GMC Vintage RVing magazine – Fall 2020

Fall 2020 | Issue 153

GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL

A magazine dedicated to promoting the legacy and use of GMC Motorhomes

The President’s Challenge

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The Cheapest “Toy”in the Box

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GMCMI Holiday Give-Away

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GMCMH, A CNN Producer, & The Space Shuttle

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Technical Corner

president’s corner

GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL

GMC Motorhomes International was founded in 1982 by Ralph Luby >> GMC Motorhomes International 1402 So Cage Blvd, Unit 273 Pharr, TX 78577 | 612-501-4600 admin@gmcmi.com | gmcmi.com

After three issues where the news was not necessarily positive, I cannot help but grin while writing this – there is light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train. The safest way to travel during the pandemic is a motorhome, and you have one!

>> GMC Vintage RVing Magazine Published quarterly for members of GMC Motorhomes International.

This fall, I attended a number of “unofficial” gatherings in Virginia, Michigan, and Maryland. We made new friends and had a delightful time. Everyone was able to stay in their comfort zone regarding social distancing and mask usage.

Managing Editor | Graphic Designer Kimberlea Weeks | 612-501-4600 admin@gmcmi.com Editor Janet Frey | 215-536-9064 freyjanetr@yahoo.com >> Online Version A digital flipbook version of the magazine is available online at gmcmi.com/gmc-vintage-rving/. >> GMC Article and Part Number Submission Please send article contributions and newly found part number crossovers to the managing editor. >> GMCMI.com Website 612-501-4600 | admin@gmcmi.com >> Disclaimer Articles are contributed by members and others which are published as a service to members. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

Independent verification is urged. ©2020 GMC Motorhomes International

2020-21 GMCMI Board of Directors Dolph Santorine President

Gary Coaster VP Western

Margie McLaughlin Jerry Work VP Northeast VP Northwest David Blackshear VP Eastern

Kim Weeks VP Administration

Lou Boone VP Southeast

Janet Frey Secretary

Randy Van Winkle VP South Central

Fred Hudspeth Treasurer

John Pryzbylek VP Great Lakes

John Smyrski Director

Lucy Weidner VP Midwest

Keith Weeks Director

Emery Stora VP Rocky Mountain

Stan Edwards Past President

Non-Discrimination Statement: GMCMI is committed to maintaining an environment of non-discrimination and noncoercion on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, handicap, or political preferences.

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Dolph Santorine

Personally, we were able to rescue the fall part of our traveling season. What was completely remarkable to me is that the campgrounds are packed. Every spot was taken, and there is generally a waiting list.

According to the RV Industry Association, manufacturers are on track to exceed 400,000 units in 2020, and likely 500,000 in 2021. Unfortunately, there are not enough new campgrounds opening to serve all those new recreational vehicles, with industry estimates of less than 100,000 new sites on the horizon. Keep that in mind as you travel in the upcoming year, and remember that cliche about “prior planning prevents poor performance”.

GMCMI... I considered writing a couple of paragraphs about the value and utility of supporting GMCMI. Instead, I will keep it simple. It is the best use of $40 you will ever spend on your GMC Motorhome. The. Best. Ever. Renew today!

There was recently quite a discussion with a new GMC Motorhome owner about “Why join one of the clubs?”. His contention was he could “GMCMI get all the information he needed from the internet. Of course, he was bragging about how wonderful the GMC Motorhome working for Parts Interchange is... and had a copy of an article from GMC Vintage RVing magazine on interior improvements he wanted to you and the make. These things come from your association, GMCMI. Community!”

They take organization, time, and money. The GMC Motorhome Parts Interchange and magazine are the product of your dues.

– DOLPH SANTORINE, They insure a vibrant Community surrounding your motorhome for GMCMI PRESIDENT years to come. Encourage people who benefit from the Community to join today. Converts are zealots. It takes all of us to make converts!

The President’s Challenge has proven to be a resounding success! Thank you to everyone who made a submission. The response was overwhelming and completely humbling. There is a great feature in this magazine (page 4) with all those smiling people safely enjoying making new memories in 2020.

So, on to what’s next... Those of us with four seasons look to the GMCMI Spring Convention as the start of the traveling season. The place to be April 16-22, 2021 is Patterson, Louisiana with “Cajun Crazy” as the theme. Lots to do, amazing food, New Orleans right around the corner, and the visiting with all the people we missed in 2020. Then onto the GMCMI Fall Convention September 24-30, 2021 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Two great locations for us!

Year-end thank you... As all of us have had to deal with the rapid changes brought by the pandemic in 2020. GMCMI Administrator and Convention Manager, Kim Weeks, was on the blunt end of the changes, has hung in there and continued to serve the members of GMCMI. Conventions were canceled and she did a huge amount of work rescheduling, revamping, and looking for alternative locations. She volunteered to waive her Convention compensation for 2020. We thank her for this consideration along with the pro-bono magazine design work she has provided for the last five years. This issue marks the beginning of the GMCMI sixth year of this award-winning magazine. Thank you, Kim. Membership I want to thank the board and the membership for the trust shown over the Status stands past two years. The board allowed and endorsed sweeping changes for the better, at 931. the flexibility demonstrated by the board has been amazing.

I’m ready to get back to a “more normal” state of affairs. Onward.

GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

CONTENTS G M C M I

WINTER 2020

GMCMI . . . A New EraCHALLENGE PRESIDENT’S

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Keep informed about GMCMI Events and Members.

Join us at facebook.com/ GMCMI

4 | PHOTOS AND WINNERS

DEPARTMENTS

CONTENTS 2 President’s Corner

10 FMCA Report

11 GMCMH Vendor FA LProfile L 2020

12 GMC Motorhome History 13 Technical Corner DEPARTMENTS 2 President’s Corner 22 GMCMH Suppliers List 11 GMCMH VendorAds Profile 24 Classified 14 Letters to the Editor 26 Regional GMCMH Activities 15 GMC Motorhome History 27 GMCMH Events Calendar 16 Flash from the Past 1 8 Generally Speaking 20 2021 GMCMI Dues Notice 4 21 2021 GMCMI Board of Directors 22 Technical Corner 31 GMCMH Suppliers List 33 Classified Ads 34 17 Regional GMCMH Activities 35 GMCMH Events Calendar DEPARTMENTS

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BEWARE OF CONTENTS SCAMS WINTER 2020

Beinformed part of the Keep about GMC Community GMCMI Events Facebook page by and Members. sharing photos of Joinour us at our GMCs, facebook.com/ GMCs, adventures adventures andand GMCMI those important technical questions.

GMCMI . . . A New Era 12 | THE CHEAPEST “TOY” IN THE BOX

2 President’s Corner 10 FMCA Report

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11 GMCMH Vendor Profile 12 GMC Motorhome History

GMCMI Holiday Give-Away

BEWARE OF SCAMS

13 Technical CornerON THE COVER Pictured along the banks of Lake Pepin on the Minnesota sideList looking at Wisconsin is a 1976 Palm Beach owned by Tim and Niki 22 GMCMH Suppliers

Anderson of Hugo, Minnesota. This coach features a rear bed, wet bath, side kitchen with oak countertop along with bunks above the sofa. The coach is mostly original interior with the original paint job on the outside plus Alcoa 26 Regional GMCMH Activities wheels, recently rebuilt 455 engine, Carefree awning, Sully style air bags, | ENTER TO WIN...

19it| inGMC 27 GMCMH Events Calendar and air horn. They purchased 2013 MOTORHOME, with ~40,000 milesAonCNN the odometer PRODUCER, & THE SPACE SHUTTLE from friends of the original owners in Kansas. They plan on installing fuel injection this Spring in preparation for a trip from Minnesota to California.

When not on vacation, almost every other weekend from spring thru fall they to campgrounds, car shows, parades, pumpkin patch, at the ON THE COVER | Susan and travel Jeff Overman from Eastvale, California driving “Shaggy,” theirtailgating 1976 GMC Palm racetrack, GMC rallies, and all sorts of other activities. They proudly show Beach, on a trip to the San Antonio Winery in Ontario, California. Read more about the voyage their GMC their coach at the car shows. Pictured are Cooper (9), Logan (7), Nash (5), Motorhome took from California... to England... back California on page 5. and Remington akaand Remi thetogolden doodle (3 months).

24 Classified Ads

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Read the flipbook version of the GMC Vintage RVing magazine online at gmcmi.com

WINTER FALL 2020

GMC MOTORHOMES

Join us at facebook.com/ groups/vintage gmcmotorhomes/ Read the flipbook version of the GMC Vintage RVing magazine online at gmcmi.com Technical Support, Parts Interchange, History and More!

GMCMI.com Be part of the GMC Community Facebook page by sharing photos of our GMCs, adventures and Shop for specialized those important GMCMH items and technicalmagazines! questions. previous Join us at thegmcmhstore.com facebook.com/ groups/vintage INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL 3 gmcmotorhomes/

G M C M I

PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE The Challenge was Met! Thanks to all who participated in the GMCMI President’s Challenge by sending pictures of their GMCMH in all sorts of situations that included challenges and fun, beautiful scenery, and wonderful children.

Our original goal was to feature 20 pictures, but with so many fantastic entries we decided to feature a few more.

We are sure that you will agree that it would be hard to miss any of these incredible scenes.

Mike & Billie Kelley: A picture of us with our GMC Motorhome at the Life Gate Church in Lufkin, Texas while on a major remodel project by the RV Volunteers Group.

And Here Is the Best Part!

Indicates drawing winners that receive two “Life Rocks” T-shirts of their choice.

GMC21 Indicates photos selected for the 2021 GMC Motorhome Calendar available at www.the gmcmhstore.com.

Men, Ladies, and Kids • Multiple Styles • Multiple Colors Available at www.thegmcmhstore.com

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GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

Al & Priscilla Wartman: Our 1977 Kingsley, Gerome, is in our driveway with Hurricane damage from Hurricane Isisais on August 4.

We cannot drive it because both side view mirrors are destroyed and the right side windshield is cracked. Cover to Fantastic Fan is also destroyed.

Such a disappointment.

ON THE COVER | Susan and Jeff Overman interviewed by Janet Frey

Jeff and Susan Overman are probably one of the most tenacious couples that searched for a GMC! Here’s their story...

After owning several RVs over the years, including a big class A motorhome, they were looking for something different. Susan is quite an expert at researching anything, so she began looking. Jeff had some RV experience in his youth when his dad took him in a Winnie on a trip to the Keys, and then on a cross country trip in a Travco. But there was nothing available that really fit their idea of the perfect motorhome…until they found the GMC. Then they had to locate one that was the perfect GMC. That is when they saw her (their term of endearment!) advertised online and even though she was located in England, she was exactly what they were looking for and they knew they had to buy her.

In February 2020, they purchased the beautiful, all original, 1976 GMC Palm Beach Motorhome, sight unseen. She arrived at the Port of Long Beach in March 2020 after making a 45-day journey from England through the Panama Canal to California. (Jeff noted that she has 17,000 “sailing” miles.) They were so excited watching her come out from the port that day and named her “Shaggy” when they first set foot on her beautiful original green shag carpet. As they discovered more about Shaggy, it became clear that she was meant for them.

Prior to going to England, Shaggy lived in Chino Hills, about 10 miles from their home. Had they found her about 1 1/2 years earlier, it would have been a much simpler process to purchase the motorhome! Since Shaggy’s arrival, they have had several excursions including a stop at San Antonio Winery in Ontario (front cover photo). Jeff and Susan also have become involved with the GMC Community, joining the GMC Pacific Cruisers and GMCMI, and enjoying the vintage status of the Palm Beach. They really appreciate the close knit groups and the support and information that they provide.

Oh, by the way, although their adult son does not travel with them, their dog family does, including Evol, Chewy, and Shuggs. We look forward to meeting them in person somewhere down the road. GMC21

Tom & Gail Zavelson: We took our GMC out of its garage, drove 75 miles north, took a turn, drove another 75 miles and found a fantastic campsite – totally free with a private pool, fully stocked no charge bar, and indoor plumbing...our own house and driveway! Spent four days Glamping there and the trip home was only a matter of a few feet. As they say:”What a trip!”

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Glenn & Darlene Gregory: Camping with our local GMC friends at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Sibley Peninsula in Northwestern Ontario.

Bill & Kathryn Hubert: GMC camping in the Adirondacks at Putnam Pond, New York.

This the third camping trip of the summer and grandchildren Roscoe and Conrad Hveem were there with a friend. Some of you may remember the two of them in Tallahassee. Who could ever imagine the rainbow! I know many would say we photoshopped it in, but assure you it is real (rainbow).

Imagine we got this 1978 Royale when the boy’s Mom was six months old, so its been in use for three generations of our family.

Randy & Barbara Hecht: We were camping in Don Carter State Park near Gainsville, Georgia.

Our coach is a 1974 ”in progress” of updating, it is roadworthy and safe, yet still needs dressing up.

Greg & Sharon Keller: My wife and I entered our GMC in the car parade that takes place during the Cruising the Coast car event. This was the first time they allowed an RV to register and enter this parade. The crowds response was so positive that the sponsors asked us back to next years car parade. They are realizing that these antique coaches attract more attention than some of the restored cars that normally enter these parades. Next year I hope to get more GMC coaches entered.

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GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

Marv & Sally Miller: Our 1976 GMC with a 1973 VW Super Beatle tow ready for traveling! The last weekend in September we took our unit for a trip to Holmes County, Ohio to see fall colors and family. Was great to get out on our 600 mile “trip” again, and camping at family’s farm and driveways. It is still “camping”.

Justin & Kathleen Brady: Enjoying Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Oneida, Tennessee.

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Russell & Jenny Keith: Coffee with “Harry” our 1978 Eleganza II and my “favorite girl” in July at the Rainbow Springs Campground at Dunnellon, Florida. GMC21

Mary Boutte: My 1977 GMC just loves to run in the sun in St. Augustine Beach, Florida.

Jeremy Sanford: Enjoying a beautiful day with his 1977 Kingsley.

Walter & Denise Schaub: My best buddy Quincy better known as Q dog and I enjoying the scenery go by on old route 66 outside of Chicago. GMC21

Eugene Bunt & Marlies Hersperger: We spent the night at Ohio University Airport in Albany, Ohio.

Ethan & Colleen James: First camping trip of 2020 (July 31st) at Fairy Stone State Park Patrick County, Virginia. Only 30 miles from home but still having fun.

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Jerry Ramsden & Linda McGrath: Here is my sweetie, Linda, enjoying her book on a wonderfull campsite on the beach of Lake Huron, at Port Crecent State Park, Michigan. Our coach is in the background keeping a watchful eye over us. We went up to the lovely Thumb of Michigan and loved camping on the beach in our 1975 GMC Motorhome. We are excited about our coach’s upcoming refresh which will include the motor, new final drive, transmission, aluminum radiator, and AC this winter.

Hopefully, after the refresh, she will be good for 45 more years of looking after us on our camping adventures!

John & Jennifer Roche: She called it Illumination.

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Craig Buckley: GMC Noreasters (left to right) Mary Buckley, Matt Meskill, Rene Meskill, and Meskill Coach with the Buckley’s at Hammonnassett State Park Micro Rally October 6-8, 2020 in Madison, Connecticut.

Ken & Janet Frey: Toasting infront of our 1976 Palm Beach on June 12, our wedding anniversary, in Ronks, Pennsylvania.

Bruce Burtan: 1975 Glenbrook Garage Queen and her original owner Bruce “Doc” Burtan (age 93 1/2).

Johnny & Dawn Niedzwiedzki: Still spending a lot of time in our 1974 GMC, in the backyard, during an interior update. Hope to get her out on more trips soon!

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GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

Milo Thomas: On our way along I-90 in South Dakota heading to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Just one of the stops on a 3,600 mile trip to the mid-west this year.

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Camping with the Tin Can Tourists at Interlochen State Park, Interlochen, Michigan.

Max & Lois Karshner: Max and Lois included a story with their picture and we felt it was worth sharing some of the details. They were in Florida as the pandemic began. Finally, they got home to Groveport, Ohio, where their GMC was waiting. Max decided to do a few repairs, and since he is a retired mechanic (auto and aircraft) and is self-described “nitpicky,”, he found twice as many repairs than he planned! (The list he included was quite detailed, from all aspects of the brakes to the air compressor, spark plugs, battery cable, and exhaust system.) He finally completed them in early October (as he says, “4 months to finish and more money than expected!”) He and Lois look forward to “camping” with their 10 grandchildren for years to come, and also hope to see many of the GMC owners at future rallies and Conventions

James & Sandra Wibby: Our daughter Katie and granddaughter Izzy in the kissing booth

Tony & Cheryl Weir: Taken at New Brighton state beach in central California two weeks ago. We spent three days dry camping there. We always get comments about our GMC. We have had it for over 30 years and she still runs great.

Bill & Midge Kittredge: Midge and I enjoying a Summer 2020 weekend at Big Bear Lake, California.

Midge watching the waves crash on the rocks in Mendocino, California from her favorite Hotty Toddy perch.

Beautiful scenery in Mendecino, California.

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Lemelin Christian & Elsa Cousineau: In July 2020, we were at ĂŽles de la Madeleine (Parc Gros-Cap camping), in the province of Quebec. After my husband had spent 1 1/2 years restoring the GMC, this was our first trip with the motorhome.

Pictured is Elsa and her daughter Rachel.

Justin & Janet Hartgrove: This is our new-to-us 1975 GMC Eleganza. We picked it up mid-September from Arkansas and have been updating the mechanicals to make it reliable. We are hoping to get a trip in before it gets too cold! This picture shows the Eleganza parked in our driveway in South Bend, Indiana. My husband is about to drive it to the shop to get some new tires. We are already excited to be part of the GMC family, and cannot wait to take our first trip! GMC21

Carl & Kathy Stouffer: Enjoying a beautiful sunset at the Homolovi State Park in Arizona.

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Jim & Sheri Jackson: Our 1975 Roll Along Santana at Cagle Rec. Area in the Sam Houston National Forest at Lake Conroe, Texas. I normally take one trip a month but with Covid the GMC sat from February until this four-day trip in September.

Adan Gonzalez: Our 1977 Eleganza parked at the Isla Blanca Park in South Padre, Texas. Enjoying retirement and giving our Daisy a trim.

Scott Nutter & Sydney Robinson: Scott relaxing at the Gulf Shores State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama outside his 1978 GMC Royale in May 2020!

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GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

At the GMCMI 2012 Fall Convention in Amana, Iowa are Nina Lee and Tom.

A GMC Motorhome Vendor Profile

BY JANET FREY | 1976 PALM BEACH | MILFORD SQUARE, PENNSYLVANIA

TOM & NINA LEE HAMPTON have been dedicated members of GMCMI for a long time, and have been quite active and supportive of the GMC Community. So let’s get some background on this interesting couple.

They met at Ohio State University in art class. Now, that is something I didn’t know. But it probably explains the creativity that we have seen over the years! Even while still in school, Tom worked for a construction company, gaining knowledge that resulted in him starting his own company. Along the way, he purchased Grandview Construction, named for its location in Columbus, Ohio.

As we know, it also became the name of his GMC based company, Grandview Motorhome, Inc. Early in their marriage, they lived on a farm. This was nothing new for Nina Lee, who grew up in a farming family. But Tom was a city boy, growing up in Mansfield, Ohio. Soon Tom got involved and they ended up owning 300 acres in Marysville. He found that construction was more his “thing” than farming, so they ended up renting the land while he ran his construction company.

Things changed when he purchased his first GMC and went through it, noting its mechanical and interior features. He decided that he could work on it, and soon realized that there were a large number of GMCs in Ohio (estimated at over 400 at that time) that could benefit from his knowledge.

He and Nina Lee then replaced the 23 ft. GMC with a 26 ft. model, and eventually found their 26 ft. Eleganza that they still own today.

Above: Nina Lee at the GMCMI 2007 Fall Convention Red Hat Tea with Janet Frey.

Left: At the GMCMI 2012 Fall Convention in Amana, Iowa are Nina Lee and Sara Halley at the Dr. Seuss Ladies Social.

Over the years, they traveled to many of the GMCMI Conventions, always displaying their GMC parts and advising owners about their services. Even though they were busy vendors, they always found time for the Convention attendees and participated in the many Convention activities. And, we all benefitted from Nina Lee’s cooking abilities as she helped with meal prep and the famous Red Hat Teas. She has never forgotten her roots as she expertly manages her vegetable gardens, cooking, and canning.

L to R: Walt Halley, Tom, and Ken Frey during a side trip with the Freys in September 2008 while on their way to Harrington, Delaware.

Now, things are changing again as the service part of Grandview Motorhome has come to a close. However, they are able to provide parts and are always willing to discuss service questions and offer advice. Tom and Nina Lee are both involved in church activities, and she enjoys genealogy. They also spend time with their two sons and their families, including five grandchildren. But they have also taken time out to go to Florida to enjoy the break from winter in Ohio. So, even though they are winding down, they still plan to continue to be active in the GMC Community, offering support to GMC owners as they keep the vintage vehicles on the road.

For more information go to: www.gmcmi.com/commercial-part-suppliers/

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THE CHEAPEST TOY IN THE BOX!

Jim Bounds | 1975 Transmode | Orlando, Florida | The Co-op Vehicle Restorations | gmccoop.com

Vintage RV Restoration

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“Honey, did you see that old motorhome over on the next row?

Boy, it sure looked nice, looked like it had a new paint job. Wonder why they drive that thing?”

Have you had a conversation like this recently about some older trailer or motorhome found at the last RV park you were in? The question that always comes up is, “Why would they put all of that money in an older RV?” At the surface, it may seem like an unrealistic thing to do but you need to dig deeper to see what is prompting more and more owners to do such a thing.

This does not work with just any old RV because the construction standards in some brands have not held up under the test of time, but there were RVs that were built to last.

These RVs are the ones that make good sense to renovate and reuse. The units that were wood frames covered with

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GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

siding fell to the wayside years ago. So, if you see one of them out and about, it would be in rough condition and not suited to renovate. Motorhomes, notably Airstream models, Revcon, Cortez and the classic front-wheel drive GMCs were some of the engineer-designed coaches while Airstream and Avion, among other classic travel trailers, were also designed and built in a manner that lent themselves to being updated and reused today.

Purely style-driven, these vintage machines will always draw attention wherever they go and, if they have been refurbished, will draw a crowd. But that is not the only reason for having one of these classic machines brought up to today’s standard.

The average cost of a quality-based 25-30 foot, wellappointed downsized motorhome is pushing, in fact, over $150,000 with larger diesel pusher models easily going far over that. Now, this is where the economy of renovating vintage RVs comes in. One of these special machines in original condition but still intact can be had in the $10,000 to $20,000 range; maybe a bit more if it’s been exceptionally well kept. Replacing

the complete drive train with transmission, motor, and differential, and then going through the brakes and suspension with an eye to renew it all, will run somewhere around $30,000.

The worst thing to do is purchase one of these older machines, change the tires and oil then go out for a cross-country cruise. No, you must go through each system with a sharp eye. Things that the average shop may not think of, literally every component must be renewed; and in doing this comes the reliability you must have out on the road. But with these addressed, you can have a reliable, fun journey.

Now wrap the baby with new paint, trim, moldings, bumpers, lights, ladders, and all of that will come in around $30,000. Turn to the interior where the sky could be the limit but taking care to not go overboard, you can outfit the interior of a vintage motorhome for $25-35,000. These numbers are an average, with the final cost a fraction of what that particular vehicle needs. Generally, you will have about $100,000+ in your classic, renovated vintage motorhome to your specifications. In most cases, this is less than you might have in a comparable new motorhome that you had no hand in the design of and will depreciate, leaving you with a mortgage.

You might say, “what about maintenance?”; and this is the best news when renovating an older vehicle. With most older rigs, there are no computers to talk to and satisfy when doing repairs. These machines were of the age where mechanics and even owners with a basic knowledge of auto repair and tools could repair and maintain the electrical and mechanical systems.

Another great thing about a classic RV is that there is no devaluation as you have with a new unit. The trailer or motorhome has already bottomed out as far as its book value, and you can choose a good one and pick it up relatively cheap compared to the mortgage for a new unit. You can then either pay someone to go through the machine or you can opt to do part or the entire project yourself. You can invest money into the unit as you go and not have to take out a loan. You can pay for your dream machine as you go, if that fits, or just close your eyes and write the check.

Either way, it is less cash than getting on the road any other way. No one actually “makes money” with a vintage RV…the value is in your use and enjoyment; wind one of these into your lives and you will have a great value out of ownership.

Refurbishing and driving a selected vintage motorhome or bringing along that awesome looking older travel trailer does make both economic and aesthetic sense. “Retro” style is in and looks like it will be in vogue for some time to come. Driving a vintage motorhome makes a statement and having one updated to all new conveniences can be very comfortable.

With flat rate labor costs at your local RV center topping out over $100 per hour for legitimate, competent work, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to change your own oil, spark plugs, and distributor cap? Or at least feel confident that the shop down the street could do your work for a greatly reduced fee from those RV super-centers? Parts are recognizable and with the assistance of the GMC Motorhome Parts Interchange from GMCMI, these machines are relatively easy to get a part for and within normal abilities to install and set up.

Interior and Other Decisions As far as the interior, the sky is, truly, the limit, and everything can be set up exactly the way you like at a price. Want to have a TV screen in the bathroom or a movable computer table in the bedroom? That can be added. Competent shops that understand and are willing to do the work can install anything that fits your lifestyle.

So, the next time you see one of these machines parked near you, go take a look at it, talk to the owner and see what he thinks and why he has that particular unit. These vintage RVs are not for everyone or every need. They are perfect for the person who understands them and has the unit restored to a reliable condition. A vintage RV can be a valued part of the family.

Renovating a vintage RV is more involved than many average shops are willing to take on; there is a great deal to consider... mechanical, exterior, and finish interior work is many times more than one shop can handle. There are several specialty shops, however, that see this as their main business and are more than prepared to take on any function needed to bring that classic vehicle up to a reliable, comfortable, and good looking condition. With the focus on adding reliability and convenience to the coach, systems are looked at in a “holistic” manner. A brake job is not merely replacing pads and shoes. A brake job will replace all brake components.

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Letters to the Editor Summer 2020 | Issue

GMC MOTORHOMES

A magazine dedicated

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INTERNATIONAL

to promoting the legacy

Brought to you by GMC

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and use of GMC Motorhom

Motorhomes International

lebrating Ce r ou

GMCMI Member

The Beginning of a Classic... the GMC

The Manufacturing of Motorhome

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The “Testing” Trip Of Its Namesake – PART TWO

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Technical Corner

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GMC Motorhome Vendor Profile

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Generally Speaking

GMC Vintage RVing Fine Magazine

Dick Holley | former 1976 Palm Beach owner Marietta, Ohio

The GMC Vintage RVing magazine arrived yesterday and I sat down and read it cover to cover. It was excellent and even though I do not own a GMC anymore I revelled my experiences with our GMC over again.

Thanks.

It was wonderful to read about Alex and Bea Birch and their grandson’s trip experiences.

We knew Alex and revealed in his stories about the GMC. Thanks again for your efforts in producing this fine magazine.

Enjoyed the Article Immensely Eric & Joanna Tanner | 1978 Royale Mc Lean, Virginia

Many thanks for all the fine effort put into the article on “The Manufacturing of the GMC Motorhome” in the Summer 2020 GMC Vintage RVing magazine!

We enjoyed the article immensely especially the level of detail provided.

Submit a Letter to the Editor.

The GMC Vintage RVing magazine wants to hear what you think. Send your email to admin@gmcmi.com. By submitting a letter, you have agreed to let us use it – in part or in full – in our magazine and/or on our website.

By default, our published letters include a writer’s full name, city, state, and GMC Motorhome information.

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SUBMIT YOUR LETTERS TO ADMIN@GMCMI.COM

Many Thanks

GMCMI.com “Marketplace” Janet Frey | 1976 Palm Beach Previous Owner Milford Square, Pennsylvania

Yesterday we heard from the fellow who bought our GMC. He got home to New Orleans safely, and other than a problem with a broken alternator wire, everything went very well. He said he did about 1,300 miles (Wednesday night to Friday night), calculated 8.4 miles per gallon and said he did the hills in third gear. He was very happy.

He said he is going to read the books on the motorhome, and hopes to be able to help someone else down the road, maybe join the black list.

We could not have hoped for a better person to buy the GMC. I told him that maybe we would see him in Patterson, if all goes well.

Mislabeled Diagrams TZE Batteries & Charging

In the 2020 Summer edition of the GMC Vintage RVing magazine, the article “TZE Batteries and Charging”, the two images illustrating connecting two batteries together were mislabeled. It should be noted that the two batteries wired in series are 6v batteries making the resultant voltage equal to 12v while the two batteries wired in parallel are 12v batteries maintaining 12v as the final output voltage.

Series To +12v

To Ground

Thanks again for the posting the ad. It certainly was the right place and right time. (www.gmcmi.com/motorhomes-for-sale) Editor’s Note: GMCMI members selling their GMC Motorhome can receive a free ad listing on the gmcmi.com website (plus upto-nine photos), ad in quarterly magazine, and announcement on the GMCMI Facebook page, Vintage GMC Motorhome Facebook page and the GMC Motorhome Marketplace Facebook page. Simply send an email to kimweeksgmc@gmail.com with your ad content, contact information, location, price, and photos. For more information call Kim at 612-501-4600.

Additional GMCMI Member Benefit: GMCMI members selling their GMC Motorhome can transfer the remainder of their GMCMI membership to the new owner! Simply inform GMCMI at kimweeksgmc@gmail.com and a new member packet will be sent to the new owners. Plus, the new owner can purchase the GMCMI Flashdrive for only $10! (including shipping) Better yet, purchase a GMCMI Flashdrive and include with the sale of your GMC Motorhome.

(GMCMI Flashdrives are available at www.thegmcmhstore.com)

GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

Result = +12V at 220 AH

Parallel To +12v

To Ground

Equal Length Cables

Equal Length Cables

Result = +12V at 420 AH

Exploring Exploringthe the

GMC GMCMotorhome MotorhomeHistory History A column by by BillBill Bryant, GMC Motorhome Historian, where he he willwill A column Bryant, GMC Motorhome Historian, where share tidbits of the GMC Motorhome history with us. share tidbits of the GMC Motorhome history with us.

GMC Motorhome Toys & Items Nancy Bundra, Manager of Interior Design Section The GMC Motorhome has had a large variety of toys and items that were available during the period of motorhome manufacture. You can see a few examples that I had collected in the photo at right. Going from smallest to largest they are, HotWheels Palm Beach (orange), Hess Training Van, GMC fiberglass 18” model (orange), Barbie GMC Motorhome model (that I painted like my Palm Beach) and finally the full-sized “real” GMC Motorhome, the greatest toy of all!

The one model I want to discuss here is the GMC built fiberglass model. Why did GMC build it, how many were built, what happened to them?

This 1/16 scale model was initially built to determine the drag coefficient (CD) for the GMC Motorhome design and was tested at the Guggenheim wind tunnel in California. While GM also had a wind tunnel it was said to be not as accurate, so time was obtained at the Guggenheim wind tunnel and tests were run. As I noted in my GMC history article, “The GMC Motorhome, from Start to Finish...” at gmcmi.com/basic-history), the GMC Motorhome Nancy (read with her retirement GMC gift of the rare results were great – they were slightly better than theto outstanding scale model. There were only a few of these given GMC retirees. early 1970s Corvette of the time. It should be noted that typically in studies like this, those usual external protrusions like mirrors, roof air conditioners, vents, windshield wipers, awnings, etc. are not included.

Nancy A. Bundra was one of the very few GMC Motorhome engineers who were there at the beginning as secretary to Kurt Stubenvoll (Product Development GMC Motorhome) and remained there to the end in1978 when the GMC Motorhome was discontinued. This was the period when GM was looking toward employee gender equality and Nancy was at the right place at the right time. She was given significant responsibilities in the motorhome engineering area. Operation Conquest* was initiated on June 12, 1974, providing a new engineering design approach aimed at improving the overall quality of the 1975 models. Using this new “net design” approach, several impressive improvements were planned. Nancy was the Manager of the Interior Design Section during this time.

These five GMC Motorhomes from the Bill Bryant GMC Motorhome Collection give you an idea of their relative sizes.

By 1978 Nancy was Chief Engineer of Interiors, Heating and Air Conditioning Systems for the Motorhome and GMC Trucks.

She continued in the GMC Truck area participating in SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) conferences and technical presentations as well.

Nancy and her husband Steven retired to Vonore, Tennessee where they raised Italian greyhounds as a hobby. At one time while visiting them, I suggested they might enjoy attending an upcoming GMCMI Convention (October 3-9, 2004) at Marion, North Carolina. This turned out to be the largest GMCMI Convention, 398 coaches, we have ever had. Nancy talked of her history and activities Pictured at GMCleft: which was enjoyed by the Convention attendees.

John Locklin, GMC Engineer holding the She was quite impressed with theatassembly that large group of above GMC Motorhome the 1996ofGMCMI Spring GMC Motorhomes enthusiastic owners Convention and in Titusville, Florida.

Note as in well. the above photo

While the original test model was used in 1971/1972 the mold for that model was likely put away and forgotten. By that the large side window shows as a three-section window. the time 1974 rolled around, a couple of the That was the design the time these were built Nancy passed in 2011.

Sadly,atindividuals withmodels the history and original Nancy in her office with several of herengineers awards. were about to retire and I when they discovered it could not be sealed they changed of GMC Motorhomes have suspect someone had the idea it would make “hand-on”toexperience the two-piece production design. a great retirement gift from GM. I have been nearly disappeared. told by one of those engineers that he thought Alex Birch, GM Foreman about ten of the models built. document can bewere found at We Experimental*The ShopOperation Conquest www.gmcmi.com/literature (Nancy Bundra’s currently know where six ofpresentation them are. is on pages 23-44).

Have a historical question about the GMC Motorhome?

Submit it to gmc.bill@gmail.com 12

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15

Flash from the Past

1975 Sears Wishbook

1981 Montgomery Ward Catalog 1975 Montgomery Ward Catalog

Okay, Admit It – You Loved the Sears Wishbook Catalog!

by Janet Frey, Editor of GMC Vintage RVing magazine Christmas shopping did not begin until you had that book. And there was no end to the possibilities— toys, clothing, housewares, you name it!

After looking at these “flashes from the past,” you may get a burst of nostalgia and wish you could go back in time to order a classic like... the Barbie GMC Motorhome! And, there was always the Montgomery Ward and JC Penny catalogs with their version of fun. How about those colorful bell-bottom pants and cool appliances? Just try to get a blender for $17.99 (maybe on eBay for $60?) Personally, my favorite is still the toys – they just do not make them like that anymore!

1982 Sears Wishbook

For more information go to: www.gmcmi.com/collectables/

16

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1982 JC Penney Christmas

YOU COULD WIN...BUT YOU MUST ENTER! It’s time to have some fun, and maybe even win a GMC thingie!

Just go to www.gmcmi.com/giveaway and choose what you would like to win.

Enter by December 20, 2020. Winners will be announced in December GMCMI eNews.

Okay, it may be difficult to choose just one thing – but hey, Items are also available to purchase at www.thegmcmhstore.com.

So there’s no excuse not to have some new GMC stuff. Be sure to enter soon!

Win Mugs, Bag, or T-shirt in either one of the three Vintage GMC Motorhome models

Mens, Ladies, or Child

Mens, Ladies, or Child

Set of Mugs

Set of Mugs

Bag

GMCMI Holiday Give-Away 2021 GMC Motorhome Calendar 2021 GMC Motorhome Calendar Mens, Ladies, or Child

GMCMI Flashdrive

Set of Mugs

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17

Generally Speaking Ò

QUESTIONS, TIPS, INNOVATIONS, AND MORE

The “Generally Speaking” column, is a place to share maintenance ideas, parts, tips, innovations, and more.

We all have encountered situations that tested our creativity and ability to think outside the box.

So, here is a place to share these ideas, or even request a solution. Contact GMCMI Admin with your ideas or questions, and look for them in a future magazine.

Quick-Glo Bruce Hart | 1976 Palm Beach Miliken, Colorado

I was watching “Get Rid of Your Rust! – Jay Leno’s Garage” video and saw this product demonstrated.

GMC Motorhome is the Quilting Ladies Vehicle!

Kim Weeks | 1973 Custom Painted Desert Pharr, Texas

During the COVID thing, my niece offered to teach me how to quilt. It has been a great experience and I have made a couple of gifts and also items for myself. A new quilt/fabric store opened last month and we went for the grand opening. To my surprise, this quilt block was hanging on the wall!

After some research, I found that the GMC Quiltmobile was part of the QNM Magazine outreach. The magazine was instrumental in the late twentieth-century quilt revival, not just through its publication, but through its outreach into the burgeoning world of quilt enthusiasts and its leadership in the quilt industry. The Quiltmobile toured the country in 1976, exhibiting quilts and teaching quilting. It no doubt helped fuel the quiltmaking excitement surrounding the American Bicentennial. What an amazing connection to our present!

Watch Jay Leno’s Garage video at: https://binged.it/2HMsUmH

Thought I would purchase it and try it out.

The results are in! Anyone wanting to clean up the rust on your bumpers or door handle here is a quick and easy solution.

I polished my spare wheel with Quick-Glo and compared the results with the rear wheels that I polished with a buffer 10 months ago.

The above photo shows the shadow that the Alcoa sticker that was on the wheel I had to use the fine grade of Quick-Glo and then followed by the P-3 product.

Using a cloth, cleaner, and water did not remove the shadow from the Alcoa sticker.

After using the Quick-Glo.

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Door handle before and after (sorry for camera reflection).

GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

Table-Mate The Table-Mate straddles the front passenger’s chair perfectly. It measures 15” D x 20” W x 29.25” H that adjusts to six different height and three angles.

When I went to write this article I noticed that the new Table-Mate Ultra-Folding TV Tray has a device holder! You can purchase one from $30.00 to $50.00 depending on model and features.

GMC Motorhome, a CNN Producer, & the Space Shuttle David Guilbault | 1976 Palm Beach Seattle, Washington

The second flight of the orbiter Columbia, mission STS-2, manned by astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly, was launched from Kennedy Launch Complex 39A on November 12, 1981. One of the mission’s main tasks was to test the Remote Manipulator Arm, named Canadarm, wiggle it around a bit and see how it worked before the heavy lifting started.

photo courtesy of NASA

I covered the second and third launches of the space shuttle as a CNN producer out of a GMC Motorhome.

(Given that the photos show two different interiors and configurations, there might have been two of these, or one was set up differently for the second and third launches. Cannot really remember if these photos conflate the two events.)

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19

2021 GMCMI Dues Notice...

We hope you have enjoyed the many benefits of the GMC Motorhomes International during the past year.

Chapter Dues for 2021 remain at $40 (U.S. dollars) and due by December 31, 2020.

Renew online...

Via a PayPal account or major credit card at: gmcmi.com/join-renew-2/

Help us keep adminstrative costs down by renewing today!

If we receive your payment by December 10, we will not need to mail an individual notice, which saves considerable expense. Thank you.

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To: GMCMI | Kim Weeks 1402 So Cage Blvd, Unit 273 Pharr, TX 78577-6288

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2021 GMCMI Membership Dues: $40.00 Two Years GMCMI Membership Dues: $80.00 Three Years GMCMI Membership Dues: $120.00

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your GMCMI 2019-20 Board of Directors 2020-21 The cancellation 2020Tanner, Fall Convention presented A special thank youoftothe Joanna David Blackshear, Jim Jimissues Kanomata, and Margie McLaughlin for the Hadcock, board with that would be difficult to handle volunteering and serving on the nominating committee. remotely. A vote was taken to allow term limited officers and board members to continue for another year in light of the

Sharon Hudspeth (on behalf of Joanna Tanner) presented the pandemic.

Theatmotion slate of officers the Fall passed GMCMIunanimously.

Business Meeting in Mansfield, Ohio and the following individuals were elected Please welcome GMCMI’s Board of Directors for 2020-2021. to the 2019-20 GMCMI Board of Directors.

Emery Stora | Michelle Vice President Rocky Mountain emerystora@mac.com Cell 505-660-9507 3409 Red Hawk Ln, Frederick, CO 80504 Gary Coaster | Terry Vice President Western garycoastermail@yahoo.com Home 810-364-4213 Cell 810-650-5111 2600 Knob Hill Dr, Reno, NV 89506

Dolph Santorine | Lora Kaye President dolph@dolphsantorine.com Home 304-233-1230 Cell 304-219-3100 134 Falls Rd, Wheeling, WV 26003-1759

Jerry Work | Sharon Vice President Northwest glwork@mac.com Home 541-592-5360 Cell 541-499-1027 PO Box 3195, Kerby, OR 97531-3195

Margie McLaughlin | Larry Vice President Northeast larryele125@gmail.com Home 506-382-3525 Cell 506-863-7250 125 Edmonton Ave, Moncton, NB, Canada E1C-3C1

Kim Weeks | Keith Vice President Administration kimweeksgmc@gmail.com Cell 612-501-4600 1402 So Cage, Unit 273, Pharr, TX 78577

David Blackshear | Sue Vice President Eastern dlblackshear@att.net Home 337-443-4616 Cell 443-716-5282 409 Shane’s Crossing; Lafayette, LA 70508-7215

Janet Frey | Ken Secretary freyjanetr@yahoo.com Home 215-536-9064 Cell 215-353-1033 PO Box 4 | 2230 Milford Ave, Milford Square, PA 18935-0004

Lou Boone | Martha Vice President Southeast louboone@msn.com Home 678-984-5195 Cell 678-984-5195 108 Whitfield Run, Peachtree City, GA 30269-3327

Fred Hudspeth | Sharon Treasurer fbhtxak@sbcglobal.net Cell 903-312-9109 5919 Quail Creek Dr, Tyler, TX 75703-4532

Randy Van Winkle | Margie | Pro tem Vice President South Central rlvanwin@gmail.com Home 417-429-5925 Cell 417-429-5925 5211 S Old Wire Rd, Battlefield, MO 65619-9782

John Smyrski National Director for FMCA grandpasmy@aol.com Home 651-437-3415 Cell 651-334-3962 1968 Manor Ln, Hastings, MN 55033-3320

John Pryzbylek | Deb Vice President Great Lakes jmpryzl@gmail.com Home 419-825-5259 Cell 419-490-3835 103 West Ridge Drive, Swanton, Ohio 43558-1522

Keith Weeks | Kim Alternate National Director for FMCA keithweeksgmc@gmail.com Cell 612-978-7243 1402 So Cage, Unit 273, Pharr, TX 78577

Lucy Weidner | Larry Vice President Midwest weidnerl@wwt.net Cell 715-497-2998 E3478 378th Ave, Menomonie, WI 54751-5335

Stan Edwards | Eileen Immediate Past President edwards_stan@msn.com Home 303-423-8129 Cell 720-917-9703 12560 W 60th Ave, Arvada, CO 80004-3904

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17 21

Technical Corner

MAINTENANCE, RENOVATIONS, AND MORE

Toasty Toes Dolph Santorine | 1977 Palm Beach | Wheeling, West Virginia

the first thing our feet would touch when getting out of the bed would be warm.

Calorique (and other makers) have a fairly wide range of standard sizes. I set out to find one that would fill the area we identified. They offer two different types of heat film – a “finished mat” version which has connections and wiring embedded in the film, as well as a “room in a box” option that can be cut to length and wired as you choose. The latter uses a very thin connector. While I am sure the connector would be fine in a stationary home residence, I had misgivings about it surviving the additional stresses when pressed into service in the motorhome.

Perfectly Warm Floor Heat Systems by Calorique (www.calorique.com)

Heated Floors for Your Vintage GMC Motorhome Sometimes it is nice to bring the conveniences of home with us when we travel.

What we installed at home is under a tile floor, and it is a “wire” system that is embedded in the mastic that holds the tile to the subfloor. It has been performing flawlessly for more than a dozen years.

We have found that the things we like at home can work in the motorhome, but on a smaller scale.

Tile was not what we wanted to install in the coach. We needed to find something that would work under either “click together” or roll “luxury vinyl flooring”.

One of the things that we adore at our home is the heated floor we put in the master bath. It is comforting when your feet land on a warm surface as opposed to the shock of a cold floor.

When we changed the floor covering of the coach from carpet to vinyl, one of the things we noticed was the floor could be cold to the touch. Actually, it was downright chilly.

The difference in temperature was much less noticeable when we had carpet, but carpet did not work for us.

While the easiest solution would have been a throw rug, we decided to proceed with the heated floor.

22

I found a system from a firm called Calorique (www.calorique.com) that seems to work ideally in our coaches. They manufacture a radiant heat film which can be put under many different types of floors. The heating mat is .016” thick, and it disappears under most flooring.

The overall system appeared to me to be robust enough for motorhome use as well.

We looked at where we were walking in the coach when barefoot and thought the sweet spot in our wet bath layout would be from the permanent rear bed, past the bath module, and into the kitchen area. That way

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We chose to stay with their “finished mat” product, and the very robust factory connections from the heat film to the wiring.

The warming mat is 18 inches wide by 10 feet long and in our ex-Palm Beach fits nicely in the area we thought would be the sweet spot.

The power usage is rather modest at 150 watts. I have it wired so that it warms when we are on mains (plugged in at campground) or on generator. I have also wired it to our pure sine wave inverter, but it is important to remember that it is a long term power draw when boondocking, and I did not believe that was the best use of our limited battery capacity.

So many of the projects I have done in the motorhome required “doing it twice to get it right”. This was no exception.

The first installation was over sound deadening underlayment, with a click together vinyl floor assembled over the radiant heat film. Calorique’s instructions seem to indicate that you can use about any click together floor over the heating film.

For technical session presentations and papers, go to gmcmi.com/technical-presentations-papers/

The first installation (Version 1) served us for two years in the coach. It performed flawlessly. Nice even under floor heating.

The click together vinyl was problematic and I think it had more to do with the quality than anything else, so we decided to try a single piece roll vinyl floor.

When we started work on “Version 2”, we first tried it over the underlayment, and it was just too “springy”. After talking to the manufacturers support people we chose to put the film directly on the plywood subfloor and put the foam backed vinyl over the top. Of course, that voided any warranty.

For us, the plywood/film/foam backed luxury vinyl seems to be ideal.

Placement of the heat film before installation of the flooring.

Things like the thermostat for the floor are not designed to be powered up and down like they are in a motorhome.

It is important that the plywood you are putting this over is smooth, and any of the old adhesive from the carpet must be removed. I was concerned that any sharp adhesive that remained might cause a failure of the heating film.

It is designed to recover from a “power failure” by turning on. Makes perfect sense to me if it is in your recreation room, and not so much in the motorhome. It was immediately a problem.

Showing up at a campground, plugging the coach in, and having the floor start to heat, was less than optimal half the time, and perfect the other half. Show up at your favorite campground on a blistering 90+ degree day and a heated floor is about the last thing you want to have automatically come on…the opposite is true on a 45 degree fall day!

The solution was simple, and I added a switch to control power to the floor.

Fortunately, at only 150 watts, it did not require much of a switch.

Removing the adhesive and doing the preparation required more time than the rest of the project. Pay special attention to things like staples that may be left behind.

They would not be an issue if you were just putting a floor over it, but they could quite possibly lead to a break in the radiant heat film. I cleaned mine the best I could, but there were obvious stains on the plywood that remained. Fortunately, we were covering it!

The thermostat has a temperature sensor that needs to be positioned in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. It is under the green “duck brand” tape in the pictures.

Thermostat for the floor showing it heating!

I do not believe motorhome use will effect the longevity or operation of the thermostat.

It is well constructed and has a built in GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) to protect you in the unlikely event the controller or the heating film gets wet.

The floor over the film. The temperature probe for the thermostat is held in place with the green duck tape.

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This adds a nice bit of cozy warmth to our coach. Now, when our feet hit the floor in the middle of a chilly night for that inevitable trip to the bath, my toes stay toasty warm!

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23

Technical Corner

MAINTENANCE, RENOVATIONS, AND MORE

So, You Want to Go Solar with Your GMC

Here is how to do it, what you can expect and how not to be disappointed Jerry Work | former owner of a 1978 Royale and a 1977 Clasco | Kerby, Oregon

There is a nearly magical notion many have of being able to take all your power needs from sunlight, living off the grid, and never needing your generator again. This notion comes from the technology surrounding solar panels – those intriguing devices that convert photons of light energy into electrons of electricity that can power your world while on the road in your GMC. This magical notion may be a far reach for many. Some people who have “gone solar” are deliriously happy with their decision and others are deeply disappointed. How is it possible to find both of these experiences from the same technology? In this article, we are going to explore that question and lay out the details of what it will take to bring you into the happy, if not deliriously happy, camp when you want to “go solar” with your GMC. The answer lies in several factors.

FACTOR 1: What is suitable for the GMC? I can summarize going solar with a GMC with the term “4-6”. 4-6 comes first from the fact that the most common solar panels suitable for use in the limited space on the top of your GMC are 100 to 120 watt flexible solar panels. They are about 48 to 54” long and 22 or so inches wide and generally produce somewhere between 4 and 6 amps per hour under ideal conditions.

While 2 amps difference does not sound like much, it is a 50% difference! I will point out more 4-6 examples as we go along but keep in mind that the most power you are going to be able to harvest from the sun will be 4-6 amps per common solar panel. If you can live with that, you will be happy. If you cannot, if that is simply not enough for the way you live, you will likely be unhappy.

FACTOR 2: Where do you spend your time?

The sun does not pass directly overhead. The earth is tilted on its rotational axis so the sun appears to pass in an arc that starts in the

24

east, moves to the south for most of the day, and sets in the west. That arc is higher in the sky during the summer months than in the winter and is higher in the sky the further south you are. The higher the sun is in the sky, where you are, determines a lot about how much light is available to fall onto your solar panels to produce electricity for you.

It is also important to know how solar panels behave. They work best when clean and pointed directly at the sun. Because the sun is always appearing to move, keeping the solar panels pointed directly at the sun requires you to constantly change the direction they are pointed – a tedious task few will undertake. The power output from solar panels drops off significantly as the sun angle changes from 90 degrees to the face of the panels. Most people mount the solar panels flat on the roof of the GMC where the sun angle is rarely optimum for maximum output.

There are published charts that show you how much total sunlight you should expect under ideal conditions based on where you are. This is typically measured in what is called ”sun hours” by averaging the intensity of the sun that can fall on the solar panels both during that short time when it is 90 degrees to the panels and the intensity as the sun moves off of 90 degrees. In North America, we will generally see somewhere between 4 and 6 sun hours a day on a perfectly sunny day with no clouds in the sky. Under those conditions, you can multiply the 4-6 amps per hour each 100 to 120 watt solar panel can harvest times the number of sun hours per day to determine how many total amps each panel can put back into your batteries.

If that is more amps than you use in a day, then your batteries will be fully charged each day. If it is less than you use in a day, then your batteries will discharge day after day until you have to plug into shore power or

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run your engine or generator to recharge them. The longer you can go before needing to externally recharge your batteries the more likely you are to be in the happy camp. Notice the wide spread here. If your solar panels are producing around 4 amps per hour per panel and you are in an area where you will see four sun hours a day, you will only be putting 16 amps back into your batteries from each panel – not very much.

If your panels are producing closer to 6 amps per hour and you are where you will see 6 sun hours per day you will be putting 36 amps back into your batteries from each panel – more than twice as much.

FACTOR 3: What do solar ratings mean to you?

To determine whether you will be in the happy or the unhappy camp it is important to understand that solar panels, and most other things you will need, are rated at their maximum possible output under ideal conditions. In short, most all solar components are overrated for what most people experience in real-world terms.

For example, a solar panel rated to deliver 120 watts of power will generally output a maximum of just under 20 volts and around a maximum of just over 6 amps when in full sun, in the middle of the summer, with the panel pointed 90 degrees to the sun, when the panel is perfectly clean, with no clouds in the sky nor any shade falling on any part of the panel, and only when you are in southern parts of the US. Under those conditions, 20 volts times 6 amps equal 120 watts.

But, that does not sound like conditions you normally would expect to encounter in everyday life on the road, does it? More commonly, you will find the everyday output from that panel will average more like 16 to 18 volts and 3 to 5 amps for 48 to 90 watts – far short of the rated output of 120 watts. Spend time further north, in more winter-like conditions, in clouds,

For technical session presentations and papers, go to gmcmi.com/technical-presentations-papers/

atmospheric haze, or rain showers and that panel will more likely average 30 to 60 watts of power.

Unless you are parked in the desert much of the year, you will be in ideal conditions only 40% to 60% of the time, or even less. If you start with that assumption you will fall into the happy camp. If your expectations are set by how the manufacturers rate their products, you will likely fall into the unhappy camp.

FACTOR 4: How much useful work from solar?

How much useful work you get from whatever power is produced from the solar panels will determine which camp you are in. The most common purpose of solar panels is to recharge your batteries so you can run all your lights, appliances, fans, etc. off of the batteries directly or through an inverter. To do that, you need a solar charge controller that will convert the constantly changing voltage and amps coming from the solar panels into the correct values needed to recharge the batteries.

Some people want to connect lights or other things directly to the solar panels. That seldom works because sunlight is constantly changing which means the voltage and amps available are also changing and rarely will be correct for whatever you are trying to power.

You are far better off running everything from your batteries or an inverter using your solar to recharge the batteries.

Solar charge controllers come in two types.

The least expensive type, called PWM (pulse width modulation), simply regulates the voltage down to the 13+ to 14+ volts the batteries need. The PWM acts like an on-off switch to pass that on to the batteries in bursts so the batteries do not overheat or become damaged by too much charge current. Any excess voltage is simply thrown away.

The far better type, called MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) works in a very different way. In addition to regulating the ever-changing voltage coming from the solar panel down to the voltage required by the battery, the MPPT also converts any of the excess voltage into additional amps to recharge the batteries faster. You can expect an MPPT solar charge controller to recharge your batteries 20% to 50% (or even more) faster than a PWM charger can under the same conditions. In all GMC solar installations, I recommend the MPPT controller. Using this controller will often result in 40% to 60% more useable output than you will get under the same conditions with a PWM solar charge controller.

FACTOR 5: What size and type of wire should I use?

The size and type of wire you use will determine whether you are happy or disappointed with your solar set up. Yup, something as seemingly simple as wire can make a huge difference in your level of satisfaction with your solar efforts. You want to make sure the wire size is sufficient to carry the amps the solar panels are likely to produce under ideal conditions. DC voltage drops as the length of the wire increases and drops even faster if the wires are too small

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for the amps being carried. Also, wire too small or of the wrong type for the amps being carried over any distance will cause the wire to heat up and could even melt the insulation. Any wire on the roof must have insulation designed for full sun exposure or the insulation will degrade over time. Such wire is made specifically for the runs from your solar panels to your solar controller.

The wire size and type are even more important because the whole objective is to recharge your batteries as fast as you can under all conditions. Keep the distance from the charge controller to the batteries as short as you can, and use wire as large as you can afford to make sure as much of the output from the charge controller gets to your batteries. Again the 4-6 rule applies here too, only it is even more pronounced than a 4-6 spread suggests. Using larger wire will allow you to get closer to 6 amps per panel per hour back into the batteries.

Using wire that is too small or too long could drop that down to closer to 2 amps under the same conditions.

Wire comes in three different types – solid (good only for house wiring and should never use for any mobile applications), stranded automotive wire, and stranded continued on next page

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Technical Corner

MAINTENANCE, RENOVATIONS, AND MORE

marine wire. Marine wire is by far the best for a GMC solar application. Make sure it is copper wire (or better yet, tinned copper wire) as some sources will try to sell you vastly inferior CCA (copper-coated aluminum) wire and you do not want that!

Marine wire is more flexible than automotive wire and has superior insulation so can carry more amps for a given wire size and distance. My recommendation, is stranded marine tinned copper wire in the largest sizes you can afford. Wire is expensive and you will be surprised by how much you will spend for quality wire and connectors.

FACTOR 6: What type of house batteries do you plan to use?

Do not even think about solar on your GMC if you are using any type of leadacid battery. Some will find some degree of satisfaction with relatively new AGM or sealed lead-acid batteries, but they charge so slowly that the relatively small number of amps you will be able to harvest from solar panels will less likely result in fully charged batteries.

That, in turn, can be a negative factor in terms of your degree of satisfaction.

Far better than AGM batteries are Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries. See my presentation on house batteries, called “A heart/lung transplant for your GMC” for all the reasons why. The bottom line is LiFePO4 batteries will deliver two to three times more usable power, will recharge 5x to 6x faster and cost less over their useful life than any kind of lead-acid battery. The much faster recharging means whatever amps you harvest from your panels will more likely keep your batteries fully charged which, in turn, will mean you are far more likely to be happy than unhappy.

Ok, now that we know the factors that will influence our degree of satisfaction with a GMC solar system, let’s now turn our attention to how to do it right so we will more likely wind up in the satisfied to deliriously happy camp.

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The first thing to consider is where you will be spending most of your time. Draw a line of latitude at the 37th parallel. That will run roughly from San Francisco across the country to halfway between Virginia and North Carolina on the Atlantic Ocean.

If you plan to spend most of your time south of that line you will likely be happy with a properly designed solar system. If you plan to spend most of your time north of that line, plan on over designing every aspect of the solar system. You will need that extra capacity just to make up for the lesser amount of sunlight available to you year-round. The amount of overdesign you will need will depend on how far north of that line you are. If you are near or above the Canadian border, plan on doubling everything.

For a solar system on a GMC, the most difficult challenge is trying to find roof space to fit enough solar panels. The top of your GMC has one or two air conditioning units, one or two vent fans, a couple of holding tank vents, a refrigerator vent, and often a roof storage pod to boot. That does not leave a lot of space for solar panels! The solar panels cannot be where they would get shaded by any of those other things so space planning is a big deal.

Solar panels come in basically two forms – rigid glass panels or semi-flexible plastic covered panels. There is not a huge difference in performance between these two. Do not worry about the difference between mono silicon and polycrystalline panels. Both will perform about the same on a GMC roof. The thin-film panels are a technology whose time has not yet come so I do not recommend them.

Semi-flexible plastic panels appear to be easier to mount to the curved roof structure

GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

on a GMC, but there is a gotcha you need to watch out for. Solar panels work best when cooler rather than hotter! Counterintuitive for something that is supposed to be in direct sun, but keeping airflow under the panels will generally keep them a bit cooler than fastening them directly on the aluminum roof. Semi-flexible panels are often depicted as being held down with a strong tape all around the edges. Over time, the panels that are applied that way may develop burned spots which will negatively affect performance and could even start a fire.

You can find lots of recommendations on how to mount both the rigid and flexible panels to try to keep them cool. The rigid panels are held down with brackets that keep the panels off the roof and allow air to flow below as well as above the panel carrying heat away and allowing the panels to produce more power. But, those brackets most often mean holes in your aluminum roof and therefore leak potential so be diligent about how you fasten the brackets to your GMC. The panels held off the roof also are far more visible from the ground, especially with the lower roofline on your GMC than you will find on most RVs. That can become an aesthetic issue for many owners and will influence how happy or unhappy you are with your solar investment.

For the flexible panels (semi-flexible is a better term as they cannot be bent much without damage) placing a sheet of corrugated plastic between the panel and the roof can provide some degree of insulation and air movement. That can allow you to fasten that sandwich to the top of the GMC with strong tape along each side and a bit in the middle front and rear and still get the desired airflow and insulation. As you decide on placement, be mindful of anything that can cast a shadow on the panels. Even a small amount of shadow can greatly reduce the amp output by that panel. With the very limited space on top of a GMC you have for panels, losing even some of that power to shadows will negatively impact how you feel about solar. You may very well find yourself in a conundrum having to decide between

For technical session presentations and papers, go to gmcmi.com/technical-presentations-papers/

keeping your storage pod or removing it, and between keeping both AC units (if you have two) or having to sacrifice one. Same with your vent fans. If you are clever you may be able to mount panels on top of the pod or an AC. The aluminum-framed rigid panels are especially good for these applications since the top of the pod and the AC are simple molded plastic parts that are not very strong.

The objective is to get as many panels as you can onto the roof of your GMC. You may want to augment them with portable, folding panels that you can set on the ground when in less than ideal conditions.

Just be sure you know where you can store those when not in use.

Now I am going to make what will be a controversial recommendation for some.

Most of the information you will read on the internet or watch on YouTube will tell you to connect your panels in series. That will result in higher voltages and lower amps going to your charge controller which can mean smaller and less expensive wire. The problem with panels in series is that any shadow falling on any one of those panels will bring down the output of all the panels, just what you do not want. Because of the limited roof space on a GMC, keeping all the panels away from any shadowing is a daunting task.

I recommend installing your panels in parallel, not in series. That will mean fewer volts and more amps going from the panels to the solar charge controller. That will mean larger wire and a larger solar charge controller, both of which are more expensive than their smaller counterparts.

But, it will also mean that any shadow falling on any one of your panels will affect the output of only that one panel while all the rest will remain unaffected – just what you do want.

On a GMC, the refrigerator vent is an ideal place to run the wires from the solar panels down inside the coach. Place your solar charge controller as close to your batteries as possible so you can get as much of the power output from the panels into

your batteries to recharge them as quickly as possible. Remember, with your solar panels connected in parallel you need a larger wire to carry the increased amps so do not scrimp here. If anything, oversize the wires running from your panels to the solar charge controller.

Buy only a quality MPPT solar charge controller. One rated for 40 amps is ideal for a GMC. That should be plenty of capacity for the number of panels you can fit onto your roof. Add up the max amps each panel can produce and make sure that is less than 40 amps. If it is over 40 amps, add a second 40 amp MPPT controller mounted to your batteries in parallel with the first one. They are wired internally so one will not feed back into the other.

Most solar charge controllers have a display mounted where it can be easily seen. This display will give you all the information you need such as an approximation for the state of charge of your batteries, voltage and amps coming in from your panels, and voltage and amps going out into your batteries. If you want to keep closer tabs on everything, install a quality battery monitor with a shunt which will directly measure the state of charge accurately. If your solar charger is mounted where it is difficult to see, then buy one with a blue tooth connection and an app for your phone so you can read everything there, or one with a remote display panel that you can mount where it can be conveniently seen. Once your system is up and running, and the novelty has worn off, you won’t look at those displays very often but you do need to have some idea about the state of charge of your batteries so you know whether or when to run your generator.

You do not want to run out of battery capacity during the night!

Most sources will tell you to use the same size and brand of panels throughout your system. That will be very difficult for many to achieve given the limited roof space.

Mixing and matching is fine so long as you stay with the same voltage solar panels. On a GMC, use panels nominally rated for 12

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volts. In reality, the output of the panel will be closer to 20 volts under ideal conditions because you need higher voltage than the batteries to force charge current into the batteries. If they are all rated as nominal 12 volt panels, you can use both semi-flexible and rigid panels and panels of different watt output within the same system. A quality MPPT solar charge controller will integrate them all together for you.

So, should you go solar on your GMC? It certainly is a great convenience and you will be happy with this decision if you can live with the limitations we have discussed and if you are on the right side of the 4-6s: • If the panels you buy have a max output closer to 6 amps than to 4 amps • If you travel south of the 37th parallel more than you travel north so you will experience closer to 6 sun hours per day than 4 sun hours per day • If you buy a 40 amp MPPT solar charge controller instead of a PWM controller • If you can mount your panels so they get airflow top and bottom to keep them somewhat cool • If you invest in the largest marine stranded tinned copper wire you can afford to inter-connect all your components • If you use Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries instead of lead-acid batteries • If you base your output expectations on real-world experience rather than the ideal conditions manufacturers use to rate the output of their devices • If you are willing to spend the time to keep the panels clean, free of falling debris, and away from shadows • And, most importantly, if the number of amps your solar panels produce in a day can come close to keeping your batteries charged.

GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL

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Technical Corner

MAINTENANCE, RENOVATIONS, AND MORE

The Bathroom Saga Justin Brady | 1976 Palm Beach | Bell Buckle, Tennessee | thegmcrv.com

And then 18+ hours of CNC machining:

Where to begin?

Initial impressions I suppose. When we first walked into our GMC when we bought it I liked everything about it. Kathleen felt the same. Except for the bathroom.

At risk of offending GMC folks the world over: the GMC bathroom is awful. It feels like being in an airplane bathroom in 1976 (and no, that is not a good nostalgic feeling).

Imagine taking a shower inside a normal residential refrigerator and that pretty much sums up the GMC bathroom experience.

Onward We decided we wanted a dry bath, meaning the shower has it’s own separate pan. The stock bathroom is a wet bath, meaning the whole bathroom is the shower.

completely doable with the right materials and know how.

First order of business was the shower pan.

Glued up from a solid chunk of black walnut:

Designed in CAD so the water flows where it’s supposed to:

After much deliberation and back and forth we came up with an ambitious design: tile walls (in an RV? gasp), a walnut shower pan and countertops (wood near water? gasp) and a nice modern aesthetic. Both are

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That is 18 hours of cutting time condensed into four images.

It is roughed out making a stepped bowl, then I go back in with a ball nose bit and follow the contours advancing down the length by .001” at a time and it comes out like the next photo. Smooth as silk.

For technical session presentations and papers, go to gmcmi.com/technical-presentations-papers/

water get through the grout and thinset that the wood below does not get wet.

Add some Finish and we are done!

Next we made up the countertops for the bathroom. We wanted a seat in the shower so we decided to waterfall a ledge of walnut over into the shower space. Waterfall means it is made from one piece of wood cut at 45 degree angles so the grain flows all the way across the piece and waterfalls over the edges. This one was a bit more complicated because it had to waterfall back the other way as well, but we got it done! It also extends without waterfalling across the back as a shelf, also from the same piece of wood.

And the finished product (still needs some trim around the edges):

The thinset must be flexible, this is key. You do not want your glue cracking and flaking off the wall. Same goes for the grout, it has to be a flexible formulation so that the whole thing can move as needed. Finally the tile has to be small and flexible. We used a 1×1 resin tile that is made of epoxy and will flex, but most importantly it is small so most of the flex takes place in the grout lines (again: flexible).

We cut a copy of the bathroom wall to layout the complex tile layup (the thinset dries fast):

I still need to get a photo of the whole bathroom, it is an odd shape to take a photo since it is fairly narrow and long.

So far, everything works great! I am going to put in an acrylic ledge above the shower pan to contain a little more of the water from splashing into the floor (we do not use a curtain) and that will be it.

And then got to work:

Okay cool but what’s all that red/pink stuff?

A few notes on implementation: We moved the bathroom from the passenger to the driver side, this means that we plugged all the old blackwater tank holes with NPT ABS pipe plugs and drilled new ones and installed new flanges. This works just fine, no issues at all.

We used a single Hep-VO valve instead of any P traps. This also works like a champ, no smells at all.

Tile in an RV is tricky business. An RV moves and flexes as it goes down the road unlike a house. So the tile has to be able to stand up to a fairly constant earthquake scenario.

We went from two stock vents to a single black tank vent with a 360 Siphon Roof cap, again no smells and works great.

There are a few strategies we employed to make this work, the first is the red stuff. It is a waterproof membrane that we used to coat the entire bathroom. It ensures that should

Editor’s Note: Jason and Kathleen own a butcher block countertop company (walnutwoodworks.com).

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Technical Corner

MAINTENANCE, RENOVATIONS, AND MORE

Repairing the “Fiberglass” on the GMC Motorhome Emery Stora | 1977 Kingsley | Frederick, Colorado

Sheet Molded Compound (SMC), not fiberglass, makes up the end caps and the panels below the belt line of our GMC Motorhomes. Repairing these areas can be a challenge to achieve a good reliable result. This article was written by Emery Stora and first published in the GMCMI newsletter, issue 96, Summer 2006, but bears repeating here because of the importance of understanding how to correctly work with SMC during repairs.

The earliest 1973 vehicles have “hand laid” fiberglass, at least for the front body assembly.

Somewhere between serial numbers 24 and 50, this process became SMC. This was a new composite material for use in the automotive, industrial, and personal watercraft markets that presents unique repair problems.

Parts made with SMC are produced in compression molds, so they are smooth on both the inside and outside. SMC parts do not have an outer gel coat, but they are usually painted or color molded. When the paint is sanded off, the underlying surface has a marble appearance. When damaged SMC is sanded, short coarse fibers are exposed and a dryer powdery dust is produced compared to conventional materials.

SMC is a polyester-based material, but it cannot be repaired with polyester resin. This is due to the mold release agent that is present throughout the entire SMC part. Unlike conventionally molded parts where release

agents are applied to the mold surface, SMC is compounded with them in the resin mix for quicker processing. This means that as the damage is sanded to prepare a good bonding surface, fresh mold release agent is exposed.

Polyester resin products are not strong enough to adhere to this surface. SMC should only be repaired using epoxy-based resins, fillers, and adhesives.

For good adhesion, when painting, use only catalyzed type paint systems -- at least for the primer. When a part is broken or crushed, it is difficult to realign the pieces with each other because the frayed fibers tend to “hang up” on one another. Use a saw blade to cut the length of cracks or tears. This relieves the stress on solid laminates which often return to their original shape with little force. A router is excellent for removing damaged core material without disturbing intact face skins. Try to remove as little material as possible so the repair does not grow too large. However, solid laminate must be exposed for a good repair. Next, support the part so nothing gets distorted during the repair process. This can be as simple as strips of 2-inch wide masking tape or as elaborate as a custom-made clamping fixture. With the part supported, proceed with preparing the bonding surface by grinding a taper or steps around the damage. This is the critical step for functional repairs but it is also the most overlooked and abused.

If a taper is to be used, measure the depth of the valley and calculate how far the sanding must extend to achieve the desired ratio. Mark the outer edge of the taper using a marker and begin sanding inward toward the valley. Be sure to remove material slowly so the taper progresses evenly. Wet the entire bonding area with resin, then begin saturating each ply of reinforcement before it is placed. Work on a sheet of plastic so the fabric can be easily lifted from the table once it is ready.

A flexible rubber squeegee is the best tool for spreading the resin evenly through the fabric and removing excess which may be present. Place the reinforcement into its spot on the repair, ensuring the proper orientation. Stop every few layers to compact the patch as much as possible. A squeegee or grooved roller works well for this. Continue stacking the repair plies at right angles until all the material that was removed has been replaced. A final cover layer is then added over the entire area.

Sand before painting.

Hopefully, you will never experience any damage to the SMC panels. But, things do happen. If you choose to do the repairs yourself, following these suggestions will lead to a good, long lasting repair. And if you decide the repair is beyond your skill level, at least you will be able to converse with a body shop to insure they understand the materials they are working with.

Your GMC Motorhome Information Source...gmcmi.com We welcome all historical and technical information.

If there is something that you would like to share, please contact admin@gmcmi.com. Thank you!

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GMC Motorhome Suppliers List >> FULL SERVICE, PARTS & REPAIR FACILITIES Alex Sirum GMC Jeff Sirum | 863-763-1121 | sirum@gmcmh.com | www.gmcmh.com 1800 Hwy 70E, Okeechobee, FL 34972-3279 Specializing in GMC Motorhome sales, service, repairs, and hard to find parts. We ship to all states and Canada. New updates available.

Applied GMC Jim Kanomata | 510-440-1101 | 800-752-7502 mail@appliedairfilters.com | www.gmcrvparts.com 38424 Cedar Blvd, Newark, CA 94560 Specializing in GMC Service, repairs, and parts. Final drives with various gear ratios, headers, 3” mandrel bent. Low every day prices on thousands of RV parts...plus tips and a “free” tech line.

Cooperative Motor Works Jim Bounds | 407-857-5777 | 877-275-4462 coopmotorworks@yahoo.com | www.gmccoop.com 6101 Anno Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32809 Information, parts & service for the GMC Motorhome.

Repair and maintenance to full renovations available.

DJ’s Classic GMC Motorhome Service DJ Eberhart| 503-706-6402 | djsgmcs@gmail.com | www.djsgmc.com 233 NW Olive St., Sheridan, OR 97378-1125 Cinnabar certified service and repair. New and used GMC parts.

Frank Borrman 519-335-3857 | Fax 519-325-6263 | frank@borrmannsgarage.com 86924 Brussels Line, Bluevale, ON N0G 1G0, Canada Complete gmc mechanical service and repair.

>> COMMERCIAL PARTS SUPPLIERS Alex Sirum GMC Jeff Sirum | 863-763-1121 | sirum@gmcmh.com | www.gmcmh.com 1800 Hwy 70E, Okeechobee, FL 34972-3279 Specializing in GMC Motorhome sales, service, repairs, and hard to find parts. We ship to all states and Canada. New updates available.

Applied GMC Jim Kanomata | 510-440-1101 | 800-752-7502 mail@appliedairfilters.com | www.gmcrvparts.com 38424 Cedar Blvd, Newark, CA 94560 Specializing in GMC Service, repairs, and parts. Final drives with various gear ratios, headers, 3” mandrel bent eExhaust parts, mufflers, trannies, and engine replacement. Low every day prices on thousands of RV parts...plus tips and a “free” tech line for assistance.

Golby Motor Corp 352-793-7000 | golby@golbymotorcorp.com www.golbymotorcorp.com 3375 County Rd 528, Sumterville, FL 33585 Specializing in GMC Motorhome service, repairs, and original body parts. Check out our website today!

Cooperative Motor Works Jim Bounds | 407-857-5777 | 877-275-4462 coopmotorworks@yahoo.com | www.gmccoop.com 6101 Anno Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32809 Information, parts, and service for the GMC Motorhome. Repair and maintenance to full renovations available.

>> SERVICE & REPAIR FACILITIES Bob Stone 618-964-9124 | Carbondale, IL Service and repair.

Ken Frey Retires

by Janet Frey, Editor of GMC Vintage RVing magazine

Ken Frey has officially retired as of the end of October 2020. After almost 50 years in business as Ken L. Frey Auto Repair, he will no longer be performing service and repairs. When he started his business in 1971, he serviced cars and light trucks and continued his automotive training with state and national associations and their seminars. He earned his master tech certification along the way, as well as completing a degree in the Automotive Management Institute. When he purchased a 1976 GMC Palm Beach Motorhome in 1987, life changed. He was already familiar with many aspects of the mechanical functions of the GMC since he had worked for an Oldsmobile dealer for many years. But he quickly realized that once he mastered the quirks of the motorhome, there was a real need for expert servicing of the vehicles. It didn’t take long for him to create a niche in the GMC community, and soon he had customers coming from all over the country. Over the years, he has encountered

many challenges. Remember, when he started working the GMC motorhomes, they were about 11 years old. Now they are more than 40 years old! So much can change and be changed over time, making the expected repairs into the unexpected as he worked to solve the mysteries of the GMC. So, now he will continue to help GMC motorhome owners by providing a source for parts, and offering service information and advice. To all the customers who have patronized his business over all these years, he says “Thank You.” And to the GMC community, he says, “I’ll be here to help with GMC technical advice; but, I hope to keep cooking, too!”

Read more in the Vendor Profile of Ken Frey in the Winter 2020 issue of GMC Vintage RVing magazine at www.gmcmi.com/gmc-vintage-rving/

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GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL

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GMC Motorhome Suppliers List Gateway Motorhome Company 636-931-8282 | 800-654-0374 | www.gmcmotorhomeparts.com Committed only to the GMC Motorhome since 1986. Large selection of GMC Motorhome parts. Shipped daily.

Golby Motors 352-793-7000 | golby@golbymotorcorp.com www.golbymotorcorp.com 3375 County Road 528, Sumterville, FL 33585 Specializing in GMC Motorhome service, repairs, and original body parts. Check out our website today!

Grandview Motorhome Tom Hampton | 937-644-4238 | info@grandviewmotorhome.com www.grandviewmotorhome.com 13880 Weaver Road, Marysville, Ohio 43040 Miscellaneous GMC Motorhome parts. SS brake and tranny lines.

Ken L. Frey Auto Repair 215-536-1246 | freyautoken@yahoo.com PO Box 4, Milford Square, PA 18935 Miscellaneous GMC Motorhome parts from nuts and bolts to windows and body parts. Call for availability.

>> OTHER PART SUPPLIERS Alan Henderson | Large Format Electrical Diagrams info@midgacomputers.com www.bdub.net/GMC_Motorhome_Wiring_Diagrams.pdf Large format electrical diagrams. Honda EV4010 and EV6010 mounting templates at full scale.

Albert Branscombe | Parking Brakes | $525 519-368-7129 | branscoa@bmts.com | www.bdub.net/branscombe/ 33 Rae Street, P.O. Box 44,Tiverton, ON, N0G 2T0 CANADA All SS/Alum/Teflon kit, includes all cables, pulleys, brackets. Also, Air Powered Actuator kit – $575. Disc brake parking caliper kit -$475.

Complete instructions included. 10 year warranty.

Blaine Merrell 765-522-3241 | dsekula@tds.net | www.bdub.net/blainemerrell/ 101 Way West Airpark, Bainbridge, IN 46105-9449 Front window screens, wind wings, lower radiator guard.

Bob Burkitt 513-530-5021 | Fax 513-530-5023 | rburkitt@cinci.rr.com www.bdub.net/bobburkitt/ 11382 Marlette Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45249-2210 New screen door and Birch door replacement parts.

Classic Coaches & Accessories, LLC JR Slaten | 502-836-2097 | jrslaten@aol.com | www.bdub.net/slaten 7702 Old Third Street Road, Louisville KY 40214-0341 Engine Oil Cooler Lines, Engine Oil Cooler Stainless Steel Rigid Tube Set Exact, Lighted Entry Handles, Power Level II Leveling Valve Set (1973 thru early 77) Custom Instrument Panels Mac McNeal | 704-985-0171 | cipdash@sbcglobal.net www.custominstrumentpanels.com 28585 Valley Drive, Albemarle, NC 28001 Custom instrument panels and instruments.

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Dave Lenzi 810-653-3902 | mlenzi@charter.net 2285 Montague Road, Davison MI 48423-9103 Steering components, leveler linkage, leveler valve rebuilding, embossed copper exhaust gasket.

DJ’s Classic GMC Motorhome Service

DJ Eberhart| 503-706-6402 | djsgmcs@gmail.com | www.djsgmc.com 233 NW Olive St., Sheridan, OR 97378-1125 Cinnabar certified service and repair. New and used GMC parts.

DL Design Store Terry Taylor | 510-276-5111 | n6mon@pacbell.net www.dldesignstore.com 801 Via Manzanas, San Lorenzo, CA 94580 GMC Model Name Emblems, personalized GMC paraphernalia.

DMAR Enterprises | Stainless Steel Tanks Jim DeMaere | 403-329-3091 2812 – 48th Avenue South, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 7B3 SS replacement air and water heater tanks.

Frank Jenkins | Fiberglass & Aluminum Parts 352-485-1397 | 352-281-8082 cell gmcfrank@yahoo.com | http://geocities.ws/gmcfrank/ 18214 NE 21st Street, Gainesville, FL 32609 GMC fiberglass & aluminum fabrication. Instrument panels, bumper covers, toolboxes, grills, skirts and flares, radiator fan shrouds.

Gary Bovee 530-200-6247 | gary.bovee@gmcidiotsguide.com www.gmcidiotsguide.com 12495 Muller Avenue, Red Bluff, CA 96080 Alternator & A/C belt tensioners, Electronic Ignition Kit (Onan 4KW & 6KW), GMC valve stem caps, and Headlight & Turn Signal alarms.

GMC RV Shades (formerly Guske Sales) Gary Coaster | 810-650-5111 | gmcshades@gmail.com 2600 Knob Hill Drive, Reno, NV 89502 “Guske” Day/Night shades custom fitted for GMC Motorhomes, outside window covers.

High-End Motorsports 916-774-6686 | sales@high-end-motorsports.com | www.high-end-motorsports.com 8331 Sierra College Blvd, #210, Roseville, CA 95661 Made in the USA accessories, custom sunshades, plate frames, tags, receiver covers, and more.

Jim Hupy 503-362-1583 | jamesh1296@gmail.com | www.bdub.net/jhupy/ 1754 82nd Avenue SE, Salem, OH 97317 | Master Cylinder Power Bleeder and Remote Controlled Wireless Air Suspension System.

John Biwersi | Engine Cooling Fan | Direct Replacement 651-779-6498 | jbiwersi@mac.com 2938 N Mary St, Maplewood, MN 55109-1671 For all GMCMH that have the original steel blade fan. It is the same OD and pitch but has 10 blades instead of 7. Hub is steel and blades are molded nylon, this is not a “flexfan”. “Made in the USA” and is 100 % precision balanced to minimize vibration to the fan clutch and water pump.

John Richardson 850-830-6100 | jrichsr@aol.com | P.O. Box 5191, Niceville, FL 32578 AMSoil synthetic motor oil. CamShield ZDDP motor oil additive.

Classified Ads Ken Henderson | Electric Windshield Wiper Kit | $300 229-938-2797 | hend4800@bellsouth.net | www.gmcwipersetc.com 110 O’Hara Road, Americus, GA 31719-2140 GMC Motorhome Electric Windshield Wiper Kit. All mechanical and electrical parts to install your locally purchased electric motor w/ intermittent sweep. Free shipping for GMC Club members.

1977/1994 Clasco AK | $39,000 | photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com Previously Jerry & Sharon Work’s pristine condition coach. We have kept it that way. Ground up restoration by Clasco in 1994. Beautiful GMC Mike Alred | 907-299-0793 1977 Eleganza II photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com CA | $23,000/OBO | Recently serviced and certified by Applied GMC in Newark, California!

All repair paperwork and GMC manuals.

Ronald Shoffeitt | bigbearmoon@aol.com

Rance Baxter 814-596-5254 | rancefi@frontiernet.net | www.rancefi.com 230 Mountain View Road, Genesee, PA 16923-9725 Port fuel injection, Cadillac and Oldsmobile engine cores, and 425 transmission/ final drive cores.

1977 Kingsley Clasco – Price Lowered FL | $60,000 $70,000 | photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com Extensive update by Jim Bounds at the Cooperative Motor Works in 2016-2020. “New” 455 cubic inch engine – by Cinnabar.

Bruce Bisping | 952-237-3882

Springfield Performance Ignition Dick Paterson | 705-325-4554 | Fax 705-325-3569 dick@paterson-gmc.com | www.paterson-gmc.com 3956 Line 11 North, RR#3, Coldwater, Ontario, Canada LOK 1EO Re-curved distributors. Rebuilt carburetors.

Wire sets, 1973-74 points conversion.

1977 GMC Motorhome NY | $8,000 | photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com Many rebuilt and new mechanical items completed. Repainted and new windshields 10 years ago.

Anthony Rovito Jr | 716-244-1209

TZE Zone Restorations John R. Wright | 989-859-0715 | powerjon@chartermi.net 1196 E Olson Road, Midland, MI 48640-8610 Front Air Dam, Bolt kits for bumpers, axles, exhaust manifolds, and header.

Variety Ventures Dan Stuckey | 519-844-2083 | stuckey@brktel.on.ca Box 105 3249 Inwood Road, Inwood, Ontario Canada N0N 1K0 New Main Frame Components (side rails, cross members, H-frames) DIY or I install, Macerator kits.

Classifieds >> GMC MOTORHOME FOR SALE 1973 Glacier photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com OK | asking $34,500 | 95% Restored! Updated interior with Eurotech captain chairs & matching sofa. New windshields, American Racing aluminum wheels and more!

Bob Ankersheil | Phone or Text 210-788-1091 for additional information 1974 – 26’ GMC Motorhome photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com IL | $26,000 | Many updates mechanical and convenience. Stored inside after replacing rame and new paint job. Many upgrades and tow vehicle available.

Ken Pickett | kjpickett46@gmail.com

1977 Palm Beach photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com VA | $24,000 or best serious offer | All original items remain such as upholstering, shag carpet, cabinets, vacuum system. We are the third owner and it is ready to drive.

Dave Trinkle | 540-314-8875 (texts only) | dbtrinkle@gmail.com 1977 Royale photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com AL | $45,000 | This GMC has been garage-kept with many mechanical and interior upgrades, etc. A must check out! Check out listing on gmcmi.com.

Frances McMillan | twofransmc@yahoo.com 1977 Royale photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com VA | $12,000 | 26’ – Engine runs well; comes with awnings that are only 3 years old; center bath; rear twin beds; parquet floors; stove; refrigerator; microwave, & TV included; silver with blue stripes. Needs a good home! Selling as is!

Mae Arrington | ccamba2@aol.com | 804-780-0093 | 804-335-6075 cell

1978 Eleganza II NY | $10,000 entertain all offers | photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com Original w/ 112K Mi; Wet hot kit and bath, rear bedroom, sofa and dinette convert to sleep many, lots of storage.

Suzanne (DelVecchio) Glenn | sglenn@juno.com | 214-616-9792

1976 Eleganza photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com WA | $35,000 OBO | $21k in upgrades done this past year. Drive train upgrade, new paint, new headliner, vinyl tile, carpet, brakes and Alco aluminum wheels.

Richard 541-517-0194 | Rita 509-438-7103 | ritagray@gmail.com

1978 Palm Beach IL | $40,000 | photo on www.gmcmi.com Restomod frame-off rebuilt 455 motor, transmission, 366 final drive, front suspension, four bagger, Hydroboost stainless steel lines and hoses, macerator, stainless mandrel bent exhaust into 1 - 3” out.

Bob Stone | 618-964-9124

1976 Eleganza II photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com CA | $16,500 | 65,000 miles, owned & used by me for 20+ years, many upgrades, many in last year. Onan generator serviced, low mileage Michelin tires.

Tim Jordan | timberjordan@icloud.com | text 650-464-5666

1978 26’ Golby Clasco Twin Bed Conversion KS | Asking $39,000 | photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com Conversion to rear twin beds & dry side bath. 403 runs great, laminate floor, Alcoa wheels, fire suppression system, macerator, & more!

Steve Riley | sriley@casstel.net

1976 Glenbrook – Price Lowered photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com NY | $13,000 entertain all offers $14,999 | About 54K mi. Dinette w/captain chairs; kitchen w/stove, oven, refrig/ freezer, sink; rear full-sized bed. Wet bath.

Suzanne (DelVecchio) Glenn | sglenn@juno.com | 214-616-9792

1978 Revcon Chamelot 31.5’ w/Toronado drivetrain!

NC | $19,500 | photo(s) on www.gmcmi.com Zombie Themed – Many repairs/new items done by Barry Owen in the past two years, plus additional mechanicals.

Michael Owens at 336-225-1445 | Calls ONLY please.

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>> Regional GMCMH Activities... >> GMC Mountainaires – July 2020 It was nice to get-together at the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering at Lazy Acres Campground in Wyoming.

DETOUR

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We welcome event photos and writeups.

Submit them to kimweeksgmc@gmail.com.

Thank you.

>> GMC Colonial Travellers – September 2020

>> GMC Heritage Cruisers – August 2020

Here are some pictures from the rally of the Colonial Travelers. It was in Stevens, Pennsylvania, just north of Ephrata, in Amish country. There were seven motorhomes, plus one other model. We welcomed two new members at that rally, and it was the first rally for four of the attendees.

Beautiful weather, wonderful location, and an eating orgy on Saturday night, with social distancing!

We had a great time at the Rideau Acres Campground in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | GMCMI.COM

GMCMH Events Calendar

>> GMC Motorhome Europe GMC Motor Home Meeting September 4-5, 2020 in Groessen, The Netherlands.

Due to the constantly changing of events during this time, please check out the GMCMH Community Calendar for up-to-date information. Thank you.

Go to gmcmi.com/gmc-calendar/

April 16-22, 2021

GMCMI.com

>> GMC Saguaro Jetset – October 2020 Our first rally of the season was at the CT RV Resort in Benson, Arizona. We had a wonderful Jam Session in “The Barn”.

2021 Fall GMCMI Convention September 24-30, 2021 Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

REGIONAL CHAPTER OPPORTUNITY

Consider utilizing one of the GMCMI Conventions as one of your rallies, it comes with benefits! Contact admin@gmcmi.com for more information.

TO SUBMIT A DATE Email date and information to admin@gmcmi.com

FALL 2020

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GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL

1402 So Cage Blvd, Unit 273 Pharr, TX 78577

Calling all Regional Chapters & Members!

GMCMI is in the process of researching possible Convention sites for 2022-2024.

Help insure the success of these Conventions by assisting with the selection of a site.

We would love to come to your area! In order for you to have an idea of what is required for a Convention site, a Site Selection form is available at www.gmcmi.com/site-selection-form.

These guidelines will make it possible for you to determine if a site in your neighborhood – fairgrounds, campground, etc. – would be feasible for a Spring or Fall Convention.

In addition, as your chapter plans your future activities, keep in mind that you are always welcome at the Convention, and encouraged to utilize the GMCMI Convention as your regional rally.

So, when you are looking at dates for your rally, feel free to contact Kim to see if a tweak to your dates would allow you to take advantage of the GMCMI Convention and enjoy the facilities and activities that have already been set up. This would not only be a convenience for your rally host, but would allow your members to join the GMC Community as well.

We look forward to hearing from you!