But fortunately we have the internet to connect us with like-minded lunatics.

I had just returned from some seriously unpleasant dental work- unpleasant enough to warrant drugs you have to sign for at the pharmacy.

In my narced-out state Ellen read this blog about one woman's fearless journey to retrieve a beloved old metal box on wheels

From ifutz.blogspot.com enjoy:

click here

But Craig Newmark had a vision for a local village environment and he he has relentlessly presevered that vision.

Numerous sites have attempted to work around Newmarks goals with assorted craigslist search engines. Some work better than others but often they only last a short time. Craigslist will either changes it's code to make the site ineffective or challenge the site legally for violating its user agreement.

For the hardcore vintage camper hunter a custom google search might do things that Jaxed and Search tempest can't

Enter something in the google window below and see what happens. It searches the whole country.

If you enter the date as it appears on craigslist "2012-07-18" you can search for every listing posted yesterday.

Enjoy. Give me some feedback......

The wings and window drip rails are there, but not installed.

The seller seems like a clearheaded straight-shooter.

He is firm on $2000.

We really wanted to snatch it up.  The money is in the bank getting restless... but alas, we have other financial goals this year and buying a THIRD vintage camper is not among them.

Women are the reason most new RV's suck. It's not their fault, it's just marketing.

Marketing people have always known that women either make or “influence” most of the buying decisions in America.

For the most part this is a good thing. It's why we have cup holders, heated seats, and those plastic tabs on the back of the rear bench in the minivan to hang shopping bags on. I love those things.

Likewise, women are the reason we live in centrally heated homes with carpeting and matching curtains. If it was up to most men, we'd have a small bedroom attached to a large steel shop, or maybe an indoor gun range.

So this phenomenon of women making things better for civilized humans has generally been a good thing until it collided with some basic male instincts.

Men want happy women and more horsepower. Women want rv's that look like luxury condos. This is OK with the RV industry because these desires combine to make bigger more expensive RV's.

What woman doesn't want oak cabinets, marble countertops, and a full size tub? Does she even care how heavy all that crap is? No. because the caveman she's married to really wants to shove his foot into the 7.3 litres of raw diesel power necessary to force nine tons of "homeyness" down the slab at 100 feet per second.

I'm not suggesting the women are dumb, or easily duped. They are more than capable of understanding simple physics. But NO ONE wants to explain this. The RV guy wants to sell bigger more expensive campers and the caveman wants MORE POWER, UUURRRRGGGG!!

In the end, we have to live with large, heavy, lumbering leaky beasts (( I'm still talking about the campers )).

And, to add to our suffering, it takes a glove box full of hundred dollar bills to move the thing to Camper World so they can fix the leaky roof.

I'm really blessed. My wife LOVES the looks of our 72 Revcon. She's only remotely interested in the weight ((under 8,000 lb)) and the fuel economy, ((12+ MPG )).

So, if you want to own a practical, efficient RV that DOES NOT SUCK, you need to be willing to give up 18-wheeler power or granite countertops.

This looks like a really great machine. Apparently he's selling the coach because his recent marriage has created "other priorities" - Having been married twice I totally DO NOT GET it. I'd have gladly traded my first wife for a half tank of gas.

Second wife is working out a lot better but so far she has not asked me to get rid of my vintage coach

Anyway, what follows is Lances description of his classic GMC, complete with facts and details and missing the sarcasm and crankiness you get from me.

The Coach is in Fredericksburg, Texas, near San Antonio.

Click HERE to see more pictures.

Take it a way Lance.....

This 1976 GMC Palm Beach was purchased from the original owner just over two years ago.
It was garaged until I got it and has always been well maintained. I have cleaned, repaired, replaced or upgraded everything and added nice extras from end to end.

The coach has new bumpers, upgraded wipers, Doug Thorley headers, rebuilt steering box, seven brand new tires and Eagle aluminum wheels, two brand new ZipDee awnings and matching windshield covers and new inside windshield privacy shades, upgraded from original, Ragusa aluminum step and polished aluminum mirror brackets, new upgraded taillights, all new venetian blinds and retainers on all windows, new stereo with CD/MP3 player, 23" VISIO flat screen TV, new stainless hot water tank and thermostat, new porcelain toilet, new upgraded Suburban heater, new microwave oven with browning element, new three burner stove top, new refrigerator, two roof A/C's, one brand new, both blow cold, Fantstic brand vent fan, all interior redone in white paneling, new waterproof ceiling panels, original wood cabinets in excellent condition, new auto-closing kitchen vent, huge roof storage pod, macerator. 6 KW Onan generator with only 341 hours, runs perfect. new simulated bamboo floor installed, easy to keep clean. Furnish it your way. Astrovan bucket seats and three point seat belts, newer 15" GM steering wheel. Permanent full bed and storage in the rear. Absolutely everything works like new or better. The coach has been professionally re-sealed and does not leak. This is one of a handful of old GMC's that is dry as a bone in the rain. New engine battery and two new 6 volt golf cart house batteries. What has not been rebuilt or replaced has been removed, cleaned and repainted to look like new.

Much, much more than what is listed. All receipts since new. This was built to be a keeper but forced to sell. The old paint shines and looks great for its age. The entire front suspension has been rebuilt, brand new brakes and wheel bearings, newer Caspro shocks, rebuilt air suspension with upgraded compressor does not leak down. 140K miles on the coach. The engine was rebuilt at one point by the previous owner, has fresh heads. I use Mobil 1 synthetic oil. The transmission operates flawlessly. Brand new (not modified) sensitive brake booster stops the coach much easier and quicker than stock. This coach gets 10.5mpg driven at 55mph. Always well maintained, this way above average coach is in excellent condition, is fun to drive, easy to maintain and will serve well for years to come. Recently driven 2200 miles without incident or repair and needs nothing to go out on the road today except your personal touches. Asking 12,000. Email or call Lance at 360-213-6035.

New photos click HERE

Check out these web sites for more info:

http://www.gmccoop.com/

http://www.mgmgmc.com/

http://www.gmcmi.com

http://www.gmc-rv.com

http://www.gmcmotorhome.com

If the a car salesman says the 2001 Suburban will tow your 1972 Airstream Land Yacht then you're good. Car salesmen are real experts on the capabilities of the vehicles they sell, especially used trucks.

If you’re brother in law tells you that he pulls his boat with that same truck and his boat is “really heavy” then by all means, you can pull the Land Yacht because it too is “really heavy”

That’s pretty much all you need to know about towing.

Ok, maybe there's one or two more little details like, horsepower, torque, gross vehicle combined weight rating, tongue weight, dry weight, curb weight of the tow vehicle, max gross weight of the trailer, weight distribution systems, emergency break away systems and trailer brake controllers.

But really, those things are for obsessive compulsive types, engineers, towing geeks, lawyers and insurance companies. The rest of us shouldn't worry about a simple thing like moving seven tons of steel and particle board down the road at 95 feet per second. I mean, it ain't rocket surgery.

Still with me?

The towing thing seems to generate a lot of confusion and misinformation. Most people towing big heavy things don't take it seriously enough and they don't understand what can go wrong until a guy with his name on his shirt is holding out a paper cup full of transmission parts.

It turns out it's not that complicated but a little knowledge goes a long way.

We start with the tow vehicle. The basic components of the trucks towing package are the engine, transmission, axle ratio and it's ability to keep cool.

Machines generally get hot before they break and amazingly, if they don't get hot they tend to not break!

The engine and transmission determine how much power goes to the wheels and the axle ratio determines whether that power will be used to pull weight or cruise empty and provide good fuel economy.

Axle ratio and why it matters;

The axle ratio refers to the gears in the rear end (and front axle for 4X4). This determines the number of wheel revolutions relative to engine RPMs at a given speed.

A 2001 Ford F150 with stock 16” rims turns about 2000 RPMs at 60 mph with 3.55 gears.

That's a nice RPM for fuel economy in an empty truck but there's not enough torque to pull a 6,000 lb trailer. If you had 3.73 gears the engine RPM would be 2157 and if you had 4.10 gears it would turn at 2370. Higher RPMs mean less strain on the engine. Each of those changes adds about 500 lb to the towing capability. There's also a 500 lb difference between 16” and 17” rims.

All the numbers above determine how much the truck can pull. The ability to remove heat from the engine and transmission determines how many miles it will pull a big load without melting.

It turns out, getting rid of the heat accounts for a bigger portion of towing capacity than the other components.

Take, for instance, the 2004 Ford Expedition, off the shelf with the 5.4 liter V8 and 3.73 rear gears and it can tow either 6000 lbs or 8650 lbs. The 2650 lb different is based almost entirely on the “towing package” and major components beside the movings parts, are the larger radiator, a transmission cooler and a power steering cooler.

And you might think the 6000 lb capacity of the lesser equipped Expy will be fine for your 4500 lb trailer but in the fine print it says not to tow anything taller or wider than the tow vehicle.

If you had two versions of the truck, one with the towing package and one without, and you attached an 8000 lb trailer to each, both would pull it with the same ease, neither driver would be able to tell whether or not his truck had the complete towing package; until expensive metal parts began to pour out on the ground.

This is where the brother-in-law with the “really heavy” boat comes in; he tows his 6000 lb boat 25 miles to a ramp every weekend all summer long with no difficulty. Between the short distance, low speeds and the lesser wind resistance of a boat, he never really strains the truck all that much.

Specifically, he never subjects the transmission to prolonged overheat conditions. He could make the trip to the ramp every weekend for five years, and put another 180,000 miles driving to work and you could put a 5000 lb travel trailer on that same truck and blow it's guts out in 500 miles.

So, you borrow his truck to tow the 1973 Land Yacht with no title and bad tires that you found on ebay from a guy in Michigan back to your home in Delaware and about 100 miles into the trip the valves start rattling and the temp gauge is pointing at the sun roof.

Your brother-in-law is pissed but you don't care about that. Your sister never should have married him in the first place. You only care about how to get your vintage trailer home. Now all those details about gears and transmission coolers start to matter.

So now you're in Michigan shopping for a new truck. First thing you need to know: NOT A WORD OUT OF THE CAR SALESMANS MOUTH IS RELAVANT TO YOUR PROBLEM. I really mean that, and if they back it up with input from the service department, the parts manager or the guy who delivers bottled water, it's all crap and you need to ignore it.

I recently had a car salesman tell me that the Expedition I was looking at just need to have the seven prong trailer wiring added and it would be able to pull my trailer.

You need to get the information ON YOUR OWN.

From the VIN number determine if the truck has a factory installed tow package. Find out on your own what exactly is included. The Axle gear ratio and transmission will likely be identified by a code on a sticker some place, in the glove box or on the drivers door post. Decode the sticker for the actual installed parts.

Who can you trust?

A really good source for accurate information about tow vehicles is Trailer Life Magazines annual towing guide.. They provide very complete information that often contradicts other published sources.

The RV forums, particularly The Open Roads Forum, is also a great resource. It takes a certain amount of discretion to extract useful information from these forums. You can't just take the word of one guy just because it says “Senior Member” next to his screen name. He might be an obstinate moron who got to be a “senior member” by posting 200 messages in six weeks, even if all of them were idiotic.

But the collective wisdom and real world experience of the RV forum is more likely to be accurate than information from one guy pulling the “really heavy” boat.
Generally speaking, towing a tall travel trailer thousands of miles is about the hardest thing you can do to a half or three quarter ton truck.
But it just takes a little accurate information and knowing who to listen to and who to ignore to make an informed decision about what goes with what.

Happy Camping

Such was the case with our 1965 Boles Aero. At the time I didn't know what was so special about this trailer. It was there and it was cheap and it looked very cool. (see the story here.

Through subsequent research we learned it was a really great trailer with great history

Everything was original and it all worked, including the Dometic M70 fridge.

We've never really used the Boles but we can't part with her.

Recently I decided to dust it off and see how she looks.

Starting with the fridge- IT STILL WORKS!

This thing hasn't been touched in SIX YEARS. I just connected the gas and lit the flame and an hour later it started getting cold. Really COLD.

The absorption fridge is just a wonderful piece of technology. No moving parts, just a series of tubes with ammonia, water and a dash of hydrogen. You can read all about how they work and in the service manual for my Dometic M70 here.

There may be some advantages to a newer fridge. They have a circuit board to automatically determine the presence of AC and switch off the LP. And they have an ignitor in place of a pilot light so the flame is not always on. But those only provide small gains in efficiency.

The newer fridges also don't have to be kept perfectly level to function. That's convenient but I have to kept level to get a good nights sleep leveling the trailer, and the fridge is not a big inconvenience.

The modern two-way Dometic requires a constant 12 volts to the circuit board. My old low tech version just needs propane and a match.

It burns 1300 BTs per hour on max. That means a 15 lb barbeque bottle will last 9 days at full power. But it really should last more than a month becouse once the box has dropped to hte required temperture all that insulation will keep it cold.

In the case of a two way fridge, you have either a small gas flame or an AC element to provide the heat which boils the ammonia.

It's important to not have both of them on at the same time. The modern version uses a circuit board to detect the presence to 110VAC and automatically switches the fridge from propane to AC.

But what if i don't want to switch? What if I want to plug in the coach at a low current AC outlet just to charge the batteries and I don't want to ad the load of the fridge?

My Old Dometic doesn't present that problem. It uses an absolutely idiot-proof setup with the power switch over the propane valve so neither can be on at the same time. Simple as Dirt.

I wonder how many of those circuit boards last for 46 years?

And 46 years is not any kind of record. amonia, water and hydrogen will always be amonia water and hydrogen. About the only way break one of these old beasts is to create a leak.

I've heard that the fluids can wind up in the wrong place within the maze of tubing and solution is to burp it by flipping it over a few times. That might be a big job as they are heavy and not easy to remove. But if you're cheap like me, it's a small price to pay.

So, if you get an old camper with one of these old absorption reefers; give it a long hard look before you decide to toss it.

You're more likely to have issues with the valve, the controls, thermo couple, etc, rather than the cooling unit itself.

If the unit really doesn't work, consider replacing the cooling unit with one of these from RV Cooling Unit Warehouse.
It will cost a lot less and probably work better and last longer than a new fridge.

Copyright Stick Miller (Used by permission)

AMERICUS — I hail from a family of campers and RVers. A long time ago, my father came home with an early version of today’s motor home that was a cross between a storage building and a bread truck. Nothing in or on that vile beast was made for comfort. It was a truck. I think Daddy liked it because he could drive and smoke while Momma cooked.

Daddy insisted that my brother and I ride on the double bed at the back of the bus. I think that kept us out of his hair. For someone prone to motion sickness, this presented a triple recipe for disaster. Consider that my brother and I were at least 30 feet from the nearest air conditioning vent. Mix the faint odor of the holding tank with a sweet whiff of Daddy’s pipe tobacco and add to that a touch of carbon monoxide, the aroma of whatever Momma was burning and the constant motion of the truck and I can tell you, I was not a happy camper. Carsick does not even begin to describe my condition. It took Daddy about an hour and a full holding tank to figure out I was not a good fit for the back seat. I quickly secured myself a place in the shotgun position.

After I got a little older, my parents bought a succession of trailers. By then I was chasing girls and riding the roads and didn’t really want to go camping on the weekends. And although Daddy argued that it was perfectly safe, Momma was uncomfortable riding in the trailer, cooking as it was being towed. Though she eventually gave in, her motion sickness and good reason soon prevailed and she abandoned the trailer for the relative comfort of the Oldsmobile 98.

Mother also drew the line when it came to attending club functions and caravans. According to my mother, those events were evidenced by singing around the campfire, ear hairs, wrap-around sunglasses, bolo ties and Bermuda shorts with black knee socks and wingtips. Momma commented on the way some of the participants walked on their way to Bingo. “The Airstream Shuffle” she liked to call it.

When their last trailer was sold, Momma thought her shuffling days were over. However, in his late 70s Daddy came home with a huge new motor home. After three or four trips Momma abandoned ship. She told me that she knew she was getting old and that her days were growing short, but that she had no intention in hastening things along by hitting a bridge abutment as my father cat napped at 70 miles per hour.

So I come from camping people … for better or for worse. My wife and I have cussed and discussed this issue and she finally relented. I think she might just have provided the rope with which I could very well hang myself. I have bought myself a motor home.

I couldn’t just buy any motor home. I had to have something different. I was never attracted to slide-out rooms and track lighting in the ceiling … I call it the neo-brothel look. I have, however, always been attracted to quality. In many ways, my ’78 GMC Royale fits me to a tee. Much like the car I drive, this motor home is old, but well-built. They have an incredible reputation and following — these bullets on wheels — but after my first few days of ownership, I might just need some convincing.

They drove it in from Texas, the former owners. They are braver souls than I, for on my first excursion — a mere 20 miles to the river and back — I might as well have been at the helm of the Queen Mary. My bride was quietly screaming that my wheels were off the pavement while the side mirrors told another story. I was straddling the yellow line, holding the wheel with a death grip. I put my feet in the coach and my trust in the Lord.

Unlike my first experience in my father’s Condor, this thing does have plenty of air conditioning. Trouble is, as soon as we arrived at the river the generator that runs the a/c quit. Left with nothing but dash air, my thoughts were immediately transported back to 1964. In my mind I was once again lying on the back bed suppressing the urge to gag.

Our trip from the river was equally fun. It has been as dry as a power keg around here for six weeks, but let me venture out in a 35-year-old motor home with non-functioning windshield wipers, and watch it pour. I thought about strapping Elise to the front bumper so she could wipe the windshield with a squeegee, but about that time the torrent stopped.

The next day I burst an air bag and discovered that I have good tires … they’re just the wrong size. I have a small propane leak and the generator is still “iffy.” Even so, I have a new friend who is an expert on these creatures and he is kind enough to help me along the way. I’m looking forward to the adventure, even if it breaks us in the process.

“Lawdy mercy,” as my grandmother would have said. Lawdy mercy indeed!

Boyce E. “Stick” Miller III, an award-winning columnist, lives and works in Americus. Contact him at stick.miller@ gmail.com.

The dump is well designed and has well sloped sides leading to the 'hole' but they had covered the hole with a screen. Why?

Turns out that one of them had dropped a dental bridge into the toilet (never, ever multitask in the morning) and they figured it would flush out at the dump station. I got to watch the entire hilarious project.

First they dumped and watched the screen for the bridge. This didn't go very well. The screen diameter was pretty small and kept clogging. It was the screen from one of their windows. Sweeping it with their brand new collapsible broom helped keep it clear.

Screen replacement parts: 8.95

After dumping the entire (very full) tank and finding no bridge, they decided that the device must have settled to the bottom of the black tank and not been evacuated. So... they got our their water hose and a water thief and hooked up to the dump station water stub to fill their black tank via the toilet.

New (unpolluted) hose: 4.00

Once they had hooked all this up, they apparently shoved the hose into the toilet, keeping the valve open and turned on the water. Then they pulled the dump valve again. No teeth.

After some (loud) discussion they decided that the teeth must be stuck or jammed and that they needed to agitate the tank to dislodge them. At this point 2 more rigs have pulled up to dump and are waiting in line. One is towing a boat with a sunburnt and somewhat drunk crew. The fisherfolk are getting out cans of cold refreshment and one has a lawn chair. Another one has a plan....

How to agitate a black tank (while it's still attached to trailer) method 1: Get 4 cans of beer and some buddies. Refill tank with water. Open cans of beer and position buddies on each corner of trailer. On que, rock trailer back and forth. Position one person in bathroom with toilet valve open to listen for sloshing. Do not drop beer. When good sloshing sounds can be heard in tank, pull the dump valve and wait for teeth.

Unfortunately, the teeth didn't appear and by this time the helpers were thirsty again. The owner with no lower teeth offered them more refreshments. They were thrilled because he had high end beer (they were drinking the cheap) stuff.

4 bottles of redhook: 1.50

Remember the hose stuck in the toilet? It had dislodged during the forward/reverse process and was filling the trailer, flopping around and covering the walls.

Trailer rehab: 1.50

In 1910 Pierce Arrow made the first commercial motorhome. It was a box on a truck chassis.

For the next 50 years or so not much changed in motorhome design.

A box on a truck chassis is OK but it's not ideal.

A motorhome is not a cargo vehicle. It doesn't need to carry a heavy payload over the drive wheels (like a rear wheel drive truck)

And it doesn't need to be a big box sitting three steps up over a drive train that runs the whole length of the vehicle.

Rather, a motorhome should be either front wheel drive, or a rear wheel pusher. Either arrangement allows the living space to be lower.

Unfortunately, the choice of chassis is driven more by economics than good design. Cheap truck chassis roll off assembly lines and train loads of them are sucked up by the RV manufacturers.

A little plywood, some cabinetry that's a decade out of style, wrap the whole thing in a stick frame skinned over with very thin aluminum and Viola!; You have a modern RV.

In recent years they've switched to composite material for the skin but the result is the same- a cheap wide box sitting too high on a common truck chassis. They're top-heavy, susceptible to wind and they don't last. But, you're not thinking about that when the smell of fresh formaldehyde soaked plastic fills your nostrils. You're not even thinking about the 84 month payment plan.

But suppose you really want a motorhome that someone put some thought into?

There are (in my opinion) four really well thought out motorhomes; the Clark Cortez, Revcon, FMC and the Classis GMC.

The Clark cortez, was front wheel drive and built like a tank (or a forklift)

The Cortez used the Toronado 455 FWD drive train but it was built like a tank, lots of heavy steel. They got lousy mileage back when we didn't care so much about it.

In 1969, John Hall, (stepson of Airstream's Tony Byum) took the idea a bit further with the Revcon, also propelled by the Olds Toro 455 but with aluminum skin and frame it was 5,000 lb lighter (less than 8k empty).

the absence of a drive shaft allows the coach to sit lower. Mine doesn't even need an antry step

In 1972 the Food Machinery Corporation got into the game with the FMC motorhome. It was Dodge powered rear pusher. They made just over 1000 units. Of the four on my list the FMC was the most expensive at $27-54K.

The FMC was well designed and well built, but with only about 1000 ever made, the surviving support network is limited.

Finally GMC saw what was going on threw their wrench into the mix, the only major automaker to produce a motorhome.

In 1973 the first GMC motorhome hit the market. 12,921 units later they gave up the idea and the last one rolled out in 1978. But as I said in another post, that was just the beginning of the story.

It looks impressive going down the road but the typicla big Class A doesnt gain any interior standing room over the GMC. The floor sits over the tires. This makes it easy to build the interior no wheel wells to deal with) And it makes slideouts possible. But given the age of the average owner, those four steps up are going to become a problem sooner or later.

It's a lot like dating, you can't help who you fall in love with. So if you find yourself in posession of a Revcon, FMC, or Cortez, then love it with reckless abandon. But if you are outside looking in for the best choice, consider a GMC. THey are plentiful at every price point and every state of repair or restoration. And the support network built by the GMC owners rivals much newer RVs. Try finding a drive axle for a 1991 Winnebego LeSharo.

The four coaches discussed here are certainly not the whole list. They are the best designed, best built motorhomes under 30 feet. There are plenty of other good options if you look at deisel pushers and bus conversions, but that another conversation.