Sitting on the fence and seeking wisdom

[Uncle Cereal]

Hello everyone.

I once was an active member of the Fiberglass RV forum which seems to be very similar to this one: full of passionate and generous people! In 2016, I have completely redone a 1975 Boler. We have since parted with it and had a couple more camper trailers. We just sold our 1972 fiberglass Play Pac that we used to vacation this summer.

In 2027, my wife and I are considering crossing Canada coming back through the US, or vice-versa. We were thinking about taking our tiny Play Pac but we decided that we don’t want to do many thousand kilometers pulling something and cringing at every bump in the road. (Our Boler once became unhooked from the car while driving, there some PTSD in this…)

So we started looking into a camper that we could drive instead of pull. Right now, in our area, there’s a 26-foot 1973 GMC motorhome for sale. Wow! That thing has character! I totally « get it »! It was love at first sight! But here’s the dialog that’s going on between me (call it « passion ») and my wife (call it « reason »).

Passion: Wow! Lots of character! Lots of space!
Reason: It needs work.
Passion: Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Reason: You don’t have time, you already have too many things to do and no garage. That will be a money pit..
Passion: Yes, but it’s an oldie that will always keep its value or even increase!
Reason: I’m scared of driving in the mountains and you’ll take me in THAT?

My wife is totally right, of course. And her request to buy something that’s pretty much ready to go is a fair and reasonable desire. I have never driven a rig this big: what if I hate it? My wife will not drive, that’s a given. I don’t have much time to dedicate to a project right now as I’ve been overworked during the past months.

As you can tell, I pretty much know already that this is probably not the right camper for me. Not now anyway.

I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. But I « get » you guys’ love for this camper. I guess, this morning, I’m looking for a little bit of input from those who know and love this motorhome. Could you tell me a little about it and address some of my (and my wife’s) concerns? Or maybe you can lead me to some reading, let’s say one or two posts/articles that would enlighten me.

The seller is telling me that his rig is ready to hit the road and that he would take it across the continent any time after putting six new tires on.

Thank you beforehand for your feedback.

 

[billvv]

Find an operating coach that has been taken on a long trip through the mountains recently without a breakdown and is legitimately priced above above $25K - with most of that value in its maintained/upgraded mechanical systems. A coach with aged out tires might not be that coach.

 

[Richard RV]

Hello everyone.

I once was an active member of the Fiberglass RV forum which seems to be very similar to this one: full of passionate and generous people! In 2016, I have completely redone a 1975 Boler. We have since parted with it and had a couple more camper trailers. We just sold our 1972 fiberglass Play Pac that we used to vacation this summer.

In 2027, my wife and I are considering crossing Canada coming back through the US, or vice-versa. We were thinking about taking our tiny Play Pac but we decided that we don’t want to do many thousand kilometers pulling something and cringing at every bump in the road. (Our Boler once became unhooked from the car while driving, there some PTSD in this…)

So we started looking into a camper that we could drive instead of pull. Right now, in our area, there’s a 26-foot 1973 GMC motorhome for sale. Wow! That thing has character! I totally « get it »! It was love at first sight! But here’s the dialog that’s going on between me (call it « passion ») and my wife (call it « reason »).

Passion: Wow! Lots of character! Lots of space!
Reason: It needs work.
Passion: Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Reason: You don’t have time, you already have too many things to do and no garage. That will be a money pit..
Passion: Yes, but it’s an oldie that will always keep its value or even increase!
Reason: I’m scared of driving in the mountains and you’ll take me in THAT?

My wife is totally right, of course. And her request to buy something that’s pretty much ready to go is a fair and reasonable desire. I have never driven a rig this big: what if I hate it? My wife will not drive, that’s a given. I don’t have much time to dedicate to a project right now as I’ve been overworked during the past months.

As you can tell, I pretty much know already that this is probably not the right camper for me. Not now anyway.

I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. But I « get » you guys’ love for this camper. I guess, this morning, I’m looking for a little bit of input from those who know and love this motorhome. Could you tell me a little about it and address some of my (and my wife’s) concerns? Or maybe you can lead me to some reading, let’s say one or two posts/articles that would enlighten me.

The seller is telling me that his rig is ready to hit the road and that he would take it across the continent any time after putting six new tires on.

Thank you beforehand for your feedback.

Drive one. Have your wife drive one. They're easy to drive, it's like a 90's Suburban, and the visibility is without equal - you can almost see the front bumper. You want to see the sights, right? No better way to do it than with a huge wraparound windshield. That'll allay many of the concerns.

Spend more upfront, it's a buyer's market, so for a turn the key and go GMC you'll be spending much less than half of a new Sprinter van.

If you really want to seal the deal, both of you should go to a local GMC rally and meet the people. They won't be selling anything but you'll still get sold.

See you down the road and safe travels!

 

[Kendra]

When I was looking to buy I aimed for mechanically sound, less concerned about interior unless it's rotted or trashed. I found one with a long list of mechanical improvements and upgrades. I was the 2nd person in line. First person to view it decided against a dated interior with dings and scrapes. After I drove it home (Arizona to Seattle), I found a book full of receipts totaling several times what I'd just paid.

No regrets. Chipped cabinets and ugly fabric won't leave anyone stuck. I'll get to the low-priority stuff someday.

 

[LQQKatJon]

Hello everyone.

I once was an active member of the Fiberglass RV forum which seems to be very similar to this one: full of passionate and generous people! In 2016, I have completely redone a 1975 Boler. We have since parted with it and had a couple more camper trailers. We just sold our 1972 fiberglass Play Pac that we used to vacation this summer.

In 2027, my wife and I are considering crossing Canada coming back through the US, or vice-versa. We were thinking about taking our tiny Play Pac but we decided that we don’t want to do many thousand kilometers pulling something and cringing at every bump in the road. (Our Boler once became unhooked from the car while driving, there some PTSD in this…)

So we started looking into a camper that we could drive instead of pull. Right now, in our area, there’s a 26-foot 1973 GMC motorhome for sale. Wow! That thing has character! I totally « get it »! It was love at first sight! But here’s the dialog that’s going on between me (call it « passion ») and my wife (call it « reason »).

Passion: Wow! Lots of character! Lots of space!
Reason: It needs work.
Passion: Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Reason: You don’t have time, you already have too many things to do and no garage. That will be a money pit..
Passion: Yes, but it’s an oldie that will always keep its value or even increase!
Reason: I’m scared of driving in the mountains and you’ll take me in THAT?

My wife is totally right, of course. And her request to buy something that’s pretty much ready to go is a fair and reasonable desire. I have never driven a rig this big: what if I hate it? My wife will not drive, that’s a given. I don’t have much time to dedicate to a project right now as I’ve been overworked during the past months.

As you can tell, I pretty much know already that this is probably not the right camper for me. Not now anyway.

I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. But I « get » you guys’ love for this camper. I guess, this morning, I’m looking for a little bit of input from those who know and love this motorhome. Could you tell me a little about it and address some of my (and my wife’s) concerns? Or maybe you can lead me to some reading, let’s say one or two posts/articles that would enlighten me.

The seller is telling me that his rig is ready to hit the road and that he would take it across the continent any time after putting six new tires on.

Thank you beforehand for your feedback.

Takes lots of gas.

Dont trust the seller. Need to view it yourself. Not many for sale are
Ready to take accross the country…. Always needs something.


These are great to drive. I drive my gmc anywhere. Way better then towing a trailer..

The one issue is comfort. Most gmc’s are hot to drive. Some have upgraded the A/C. But if it is 85+ degrees outside. Unless the generator runs perfectly to run the roof air, or the dash A/C is upgraded.. you have to have some heat tolerance.

They can be a little noisy as well. But being able have the fridge and bathroom right there makes roadtrips nice, and trade off for the noise.

 

[Tybalt39]

I had never driven a large vehicle on a regular basis. I have always owned sub-compacts, compacts, and sedans. My daily driver is a Jeep Grand Cherokee. That's the biggest vehicle I had ever previously owned. Within a few hours of owning my 26 foot GMC, I loved driving it everywhere! (Even more once I finally got everything properly aligned and steering straight going down the road at speed... ) It really is just like driving a big car. When not camping, I still pick it up on weekends from storage and just drive it around town to run errands or to enjoy the sensation of driving it. If you have any comfort level of driving a larger vehicle, you will have no problem driving it. Do I wish it had modern rack and pinion steering? Yes! But other than that, it's good.

 

[Kendra]

In 1957 my mom emigrated from Japan to the US. Raised in Hokkaido Japan before the war, she had almost no experience with cars of any size, although she passed her California driving test in their new 1959 Porsche 356A. She said the driving examiner was more interested in the car than paying attention to her driving. My dad grew up in California, definitely a car guy.

When we moved from California to the jungle north of Seattle they sold the Porsche (sadly), bought a new 1969 C10 pickup with an 8 foot bed, installed a canopy which made it more difficult to see out of and that was my mom's daily driver. When my age was single-digit I clearly remember my 5'0" (152cm) mom peering over that huge dashboard as she pulled into traffic stating "I'M BIGGER THAN YOU."

She stopped driving a few years ago but is still doing well, currently 95. No collisions.

 

[dsmithy]

Where to begin...
I guarantee you will not find any vehicle in the world that juggles the compromises of a touring RV better than a GMC. Period. You drive with a high eyepoint and can see things a sprinter or van-based class three can only dream about. When you get to where you're going you have a simple set-up that puts an adult beverage in your hand before the guy with a trailer with a leveling hitch has barely started his work. Once camping, you'll find everything you need at hand and with generous headroom. We like to say "It's bigger inside!." The reason is that it's generous windows give you a nearly 360 degree view. You may spend a week camping in the rain, which is tedious, but you'll never feel trapped in a cave. The bottom line is that lots of RV's are bigger and have more room and lots of RV's get better mileage, and many are quieter going down the road at speed, but a well set-up GMC is both a joy to drive and tour with and a joy to camp in. And did I mention you'll do it at a fraction of the cost of the others. We've thirty-some years with our '73 and its part of the family.

Having said all that, and in support of the previous posts which are right on the money, here are the cons:
1. This is a vintage vehicle and thus, by definition, is a "do it yourself" endeavor. Other than some brilliant, dedicated vendors which specifically support this vehicle, you'll find it hard to find someone you can trust to work on it.

2. It is uniquely low, which is part of why it drives so well. The low center of gravity means that all of its tanks, gas, waste and sometimes grey water are wide and shallow. I won't go into the issues here, you really need to go to a rally and talk to owners. It's nothing a person can't cope with easily, but it's a thing. Those owners who live in Southern climes will be creative in protecting all those windows from the hot sun and up their game with cooling. Proof that a key feature can be a liability at times. There are other minor issues which result from such a successful compromise. Talk to an owner, they're not a big deal.

3. Nearly all of our 50 year old motorhomes have gone through a succession of owners. Previous Owners (PO's) have widely variable, sometimes comical, sometimes tragic solutions to common problems. The coach is well documented with readily available diagrams, manuals, etc. but at this late date there is no "standard" coach and buyer beware. It is pretty much required that you buy with a knowledgeable GMC'er to help look for problems. Fortunately, they are easy to find and we all love to look at other coaches.

4. This is not a con, but a caution. Brilliant people have been inventing modifications to the GMC since it's inception. Better brakes, better suspension, a modern front end are just a start to the list which is long. Some are more successful than others and some are no longer available which makes it more complicated for the buyer, which merits a repeat of the advice, find a knowledgeable GMC'er to help.

In conclusion, the GMC will require your active effort to keep it healthy and happy. In return, it will reward you with a design so good it qualifies as "timeless" which has more value than you could possibly know without owning and actively using one. Your purchase also comes with a hidden benefit, a group of people dedicated to this timeless vehicle who will step up and help you purchase, maintain, sell, and if you find yourself by the side of the road, come to your rescue. Look up the GMC Assist List, better known as the "Black List" and you'll find friends you haven't met yet all over the world. It's simply amazing. I know of no other camping vehicle which even begins to have the support of a vintage GMC Motorhome, especially the newish Sprinter and other truck-based campers which presume to replace it.

BEST OF ALL, spend your $30K, $40K, $50K to get your GMC as you want it... You will have a very reliable custom camper tailored to you where every dollar has the value of a dollar, no depreciation (that happened long ago) just value. They're not for you if you're not willing to put in the work, but if you are you'll go down the road with the best support team ever. This is just my opinion, but I've been driving one for thirty-six years. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Uncle Cereal]

Thanks everyone! Your honest and helpful comments are exactly what I was looking for! I knew you would not deceive!

Any owner and/or rally in/near the province of Quebec? (Eastern Ontario, northern NY/VT/ME). The idea of seeing one up close and driving one is obviously a good one.