One of the coolest ways to get a unique RV is to buy one that was never sold in America. The motorhomes of Japan and Europe are weird compared to what we have in America, and once a coach turns 25 years old, there’s nothing stopping you from getting your own. Many of the imported motorhomes in America are from Japan, but if you want something a bit different, there’s this, a 1997 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Rimor Sailer 748. This European motorhome sports a legendary Mercedes-Benz OM 602 turbodiesel engine and a five-speed manual transmission, making for a sweet driving combo. But there’s a frustrating, but solvable catch.
This 1997 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Rimor Sailer 748, which is currently listed on Bring a Trailer, is an interesting pick for a multitude of reasons. America has been getting flooded with all kinds of motorhomes from the Japanese Domestic Market, which is totally fine! Japanese motorhomes are real cuties, and their super compact size makes them great for easy travel.
However, I’ve noticed that an increasing number of readers ask about European imports. As I’ve written about before, getting a vehicle from Europe actually isn’t hard at all. The process is just different and costs more money. Of course, now you have to worry about tariffs, too. Or, you can buy a European camper that’s already here and not have to worry about any of that stuff. That’s what you’re getting with this motorhome. The sweetener is the cool engine and drivetrain configuration!
Once Italy’s Top RV Company
This coach was built by the Italian firm Rimor, and this company is known for building family-friendly coaches with an upscale feel. Rimor says its motorhomes are supposed to be built for “your freedom of movement.”
According to MMM The Motorhomers’ Magazine, Rimor was founded in 1978 by Luano Niccolai. Back then, Niccolai saw tons of potential in an affordable, well-built motorhome for Italy. His first motorhome was a remodel of an old Ford Transit 130, and given the success of that, Niccolai put his design into production using the Fiat 238 as a base.
Later, Niccolai realized the potential of the Ford Transit, and believed that quality motorhomes built on the transit could be built at a lower cost. Rimor would pivot to the Transit, and early on, the company’s efforts were rewarded by the company rising to the top of the Italian market. By the 1990s, the company was able to expand into Germany. Then, it spread to France, Spain, and the rest of Europe. Rimor would finally arrive in the United Kingdom in 2007. In more recent years, Rimor has lost its edge and holds under five percent of the motorhome market in Italy. However, the brand is still known for building quality rigs.
I could not determine exactly when the Sailer went into production, but the earliest example I’ve found was a 1995 model. At any rate, today, Rimor advertises the Sailer as a classy way to cruise the road like you would in a nice boat on water. The current model is based on the 2.0-liter Ford Transit.
This Rimor Sailer 748
That brings us to the 1997 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Rimor Sailer 748 that’s for sale on Bring a Trailer. These older Sailers were often built on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis. This one is specifically a Mercedes 312 D, and it was sold new by Rimor Austria and lived its life in Europe until it was imported in 2024.
The Mercedes part of this equation doesn’t seem all that exciting until you look under the skin. Under the hood is the Mercedes-Benz OM 602, a 2.9-liter straight-five turbodiesel good for 120 horsepower and 203 lb-ft of torque. This engine is a big deal. Sure, it doesn’t make much power, but these engines are famous for being among the Mercedes diesels capable of putting down 500,000 miles or more. They’re also relatively simple, and feature mechanical indirect injection and controls.
When the Sprinter arrived in America as a Freightliner in the 2002 model year (then later as a Dodge), it had an OM 612 2.7-liter straight-five common rail turbodiesel. These make 154 HP and 243 lb-ft of torque and are also generally known for reliability. However, these engines do have their quirks, like EGR oil leaks and so-called “black death,” where failed injector seals allow unburned fuel and exhaust gases to build up under the rocker cover. Some folks would rather roll with the older mills.
If having a nearly bulletproof engine isn’t cool enough, this Sprinter also departs from the norm of what we got in America by having a five-speed manual. Is having a manual transmission in a motorhome weird? Maybe it is in America, but it was common in Europe!
While I could not determine the materials used to build the camper portion, I did find out that these coaches were built to battle water leaks.
According to UK motorhome magazine Practical Motorhome, Rimor considered water leaks in its design for the Sailer. Reportedly, the early Sailers are not just directly mounted to the cutaway chassis like most of the period campers. Instead, it has a custom galvanized box-section subframe, which is intended to more evenly spread the load out under the motorhome. The idea is that if the motorhome is flopping around all over the place, it won’t leak nearly as much as a typical motorhome.
I like how the body has big windows and how it rides a little low to the ground. You aren’t going to take this off-road, so why not enjoy a low entry height and a somewhat lower center of gravity?
The interior seems to be pretty nice and cozy. From the listing:
The ISRI front seats are upholstered in multi-colored patterned cloth. The driver’s seat features independent height, tilt, recline, and air-pressure comfort adjustability, while a reading light and cupholder are mounted to the passenger-side of the dashboard. A Kenwood head unit has been installed, and patterned curtains separate the forward cabin from the living quarters behind.
The living quarters feature a dining area that converts into a secondary bed and incorporates a wooden table and gray cloth bench seats with seatbelts. Matching patterned-cloth decorates the headboards and other surfaces. White curtains cover the windows, and a ceiling fan with openable skylight provides ventilation. A fixed queen-size bed and bathroom stall make up the rear of the living quarters. The bedroom is divided by matching curtains and lit by an openable skylight, with wooden cabinets located above and below. The bathroom stall features mint green surfaces with a cassette toilet, standing shower, corner sink, and storage compartments. Storage compartments include a wooden nine-drawer dresser as well as wooden ceiling-height cabinets.
The kitchenette consists of a three-burner stove, a fold down counter, sink, and an Electrolux refrigerator and freezer. A fire extinguisher is stored above the sink. Two separate Truma and Telair air-conditioning units provide independent cooling of the living area, and auxiliary power is provided by a solar system and Yamaha gas generator.
The listing states that the motorhome has the equivalent of about 57,000 miles, of which around 2,000 miles were added after the motorhome came to America. Stains in the images suggest that the camper might have had water leaks in the past, but the seller says that those have been taken care of.
Power Move
If all of this sounds good, here’s where I must note the catch. This motorhome has its original 12-volt and 220v to 240v 50Hz electrical system, plus some 100-watt solar panels. This is a bit of an issue here in America, where we commonly run at half of the voltage at 60Hz. In a best-case scenario, you plug it in using an adaptor and nothing works. In a worst-case scenario, a piece of equipment sort of freaks out and gets unexpectedly spicy.
Thankfully, Europeans love touring America in their motorhomes, and these folks often like hooking up to shore power at campsites. How do they do it? They use a transformer. Bronson Energy markets converters for just this purpose. Other components include a NEMA 14-50 to TT-30 adaptor, a shore power cable, and an inline circuit breaker for safety. I found a useful blog on this subject. These products don’t do anything about the differences in hertz, but the basic appliances in a motorhome should be ok.
Sadly, this means you’ll need to carry this gear wherever you go, unless you plan on firing up that generator or finding another power solution. But it is a workaround to get a Euro RV to work in America without converting the entire electrical system.
Something Different
If you can live with that, as well as not having any Rimor-specific service in America, this sounds like a pretty neat way to enjoy a different kind of RV experience in America.
This coach is only 24 feet long and, when loaded, weighs only 7,700 pounds. When the Sailer is all loaded up, it still weighs less than some American big pickup trucks do when they’re empty. That’s great! Couple that to the old-school turbodiesel engine, manual transmission, and rear-wheel drive, and this thing sounds almost like an enthusiast ride. The other good news is that, while you might not be any Rimor centers in America, the company is still around, so you might be able to get parts.
This coach might also be affordable. The no-reserve auction has two days to go, and bidding is at only $3,500. Of course, the final tally will rise, but I doubt this thing is going to be a six-figure rig. At the very least, I bet it’s going to be cheaper than a lot of the JDM campers that get imported into America.
Something I love about America’s import culture is that not everyone is bringing in legends like Nissan Skylines and Honda NSXs. Some folks are importing campers, and I love the fact that someone brought in something that isn’t another Toyota or Mitsubishi from Japan. This rig should be okay on American roads and looks a bit different. If you’re looking for a coach that not even the JDM fans have, maybe take a peek at a motorhome from Europe!
“The no-reserve auction has two days to go, and bidding is at only $3,500.”
I got sidetracked, and just finished reading this. Bidding closed out at $22,000!
Still a lot cheaper than a new one, but that’s a lot for a nearly 30 year old camper.
i could live in that.
I did have the privilege of driving a diesel Fiat Ducato van around Italy for 10 days back in 1988. It was also a 5-speed manual, but the shifter was on the column, which was fun, and that thing was front-wheel-drive. First gear was so low, and it would just roast the right front tire if you gave it too many beans.
Just put on some more solar panels on that big flat roof, and go off grid, not worrying about any converters 🙂
I’m from Europe, so I think it’s very long and clumsy looking..
Prefer a sub 20ft motorhome myself, which can go as a regular car on bridges and ferries.
My favourite brand is Hymer, preferably from the mid 80ies, look into those!
The electrics are potentially less of an issue than it might appear. Assuming it’s wired so that shore power charges the batteries and then a separate inverter feeds the sockets in the van the only thing you would need to change would be the battery charger.
Most things you’d want to plug in would be fine – electronics are designed to work in both voltage regimes these days so it would be a simple matter of changing the plugs. For most things you’d just be plugging in a USB charger anyway.
The big benefit is that anything that relies on an electric heating element will work twice as well on fat European electricity.
Rumours persist that America chose 120V so that kettles take twice as long to boil, purely to annoy the British when we try to make a cup of tea.
Isn’t that what microwaves are for?
I could see the allure and also why it’s being sold a year or so after it was brought in. It’s not all that different from what’s already around and while that power train has good reliability I would imagine parts availability is almost non-existent in the US. Maybe you find some overlapping for things or order something but for an RV I bet that means you don’t feel you can go that far. So might as well have a kei camper as something weird where you might not go that far. Or a more supported platform to go further without worrying too much.
I follow quite a few RV forums, both manufactured and DIY. From what I’ve been reading, the Mercedes Sprinter-based units are falling out of favor – relative to Ford and RAM vans – because of serviceability issues. If you’re out in the boonies and your van develops an issue, it’s far more likely that you’ll find a Ford or RAM dealer somewhere nearby to help. Mercedes dealers are far fewer in number, and some portion of them can’t/won’t work on Mercedes Commercial vehicles.
For this van/motorhome, multiply that problem by a million, because not even a Mercedes Commercial dealer will work on it. Let’s not even discuss parts availability.
This is a neat vehicle, but unless you can work on it yourself, and don’t mind it not working for a long period of time until you can get parts, I’m calling it a no-go.
I’m not too scared of the power conversion needs but dat ass!
I’m no expert, but I believe they have hills in Europe right? The proportions look like more than 40% of the camper is behind the rear axle and it has a receiver to boot. I can’t imagine this thing not jamming up on anything less than regular roads.
Can confirm, have been stuck behind motorhomes like this, slowly grinding up hills, with a long trail of traffic behind them.
Just like here on Earth – neat! – but the planets are real slackers.
I love that this is weird, I have a storage facility for these things, a big slab of concrete and a big fence with a load of cameras in the middle of nowhere. Park it up for the winter, I will run it once a week, my partners will clean it and make sure it is ready to go in the spring.
Ah, yes you have come to pick up your Rimor Sailor, can you point out yours?
Nice solo rig. Needs some TLC but doable.
Careful with Austrian imports, they can be very rusty. There is heavy road salt use and lots of snowy areas.
Spain, Portugal, France and Italy have largely rust-free used cars.
There are hardly any automatic transmission camping cars (as they are called) in Europe.
One or two now but usually only with more powerful and expensive motors.
Some people say it is changing as people dumb down with EVs, but the camping car dealers just look blank when you mention auto boxes.
What you do get now and which is pretty cool are variations of Peugeot / Citroën “grip control” which uses the ABS /ESC system to give near 4×4 traction for front wheel drive vans.
Just what you need to get out of the sand without drama when camping by the coast.
That’s a great configuration. You’d need to be a good mechanic/scrounger to keep this going, but I bet it can go a long ways more.
I like it! I’ve had an RV with a similar layout, and one drawback is that the bed in the back is really difficult to get the fitted sheet on. That bed also isn’t great for two tall people, but you can cuddle.
If this can be had for only $3500 I might just spend the money to have a professional rework the electrical system.
Miss Mercedes – perhaps a bigger catch is that the seller confirmed this is a grey market rig, despite it being eligible for traditional import. The title also doesn’t match the year. Sounds like a registration nightmare?
If it were imported in 2024, it doesn’t really matter if it’s a 1997 or a 1998, as both years would have made the motorhome more than 25 years old at the time of import.
As for the gray market part, that just means that it’s an import that wasn’t built to or converted to U.S. standards. State legality will vary, as is the case with Japanese Kei trucks and any other classic car imports. It does not necessarily mean that the coach was illegally imported. This could be made legal in California if the owner/buyer went through the emissions process.
If going from 220v to 110v 110hz to 60hz that is a very solvable issue. All in.