I bought it from her in 2017. My wife and I have added just 3000 miles, using it mainly for weekends at campgrounds at the Cape.

I have the receipts for the transaxle being rebuilt in CA in 2008 (two owners ago) at 90k. Two years ago I had new tires and a new exhaust installed. Other than that, I’ve done all the work—I installed an external transmission cooler, a transmission temperature gauge, and heavy-duty rear wheel bearings (the three really-should-have mods on a Rialta), and have replaced the alternator, fuel pump, upper and lower ball joints, front rotors and pads, rear drums, shoes, and wheel cylinders, ignition coil, power steering pump, rear “helper” air springs, toilet, dump valves, refrigerator (new slightly larger 12VDC / 120VAC model—no more propane connection to the fridge), microwave, and vehicle and coach batteries. The vehicle air conditioning works. I’ve also installed a 160-watt solar panel to keep the coach batteries charged and the refrigerator running while we’re at the beach. It also has 24-inch flat-screen TV with integrated DVD player mounted on an easy-to-remove swing arm and connected to a sound system with a small subwoofer.

My wife and I never went boondocking in it, instead always staying in campgrounds with hookups, so we never needed the generator. This was always in summer so we never needed the heat, and the sites were usually leafy enough that we never needed the rooftop a/c. Plus, we usually cooked outside on a portable Coleman grille, so we rarely used the stove. Nonetheless, I just verified that the generator fires up, the rooftop a/c works, the stove works and coach furnace work (the propane tank is about half full), and the electric water heater works.

The interior has a very cool “Bauhaus” fabric scheme. The front seats are worn (the driver’s seat is pretty much shredded) and have covers on them, but I have extra (and rare) Bauhaus fabric that can be used to reupholster them. The “RC” interior has two twin mattresses (not sofas) with a hinged fold-out board that connects them and a foam insert that connects them to make a queen-sized bed. I have an extremely comfortable queen-sized Tempur-Pedic mattress topper cut in half on them. The cabinets are intact save some peeling of the contact paper veneer. The slightly-larger refrigerator is taller but narrower than the original one. Installing it required cutting about an inch of the cabinet below the sink, but there’s extra space on the side. I’d planned to trim out the enclosure, but my wife and I got used to using the space on the side as a wine and whisky cabinet.

I am not aware of any rust holes in either the body or the undercarriage. When I crawl under it, I see peeling factory undercoating.

Known quirks:

Despite my going through the braking system, the brakes have never been confidence-inspiring, but there are a fair number of posts on this on the Rialta forum saying “they all do that.”

The engine temperature warning light begins flashing almost immediately after the vehicle has been started. Thus, it does not indicate high engine temperature. Similarly, the engine temperature reading on the gauge at times reads too high as compared with readings from an infrared temperature gun. I’ve never had any real indication that the vehicle runs hot. The electric fans turn on when they’re supposed to, and I recently replaced the thermostat. A receipt shows the water pump and many other parts were replaced in 2010 at 99,332 miles.

The roof has a small leak, likely through the corner of sky-dome or the flange for the no-longer-used TV antenna, that used to drip through the light above the folding table. I removed the light, but never pinpointed the source of the leak. I just leave a drip pan on the table.

The latch for the fold-down sink in the tiny bathroom broke. I secured the sink in the up position with tape. My wife and I wash our hands in the kitchen sink.

Because we don’t boondock and instead stay in campgrounds, we use campground showers and only used the shower in the Rialta once, and when we did, the drain didn’t drain despite hearing the pump run. This is an extremely common problem. To get it working, I had to replace a bad conical rubber washer on the pump, clean the filter, and prime the pump with water. We have not used it since.

The side door lock and its central-locking wiring work but are going to need attention.

The LED light readings from the panel above the sink indicating the fill levels of the fresh, gray, and black tanks aren’t always to be trusted.

The faucet in the kitchen sink sometimes pops out if you don’t seat the seal.

I’ve seen no leakage from the windshield, but there’s some silicone caulk at the corners.

That’s pretty much it.

I’ve priced it at $9950. Try to find another running well-maintained Rialta for that. Sight-unseen lowball offers will be ignored. I live in West Newton, about two miles from the intersection of I-90 and I-95.