Like cars, or even more so, the quest to find fuel efficiency in RVs has come and gone with the price of fuel. In the early eighties, when gas was around $4.00 in today’s dollars, the RV business crashed and desperately looked for a radical solution. One could say that the Winnebago LeSharo was the equivalent of the 1985 Cadillac DeVille: downsized to the extreme. Winnebago desperately searched for the solution, and found it in…France. LeSharo: the LeCar of RVs.
The LeSharo was one of those great ideas that ran aground on the realities of its Renault engine and transmission. Renault had just recently introduced its new FWD dieselTraffic van.
In Europe, the Traffic was also used as a basis for euro-style motorhomes.
Winnebago bit, another Franco-American tie-up was created, and Renault shipped cabs complete with front drive train, and a rear axle to Winnebago, where the low and light (5,000 lb) 1983 LeSharo was born. The economy (20-23 mpg) was enticing; the Renault engine and transmission less so.
This combination was relatively more reliable, but lacked the diesel’s ultimate efficiency potential. The one I found here has the turbo-diesel stickers on the back, but since many were re-powered, its hard to say for sure. On the other hand, Eugene is the final destination of many old orphan diesels, so my guess it’s in the hands of a hard-core LeSharo TD fan. For those LeSharo lovers that are sick of the Renault issues, there is an outfit that does a regular business transplanting Chrysler 3.3 V6 minivan drive trains into these.
The LeSharo petered out in 1992, but was reincarnated in 1994 as the Rialta, now using a complete VW Eurovan front cab and drive train. The early versions used the 2.5 liter five, so it wasn’t exactly brimming with power either. Eventually, the VR6 engine was the definitive version. It appears to have gone out of production some time in the last few years, as Sprinter-based conversions and RVs offer real stand-up headroom and diesel economy.
OMG! Have not seen one of these since the one they took in on trade at the used car lot I worked at…total POS
I think these used early X-car Buick Skylark headlights, the high MPG motorhome was an interesting “evolve or die” race in the early 80′s when everyone thought gas was going to go through the roof, one of the others was the BMW diesel engined Vixen.
It’s funny.
Most people only remember the BMW powered ones, but I originally learned about the Vixen because they offered the original 3800 as their gas engine. I didn’t even know there were diesel Vixens until a few years later.
The BMW TD version was the first. But by the time it arrived (1986) gas was cheap, so a 3800 version, which also had a raised a]fixed roof was developed.
The Vixen was a commercial bust, since it was expensive (almost as much as big motorhomes). If gas had stayed sky-high, it might have had a chance.
I’m eager to find one and do a CC on it. They’re getting pretty scarce, as only some 600 were ever built.
I could never warm up to either the Vixen or LeSharo because of their low headroom. That’s why I still consider the UltraVan as the utlimate high-efficiency motor home. With a diesel, I’m sure it could get close to 30 mpg.
They make more sense if you think of them as Class B alternatives.
The one Vixen I’ve walked through seemed to be very well-built, but they are quite expensive to buy even today. For the price, I’d rather have the GMC Motorhome.
Every LeSharo I’ve been in was a total cobbled-together POS. Even without the Renault connection they aren’t very good.
Rialtas are okay but not nearly as cool as something from the 60s, 70s, or ’80s.
More like a camper-conversion van alternative. My Class B Chinook, and pretty much every other Class B I know of offers stand-up headroom. That really is a big difference. The market has spoken, and except for pop-up vans, folks seem to demand stand-up headroom.
I saw one once on the road, but only once. It was passing through Atherton, so I suspect it resides in the hands of a rich eccentric. If I ever see it again I’ll try to get pictures.
I didn’t realize even that many had been built. I though it was in the low 2 figures.
I always wondered what a 2nd gen version of the excellent GMC FWD motorhome would have looked like.
I test drove a used LeSharo back in the mid-eighties thinking it might be a suitable replacement for my 75 Toyota Chinook. What a nice looking package it was but unfortunately driving it was like pedaling a tricycle with small wheels. I think I went about a half mile before deciding it wasn’t for me.
I don’t think that I’ve ever seen one of these on the road, even in the eighties. Mind you, the girl in the second photograph looks quite pleased with her choice. I just spotted a really well kept Renault Fuego Turbo, silver and black with excellent fabric sliding top, in a scrapyard last week. Wish that I remembered my camera, because it is a rarity today, a bit like the motorhome.
I saw one recently down the street, it may still be around. I Googled it just to know what it was!
i’ve seen the le sharo with renault 2.2, the only way it can work is having a 2 speed rear axle, since the whole thing got to be 4000+ plus pound, a little 4 banger is going to get burned out prematurely. also running the engine at almost full load is never a good thing.
a fnd bought this and never able to find the power train again, so he use it as a home, lived in the back of his fnd’s house.
Given that it has front wheel drive, a two-speed rear axle might be a bit less than helpful, but I get the point.
I’d seen a few of these but never knew it was Renault-based. CC has been so educational – thanks Paul! The later Eurovan rigs show up on the road every now and then, and I’ve seen one or two Vixens in the last ten years.
I’d seen a few of those; don’t recall where. I’m thinking California in the mid-1990s.
I just shrugged it off as one more oddball Winnebago. I thought it looked vaguely like a Dodge…never in my wildest dreams would I imagine Winnebago would build an expensive motorhome around a RENAULT.
The “CC Effect” strikes again.
As I was sitting in unbearable traffic today I spotted a LeSharo while stewing at a red light.
Ick! Ick! ICK! Nightmare concoction from hell! The ultimate ‘Cringe-mobile’ in the auto parts biz. In my job as a wholesale auto parts provider, these are one of the vehicles that make us cringe when we hear “I’ve got a 1985 Lesharo…” on the other end of the phone line. Sorry dreamers–you can’t get anything for one of these! Don’t even try. If offered a Lesharo, turn 180 degrees and run away screaming!
I wonder if Winnebago re-exported the finished LeSharo back to Renault? We got the LeSharo new here in NZ in the mid-80s, but it was Renault-badged and RHD. Still see the odd one around.
heh – possibly they did although with that wheelbase it would have been an unwise purchase in Europe. There’s a reason most Euro-campers are the shorter type Paul’s pictured above: there just isn’t as much space here.
One of the many trips up into the Highlands in my avatar-car before we parted ways, was supplied comic relief at the entrance to a campsite near Arisaig on the west coast by something this size. someone in a big silver US-style camper (probably a Winnebago, this sort of length, but not based on anything I’d recognise) had got themselves terminally stuck trying to turn into the site. Happily my friend and I had pitched our tent at another nearby site so we were able to enjoy the show (passing on foot) without being inconvenienced… It wasn’t still there when I was last in the area so they must have got it out in the end… though I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that cutting torches had been involved.
Renault automatic, OMG are you insane surely nobody in their right mind would order such a grenade.
…and on top of everything else, the LeSharo in the top photo had one driver who forgot how wide it was behind the cab.
“Hey guys, I just got a proposal from Renault to supply drivetrains. I understand that they have fixed all of the problems. These should work really well for this application.”
Renault or any of its components in the US market reminds me of Charlie Brown kicking Lucy’s football. She always pulls it away at the last minute and he falls flat on his back. He never learns, and does it over and over.
nicely put… although now they’ve teamed up with Nissan they sound to be landing a few kicks?
Have just bought itasca (le Sharo) in uk will bring it to Holland where I live i am interested in the comment on drive trains as mijn has a problem (limp home mode) .I need as much info as possible ,european specialist??
brian
Since my daily driver is a long wheelbase, DRW Toyota with a home built camper on the back, I have special eyeballs calibrated to notice others of the ilk. Hence, not surprisingly, I have been able to score a hat trick. A BMW Vixen on the corner of School St and Main in Montpelier, VT, a Corvair powered Ultravan motoring through Harrisburg, PA and a LeSharo offered for sale in Tallahassee, FL.
The holy grail of micro campers is genuine econocar mileage. But until they find a way to apply the magic of alchemy to the laws of physics I am going to celebrate the 23 mpg that my trusty Toyota delivers (provided I keep it under sixty). (And, yes, I can stand up in it).
Nice. I’m convinced that an update of the Ultra Van, with fine-tuned aerodynamics and a modern turbo-diesel could get mid to high twenties, possibly 30. And that’s quite a decent sized rig, with a full bedroom in back, and stand-up height.
I agree. I think 30 mpg is definitely possible with stand-up room included. Mine is an ’88 and we’ve made real strides in efficiency since.
But a commercial venture is not likely to be able to do this and satisfy prevailing American expectations.
The people who buy these things demand every conceivable amenity which really piles on the weight.
Likewise, if it’s tall enough to stand up in, you can’t expect to drive it at the prevailing speed of interstate traffic and get good mileage, another killer in the marketing world.
My sink empties into a bucket, not a holding tank, for example. It has a cedar strip roof and structural weight is kept as low as possible (no overhead cabinets, no AC on the roof). It weighs no more than a mid weight SUV. (about 4500 lbs). It has held up reasonably well for 23 years, always exposed to the elements.
My experience is that if you want a truly efficient, durable and maintenance-free home you really have no choice except to build it yourself. I think the same applies in our quest for 30mpg campers. Especially if it has to be sufficiently robust to meet the needs of full-time or near full-time usage.
On the subject of small economical RVs has anyone else ever seen a Bedford Beagle doormobile?
Yes, but we both live in NZ, so I don’t count.
There’s a blue Beagle on Trademe at the moment, but just the normal van.
Turns out that as well as the Renault-badged LeSharos we got here in NZ, a local company also built 21 LeSharo lookalikes on the same Renault cab/chassis. Photo below of one of the 21, currently for sale on Trademe: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/caravans-motorhomes/motorhomes/6-69-metres/auction-489895899.htm Link should work for a week or two.
The Le Sharo strikes me as a near Citroen SM grade hell project, although a Perkins Prima conversion could be interesting. Rialtas have a definite following, although they seem a little bit cheaper and thus less popular than Eurovan Weekenders or Winnebagos.
For reference, the Rialta was dropped after the 2003 model year because VW discontinued that generation of Eurovan and didn’t bother US certifying the following generation.
Personally I want to see what happens to the van and RV market when the Transit and Ducato show up, and I have always wondered why nobody in the US built RVs on the Isuzu NPR truck chassis.
Personally I want to see what happens to the van and RV market when the Transit and Ducato show up
This sort of thing, probably (see below) Never seen them that big in these parts but as I mentioned further up, the roads in the Highlands aren’t kind to big rigs…
The real problem with the LeSharo was the lack of enough transmission-final drive oil and/or a transmission oil cooler. Once the oil got a bit low, the ring & pinion would wear and get noisy. With the exhaust opened up to 2 inches, the acceleration improved. This with front wheel drive and a low CG, the LeSharo would handle the road. I know since I won a sports car rally in mine; much to the ranting and raving of the sporty drivers.
I’m from Britain and knew these vans reasonably well, they had a dire reputation for falling apart. The diesel was underpowered but the one I really wouldn’t want was in the French advert, Renault’s pushrod 60hp 1.4 made my 640kg Renault 5 move OK, in a 2 ton van it would be a rattly disaster.
You can still get some unbelievably slow vans in Europe like the 90hp 3.5 ton max load Sprinter. I did once drive a 4.6 ton Mercedes with…78hp. By comparison my 95hp one was a rocket ship, 79mph top speed no less.