I promise that when my busy summer season is over, we’ll have a big GMC Motorhome fest here. But I couldn’t resist this shot at the Cohort posted by channaher, for a couple of reasons. That wonderful seventies orange color, for starters. And the setting is vintage too. And then this is a 23 footer, which never sold nearly in the number that the 26 footer did, for fairly obvious reasons. From today’s vantage point, this is downright compact. And to think these rigs once looked so huge in their day.
LOVE. I want a 23-footer…but I don’t think those came with Palm Beach Trim…My favorite motor home ever… It’s interesting just how many existing parts from various car & truck models. The instrument cluster is sourced from the ’70 – ’72 Cutlass for example.
Most famous GMC Motorhome was in movie ‘Stripes’ with Bill Murray.
“Come on, it’s Czechoslovakia…it’s like going to Wisconsin.”
Love that movie…
I have become quite a fan of these. I can’t wait until the full GMC Motorhome-fest.
I HAVE ONE OF THESE!!!
In hotwheel form.
I see at least one of these each summer. Usually the 26 but I have seen a few 23 footers as well.
Those are fwd, aren’t they?
Yes they are, they use the same set up and engine from a Toronado. The 23ft’er was rarer than that 26ft version, I think they discontinued the 23ft model in 1975, the 26ft model made it to 1978, the end of the run for all GMC Motorhomes.
I have a 77 Palm Beach and I love it. Even though it is 35 years old, its goes down the road well and everything works. When you guys get ready to do our feature, let me know and I’d be happy to contribute an owners perspective.
Caspar- What kind of FE do you get out if it? I can imagine a 455 Olds in a giant vehicle isn’t that easy on fuel? I still love them! My Dad nearly bought one of them in the 70’s but the salesman talked him out of it saying he was to young (30 at the time). I see a nice avocado green 26′ one on my way home from work that sits outside year round…I have always wondered what it looks like inside.
Well, if its a 77 and up it would actually have the small block Oldsmobile derived 403, though I don’t know if that’s any better than a 455 in one of these, some have been changed back to 455. 10-11 mpg is about the best I think the could get.
If the interior is original, it could be outlandish, the Palm Beach for example was a symphony of green plaids and wood tone.
This is an idea that should have gone over big. What sabotaged it? It sure seems like parts availability would be better. I could make a case that it could be lighter with the integrated power train.
Seems like the big pickups with separate RV’s in tow sort of took over. Saw the same sort of system in a small winnebago with a renault(?) diesel. Of course that is sort of a champagne system and my budget is more beer sized.
Two things happened. First, Winnebago and other trailer-body-on-truck-frame-platform builders, undercut the hell out of them. Then, Gasoline Crisis I hit less than a year after launch.
The Alleged Crisis did two things: It cut deep into spending money and made people on the margin – middle-class types – fearful of buying something they couldn’t afford to run; and then with other energy costs skyrocketing, couldn’t afford to make payments on, as money was going elsewhere.
And those who did decide to go, went with the truck-frame aluminum-roll-sheeting models. They cost less, right? And it’s a GMC under there…just like that plastic-fantastic over at the Olds dealer. But a lot less. So…let’s go with the Winnebago, Mabel!
It was the wrong thing at the worst time, and at GM’s first launch into what would take them into a flaming crash 35 years later.
They were expensive, $28K for a loaded one by the end of the run in 1978, these were much nicer than the typical truck based motorhome, but they launched right in 1973, when the first oil embargo hit, they really ran to the end of the run, the big FWD E-body UPP was going away after 78 anyway when the E-cars downsized in 1979, I wonder if they ever considered making one using the smaller E-body FWD set up?
The interiors were constructed by some of the same companies that made interior components for other motorhomes, so I don’t know about the bathroom thing.
It was a small niche that got even smaller just as the time these were launched, some people complained that the ride height was to low to take them very far off the pavement, GMC really pitched these as “the luxury motorhome”, not really a huge segment to begin with, it was an interesting experiment from that “We can do everything” era of GM.
I remember reading that GM made some of it’s usual “we’re GM and we know better” mistakes regarding bathroom layout, etc. that had the serious RV’ers sniggering. Suffice to say that when the motorhome was announced, the competition was in a panic. Having to compete against God and all that. Once the motorhome actually came out, it ended up being a worthy competitor, but not an “impossible to compete against” item.
Sounded like prime candidate for turbo diesel transplant.
If I owned the one pictured, I would have the Braniff logo painted on the side like the 747
they used to operate under the “Big Orange” moniker.
Now that you mentioned it, it does remind me of the big orange Braniff 747’s from the same era!
One other problem…and the photo illustrates it well. Where the deuce do you PARK the thing?
In the front driveway…it’s…at best…a distraction and detraction. Once it gets ingrained dirt on it, as that fiberglass/polycarb finish will…it would debatably be an eyesore.
You park it in the same place everyone else with a big RV or house trailer parks theirs. 🙂 If you don’t have room in your driveway, there are lots of storage places where you can pay to park them when not in use. Some people pay for a seasonal site at a campground and only move it twice a year, once to get there in the spring and once to take it away in the fall. Those people think of their RV/trailer like a summer cottage.
These would get parked at an RV site or a large storage facility.
When gas was cheap, these were designed, just like the larger 71-76 B and C bodies and Colonnades. The auto future looked bright from 1964 to mid ’73.
The bad thing about being FWD is you couldn’t add an auxiliary overdrive to them, they can add up to 2-3mpg on big motor homes.
You could add a switch pitch to the tyranny and get about the same, just did a major engine job on my Eleganza 2 and with the new Holly carb I’ve gotten better fuel economy – relatively speaking. I’ve had mine for seven years and its been across Canada twice going west and four times to the eastern provinces with only a bad distributor to deal with. Love this thing and how it drives and if you need any parts or service there is a constant supply
Like a lot of the GMC’s that survived my interior was redone by the PO. I have an early 77 with the 455 and it does well …. zipping along at 70 with a lot of power to pass anytime I need it. The brake are 70’s vintage but there are after-market improvements, and a lot of GMC owners are retro-fitting throttle body injection onto them. I am considering doing it also, just to take advantage of better starting and better idling in traffic, when the carb loads up.
As far as mileage, I have gotten up to 12 mpg at 70 mph … and its pretty nifty … Good ride, good vehicle dynamics compared to the Winnebago, which is just a truck … the IRS works well and really soaks up the road without the ominous sway of the boxy styles. And the rounded edges also help with cross-winds and the turbulence from truck traffic … and the size, after I got used to it, is pretty good for maneuvering in city traffic and gets through some pretty small holes ..
I’m a happy camper and get stopped with questions from folks with questions a lot and lots of smiles and waves as I go down the road …
I have a 1977 Elelganza 2 and its a wonderful vehicle that has been driven for seven years everywhere. I have the 403 and it went thru the Rockies with plenty of power and once I changed to a Holly carb it was even stronger, fuel economy is a bit better as well. Looking into a switch pitch for the tranny that may also increase the fuel economy and lower engine noise on the hiway.