About a year ago, Rich Truesdell ran this piece on Automotive Traveler, and as a contributor to that blog, I thought I would share it with the readers of Hooniverse. So sit back and re-discover the Front Wheel Driven, Oldsmobile Powered, GMC designed Motor Home from 73 to 78. So, without further interruptions, I’ll let Rich do the rest.
For much of the 20th century General Motors was the leading innovator in the design of the widest variety of transportation devices. Nowhere was this spirit of innovation more evident than the design, engineering, and marketing of the 1972 to 1978 GMC motorhome program.
Read more about the GMC Motorhome, along with a dedicated website for aficionados of this rare vehicle, by reading the original article on Automotive Traveler.
Hooniverse Weekend Edition: Automotive Traveler; The 1973 to 1978 GMC Motorhome
About
-
Thanks for all the posts you've done this weekend UDMan. The Hooniverse is one of my favorite blogs and it's great to be able to read new stuff on the weekend.
I've always like the styling of the GM motorhomes, much classier than the boxy Winnebagos (not sure of the spelling and to lazy to look). -
I remember seeing a fair number of these motorhomes on the highways in the '70s and '80s, and I agree that their sleek design made Winnebagos look like corrugated packing crates. It's a shame that GM never got around to further refining the design, but I guess a downsized 350 (or worse, a 3.8-liter) FWD platform just wouldn't cut it as a prime mover for such a big cruiser.
-
I thought they got a Cadillac 500CID engine and transaxle from the Eldorado??
-
For some reason, I have always loved something about these motorhomes….I even had GMC motorhome pajamas when I was about 5. My mom might even still have 'em packed away somewhere.
-
In the early eighties, right after I got out of the Army, I worked in the parts room and in the detail shop for a large RV dealership in Utah. I got to drive quite a few different motorhomes to the glass place, transmission shop, tire shop, etc. I remember driving a GMC motorhome once, and was the best handling rig for its size that I had ever driven. It drove like a big old Vista Cruiser, didn't feel top heavy or trucky like a regular motorhome. I remember the interiors of these as being very clean and spartan, while other rigs of its day were like French whorehouses, with shag carpet, red velour, and cheezy woodwork. The GMC was a well designed rig, I've always wanted one. Airstream for trailers, GMC for motorhomes.
-
I'd forgotten that for every appliance in the '70's there was always an 'avocado' colour option! That one mobile home has it all covered in a guacomole frenzy – carpets, curtains, counter tops, fridge…yuck!
-
I just stumbled across this site, because Google notified me that you were discussing the GMC Motorhome. I just today returned from two weeks of GMC involvement, first a rally with our club GMC Eastern States and GMC Alumni at Calhoun, GA, then another with the GMC Dixielanders at Bean Station, TN. We had about 47 GMC’s at the first and probably 59 at the latter, an annual work rally. There is a very active GMC community which probably renders it the best supported motorhome on the road — there are still over 8000 of the original 12,921 registered with our “registry”. If anyone’s interested in more information, http://www.gmcers.org is a good starting point. KenH.
-
That's sweet. I'll check it out for sure cuz i love these things. Welcome to Hooniverse!
-
Leave a Reply