Just bought an RMB and currently on the way home from Majorca (1 Viewer)

Sheepskin

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My name is Ceri Shepherd I am new to the site, but I have over the years owned a few motorhomes normally junk as that is all the budget would allow. My last one was a 1993 Knaus 630 traveller and I bought it privately in Germany. Excellent van never had any problems with it and sold it after 3 years use for a good profit.

So now I have bought an RMB 670 Silver Star from a German guy who is living in Majorca. He had bought a very swish house there and had basically lost interest in the RMB, so I had it for a very good price, he also paid for the very ticket from Palma to Barcelona which I did yesterday. like 100km hour winds and 17 metre waves, I have never seen anything like it, I was supposed to get to Barcelona at 1800 but actually arrived at 0130 !!! They chained the RMB down, it was seriously rough, virtually impossible to stand up, and a lot of sick !!

No wonder these RMB,s were so expensive when new, I have never seen build quality like it. Mine is turbocharged and not a bad old girl to drive, not fast !! But grunty, came over the Pyrenees today without any problems.

Staying in an aire just outside Cahors tonite, my attitude is that if the vehicle can be parked and pretty much anywhere then that is where I will sleep

I would like to give fellow RMB owner Snowbird a massive THANKS he has been so helpful with advice and information regarding the RMB purchase. Truly a top man

My RMB seems fine it needs 2 skylights resealing they are leaking very slightly, the whole body is a one piece glass fibre monocoque so no seams to leak. It needs a good thorough clean inside and out, he had lost interest. But everything seems to work well?

I will get some pictures uploaded when I get back to the UK

Other pictures here http://trendinvestor.smugmug.com/
 
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Carol

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Hello Ceri, welcome to fun, as you say Dave (Snowbird) is a top guy always willing to share his wide knowledge of travel and motorhomes, on this site you will find quite a few willing to do this along with having fun, look forward to your posts and pictures.:flyingwelcome:
 

Snowbird

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Hi Ceri, Am so pleased you are happy with the van and thanks for the kind words. Look forward to seeing it in the flesh as each one is different as they are custom built. Yours being originally built for a very famous German footballer and mine for a scrap metal dealer they should be worlds apart :ROFLMAO:.
Take your time bringing it home, you are lucky to find one, so enjoy it at your leisure as am sure it wont be long before it becomes part of the family :thumb:.

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Sheepskin

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Well I am now just to the east of Chartres, and heading for Dieppe as because of a "technical issue" my sailing from le havre is cancelled, so I am going from Dieppe to Newhaven instead, will bring back some memories as the last time I did that journey was in 1976 and it was my first ever time abroad with my parents and our caravan.

The RMB has been faultless, touch rood !!! Has not burned any oil, and has trundled along at 80 to 90 KMh . The insulation is superb it was very cold last night, it has 2 blown air heaters the rear one is very good, the front one which vents into the cab area can only be described as a blast furnace, similar to one of those paint stripping hot air guns.

I have now pretty much worked out how everything works, and it all seems to work well, which is quite remarkable for a 21 year old van.

I only really have one complaint and that is on smooth roads such as national roads in france and motorways this Mercedes chassis is very smooth, no problems at all. HOWEVER venture onto a bumpy D road and it is really rough, and feels crude as everything is shaking and rattling. I have experimented with different tyre pressures but nothing seems to make much difference, the tyres are nearly new Goodyear and it has had all 6 tyres changed at the same time so they are a complete set, this van also has air suspension. I guess I am being a bit picky and it is just 1980,s technology thats the way it is, and my car is a Lexus IS so not exactly a fair comparison, but the ride on less than smooth roads is my only disappointment, all the rest is really good.

In particular the fuel consumption, I am running very light, but I have averaged just over 25mpg which for such a big and heavy vehicle I think is very good, I am happy with that. I have a light right foot.

If any Mercedes owners such as the Hymer S Klasse owners have any tips for smoothing the ride on rougher roads please let me know.

Just for fun my wife is an ex Miss Ukraine and has been on the front cover of Vogue magazine,we have been together now for 10 years. So Dave I think it is fair to say that the British RMB,s are definetly the most glamorous brand of motorhome, we are an exclusive clique. Motorhoming aristocracy.

I am waiting for the abuse to start !!!!!!!!
 
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Sheepskin

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I have had the air suspension from zero to maximum. It does not make a lot of difference. However at the higher settings if definetly reduces the body roll. BUT it does not make much difference to ride quality, which is fine on smooth roads, but poor on rougher roads.

For example going over the small speed bumps before many roundabouts it feels like it is going to break up, lots of crashing and banging as you go over each bump, or poor road repairs

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Wildman

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hi and welcome, I love the RMB you were lucky to find one, by the way I think you will find they are German made and not British, i could be wrong of course, often am. hee hee. Fancy coming straight home what a waste of fuel. You should at least have had several weeks out there.
 
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Snowbird

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Ceri, mine does not make any noise whatsoever. Am just wondering if the silencer is rattling on the body or if its because the van is empty. Is it a heavy sort of sound.
 
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Well I am now just to the east of Chartres, and heading for Dieppe as because of a "technical issue" my sailing from le havre is cancelled, so I am going from Dieppe to Newhaven instead, will bring back some memories as the last time I did that journey was in 1976 and it was my first ever time abroad with my parents and our caravan.

The RMB has been faultless, touch rood !!! Has not burned any oil, and has trundled along at 80 to 90 KMh . The insulation is superb it was very cold last night, it has 2 blown air heaters the rear one is very good, the front one which vents into the cab area can only be described as a blast furnace, similar to one of those paint stripping hot air guns.

I have now pretty much worked out how everything works, and it all seems to work well, which is quite remarkable for a 21 year old van.

I only really have one complaint and that is on smooth roads such as national roads in france and motorways this Mercedes chassis is very smooth, no problems at all. HOWEVER venture onto a bumpy D road and it is really rough, and feels crude as everything is shaking and rattling. I have experimented with different tyre pressures but nothing seems to make much difference, the tyres are nearly new Goodyear and it has had all 6 tyres changed at the same time so they are a complete set, this van also has air suspension. I guess I am being a bit picky and it is just 1980,s technology thats the way it is, and my car is a Lexus IS so not exactly a fair comparison, but the ride on less than smooth roads is my only disappointment, all the rest is really good.

In particular the fuel consumption, I am running very light, but I have averaged just over 25mpg which for such a big and heavy vehicle I think is very good, I am happy with that. I have a light right foot.

If any Mercedes owners such as the Hymer S Klasse owners have any tips for smoothing the ride on rougher roads please let me know.

Just for fun my wife is an ex Miss Ukraine and has been on the front cover of Vogue magazine,we have been together now for 10 years. So Dave I think it is fair to say that the British RMB,s are definetly the most glamorous brand of motorhome, we are an exclusive clique. Motorhoming aristocracy.

I am waiting for the abuse to start !!!!!!!!

Following your return travel with great interest, keep it coming and let's have a full account when you hit the UK. Nice to have a good post of a funster on the move.
Safe journey,
Wilf

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Snowbird

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Hi Ceri, You say the insulation is very good. The reason for this is, have you seen the thickness of the walls. The door is thicker than the one on my house. Its just as secure also with deadlocks and Yale locks fitted to every outside locker and door.
Below is a photo of the habitation door.
 

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Snowbird

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Thats a good thought. Am in contact with Ceri and he mentioned something about German winter tyres. If the winter tyres have a harder compound maybe this could cause this problem, but now am thinking along the lines of shockers. They have cart springs all round and I had my rears re tensioned which made a huge difference.

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Sheepskin

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I had a crawl around underneath and had a look at the front shocks. What I am now thinking is that when he put on the air suspension, he also updated the front shocks as they are definetly not original, and maybe they are just too hard OR they may be adjustable and are wound up too much, when I get back to the UK I will have a good look at them. On smooth roads such as N roads or autoroutes or even good D roads NO PROBLEMS AY ALL. It is just when the road gets rough, it all becomes a bit jarring.

I am now in Dieppe at the aire by the ferry, it is completely full up, I got a place. Today is the Festival of The Fishes, so it is a big party, market and fair REALLY GOOD lots of barbecued fish stalls.

All in all very pleased with this RMB some small problems, but all easy and cheap to fix. I will get this ride sorted out, that will not be a problem, just needs a bit of an investigation and then a solution

My Door is the same David, bit like a bank vault door, the heating is what gets me, I am certain they have used some surplus German Army Flame Throwers.

The build quality and strength of build makes an old S Klasse Hymers seem virtually feminine

I have got a good project for this winter, to get the old boy back to mint condition for next spring.
 
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Sheepskin

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The tyres are Goodyear Cargo Ultra Grip and according to Goodyears website are a winter tyre but can be used in the summer, just a thought but they have been in Majorca for two years so maybe the Med sun has also hardened them up a bit, would be a pity to change as they are like brand new
 

Snowbird

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Hi Ceri, If you are going to change the tyres you only need change the front, the rears will be OK with winter tyres all year round. If anything they should give better grip on grass. Not that you will need it with dif lock fitted.
I think its because you have no weight on it. Its a 5 ton chassis and you have little or nothing on board. Get it over a pit when you get home and check the body mounts for tightness and the shockers. That camper should float like a Roller.

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Sheepskin

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Well I got back home no problems at all, cost 180 euro in diesel from Barcelona to Dieppe, which I calculated is about 26 mpg.

It is now time to admit that I was an idiot, I did the tyre pressure just outside Barcelona and put 4.5 bar in each tyre, then as previous posts show, I realised it was very hard,nwhen I got back to Britain last night, I decided to check the pressures once again, I used Daves recommendation of 60 psi all around.

Well 4.5 bar is about 65psi, so I was expecting a bit of air to come out, let's just say lots of air was coming out, I reckon there was about 90psi in there.

So the moral of the story is do not trust spanish forecourt air gauges !!!! And also do not be an idiot like me, and if it feels like a hard ride then check the pressures again.

Much better ride now, acceptable.

So now the personalisation can begin, once again thanks so much to Dave what a star man, a great help
 

Snowbird

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I never ever trust forecourt gauges even in the UK. I always use a digital pressure gauge and double check with that after the vehicle has stood all night. Warm tyres can give all sorts of different readings and could never understand why the French have the free tyre pumps at the paege. Not much point in checking tyre pressures after blasting down a toll road on a hot day.
Glad you got back OK and will speak soon.
 
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Well I got back home no problems at all, cost 180 euro in diesel from Barcelona to Dieppe, which I calculated is about 26 mpg.

It is now time to admit that I was an idiot, I did the tyre pressure just outside Barcelona and put 4.5 bar in each tyre, then as previous posts show, I realised it was very hard,nwhen I got back to Britain last night, I decided to check the pressures once again, I used Daves recommendation of 60 psi all around.

Well 4.5 bar is about 65psi, so I was expecting a bit of air to come out, let's just say lots of air was coming out, I reckon there was about 90psi in there.

So the moral of the story is do not trust spanish forecourt air gauges !!!! And also do not be an idiot like me, and if it feels like a hard ride then check the pressures again.

Much better ride now, acceptable.

So now the personalisation can begin, once again thanks so much to Dave what a star man, a great help

Glad your home safely. Just goes to show we are learning all the time about tyres and the importance of pressures. Let's have some photos of the new girl when you have recovered
from your adventure.
Wilf

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Great to read of another satisfied RMB owner!! When we got ours in Germany 4 years ago we were only 45km from the dealers when we had a tyre blow- pays to get the pressures right!! But we havent looked back since then.
 

Snowbird

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Great to read of another satisfied RMB owner!! When we got ours in Germany 4 years ago we were only 45km from the dealers when we had a tyre blow- pays to get the pressures right!! But we havent looked back since then.

So that's four in the UK that I know about. Which model do you have and what are your views on it as you have had time to evaluate in the four years you have had it.
 
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Four, Snowbird? Wheres the other?
My partner would have a practical response to your question which, I think, you and Ceri would appreciate more than a this emotive one from me!!
I love it. I am jealous to hear of 26mpg- we get about 20mpg from our 410 merc. its a BlauStar 600L. We went looking for an RMB in Germany - our first motorhome- after my partner had seen a newish one badged as Pilote over here which we couldnt afford. Blown away by the build quality which we still think isnt beaten, even if our van is 20 years old!
Trundles along, slow but sure up all hills and as cosy as they come. We never seem to fill up the gas! We've done some cold travels in France/Spain (-15 ) and over winter in Scotland a couple of years ago - again minus 15 for a few nights. Self sufficient with 2 leisure batteries. We've replaced the Truma boiler and the rooflights need resealing now but thats all ( what a dangerous thing to say!!)
We visited the RMB factory probably just before it closed and transferred to the Frankia base which was jolly interesting. We thought then and looking at mobile.de still think that some of the best design is in these older ones. We looked at a few when we were buying. The one I most regret not taking more seriously was a huge thing on a VW base built for the head of VW!! We'd be off fulltiming if we'd gone for that!!

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We did stay at a campsite by the River Wye eighteen months ago (syecampsite.co.uk) and the lad running that said his grandad had always had an RMB and I contacted him at that time - he had a newish big beast but I never went back to see it.
 

Snowbird

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Hi Edward, Pudseykeith a member on here has a Silver Star similar to mine. Thats the only four to my knowledge that are in the UK.
The one Ceri has was built for Franz Beckenbauer, the one I have was built for some scrap metal dealer but I don't know the history of Pudseykeiths.
There is a VW50 Silver Star for sale in Germany at the moment but its a bit longer than I would have liked. Have had many motorhomes in the past but this will be the last now as I cannot see any reason to replace it. Like you am only getting around 20/22 MPG max but can live with that. I think Ceri will find a difference when he loads it in travelling trim as he has brought it back empty. I have just resealed the roof vents on mine, but considering they are 22 years old and that's the first time they have been done,its not a worry. They are certainly a wonder to behold considering how long ago they were built. 1kw pure sine inverter and all wiring going through a shunt. A ceramic hob, which is only something that is just starting to be an option 22 years later. The one I have has the walk through garage which is normally only found on late model motorhomes. I don't know what paint they used, but it must have been good as its as good now as when it was built.
 
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Sheepskin

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I have a few receipts made out to Franz Beckanbaur also he is in the service book as the first owner. Apparently he is a very keen fly fisherman and used the RMB for fishing trips. The vehicle has 3 owners and apparently the second owner lived in the same street as Franz. I agree Dave the paint quality is really superb, I will T Cut and wax polish mine should take about 2 months looking at the size of the vehicle.

I need to get some RMB stickers for mine as they are sun faded.

I was getting 26mpg but that was empty and also at a real slow 80kmh, not Daves 200 to 250kmh average.

So 4 known RMB owners in the UK, what an exclusive bunch

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