My 21 foot eco RV 35mpg :)
 

Long time lurker, first time poster, so I figure I would show you my eco RV.


Here is my Vixen 21 XC. It is powered by a BMW m21 turbo diesel engine, the same one from the BMW 524td. It has a Renault 5-speed manual trans axle, she gets 30-35 mpg. The suspension is Chevy g20, and the frame is made partly from the same Chevy g20. The body is fiberglass. The engine is mounted in the rear of the vehicle and is mounted backwards, so the engine time belt/water pump is right in the back.
This one happened to of been left to rot in water for 6 years so the inside of it was very very nasty. The new inside will consist of BMW e28 red leather power sport seats up front, BMW e30 leather rear seat for the back side. The walls will be a neutral color, on the driver side wall there will be a counter top and cabinets, plus the bathroom in the back. There will be a closet on the passenger side behind the side door. The rear has a full sized bed over the engine, In there I will be putting in a LCD screen and a small 5.1 surround system. I am going to put my Mac Mini in there to run GPS and music. The floors are going to be fake wood from Ikea and the front floor will be black carpet. I am going to paint the outside of it BMW Sterling Silver with Salmon Silver lower part(the storage compartments and bumpers)

Here is the layout of the cabin
http://e28-535i.com/upload/xc-layout.jpg
This is how she looked when it was purchased in Florida several years ago by my friend.
http://e28-535i.com/upload/cf_1_b.JPG
http://e28-535i.com/upload/vixen_004.jpg
http://e28-535i.com/upload/vixen_037.jpg
http://e28-535i.com/upload/vixen_071.jpg
This is "The Blue Door" we don't know what its for but I'm going to use it to ice fish from, keep in mind this came from Florida so they couldn't really ice fish with it there.
http://e28-535i.com/upload/vixen_073.jpg
Here is the inside after I pulled most of the rotten inside out. I used a link as the picture is huge!
IMG_800.JPG

:turtle:


I am also working on a 1988 BMW 325iX (AWD) to convert it over to diesel and eventually bio.

Interesting rig, I see those once in a blue moon here in FL. Never knew they were BMW powered. How do the Renault Transmissions hold up? I like the design, long and low....makes good sense. Keep us posted on the progress.

wow u get good mileage in that thing, u are getting what i am getting in my lil pickup. It is low which is good, long which makes it not as hard to fight wind as if was wide, also wheel skirts :D

That RV gets better fuel economy than trucks and SUV's!

Thats awesome for an RV! Welcome to EM BTW :D

that's a great car.. reminds me of a chevrolet Sportvan 108. Engine was actually placed between and behind the front seats with a chevy truck parts and a flat nose.

I saw one of those a couple years ago and thought it was a one off. I figured ~25mpg but ~30-35mpg is tremendous! :thumbup:

Wow amazing mileage! Imagine dropping that powertrain in a car.

What was it originally getting and what is giving the majority of the gains?

Ok, now I am hooked. I was looking at coaches that could do around 10mpg and was a bit leary. 30+ is amazing though! If only these Vixens could actually be bought...

Any hints on where to track one down at?

That is what it originally gets. The RV is all stock, eventually I will be adding a couple of things to it, but first I need to finish the inside.

Google or you can start here:

Coaches for Sale

and there is a Vixen msn group:

http://groups.msn.com/VIXENRVs

Wow, around $15-25k will get me one of these suckers. Pretty amazing. Now for the hard part: talking my wife into it!

Wow. Amazing that I have never seen one... I could practically walk to the plant they were built at.

awesome!

I daydream about building something similar all the time. lol

Could you try and explain how the roof operates (I couldn't gather much other than automatic)

How much does this thing weigh, by the way?

Well, the roof on my model is a fixed roof, Eventually I will be installing a full length cloth top that can retract.

As for weight, mine (I have the limo model) weighs 5000 lbs loaded. Although I wouldnt mind rebuilding the fiberglass body from carbon fiber and a honey comb board. I figure I could save nearly 1500 lbs off the body of it.

hotlinks don't work

Links no worky.....Please fixxy. Thanks!