GMC Motorhome manufactured by GM Truck & amp; Coach Division for the 1973-1978 model year in Pontiac, Michigan, USA - as the only complete motor built by major car/truck manufacturers and serves as a "halo" vehicle for GMC. The motorhome was conceived not just as a "camper," but as a vehicle for convenient travel as well. The design is radical for day with front wheel drive and low profile, fully integrated body.
Motorhome is usually made on a framework equipped with a drivetrain supplied by the chassis manufacturer. GMC builds the body and in many cases the interior at home, and designs the chassis and drivetrain to create the motor. Empty shells are supplied to other RV manufacturers to complement the interior as well as to specialized manufacturers for a variety of special purposes ranging from mail delivery and mobile training facilities to mobiles and ambulances of people. GMC Motorhome was built with a length of 23 and 26 feet (7.0 and 7.9 m).
Video GMC motorhome
Influences
Prior to the introduction of Motorhome GMC, a handful of other manufacturers used the same front wheel drive configuration and inspired the GMC configuration. These include Cortez Motor Home from Clark Equipment Corporation which initially offered a four-speed manual transmission with front-wheel drive, available from 1963 to 1970 until the division was sold to Kent Industries. From 1971 to 1977, the redesigned Cortez-SD was produced, originally by Kent and then a group of investors, using the same Oldsmobile 455 and a three-speed automatic transmission to be adopted by GMC motors in 1973.
Another parallel design is the Revon motor, which started in 1971 is an all-aluminum body-wheel drive trainer, initially with the same Toronado drivetrain as the later GMC. Starting in 1978, the Revcon took on a more aerodynamic design similar to the recently canceled GMC Motorhome, which included a tilting nose and a dual rear axle, while adopting a Chevrolet 454 engine and a Turbo-Hydramatic 475 transmission. It was produced in 1990, with one coach built in 1991 using the remaining components before the plant closes.
Maps GMC motorhome
Design and specification
Rumors of the industry have been in circulation for some time that GM will build motorcycles. On 7 February 1972, it was made official. Around this time the new vehicle was known as TVS-4, Travel Vehicle Streamlined. Motorhome design continues to grow in two main areas of styling and chassis. The Design Center continues with its external design and interior. There are twelve designers working on sketches and 1/8 scale land models (A-scale). Three or four of the 1/8 scale clay models are made, each with its own unique design characteristics, each perfecting its shape closer to its final shape. Once this model is completed, evaluated and approved, full-size images are made using 1/4 inch tape to illustrate front, rear and side designs. These drawings will guide the designers at a later stage: full-size clay models.
26-foot full-wheeled clay (7.9 m) motor was invented. After the form is complete, the clay surface is "polished" with sponges and cold water and ends with a blue silver film DI-NOC, replicating the painted surface of the vehicle. After completing the full-scale clay, the casts segment is made of it. The image dimensions are made from this final design for the tooling and early prototype fiberglass parts for the first prototype body.
The motor has a front-wheel-drive transaxle, called GM Unified Powerplant Package , originally used in Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado with Oldsmobile 455 cuÃ, in (7.5Ã, l) V8 from Toronado, the model then utilizes 403 cuÃ, at (6.6Ã, l) V8. Both use a GM-made Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission, with a wide-roller chain drive to connect the output from a longitudinal-oriented engine to a transmission. The last drive is connected directly to the transmission, and the power is fed to the front wheels using a half-shaft that runs underneath the front of the engine. The machine was triggered with regular gasoline stored in two 25-US-gallon tanks (95Ã, l).
GMC is equipped with front disc brakes and drums on all four rear wheels. Front-drive configuration eliminates the driveshaft and rear axle and solid shaft found in most of the front-engined motors. As a result, the floor can be built with a distance of about 14 inches (36 cm) above the highway. The floor is too low for the rear axle, and GM designs the rear suspension as a pair of tandem wheels, mounted on bogies that ride pins attached to the sides of the low profile frame. With the exception of the wheel wells, the rear suspension does not interfere with living space. The rear bogies are suspended using a convoluted double air bag that is pressurized by an automatic leveling system to maintain the designated ride height. The leveling system can also be manually controlled to equate the coach at the campsite. The overall chassis design, from the use of the existing GM E powertrain platform and modified rear suspension has been considered an early ancestor of the crossover.
The motorhome is built at 23 feet (7.0 m) or 26 ft (7.9 m) long, with approximately 90% of total production being the last. Wheelbase from the front wheel to the midline of the rear tandem pair is 140 inches (360 cm) for 23-foot (7.0 m) and 160-inch (410 cm) trainer for 26-foot (7.9 m) trainer. All GMC Motorhomes have a width of 96 inches (240 cm) and a height of about 9 feet (2.7 m) including a typical roof rack. The headroom interior is 76 inches (190 cm).
The gross vehicle weight rating for the 23-foot (7.0 m) trainer is 10,500 pounds (4,800 kg) and 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg) for the 26-foot (7.9 m) trainer. Most GMCs with factory interiors have 30 gallons of US (110Ã, l) fresh water tanks and 30 gallons of US (110Ã, l) main tanks.
Body construction consists of a rigid frame made of welded aluminum extrusions. The body frame is mounted on a chassis steel frame using a body insulator. The floor is sea plywood, except where it slopes at the end, where they are aluminum plates. The body panels are reinforced plastic fibers (fiberglass) under the extrusion of the waist frame and at the end. The upper body and the roof panel between the ends are aluminum sheets. GMC is famous for their large window spread, which redefined the RV industry at the time. They often have generic features common to higher GM brand models, such as cruise control, air conditioning, AM/FM/8-track sound system, aluminum/fiberglass body, and air suspension.
The lower rear compartment provides space for generators and propane tanks. GMC is optionally supplied with a generator from Onan in 4,000 watts and 6,000 watts, many of which are still in operation.
Production
A total of 12,921 GMC Motorhome were manufactured from 1973 to 1978. The interior of the motor home was built at the Gemini Corporation in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Peter R. Fink, owner of motor home Travco, is the CEO of Gemini. Operation Gemini displays the concept of a progressive team with a team of workers who build a room in a motor home in full, rather than doing repetitive tasks on the assembly line. Beginning operations in 1972, this factory featured advanced equipment including one of the first programmable routers. Gemini closed a few years after General Motors stopped production of its motor home. More than 7,000 are currently registered in the international registry. Estimates show that at least 8,000 to 9,000 original productions are still in running condition.
A press release grouped on Pontiac, 11 November 1977 reads as follows: "GMC Truck & Coach Division of General Motors plans to stop producing MotorHomes luxury and similar TransMode multi-purpose vehicles and convert the plant's facilities to expand truck operations, GM President said today, Robert W. Truxell, general manager of GMC Truck & Coach said, "As a result of this action, GMC will be able to utilize production facilities more effectively to service the growing demand for trucks."
Popular culture
Motorhome GMC has made many theatrical appearances, such as animated series, movies, music videos, and television. Along with the influence of the toy industry with Mattel produced more than 100 different models of GMC Motorhome Hot Wheels and Barbie Star Traveler Motorhome.
In the movie Dashes , a GMC Motorhome was used as "EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle", armored troop carrier with cannons, machine guns, firepower, and rocket mounted in the tower.
A Motorhome GMC 1973 appeared in the Ben 10 franchise.
In the 1996 film Twister , GMC Motorhome was used as a mobile support weather station by the "bad guys team".
A GMh Motorhome appeared in the Six Million Dollar Man Episode <"The Pal-Mir Escort
A GMC Motorhome is featured briefly in the movie Will Farrell Anchorman 2 , and the 26 foot Palm Beach is home to the character "The Prophet" in the Bruce Willis Substitute
A Motorhome GMC 1973 is used as the outer part of Battletram Aquabats .
The GMC Motorhome model, Birchaven, was used in the Shooter Jennings music video featuring George Jones on July 4, 2005.
Motorhome GMC is featured in reality show "Ozzy and Jack's World Detour". GMC is Ozzy Osbourne's choice because of his wonderful memories of touring in one during the 1970s.
References
External links
- Information Source for Motorhome GMC Vintage
- Starting point for all things GMC, GMCers.org
- Internet Resources for GMC Classic Motorhosting
- World-Wide GMC Motorhome Registry
- KOPER GMC, Orlando, Florida
- applied GMC, northern California
- MGM-GMC, Southern California
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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