Personalize the Rialta. It IS yours!

mechanic68 · 10-27-2013, 05:54 PM

We looked for our Rialta for quite a while. Luck was with us when we found a '98 RC twin close to home with the mileage and price we could handle. The previous owners had done a lot of little things to make it fit their needs. After a couple of trips we could see our requirements were a bit different. Previous owner didn't go for a lot of longer trips and some of his cubby holes, etc. added more weight than we felt necessary. Out came the custom cubbys and shelves! We have since added some things we feel are a bit more practical.

At some time someone installed a very nice Corian counter and sink. There was no gas burner on the new counter. Our solution is the purchase of an electric induction hot plate. It can be put away when not in use and does a great job of cooking when we need to cook.

The shoreline setup was improved by installing an automatic transfer switch and external plug for shoreline power. This eliminates fumbling around all the stuff in the trunk area when the need arises to switch between generator and shoreline power.

I have noticed a lot of the blogs regarding the Rialta are about generators. Mine would start okay but the rpm's hunted back and forth. If I applied the choke a little bit it would run smoothly, indicating a lean mixture, usually varnish or crud of some type restricting a fuel passage in the carburetor. Since the carb was the original (15 years old) I bought a new one from Generac. Problem solved! The cost of the new carb was less than most shops would charge to soak and overhaul the old one.

The latest mod is also mechanical. Rialtas are known to work the Eurovan transmision and overheat the fluid. Ours at least had the transmission dipstick kit installed and the trans had been serviced when we bought it. I replaced the stock transmission cooler with a cooler in front of the radiator and a cold weather thermal bypass which allows the trans oil to recirculate back to the transmission until it is up to operating temperature.

We now have the Rialta changed so we can use it for longer trips without a lot of worries about mechanical problems. The interior is the way we like it, simple and utilitarian. It is our vehicle and we love being able to use it the way we had planned!

bigdan · 11-20-2014, 11:14 AM

reviving this post ,

thanks mechanic68 , are you satisfied with your mods ..have you dome any others after ?

Dan

herbert · 05-28-2015, 11:58 PM

we bought a 96 rialta about a 6 months ago and have gonbe on several trips already.. But the one thing we realized was there was not enough storage for the long trips.. Our is the qd i think thats what its called with the 2 seats behind the drivers seats.. I removed them and built a 4 drawer cabinet just to fit the space for all our plate and napkins and left 2 for our clothes that we fold.. the other one i took out and built the fold away table I seen in the other rialtas.. that way we didnt have to un make the bed when we wanted to eat or play games or cards.. I put a swivel office type chair in for seating.. I installed a shelve at the bottom of the closet so i could put a floor jack and my tools just in case of trouble.. GOD FORBID.. I installed the trans cooler and new tires.. we had all the seats re- upholstered and re-covered the valance above all the windows.. We did them in yellow and black.. My honey wanted to make it a hunny bee.. Thats because our slogan on the back says ( JUST BUZZING AROUND GODS COUNTRY ) Since the pen stripes were shot we painted the white and painted the stripes yellow and black.. Now we call it the B-IALTA.. Dont plan on ever selling it so we fixed it to suit us.. This is an awesome machine.. Thanks Herb

gettejones · 06-16-2015, 01:54 AM

We have a friend who does vinyl
wraps so we're thinking of some fun to have on our exterior....

herbert · 06-16-2015, 05:49 PM

gettejones i had thiought of that but couldnt ever find anyone to do it.. Would love to see pics when your thru..

Herb

1996 rialta QD

55k still climbing

gettejones · 06-17-2015, 01:57 PM

herbert said:

gettejones i had thiought of that but couldnt ever find anyone to do it.. Would love to see pics when your thru..

Herb

1996 rialta QD

55k still climbing

My friend works here: http://precisionsandi.com/ They may be able to point you to the right folks in your neighborhood. We're thinking Star Trek shuttlecraft. Still just dreaming at the moment, though.

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