Has Anyone Ever Seen A Royal Prince M5000 Like This!!??

[ubergreenguru]

So... This was a recent eBay find of mine: A 1997 Model Year Royal Prince M5000 with a RED BAG!

First off, I thought 1996 was the last production year for all variants of Royal Metal Hand Vacuums... So I was quite surprised to find a M5000 with a 1997 date code!

On top of that, I had never before seen a Royal M5000... Or any Royal Prince variant with a Red cloth bag like this one!

Upon finding this on eBay earlier this week, I *immediately* purchased it since I had never seen anything like it ever before! (Plus, the price was right!)

I just received it earlier today & as I anticipated from the pictures on eBay, it was in pretty rough condition (Nozzle Housing badly oxidized; missing both brush roll + bottom plate) -- But more importantly, the cloth bag is in remarkably good condition! (No rips/tears; no stains; no corrosion around bag ring)

I plan on purchasing another M5000 or M501 to use as a donor machine for the parts that are missing and/or too far gone to bother restoring - and eventually get this little '97 Royal Prince restored to as much of its original glory as I possibly can.

Anyways! I am *VERY CURIOUS* to know if anyone here on VacuumLand.Org has ever seen a Royal M5000 with a red bag like this one!?

And has anyone seen or heard of any other Royal Prince Metal Hand Vacs that were manufactured in 1997 like this one!? - Because before I stumbled upon this particular vacuum, the most recent Metal Hand Vacs I had seen were made during the 1996 model year. (I thought Royal stopped producing Metal Hand Vacs after 1996?)

I would love to hear if anyone knows anything more about this [obviously rare & uncommon] Royal M5000 variant!

If you have *any* information or details about this Peculiar Royal Prince - Please Share!

Thanks For Looking!

Sincerely,
~Justin in Chicago

 

[regularrett69]

I have the matching upright to that little one! I've seen a couple of Princes with weird bags, never that one. The one that I remember most was last month there was a metal prince with a pro series bag somehow, but it didn't say pro series on anywhere other than the bag pattern. 


 


Regards, Garrett

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

UberGreenGuru

Justin,

Awesome find!

But... I hope that another rare version of the M5000 will surface. That is, a late 1987/early 1988 build without the finger guard by the on/off switch.

~Ben

 

[lesinutah]

Every

High end model of royal had a prince in same color scheme and bag.

 

[ubergreenguru]

KirbyClassicIII, I will keep an eye out for one of those & let you know if I come across one.


Lesinutah, that's cool! Royal litterally made a little hand vacuum to match their uprights - I love it!

 

[ubergreenguru]

RegularRett69 - I remember seeing that M5000 w/ the Pro Series bag on it, too! Definitely a weird combination... But I'm assuming it didn't come that way from the factory though.

 

[centralvacs1928]

Very cool! I have the more common M5000 with the pink/mauve bag and yours looks much nicer.

Never knew they made these all the way to '97 either. They are a great little vac, so much more solid and quiet than anything else.

 

[ubergreenguru]

Centralvacs1928 - I completely agree with you 100 Percent! The Royal Prince Model 5000 + Model 501 Hand Vacuums are amazingly solid and well-built machines! Plus, for the amount of power these little vacuums have, they are surprisingly & pleasantly quiet!

Royal built some truly spectacular vacuum cleaners during their heyday. Good, solid, powerful, all-metal, American-made vacuums that were built to last! (Back when Quality actually meant something to manufactures & consumers)

I have a couple other M5000's in my collection with the more common Pink/Mauve Scafitex bags. - I also have a Stark Model 570, which was a private-label version of the M5000 produced by Royal for Stark. The M570 is nearly identical to the M5000, however, has no logo on the bag & features the "Stark" brand name on the nozzle rather than the Royal logo.

As much as I love my M5000's with the Pink/Mauve bags... Every time I walk into the room and see the Velvety Red Bag paired with the Dark Red Housing & Handle Grip of the M5000 - I can't help but think to myself "*THIS* is how a M5000 is *SUPPOSED TO LOOK*!" - The '97 M5000 simply looks *SO DAMM GOOD* with that red bag on there!

Gosh! I seriously love these Royal Metal Hand Vacuums so much that it has become an obsession!

It's probably a good thing that there's not more carpet in this house... Otherwise I *KNOW* I'd be collecting Royal Uprights, too! So until I move somewhere with more carpeting, my Oreck Upright is perfect for my vacuuming needs. Even then, I already have 4x Orecks Uprights in my collection. [this post was last edited: 3/30/2021-08:11]

 

[ubergreenguru]

KirbyClassicIII, Please check your E-Mail - I sent you something that *may be of interest*! [Re: Royal M5000 w/o Switch Guard]

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

UberGreenGuru

Justin,

I got the email you sent me!

~Ben

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

UberGreenGuru

Justin,

Here's the parts list for the Royal 501 that applied to the pre-1988 models without the finger guard by the switch.

Most of the parts used on these early M5000s I'm speaking of were the same, except substitute the following color code for any other trim color regarding applicable trim pieces:
8 - Burgundy
(cf. 1-501314-800 - handle grip in burgundy)

Notable trim parts used exclusively on M5000 series F:
1-060636-100 - cord, gray
2-028731-800 - burgundy handle grip with gray cord

~Ben

 

[themaritimegirl]

I found another...

If this is the first Prince of this variety that has been documented here, then I have just found the second. Unfortunately, it's the subject of a destruction video on YouTube.

Oddly, while the bag matches, the vacuum itself is a normal blue/grey 501.

 

[themaritimegirl]

Oops

I mis-copied the link. Here it is:

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

themaritimegirl

Florence,

A very sad ending for this 501, indeed...

Another Royal also got mistreated... this model 3-604 Heavy Duty Commercial (you will have to view this directly on YouTube, and to click the "I Understand" button to watch):

(oddly, despite what damage they did to this machine, the motor still ran until they merely unplugged the power cord)

~Ben

 

[regularrett69]

UberGreenGuru

I see you replied saying that you don't think the pro series bag on the royal prince was original, but I think otherwise. I have seen about 4 of these sell on eBay so far, and all of them have a dark blue main housing with the pro series bag. There's no way that 4 of these just happened to have been switched up and sold. Also, the bags in all of them were perfectly fitted to the bag collar. Dirt Devil Pro Series bags weren't sewn in the same way royal prince cloth bags were, and the dirt devil ones had a rubber collar sewn to them.

Best regards, Garrett Thompson

 

[panasonicvac]

Out of curiosity

Did they ever make a Dirt Devil version of one of these before?

 

[human]

I believe the metal ones carried the Royal name and the plastic ones were Dirt Devils.

 

[huskyvacs]

Yes, Royal was the parent company and "Dirt Devil" was just a brand.

Dirt Devil brand was always about low end and budget vacuums to fill price gaps left by other manufacturers. They typically swung their sword under the $80 price margin. That's why in poorer neighborhoods and communities you will see Dirt Devils by the ton, but in richer areas - even department stores - you might see very little to no Dirt Devil brand appear or be sold.

There was a very short lived commercial line for Dirt Devil brand name in the early millennium where they took their metal bodied Royal uprights and sold them under the Dirt Devil brand but they are rare to find. There was never a Dirt Devil metal hand vac.

The following photo was from an eBay auction from early 2021 of a 2003 Dirt Devil 089000 that sold for well over $120.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

huskyvacs

Royal initially marketed the Dirt Devil brand in 1984, which at first only consisted of the model 503 hand vacuum, to help the company break through into the mass market channel (Sears, J. C. Penney, Montgomery Ward, Wal-Mart, etc.) since their metal vacuums were only carried through their authorized dealerships (just as Kirby, Rainbow and Filter Queen did, and still does, with selling their machines).

The 501 Prince metal hand vacuum was, however, sold at some mass-market chains like Macy's and (Sportsman's) Emporium, among others.

~Ben

 

[regularrett69]

Panasonicvac,

Actually, contrasting to what everybody else claims, there WAS a metal Dirt Devil branded royal prince. I assume it was around for only a couple of months and was sold in 1992. I found old newspapers ads for it, but for the life of me haven't been able to find them again. I can't comment much on what they looked like, because the paper wasn't printed all that well to show the vacuums detail, but the fact that it did exist is fascinating. If I find the paper, I'll be sure to send the scans here.

Thanks, Garrett

 

[regularrett69]

Lucky me! I found it after a quick search! Model 501D, It's called the Deluxe Hand Vac. This paper is actually from December 1993, and shows all hand vacs that were sold at the time.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

RegularRett69

Garrett,

That 501D is indeed very rare!

~Ben

 

[themaritimegirl]

Re: 501D

Boy, do I hope a color photo of a 501D surfaces here someday. I bet the Prince looks amazing with a red handle and bag!

 

[panasonicvac]

Thanks Garret, I really appreciate you sharing that on here! This now makes me wonder if there are any other metal Royals that was sold under the Dirt Devil name other than this heavy duty upright.

 

[huskyvacs]

Wow no kidding, that really is. I'll bet you money it's rare because nobody in their right mind would have paid out nearly $90 for a little hand vac like that when all the other models are $40 cheaper. I know if I seen that back in the day I'd be like "what? no way, give me the cheaper one".

Also those notations about the 501D not being available at those locations at the bottom of the ad - makes me wonder if it had an intentionally limited distribution? Like a regional specific market? Kind of like how in the old days vacuum companies would only sell specific brands in their home city and nowhere else.

This is very strange indeed. It still amazes me the more new collectors that join this site, how they dig up stuff nobody's ever heard of before. I love it!

I love finding and buying vacuums too, that when you get it home to do some research, you can't find anything out about it. Not even an ad or video or anything at all. It really makes you feel like you just saved something special & unique.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

This is a great thread with lots of good info.
This makes me glad that some people have held on to old newspapers, magazines and catalogs from years past.
Thank you for the contributions!

It makes me wonder that Royal was wanting to just use up the leftover parts and castings to the metal unit after the cheaper plastic ones were introduced.
This would certainly limit production numbers, so wide distribution would not be possible.
The price of $80 (over $150 in 2022) would be a turnoff to most average consumers, as well as no statement about tools included, and the 'classic' design and styling... Therefore it would not be feasible to offer them in production quantities.

I have a plastic DD hand vac from around 2009 or so with the air driven brush and 18" hose - it is quite useless. As soon and the brush contacts anything, it stalls. Suction is good though.
It was used during a car resto when I just needed a compact unit with a short hose.

I got a blue 501 from the 80's awaiting resto now - it will be a great machine when done.

 

[themaritimegirl]

Re: "Use up leftover parts"

Given the immense number of Prince vacuums that were sold in the 80s and 90s, long after Dirt Devil's popularity was established, my guess is there was still a reasonable demand for them. I can see door-to-door sales (in an era when the people who were receptive to that tactic were still somewhat young) and commercial venues like hotels being enough to keep them around for a while.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

When my cousins sold their parents' house, they offered

to me. I passed, and only took the Hoover upright and Constellation.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

UberGreenGuru

Justin,

I am not sure, but I think this particular M5000 just might be one of the early builds without the switch guard on the handle! The last picture clearly shows it doesn't, even though the box clearly shows it with the guard.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133934986207

~Ben