In reply to bearmtnmartin :
If you look at the Cortez look at the newer ones. That Oldsmobile front drive is slick, easy to work on and dead nuts reliable. 10-12 mpg in good tune at a reasonable speed.
The floor is very low and size is perfect for a couple.
But that GMC is really elegant. Smooth and quiet.
I did a lot of research on the GMCs before I bought SanFord. I almost bought one. They do have a few issues known.
The rear suspension is air bagged. The bags are no longer available. There are some aftermarket alternatives, they are all expensive.
The front uprights are no longer available. Since they eat front wheel bearings on a regular basis, the bearing bosses in them get worn out from changing bearings. Then it eats bearings faster. There was someone that was making new hubs out of 4WD Chevy truck hubs. That transformation necessitated custom axles and was also expensive.
The frames rot at an alarming rate. There is someone that makes a galvanized replacement frame. They are expensive.
That said, I still get tempted by them every time they come up for sale locally. They are one of the coolest motorhomes out there.
Tom_Spangler said:My vote is for the GMC, I love those things. But for an off-the-wall suggestion, how about a Vixen?
I was going to make a run at this one, guy lowered it from $26 to $22,000.
Why do I like it? Fiberglass doesn't leak like the aluminum over wood panels AND it fits inside a garage! If you don't have a large area or your HOA won't allow it, you have to pay to keep it somewhere. Early models had a pop up roof and BMW diesel, newer ones had a fiberglass bolt on and GM V-6 auto.
Toyman01 said:I did a lot of research on the GMCs before I bought SanFord. I almost bought one. They do have a few issues known.
The rear suspension is air bagged. The bags are no longer available. There are some aftermarket alternatives, they are all expensive.
The front uprights are no longer available. Since they eat front wheel bearings on a regular basis, the bearing bosses in them get worn out from changing bearings. Then it eats bearings faster. There was someone that was making new hubs out of 4WD Chevy truck hubs. That transformation necessitated custom axles and was also expensive.
The frames rot at an alarming rate. There is someone that makes a galvanized replacement frame. They are expensive.
That said, I still get tempted by them every time they come up for sale locally. They are one of the coolest motorhomes out there.
The things you mentioned have usually been dealt with on the ones still on the road. The replacement air bags are way better than the originals. The trick is to block the rear suspension when parking so they don't settle. Do that and the air bags seem to last forever.
rot on the frames is only a problem on units driven in the rust belt during the winter. And GMC owners seem to be fanatical at digging the Tornado uprights out of Junkyards or Craigslist's. In the early days of Bring a trailer you could see every rusty one scooped up to harvest spindles. Now not so much but I'll bet more than a few owners look on Facebook.
I have looked into the suggestions here and learned a few things I did not know. I want something older because that is just how I am, so the more modern looking RV's don't really do much for me. I think I have decided to narrow my focus down to the Travco or possibly the GMC. I prefer the look of the GMC but it does have some inherent issues that I have trouble with. The front wheel drive allows a low center of gravity and floor height, plus it has a flat floor with no wheel arches, but the downside is there is little outside storage. Also tow rating is pretty low so I would not be able to drag my race car trailer with 6000 pounds of car, pit cart, motorcycle etc which I do every now and then. So it does not strike me as very practical. The Travco is also pretty limited storage wise but on the other hand it is a proper RWD truck chassis and will pull whatever I hook up to it. Seems like a more utilitarian RV to me, but I am willing to be corrected.
In reply to bearmtnmartin :
You are right about a GMC won't pull a 6000 pound trailer, neither will a stock Travco. But I've seen an XKE roadster raced out of one. Also a MGA. A 2000 pound car and light single axle trailer seems to be the limit.
Edit: Bob Bodine towed a Ferrari 250 Tour De France behind his GMC. That's about 2500 pounds.
Both owners had well sorted cars and didn't carry a lot of stuff they wouldn't need. Older guys who knew their limits and wouldn't thrash to make the race if something serious went wrong.
Your driving makes a difference too. If you're a floor it, gotta get there right now sorta guy you won't be happy or you'll spend a lot of time doing repairs.
Purple Frog said:Airstream made some cool motorhomes with turbo 4 cylinder Isusu engines. Built well. Has the length you are looking for. Would be fun to put a cool interior into one.
Came in 24' and 28' models in the 1970s.
I think you are talking about the LeSharo or something close to that. I think they had a Renault turbo engine.
In reply to 914Driver :
Rob Siegel writes for BMW Roundel & Hemmings. Within the past couple of years he wrote a column or 2 about his search for a Vixen. They might be worth searching for and reading. As I recall they were fairly informative and mentioned things to look out for.
In reply to M2Pilot :
Thank you for that link, as I read both articles and firmly moved the Vixen over to the "not remotely interested" column.
I have seen a guy driving a vixen in my hometown of Bellingham, MA a few tomes. I never knew what it was until now.
In reply to spitfirebill :
Airstream made motorhomrs with the Isuzu truck diesels. They're really nice but hold their value well.
I do like the airstream and argosy but I do not want to pay the airstream tax for a project. Too many other cool ones around for much less money.
Wally said:In reply to spitfirebill :
Airstream made motorhomrs with the Isuzu truck diesels. They're really nice but hold their value well.
Are those Airstreams pushers?
I love the GMC RVs. My vote would be for one of those. Saw this blog about a couple redoing one.
In reply to Woody :
I'm pretty sure they're front engine, it's been a while since I've seen one.
Here's a Barth on FB but I'd stay with the Bluebird
In reply to frenchyd :
hey i'm sophiaemily
I'm agree with your suggestion, and really appreciate you.
hobiercr said:
This is the exact kind of berkeleyery I expect from the GRM forums. He hit 88mph in that thing with a headwind.
FWIW I just found this on my local CL it’s actually very close to me. Says it was built by Kount’s Kustoms in Las Vegas:
I recall looking at an FMC a while back, and my understanding is that they were really high end for their day. You should be able to find one without the "Kount Kustoms" bonus for a fair amount less, too.
In reply to slefain :
A GMC run at Bonneville ran 120.8 mph.
Toyman01 said:In reply to slefain :
A GMC run at Bonneville ran 120.8 mph.
That’s a handful at normal speeds let alone 120 mph.
The GMC build linked to earlier in the thread is where I fell in love with those. I love love love the Bluebird too so if I ever get to where I'm going to pull the trigger on an RV purchase it will be a tough decision. But just check this out. The view! Not what's in it, but how spacious the RV feels with all that glass and the upper cabinets removed:
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