New member on the hunt for the right coach

[hammermonkey]

Dowels, dovetails, and dados can let 1/4" ply do a lot of heavy lifting. I'm also exploring aluminum composite panels

 

[Richard RV]

Dowels, dovetails, and dados can let 1/4" ply do a lot of heavy lifting. I'm also exploring aluminum composite panels

Aluminum or cardboard honeycomb is great for cutting weight and keeping the stiffness. I've seen the dinette table replaced with a cutdown hollow core door. They'd drilled holes through the skin and injected spray foam, though I could see that blowing up on me.

 

[hammermonkey]

I'd recommend ripping some 1x poplar material into a frame with a rabbit cut, add a diagonal brace at rabbit depth to square it, then cut your triangles out of rigid foam, cut some 1/4 ply to inset into the rabbit cut and sandwich the frame/foam, glue, 18ga, and pin nails for fastening. No foam blowout, nice poplar edge, can be finished with paint or varnish and look nice.

 

[sailor man]

Hey all, I'm a carpenter by trade and lover of classic vehicles. The kind before computer assisted designs and federal regulations made everything on the road look identical. Naturally I love the look of the GMC and I'm hoping to find a coach to outfit with a custom interior plan.

I'm leaning towards the 23' footer for easier maneuvering and parking.

If anyone has interior dimensions of the 23' from end of cockpit to the rear wall that would be really helpful for my planning phase. From eyeballing a few pics it looks like there's about 15' to work with?

I'd also love to know about anyone with experience in upgrading their 455 and the th425 to improve torque and hp significantly. Looking for well trod path to get there.

Check out my posts on:
"Converting to LiFePO4 battereis and Sailor Man's LiFePO4 Build" & " Sailor Man's Coach: Then & Now"

 

[EricS]

Hey all, I'm a carpenter by trade and lover of classic vehicles. The kind before computer assisted designs and federal regulations made everything on the road look identical. Naturally I love the look of the GMC and I'm hoping to find a coach to outfit with a custom interior plan.

I'm leaning towards the 23' footer for easier maneuvering and parking.

If anyone has interior dimensions of the 23' from end of cockpit to the rear wall that would be really helpful for my planning phase. From eyeballing a few pics it looks like there's about 15' to work with?

I'd also love to know about anyone with experience in upgrading their 455 and the th425 to improve torque and hp significantly. Looking for well trod path to get there.

If you want help finding the right coach, you should give a clue to your location, maybe create a sigfile. There are several gutted coaches out there that would be a great start for you, rather than trashing a survivor, imho.

 

[Richard RV]

If you want help finding the right coach, you should give a clue to your location, maybe create a sigfile. There are several gutted coaches out there that would be a great start for you, rather than trashing a survivor, imho.

Indeed. It's unfortunately not at all uncommon for a new GMC owner with stars in their eyes to immediately gut a coach. Then Life and reality intervene, they realize that it's going to take way more time, money and effort than they thought...and they sell it. It's now a low-dollar project, or worse, donor coach.

There are some that stick with it and do some really interesting stuff. I always root for those people!

 

[hammermonkey]

I'm still digging into info and formulating a plan. Thinking about upgrades I can handle independently, what I'll need to pay for, etc. If I end up gutting something it'll be because the math favors it over starting with a roller. The state of a lot of these project coaches, their location, and the costs associated with parts means I'd have to get payed to make starting at that level make sense. If I had an unlimited budget I'd love to resurrect an abandoned coach, but I don't think it's feasible.

 

[Jim K]

Hey all, I'm a carpenter by trade and lover of classic vehicles. The kind before computer assisted designs and federal regulations made everything on the road look identical. Naturally I love the look of the GMC and I'm hoping to find a coach to outfit with a custom interior plan.

I'm leaning towards the 23' footer for easier maneuvering and parking.

If anyone has interior dimensions of the 23' from end of cockpit to the rear wall that would be really helpful for my planning phase. From eyeballing a few pics it looks like there's about 15' to work with?

I'd also love to know about anyone with experience in upgrading their 455 and the th425 to improve torque and hp significantly. Looking for well trod path to get there.

One for sale down here in Tennessee. Has a 500 Cadilac engine in it. Needs interior work like most, but it looks pretty decent for $5000.