Help Me Decide?!

[mrgmcrv]

Hi everyone,

We own what we believe is a 1973 GMC Canyonlands, although we're not 100% certain on the model. From the serial number, it appears to be around the 66th or 67th coach built.

We bought it about five years ago for $5,000 CAD, and I've attached a few photos. We impulse purchased it knowing nothing about them, just loved it. As far as we can tell, it's almost entirely original.

When we bought it, it wasn't roadworthy. Since then we've put money into the mechanical basics—drivetrain, wheels/tires, and other essentials—to make it reliable enough to enjoy around town. These days we mostly use it for short drives, trips to the park or beach, ice cream runs with the kids, and taking friends out for rides. It also doubles as a fun bunkie for the kids at our cottage.

We're genuinely happy using it this way, so we don't feel pressured to start a major restoration. That said, we do think about its long-term future.

Right now we don't use any of the coach systems. The lights seem to work, but we don't use the plumbing, fridge, stove, furnace, generator, or propane system. We know the copper plumbing leaks (it has been pressure tested), and we're not confident in the safety or condition of the rest of the original systems.

Ultimately, we'd love to use the coach as it was intended—for motorhome travel and camping. Where we live (Lake Superior area in Canada) it would be essential to have heating, air conditioning and off grid functioning as a lot of camping here shore power/plug in spots are not available.

When we first bought it, we decided not to jump into a restoration because we honestly didn't know which direction to take. We're not experienced enough to do this kind of work ourselves - at least the major stuff - and we weren't sure whether to:

• restore everything as close to original (OEM) as possible,
• convert it to a modern electric/solar setup,
• or do some combination of the two.

One of our biggest concerns is preserving the original interior. We'd hate to damage some of the original parts while replacing wiring, plumbing, and other systems. We are ok with replacing to look as identical as possible to original.

We'd really appreciate some advice from those who have been down this road.

If you had a maximum budget of around $100,000 CAD, which direction would you go?

1. Restore both the coach systems and the mechanical systems, converting the coach to a fully electric/solar setup while keeping the classic look. Also, has there ever been an electrified GMC?
2. Modernize only the camping systems (battery, inverter, solar, plumbing, etc.) but leave the drivetrain largely as it is.

Or is there a third option we're overlooking? Like keep it going as is wait for technology in electric vehichles to improve, come down in price?

We'd love to hear your experiences, recommendations, or examples from others. If you made it this far- Thanks in advance!

 

[tyler]

My thoughts to a pretty open ended thought experiment:
Build it to how you want to use it - no boondocking means no need for solar or big batteries. Only around town - no need for a preemptive engine update or new transmission. Staying at an existing cabin - no need for working bathroom. Not driving far on a hot day - no need for generator to run overhead ac.

Start with the systems that can hurt you - brakes on the mechanical side must be individually checked and new rubber hoses leading to front calipers. Furnace on the house side can leak carbon monoxide and kill you while you sleep - any doubt of its integrity disconnect and remove if not ready to replace. Tires should not be ancient - some say five years, manufacturers generally say ten years. An odd one - if you have the marine style house hot water tank that uses engine coolant to heat house water - it can leak internally between the ethylene glycol (poison) tubes and the house water so if you drink the hot water it will poison you. If you have a slow leak on your engine coolant and can't find where it is going, it might be going into the house system - disconnect and remove that hot water tank if any question.

A rotten.rusted frame is a determining factor if this is a forever coach or a "few more years" coach, crawl around and look for swelling at joints or worst case holes anywhere.

After those items - make it however you want! The systems like beds and chairs remove pretty easily, and bathrooms and closets you can run new wire and plumbing underneath or behind easier than you might think. Join some local clubs to add social factor fun and also to see what other people have done with their coaches that you might want to emulate.

 

[Carl Stouffer]

Since I theoretically would NOT have a hundred K to spend on it, I would choose option #2. However, it's YOUR coach, do what you want with it. If you are planning to dry camp, you will want to save your batteries as much as you can, while being able to use the systems comfortably. That might mean converting to a heat absorption refrigerator, installing a decent sized solar charging system, and maybe converting to LiFePo4 batteries, with an inverter to power small 110 volt appliances (TV-DVD combo, computers, etc.

 

[mrgmcrv]

Since I theoretically would NOT have a hundred K to spend on it, I would choose option #2. However, it's YOUR coach, do what you want with it. If you are planning to dry camp, you will want to save your batteries as much as you can, while being able to use the systems comfortably. That might mean converting to a heat absorption refrigerator, installing a decent sized solar charging system, and maybe converting to LiFePo4 batteries, with an inverter to power small 110 volt appliances (TV-DVD combo, computers, etc.

What do you think if you keep OEM mechanical setup makes it more reliable? We still get at least 1-2 breakdowns a year... sometimes just waiting a few minutes allows it to start up other times have to change the fuel filter. Part of our thought about a full EV conversion is to increase the reliability towards a more modern car and avoid the close to $8/gallon gas prices we have in Canada - but maybe there are other, better ways to do this?

 

[RoadTrippin]

Awesome GMC and thanks for sharing pics!

I go to the UP a lot, and my friend has an EV. The charging infrastructure is lacking in that region, it may be that way for you as well since its the same lake, just on the other side. Considering the remoteness factor of the area, you only have a certain amount of roof space for solar, and depending on generator, a limited amount of wattage available there too to charge batteries. I definitely feel more comfortable up there in a gas powered vehicle vs. the EV.

That being said, there may be an option 3 you may want to consider: Keep the GMC as is (fix systems as needed) for local short trips, and invest the money into a more modern RV for the longer trips.

Regardless, its your GMC so you get to do what you want to it

 

[Bhart]

1-2 breakdowns a year... sometimes just waiting a few minutes allows it to start up other times have to change the fuel filter.

Sounds as if your gas tanks are rusted.

 

[Christo]

A few folks have experimented with creating an electric GMC but I'm not aware of any being finished/viable yet. The main obstacles are battery cost, time to recharge, and range. To even attempt something like that would cost more than $100k CAD in labor alone.

The most efficient RV out there is probably the Vixen. It got about 25 mpg and was powered by a BMW turbodiesel (rear pusher). 21 feet long, about 500 of them were made.

 

[Carl Stouffer]

What do you think if you keep OEM mechanical setup makes it more reliable? We still get at least 1-2 breakdowns a year... sometimes just waiting a few minutes allows it to start up other times have to change the fuel filter. Part of our thought about a full EV conversion is to increase the reliability towards a more modern car and avoid the close to $8/gallon gas prices we have in Canada - but maybe there are other, better ways to do this?

You can make the original setup reliable. We take our GMC on a cross country trip once or twice per year, putting 8 - 12,000 miles on it per year without problems, for the most part. You can expect little things to come up with a 50+ year old vehicle.

While a conversion to all electric is theoretically possible, even the OEMs have not come out with a practical EV RV. The cost to convert a GMC to an EV would be astronomical, making it extremely impractical. If that's what you want to do, go for it, but there will be no real ROI on that kind of venture. ALL the chassis systems would need to be replaced/upgraded. You would STILL have a bunch of 50 year old parts, switches, etc on it that could fail randomly.

 

[Tybalt39]

All we can really do is tell you what WE did and how that worked for OUR priorities. Those priorities will probably differ from yours.

For instance...

I used to tent "glamp" at local organized events (SCA, etc.); big tent, comfy bed, shower, lots of solar and batteries to run compressor fridge and freezer, microwave, etc. Setup and tear-down were a pain, plus storage and transporting everything. My GMC purchase was basically a rolling metal "tent". As long as it kept the rain out and went down the road safely the first year, that was enough; I already had supplemental systems for the rest. So, my priority was mechanical safety/reliability on the highway. That occupied the first year. I do take it camping multiple time each year, and a large investment in solar/batteries/inverter in the 3rd year allow boondocking with A/C (I've used a campground just once). I'm slowly bringing systems online, but after three years I still have no plumbing. Priorities.....

All of that said, I still haven't taken it farther than 80 miles from home.

So, figure out how you want to use it in the near term and work towards that goal. Then create new priorities as you progress. You'll get what you want eventually (with patience....).

 

[boybach]

Judging from the condition of the upholstery and general state of interior, this coach looks like a very low mileage well-cared for GMC. What's the odometer say?