Considering purchase, have questions

Michelin and several other tire manufacturers say 10 years is the maximum life expectancy on their tires in "Motorhome service". Some people believe it is 5 years because they will not warranty replace a tire over 5 years old. That said, we picked up a 1978 coach that was parked for 18 years inside and the tires were 20 years old then. The tires are now 24 years old and we still have them installed. I would never take it on a trip,, but we still use them to store the coach (inside) and move it around on very short trips of 15 or 20 miles or less. I do not think the coach has ever seen over 40 mph since we got it. Someday when we finally take it on the road we will definitely put new tires on it. So if the tires pass your inspection, plan on fixing all of the other stuff and put new tires on it BEFORE taking it on any actual trips.
 
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Paul
I purchased a 1978 Royale from a lady who had passed, her son came over from Ca. to deal with her estate. He claimed he knew very little about the GMC. She had owned it approx. 10-12 years, stored in an rv barn,previous owner from NC. 1996 to 2012? keep immaculate records of everything done. It had a lot of plus's, stainless brake lines, new fridge, alcoa's,good tires, pretty good paint (repaint) polished up good,Engine ran good, generator worked. Was not able to drive it on the hwy or check the systems. THE UNKNOWN. The hot water tank,one tee, single serve water filter all split from freezing. I repaired that, now changing the brake booster,master cyl. and brake hose's, trying to get it to stop as it should. Be prepared for the UNKNOWN, Have a GMC owner go with you, could save you a lot of headache's.
 
So this seller rejected our offer, and we are unable to make a better offer.

FYI, if anyone's interested, this seller also has six Alcoa rims , as well as a window, and some other miscellaneous parts cannibalized from another GMC. They were planning on selling the motorhome and all the miscellaneous stuff as a package deal. Maybe someone is interested in the parts.
 
Matt,

I very much appreciate the offer. I may not go look at it for a some time. Given that this one is asking $13K, and our finances are not what we would like them to be, looking at it right now would be mostly an exercise in tire-kicking.
 
Matt,

I very much appreciate the offer. I may not go look at it for a some time. Given that this one is asking $13K, and our finances are not what we would like them to be, looking at it right now would be mostly an exercise in tire-kicking.

If they want 13K they should take the time to get it running and up on its wheels/airbags. jmo. Then it will sell. Sitting for decades? there could be all kinds of problems. You'll have to replace everything that's made of rubber; tires, hoses, belts, brake lines. You'll probably have to boil out the gas tanks. All the seams on the roof will probably start leaking once you move it down the road and the flexing of the body cracks that dried up sealant. The roof should be totally cleared off, cleaned and resealed including rails.

The sellers should be more concerned that the coach is going to someone that's willing and able to do all those things and more (takes talent and money). They should try to re-home that beauty, not squeeze every dollar out of it.
 
If they want 13K they should take the time to get it running and up on its wheels/airbags. jmo. Then it will sell. Sitting for decades? there could be all kinds of problems. You'll have to replace everything that's made of rubber; tires, hoses, belts, brake lines. You'll probably have to boil out the gas tanks. All the seams on the roof will probably start leaking once you move it down the road and the flexing of the body cracks that dried up sealant. The roof should be totally cleared off, cleaned and resealed including rails.

The sellers should be more concerned that the coach is going to someone that's willing and able to do all those things and more (takes talent and money). They should try to re-home that beauty, not squeeze every dollar out of it.
Mr. Snyder,

All good points. Thanks!

This seller seems to be unreasonable, given all you have mentioned, and what occurred to me: seller states it "Ran and drove out of barn." My question for him would be: Did you oil prime the motor before you started it after 25 years? Would he give me an honest answer?

Of course, this is the world of the used vehicle marketplace.
 
Some people are living in their own realm. I looked at one that had been sitting for years. 7 years later, it was still for sale and looked like it hadn't moved. Another one had a bullet hole in it, which the owner casually mentioned, almost like it was cool or something. Some coaches will just fade away, unfortunately.
 
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Paul,

Many owners have no concept of the damage done by years alone. I had someone tell me that if the tires looked good, they were good. - Righttt! I have some applicable experience here. Some years back sailmakers went to bonding instead of stitching the fabric. This was when all of the racing sailors (race boats used bonded mylar sails) found out that their old cruising sails that were stitched daycron were still usable and the facing racing sails were falling apart - IN THE BAG!!

OR, my more favorite story is about NASA space suits...
After the termination of the Mercury program, NASA gave space suits to many museums. These were treasures and so were displayed in controlled environment cases. About a decade or so later, someone inspecting them noticed that these treasures were literally falling apart. There was no saving them because the adhesives were aging out - in the controlled environment cases.

I am sorry to say that this sounds like a "Walk Away". Stay reading the Greatlakers news letter and be ready to pounce.

Matt
 
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Mr. Snyder,

All good points. Thanks!

This seller seems to be unreasonable, given all you have mentioned, and what occurred to me: seller states it "Ran and drove out of barn." My question for him would be: Did you oil prime the motor before you started it after 25 years? Would he give me an honest answer?

Of course, this is the world of the used vehicle marketplace.

Todd is fine please :)

Garage kept is a huge plus. Mouse free? even better

It's going to need tires, not a big deal, those are regular maintenance items, doesn't matter if the tread is still perfect on them, if they're over 6-7 years time for new ones.

It sure is nice looking. I wouldn't run away just yet, not sure what you offered them but jmo it seems like 8-10k would be fair. Especially since you said they actually started it and drove it. If something was going to let loose from not firing it up using the 'waking the beast' guidance, it would have done it right away. Bent a valve or spun a bearing. If it started and drove out then it's fine. Kind of like rolling the dice. They rolled them instead of you. If it broke on them, the price would go a lot lower needing an engine replacement.
 
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Hi Paul,
Welcome to this forum and maybe soon to the GMC Asylum. My advice for a soon-to-be owner would be to wait and buy one that has been in constant use. Don't buy a barn find and think it will be easy (or cheap) to get it on the road. Save up and buy the best one you can, and use it while you fix it up, repair it, and maintain it. Check out the GMC Motorhome Marketplace on FB; good ones come up frequently.

Safe Travels,
Russell
 
Hello, all!

Any thoughts on this listing?


455 c.i. vs. 403?
My personal opinion is you can do much better then that.

That will need pretty much a full go-over and you have no idea what is behind those cabinets.

Once you get to $10,000 I would want to see alcoa wheels, and a headliner that is not falling down.
 
I'm with Jon on this one.
Cleaning to the extent that this needs it is not expensive, but it is time consuming.
It still has the 16.5 wheels. Tires can still be purchased, but are often old when delivered.
Wheels and tires are going to hit 3~5K depending on what you want.
Matt
 
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I'm with Jon on this one.
Cleaning to the extent that this needs it is not expensive, but it is time consuming.
It still has the 16.5 wheels. Tires can still be purchased, but are often old when delivered.
Wheels and tires are going to hit 3~5K depending on what you want.
Matt
Exactly. You will have $5-8k (brakes, tires/rims, batteries, fuel lines and coolant hoses, ect) just in parts before you blink on that one. And still might just be starting out. Still probably have a non-running generator and have to rebuild the interior ceiling and beds. And may or may not even run well.
Might as well spend $15-$20k at that point and save all the labor.

There is no shortage of money pit gmc’s for sale for all price points. But $10k for just a “core”. You want alcoas and really good paint and bumpers. Windows that are good And a non-water damaged interior. They are out there.
 
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gotta add my 2 cents here...$10,000 is well beyond a reasonable ask.

Based on the photo's and limited history, on a good day, I don't think I would pay more than $2500.

Perhaps you can find a black lister to take a closer look?
 
gotta add my 2 cents here...$10,000 is well beyond a reasonable ask.

Based on the photo's and limited history, on a good day, I don't think I would pay more than $2500.

Perhaps you can find a black lister to take a closer look?
It's probably no more than fifteen minutes from me. Heck, I could take a look if anyone is interested. If they'd take $2500, I might be interested, though water damage sounds like a real problem. The seller removed the picture showing the damaged headliner, and someone posted a comment that $10K was a "great" price. Also, since it looks like it sat outside, I wouldn't be surprised if the frame was in bad shape. Thanks for all the input!