My 1978 GMC motorhome

@Mike_H
Great idea using the dust collector to pull a vaccum. Gonna remember that one, thanks.

Also, thanks for the trip down memory lane on the Toronado wheel bearings. I almost forgot about the early design. I was a mechanic in a Chevy/Olds dealer from ‘76 to ‘85.
Interesting article on the front end swap
 
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jgaz said:
@Mike_H
Great idea using the dust collector to pull a vaccum. Gonna remember that one, thanks.

Also, thanks for the trip down memory lane on the Toronado wheel bearings. I almost forgot about the early design. I was a mechanic in a Chevy/Olds dealer from ‘76 to ‘85.
Interesting article on the front end swap
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Do you have the tools to repair them still? Or were they "shop supplies?"
 
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Sadly we don't use our RV as much as we should, but it's paid for, and it servers a dual purpose for us. It's a "bug out" vehicle in case of fire. In 2018 our entire county had to evacuate due to a huge fire. We ended up leaving the county in the RV and camped for 14 days before we were allowed back. Just yesterday a car fire broke out a mile from us and burned 7 acres before containment. Had us on edge and ready to bug out. We've been plagued with fires every summer for the past 6 years in a row, so having the coach gives a a little peace of mind.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
Sadly we don't use our RV as much as we should, but it's paid for, and it servers a dual purpose for us. It's a "bug out" vehicle in case of fire. In 2018 our entire county had to evacuate due to a huge fire. We ended up leaving the county in the RV and camped for 14 days before we were allowed back. Just yesterday a car fire broke out a mile from us and burned 7 acres before containment. Had us on edge and ready to bug out. We've been plagued with fires every summer for the past 6 years in a row, so having the coach gives a a little peace of mind.
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I would to totally be of the same mindset as you, if I had that to deal with. I feel bad for you guys out west. It's been really smokey here, and we're thousands of miles away!
 
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Mike_H said:
Do you have the tools to repair them still? Or were they "shop supplies?"
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Sorry. I have none of the special tools they were dealership property. Also we were a very rural dealership and didn’t see that many toranados.

The only special tools I owned were tools that I used very often such as carburetor tools and certain seal drivers.

Many times it made financial sense to have what I needed in my box rather then to hunt for the dealer owned item.
Flat rate can be a bitch.
 
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Rubi04 said:
That’s nice to see that you recognize it.


Most don’t. And go broke or….leave the RV sit on the side of their home making payments and not using it.


Which is where many end up. They go, yeah I can afford $250-350 a month! Dealer make it sound cheap and easy!



But the actual money is about 4x that. If nothing goes wrong!


I honestly love RV’s. We settled on a truck camper after having most. BUT. It’s still not cheap but fits our life best.



I also fix them without worry. If I had to pay a shop to do it….nope.


Neighbors bought a new fiver. 80k. Was n the shop for a year. Couldn’t use it. Made payments.


I could have fixed the issues for less than a few grand and maybe a week.



I’m thinking of going into the RV repair business. I can make a good living….and help others that wait for months or years for repairs.
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If I knew what I know now 20 years ago, I'd have started up a mobile RV repair business. A sharp repair guy can make a very good living.
 
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The only bad thing I could ever say about ours was we raced Hare Scrambles on motorcycles and we got stuck so many times at the different tracks it was the running joke since it was front wheel drive.
 
My front end parts showed up yesterday. Not quite ready to tear it apart yet (camping this weekend) but I couldn't resist opening the crate and taking a look see! I have heard a couple people complain about the weld quality of the lower a arm modification required to get the bigger knuckles in. I'm very impressed with the parts I got. Its kind of a crap shoot as the guys who do this work are using 43+ year old parts. The only thing left are parts that are salvaged from late 70's Toronados, Cadilac El Dorados, and of course, the motorhome parts. So, I was charged 400 dollars for cores (a little less than 25% of the kit).

Anyway, here are a couple pictures.

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I'll be sure to post more pics as I dig through it fully and check things off the list (next week).
 
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Matt888 said:
Finally found a picture of our old one, I learned to drive it at 14 we would swap drivers going down the road on cruise control. I learned coming back from a race on a Monday morning in downtown Atlanta at 8am, I was white knuckled pulling that trailer.

View attachment 273111
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Wow... Big trailer for a 1000 tow limit! Looks just like mine too (the RV, not the trailer)
 
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We only had one transmission failure in over 100k miles and everywhere it went it had a trailer, we even had a ball on the front to load our boats in the water, it had king bed in back with bunk beds on the Left side, I did not see many with the same interior setup. I wish we never sold it so easy to drive.
 
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