Enable me...or make me wise up...vintage RV content

SWMBO wants an RV...for many reasons which aren't entirely critical to the conversation but authorization has been granted, funds established and RV hunting is happening. We've looked at a few so far, we have a limited budget so there's only so much in our price range, its a compromise of age, size, condition, etc. Having talked to some RV folks who consider stuff from the early 90s to be "vintage" it seems that once you hit a certain age there's nothing to be gained, ie an 80s model is no better than a 70s model and you just need to shop on condition. In our price range we're solidly in the 80s and earlier.

I went and looked at a 78 Foretravel on the way home from work. Foretravel was/is the Cadillac of the RV world, especially in the 70s. Very solidly built, solid woods throughout not paneling, central vaccum, built in ice maker and blender (important for tailgating) What little I've found on them they seem to have 2 states, excellently maintained and loved specimens and parts vehicles. So I went to see this one.

Exterior: solid, shows signs of sitting (ie chalky paintwork, needs a buff) but no damage no issues. A little rust on the bumpers but that's being pretty nit picky. Roof is still watertight and in good shape but should probably get a new sealcoat soon (something I'd do with any used RV)

Interior is a time warp, just like it left the showroom except the main carpet has been replaced, just as well since we'd rather go with a wood or vinyl floor in the main area. The furniture and upholstery is like new, so many amenities, central vac, built in blender and ice maker. A REAL bathroom with shower, tub, sink and toilet and space to move around. As much as I thought I'd hate it I really love the whole vintage feel to the interior, reminds me of grandma's house. The condition really helps as well.

Engine fired up right away and ran smooth. 91,000 miles but obviously well loved, current owner has owned it 20 years and traveled the country with his late wife in it.

My general thoughts are:

a) for our budget we will never get more RV than this, its a whole lot of features and space for a small price

b) talking to RV folks age isnt as important as condition as even new RVs have issues, quality control isnt like it is with cars so for our price I could maybe get something in the late 80s early 90s but that wouldn't mean it would be any better.

c) its been sitting 2 years, sitting is death, everything seems right but it does scare me.

d) its huuuuuge

e) it just generally scares me, its all just simple mechanical bits, nothing to be afraid of but the size of it makes it scarier.

Finally, it needs tires $1200 worth of tires, not immediately but I wouldn't trust them for a long trip. Every old RV does because noone wants to pay that price and replace their tires. The tread is good and the sidewall cracking is light so we could probably get some use out of them locally (no distance trips planned for a few years) before we HAD to replace them but I'd just suck it up and buy a tire a month over the winter so I had them all new before spring.

I love it but I'm trying not to love it just because its so vintage funky and cool and love it because it meets our needs and is a good buy....enabling is welcomed

Yes, Cadillac headlights, so you dont forget its the Cadillac of RVs ;)

huuuuuge (33 ft actually)

vintage cool cockpit

The condition is amazing

complete with orange lazy boy recliner, every Foretravel came with a lazy boy recliner

Amazing! Single digit fuel mileage, I presume?

OMG I love that interior!

I know nothing about RVs to give you any practical advice, but I think I need that for my new man-cave. My wife won't let me hang my velvet artwork in the house.

noddaz wrote: Amazing! Single digit fuel mileage, I presume?

Yes, but we are looking at that with any gas RV. Its motivated by a mopar 440 backed with a 727

petegossett wrote: OMG I love that interior! I know nothing about RVs to give you any practical advice, but I think I need that for my new man-cave. My wife won't let me hang my velvet artwork in the house.

Yeah, I always preferred 50's and 60's vintage stuff but when its really clean like this I can get into the 70s look as well, I just wanted to sit down in the lazy boy and hang out, it definitely has some good mancave cred

Just get a bus.

Ranger50 wrote: Just get a bus.

looked at some busses too, not any cheaper than this (this is near challenge priced) and I'm looking for a no major projects RV. To outfit a bus the way we want it would be a lot of effort.

time to jump in and see if the water is 4 , or 40 feet deep

The GMC actually used a 455 Oldsmobile motor not caddy. It is one of the few vintage coaches I am extremely familiar with and they are generally priced outside my range.

Storage isnt an issue, I have room in the driveway and an acre out back.

Fuel mileage isnt really a concern either, we aren't doing cross country trips with it. 90% of its use will be local for tailgating and other functions. The few times we go out on the road with it, well the cost is what it is.

Size doesn't concern me from a driving standpoint, I've driven larger things, I used to train people on driving 35 and 45 foot buses and I've driven tow for C-141 cargo aircraft including parking them in a hangar :)

JThw8 wrote: The GMC actually used a 455 Oldsmobile motor not caddy. It is one of the few vintage coaches I am extremely familiar with and they are generally priced outside my range.

Toronado-derived drivetrain, but not a Toronado drivetrain. Parts availablity on the GMCs is apparently a little iffy these days.

Just out of curiosity, I assume the Foretravel you looked at has a full bathroom? We're probably going to be looking at older RVs sometime next year (SWMBO wants one as long as she doesn't have to drive it) and that's the one important part that can make or break a buying decision.

BoxheadTim wrote:

JThw8 wrote: The GMC actually used a 455 Oldsmobile motor not caddy. It is one of the few vintage coaches I am extremely familiar with and they are generally priced outside my range.

Toronado-derived drivetrain, but not a Toronado drivetrain. Parts availablity on the GMCs is apparently a little iffy these days. Just out of curiosity, I assume the Foretravel you looked at has a full bathroom? We're probably going to be looking at older RVs sometime next year (SWMBO wants one as long as she doesn't have to drive it) and that's the one important part that can make or break a buying decision.

Yes full bath with a tub and shower. Actually one of the largest bathrooms I've seen in an RV. SWMBO doesnt want to drive either, might be convinced to pilot it out on the open highway but no place that requires any maneuvering. There's alot of cheap RVs out there if you are willing to go older, but of course you need to budget time and/or money for upkeep but from what I've been told newer doesn't change the equation much.

I have written two or three articles on RV ownership in GRM over the years. They were surprisingly popular. I have motor homed my whole life. You can order the back issues from Gary, here at headquarters. If they don't help you, I will give you your money back.

Tim Suddard wrote: I have written two or three articles on RV ownership in GRM over the years. They were surprisingly popular. I have motor homed my whole life. You can order the back issues from Gary, here at headquarters. If they don't help you, I will give you your money back.

Sweet, can you point me to which issues or will Gary be able to find them easy enough (having been a subscriber for years I may have them here)

So your gut feeling, with a sub $4k budget is this a decent start? I know on that budget anything is going to be a crapshoot.

Having gone through RV training for my job, I wouldn't touch that thing with someone else's money. But then, I wouldn't buy any of those things when there are perfectly good hotels out there waiting to take my money.

Clean and spiffy is all well and good, but the #1 concern on any RV whether it's 1 or 100 years old is water leaks. You've got to check every seam for cracks and re-caulk them every couple years. If the owner can't prove he's done this...be terrified. Check for soft wood everywhere: floors, corners, roof, bulges in the siding both inside and out. Once they leak they rot, and once they rot they quickly turn to junk.

Appliances and mechanicals such as heaters, a/c units, fridges, etc become obsolete very quickly. Countless recalls have been issued for fridges, furnaces, etc for being fire prone. These things are built from the lowest bidder in almost every instance.

Be very, very careful buying and expect to spend 2 to 3 times as much as you expected fixing things. And never, ever leave the awning out when you're not around; that's always when the windstorm will come along and rip the works right off the side.

I always thought the ideal way to have an RV was to rent one when I wanted.

That being said, I'm 30 years old, camped multiple times a year since I was a newborn (according to my hippy parents), some times for weeks at a time, and never needed or wanted an RV. Something about being dirty and smelling like woodsmoke for a week, and the feel of bathing on the shores of Lake Superior in 55 degree water....Ahh....

I had a $500 Toyota based motor home for a few years. It was a maintenance trap. (though...it was mostly that which had been deferred.)

I gotta say, though, that what I know of you from your posts on the board and what you've posted in this thread...you seem to be on the right track. Sounds like you've done your homework and all.

I'm not probably going to be wanting another motorhome anytime soon. If I did, it would likely be an old Airstream. They're not cheap, but I surmise (possibly erroneously) that they are head and shoulders above the rest for build quality and/or durability. Basically, I feel they would be better built to keep the water out and such.

Second to that would be a bus. But you've already addressed your reasons for not wanting one of those.

So, I'm probably not helping you much except to encourage you to buy something you want to...because I feel like you have realistic expectations.

Clem

ddavidv wrote: Having gone through RV training for my job, I wouldn't touch that thing with someone else's money. But then, I wouldn't buy any of those things when there are perfectly good hotels out there waiting to take my money. Clean and spiffy is all well and good, but the #1 concern on any RV whether it's 1 or 100 years old is water leaks. You've got to check every seam for cracks and re-caulk them every couple years. If the owner can't prove he's done this...be terrified. Check for soft wood everywhere: floors, corners, roof, bulges in the siding both inside and out. Once they leak they rot, and once they rot they quickly turn to junk. Appliances and mechanicals such as heaters, a/c units, fridges, etc become obsolete very quickly. Countless recalls have been issued for fridges, furnaces, etc for being fire prone. These things are built from the lowest bidder in almost every instance. Be very, very careful buying and expect to spend 2 to 3 times as much as you expected fixing things. And never, ever leave the awning out when you're not around; that's always when the windstorm will come along and rip the works right off the side.

Dwight all good points and the one and only thing I know about these things for certain is that water leaks are death. I looked at another last week that had obvious signs of water infiltration, it was dirt cheap and still not enough to get me to bite. This one is tight and dry, that is my first and foremost consideration.

Your lowest bidder scenario is very true from my research which is why the Foretravel appeals to me, it was not a lowest bidder proposition, they lost money on every unit for their first 3 years because they didnt take lowest bidder junk. But honestly 30+ years later I expect nothing of any of the appliances. We will mostly be using this for local stuff/tailgating so the appliances wont come in to play and before we do hit the road in a few years I will upgrade all of that. The bits that make it a "home" are much less important to me than the bits that make it a vehicle.

Im going into this knowing that RVs are 2nd only to boats for being money pits. Despite my wanting new toys nature I've tried to talk the wife out of this but she really wants it so now I just need to find the best that I can for the money. The primary factor outside of fun/tailgating is something large enough to evacuate the 5 dogs and 4 cats if an emergency ever arose, in that scenario I dont care if the stove works, I just need it to get down the highway asap. ;)

The first thing that came to mind was, " don't you already have enough projects?"

I've actually been struggling with the opposite problem, how to sell my Dad's vintage RV. It's a Southwind and looks almost the same as the one you pictured, except without the rear bedroom.

Here's the issues; Even with new tires and an Onan generator it's barely worth $1200. I could keep the tires for my 1-ton truck, sell the 440/727 as a drop in for a pickup, and keep the roof AC and generator for my old Shasta and I'd be way ahead dollar wise, but I'd be throwing away a perfectly good camper. Seems such a shame.

I think it's awesome. You have me looking for Foretravels on local CL.....none listed and only one on ebay, so they must be pretty rare.

Buy it, sell the 440/727 to a drag racer, buy cummins powered truck and swap. Play your cards right and you end up with a near free diesel RV.

One of these was for sale here not to long ago. It was only $1200 bit had sat for over 10 years. Stuff a diesel in it andit would be so awesome!

This Foretravel doesn't look too bad, and they were a good brand.

We had a Travco and they had the worst chassis and absolutely no storage. Lots of old motorhomes had terrible chassis (I mean like scary to drive!) and storage seems to be something invented in the nineties.

As for the back issues, Gary keeps some kind of master list and can tell you wish ones you are looking for.

Honestly, the best driving smaller motorhomes were the Class Cs. Thee had the ergononomics of a real van with the house put on the back.

The foretravel is nice, but it is not constructed to last. The GMC is an aluminum frame with aluminum or fiberglass panels. Much stronger and less likely to rattle and leak over time. You and the wife really need to stop by to check out my GMC.

porschenut wrote: The foretravel is nice, but it is not constructed to last. The GMC is an aluminum frame with aluminum or fiberglass panels. Much stronger and less likely to rattle and leak over time. You and the wife really need to stop by to check out my GMC.

I haven't forgotten about you, I'll shoot you an email :)

The interior needs some period correct hi-fi audio equipment.