1970s Auto Dealers - Discoverer 25

**KW67** · August-12-10, 05:44 PM

I had originally posted this in a different forum but got a few messages suggesting it be posted here:

Hello, I just wondered if anyone remembers the Discoverer 25 Motorhomes that were sold around 1971 - 1973. Rectrans, Inc., the company that produced them was started by Bunkie Knudsen and Larry Shinoda. The plant was located at 800 Whitney Ave. in Brighton, the site of the old Kar Kraft plant and the previous Vagabond Coach Co. They were sold at various auto dealers including Clohecy Pontiac, Superior Pontiac, etc. Does anybody have any memories of these? Any former Rectrans employees out there? Thanks!

**canuck** · August-12-10, 07:44 PM

I know one thing though; Rectrans probably stands for something like Reclining or Rectilinear or Reconcilable Transportation, huh?

DC48080 · August-12-10, 08:20 PM

More likely it stood for Recreational Transportation.

**canuck** · August-13-10, 09:37 AM

Oops! I stand corRECted!

**KW67** · August-13-10, 02:02 PM

I was hoping that some of the old GM dealer employees that post here might have some memories of the Discoverer.

**econ expat** · August-13-10, 02:37 PM

Looks years ahead of its time
I don't recall ever seeing a Discoverer on the highway or at a dealer's lot
Clohecy Pontiac sold them? I lived near them, don't recall seeing any motor homes for sale there.
The most common 'class A' motor home on a GM chassis had front wheel drive [[a Toronado/Eldorado powertrain) and 2 rear axles. Still see some of those on the road, they held their value well.
But I know nothing about that futuristic looking Discoverer 25.
[[I Did not work at GM dealers until mid-70's)
Added- Googled the Discoverer, incredibly it had a Dodge truck chassis, yet was designed for fuel economy. Strange engineering- it had a pump from the holding tank to the exhaust to incinerate sewage?

**KW67** · August-13-10, 03:09 PM

Hello there, that waste-destruction system you refer to was the Thermasan system produced by Thetford in Ann Arbor. Ironically, Rectrans had a 27 foot model that utilized the FWD Olds Toronado drivetrain back in 1970, before the GMC was produced. Only one of these lower FWD units were manufactured, here's a photo:

**gazhekwe** · August-13-10, 04:01 PM

My post from the other thread:

I had forgotten about the history of the Rectrans, a futuristic looking vehicle if there ever was one. There are some people who still covet this dreamboat. I think at the time people either went wild for it, or thought it looked ridiculous. It was very streamlined, and built on the Dodge M300 chassis, still a state of the art combination.

There is a club, of course:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...r25byrectrans/

**KW67** · August-13-10, 08:51 PM

Thanks for the link to The Discoverer 25 Motorhome Club. I'm kind of surprised that nobody remembers something so different in design like these.

**gazhekwe** · August-13-10, 09:00 PM

So, do you have one, or looking to get one, maybe?

**KW67** · August-13-10, 10:24 PM

I'm looking to get the Detroit "Scoop" on them from others who were there!

**caldogven** · August-13-10, 11:15 PM

I remember the GMC motor homes. A very well designed coach. Would love to have one !

**KW67** · August-14-10, 12:32 AM

You shouldn't have any trouble finding one of those, they made about 13,000 of them. The Discoverer 25 manufactured by Rectrans came a couple of years earlier and there were only around 750 produced.

**gazhekwe** · August-14-10, 08:07 AM

I remember the Discoverer 25 when it came out. I have always been RV crazy, and it seemed like a futuristic vehicle, with a great floor plan and good aerodynamics. It was, like all of them at that time, way out of consideration due to price and my poverty. I could only look and wish. Now I do have a 1989 Vixen, another local wonder, built from 1987-1989 in Pontiac by a visionary group including designer Bill Collins, Bob Dewey and Tom DeLorean. It was ahead of its time, and as gas prices fell, people went for the big dreamy gas guzzlers, so Vixen languished and died. Of course, there's a club: www.vixenrv.org

25-27 feet is plenty long enough and a low profile, streamlined body makes a lot of sense. I don't remember what kind of mileage the Discoverer got, probably somewhat better than the 8-11 mpg of other boxier RVs available at the time.

**gazhekwe** · August-14-10, 11:44 AM

There is a review of the Rectrans Discoverer in the middle of Page 130 of the March 192 Popular Science here:

http://tinyurl.com/25tlsmf

Surprisingly, it registered below 8 mpg. It's all about that 413 V-8 power, baby!

**KW67** · August-14-10, 02:55 PM

The phrase, "Don't believe everything you read." was around before the internet. I wonder if Mr. Dunne was sitting still when running that generator? 8 m.p.g. would be the lower end. The article by Douglas Keister about the Discoverer that is all over the internet is full of gross errors. When I asked Mr. Keister how he verified any of his facts, he admitted he never did. His entire article and feature in his book was based on what one owner told him. Unfortunately, almost all of it was wrong. Anyways, studies on aerodynamics vs. weight are pretty interesting. Back in the day you could rent a Discoverer from Avis at several locations across the country including Orlando. Discoverers were also featured in the 1973 motion picture Slither.