Slammed Winnebago RV Hides a Custom Chassis, Hydraulic Suspension
The low-riding RV isn’t complete yet, but the fabrication looks fantastic so far.
It seems like everything is getting the Safari treatment nowadays, Porsches, vans, pickup trucks, you name it. But what about a good ol' drop to the ground? Cars are still getting lowered with bags or hydraulics, sure, but it's not every day you see a Winnebago RV with a fully custom suspension dragging its frame. That's the idea Rob Stapleton and Ryan Lowther are chasing at their shop, Demon Motorsports, in Crystal River, Florida.
After sitting around in someone's yard for two decades, the duo bought the Winnebago in May 2021 specifically for this ambitious project. I personally would not have ventured inside the thing when they first bought it—the hot and humid Florida weather didn't do the small RV any favors—but despite a very nasty interior it has cleaned up quite nicely. Its new floor, seats, and other fixings are cool, but they fail to highlight the coolest and most important work that's been done to it: the custom hydraulic suspension.
This Winnebago now features a triangulated solid rear axle with custom control arms and the work is all beautifully done. This isn't your typical booger-welded SEMA contraption, this is the Real Deal. Even the steering, an area which is often neglected on dramatically lowered cars, has been done beautifully and professionally here. All of this work is, unfortunately, hidden underneath the shockingly quadrilateral shell of a vintage Winnebago, but that's kind of the point. Nobody expects a slammed RV.
The entire build has been chronicled in the Facebook group Bad Ass Classic Winnebagos and Vintage RVs, but also in a series of YouTube videos on Stapelton's channel. In the clips, he details every part of the Winnebago restomod process. They are all worth watching just to witness the problem-solving associated with slamming an RV as well as the skill of the fabrication.
The build isn't complete yet—it's already taken a few years to get to this point—but the plan is to bring the completed Winnebago to this year's SEMA show in Nov. 2022. This gives the duo only four-plus months to get the build done, which is not a lot of time for a project like this. Judging by Lowther's enthusiasm for the project, though, the whole deal will be done in time for the show. The big challenge after that will be getting it from Florida to Las Vegas. At least they'll have a place to sleep!
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