History
The history of the Riviera camper goes back to an age-old problem facing VW dealers in the 1950s and 1960s. "Gosh, we really want those Westfalia campers, but the factory won't give them to us until we also buy a bunch of those panel vans!" Riviera Motors was based in Beaverton, Oregon, about 10 miles outside Portland. The Volkswagen Distributors and Dealers in North America booklet, dated January 1965 lists Riviera Motors' address as:
Riviera Motors Inc.
1737 S.W. Morrison St.
Tel. CA 6-3831
Some of the earliest and best information on the origin of Riviera campers comes from Fred Stormer and Charles Lukey, courtesy of the type2.com archives. Fred Stoermer writes:
"Riviera Motors was the Beaverton, Oregon based regional distributor of Volkswagens. At some point they decided to contract with ASI (Automotive Services, Inc.), based in the Vancouver, Washington area, for Type 2 camper conversions modeled after Westfalia Campmobiles. Why Riviera decided to do this is a puzzle, because Campmobiles sold like hotcakes in the Pacific Northwest."
Charles "Luke" Lukey responds:
True - they sold so well that Riviera Motors could not keep their downstream dealers supplied. VW offered the following take-it-or-leave-it deal: You get X number of Westfalia campers when you buy Y number of pickups and panel vans.
This posed a problem to Knute Qvale, owner of Riviera Motors. VW pickups and panels were slow movers, prone to "lot rot." Knute knew a cabinet maker named Lasko and assigned him to design and build a camper conversion that would work with the VW panel. He then imposed a new regime on his downstream dealers: You get X number of Westfalia campers when you buy Y number of my "Riviera" campers.
The dealers were hesitant at first, but once they'd seen the workmanship of the conversion, they got on board. This was in 1965.
So the first Riviera conversions began in 1965. But there's documented proof of Riviera campers made from buses as early as 1963 and perhaps even 1958! In the case of the 1963, it was delivered into the east coast and presumably came west before being converted into a Riviera camper. Does that make these "early" campers any less Riviera than one built in 1966? Of course not. But if you are looking to buy a Riviera camper or establish the history of your camper, remember that official production began in 1965.
1965 through 1967. Three model years of split window buses that became Riviera campers. Sadly, no one at Riviera Motors nor ASI (so far as we know) kept accurate records of Riviera production numbers. Look over any confirmed Riviera and you won't find a body badge or ID plate anywhere. It's very disheartening as a Riviera owner to be unable to say "This here's Riviera #456." or something of the kind. We simply have the ability to say "This is a Riviera". If I ever discover production numbers from ASI or someone associated with Riviera Motors, you bet I will post them here.
While Riviera produced camper initially based on the Westy campers, you can tell there are some very unique differences. If you're wondering what those are, check out the guide here on the site. A handful of Riviera camper were also fitted with Sportsmoblie pop tops courtesy of Travel Equipment Corp. in Elkhart, Indiana. As of yet, I have never found any original literature pertaining to the early Rivieras. I cannot imagine that a dealership would market a camper without doing some promotional work for it, but the only literature out there that I have seen is for bay window Rivieras.
Since this site is dedicated to split window Riviera campers, I will not delve into the history of the Riviera beyond 1967, but believe me they continued in earnest! Riviera and ASI converted bay windows and vanagons into campers well into the 1980s.
Companies like ASI and Sportsmobile are still in business:
Riviera Motors Is No More.
The Nearest Dealer is:
Herzog Meier Volkswagen
4275 SW 139th Way
Beaverton, OR 97005
(503) 644-9121
http://www.herzog-meiervw.com/ Automotive Services, Inc.
2001 West Fourth Plain Blvd.
Vancouver, WA
Tel. (206) 693-5835 Sportsmobile, Inc.
250 Court St.
Huntington, IN 46750
(260) 356-5435
http://www.sportsmobile.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: ASI Campers
Fred: The story as I understand it goes like this... Riviera Motors was the Beaverton, Oregon based regional distributor of Volkswagens. At some point they decided to contract with ASI (Automotive Services, Inc.), based in the Vancouver, Washington area, for Type 2 camper conversions modeled after Westfalia Campmobiles. Why Riviera decided to do this is a puzzle, because Campmobiles sold like hotcakes in the Pacific Northwest.
Luke: True - they sold so well that Riviera Motors could not keep their downstream dealers supplied. VW offered the following take-it-or-leave-it deal: You get X number of Westfalia campers when you buy Y number of pickups and panel vans. This posed a problem to Knute Qvale, owner of Riviera Motors. VW pickups and panels were slow movers, prone to "lot rot." Knute knew a cabinet maker named Lasko and assigned him to design and build a camper conversion that would work with the VW panel. He then imposed a new regime on his downstream dealers: You get X number of Westfalia campers when you buy Y number of my "Riviera" campers. The dealers were hesitant at first, but once they'd seen the workmanship of the conversion, they got on board. This was in 1965.
Fred: Wherever there was a car show or fairgrounds display of new vehicles, one of the top 2 or 3 "people-magnets" would be a Campmobile all set up with a side tent, poptop, lounge chairs, picnic table, etc. on an expanse of artificial grass and surrounded by potted palms. You had to stand in line just to get a peek inside! The first ASI campers I recall were 1973 Type 2 conversions. There may have been earlier models, but starting with the '73s it became impossible to find a Westfalia for sale new in the region. A good friend bought Pete Lovely VW's (Fife/Tacoma, WA) 1972 demonstrator Campmobile in early 1973, because they didn't have any '73 Campmobiles available (but plenty of ASIs). Over the years the ASI conversions became (in my opinion) more and more like mini-motorhomes, and less like campers. ASI used their own poptop that is similar in appearance to Westfalia's, but actually quite different in execution. The cabinets, etc., were initially clones of Westfalia's designs, but diverged over the years. All of the fittings, hardware, etc. in ASI rigs are pretty standard mobile home/RV stuff.
Luke: Mostly true. Every year the sales reps from Westfaliawerk would arrive in Portland to see what new things Knute was adding to his campers. Many of those ideas appeared in next year's Westfalia. They exchanged ideas on what hardware held up and what layout seemed to be popular. Westfalia also used off the shelf RV parts, some still available in European RV shops.
Fred: I believe they converted Type 2s that were delivered to Riviera Motors by VW as Station Wagons. Two of my friends drive late-'70s ASI conversions. Theirs, and others I've looked over, show all the signs of having been built and fitted out as Station Wagons, then stripped by ASI and reincarnated as campers. I've never seen an ASI conversion with a reinforced chassis, for instance, but I have seen ones that clearly had originally been built with a sunroof.
Luke: ASI campers, being much lighter than their German counterparts, usually did not require a belly pan. I've seen one that did, but as a double door panel, it would've had one anyway.
Fred: If ASI continued converting VWs after the 1979 model year, I'm not aware of having seen one. That may be because I haven't really paid much attention to Vanagons.
Luke: They continued on to the mid-80's. Al Lasko, son of the original cabinet maker, is still in business in Vancouver. He's been doing van conversions since demand for Vanagons petered out a few years ago. I've got him on video, looking over the interior of my Riviera and commenting on the originality of it.
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