![]() The seller fitted the Motorhome with new tires a year ago, and the adjustable air suspension is working as it should. The exterior features a retractable awning, a rear ladder, and a rooftop rack with an X-Cargo storage box. With its own water reserves and a 6,000-watt Onan generator, this is properly configured for off-grid adventure, allowing you to spend extended periods away from civilization. Like other late-production units, it is powered by a 403ci 6.6-liter V8 engine mated to a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transaxle. Luckily, if you’re interested, we’ve found a very well-maintained example on Bring a Trailer.īuilt for the 1978 model year, this Motorhome Royale is among the latest produced by GMC. There is an active community and parts suppliers to keep these babies going, so many change owners under the radar. If you’re wondering where to get one of those miracle RVs, they are still floating around, but few are ever listed for sale. The fact that three of every four Motorhomes built are still in use today speaks volumes about their quality. ![]() Both offer an incredibly well-thought-out interior and amenities. Many people today would prefer the shorter-wheelbase version, but at the time, GMC built around 90% of the Motorhomes in the Royale variant. Two versions of the GMC Motorhome were built: a 23-foot (7-meter) variant called Birchaven and a 26-foot (7.90-meter) variant named Royale. ![]() It was not only unique but widely progressive for the era. Likewise, the rear suspension was cleverly designed to save space and featured a pneumatic automatic leveling system. This allowed GMC to build the floor at only 14 inches (36 cm) above the road. The front-wheel-drive configuration eliminated not only the drive shaft but also the rear differential, along with the solid axle found on most motorhomes at the time. To be sure, it already used this for the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado, but the UPP truly shined with the GMC Motorhome. Instead of a rear-wheel drive platform, which posed space problems because of the drive shaft, the Motorhome had a front-wheel-drive transaxle, which GM called Unified Powerplant Package. GMC opted for an intriguing configuration to save space inside the cabin. The cockpit was nothing the world had ever seen, and the technical solutions were out of this world. The futuristic shape is attractive even by today’s standards, but it was pure science fiction back then. Those were great times when GM also launched the widely acclaimed third-generation G-Series vans. It was one of the most forward-thinking designs that GM has ever made. GMC signed the design and engineering for the Motorhome and subsequently built the entire vehicles and the interiors in-house. Instead, General Motors has decided to offer something unique, a custom build from the ground up. Unlike everything at the time, this was not built on top of a truck chassis. ![]() #Bring a trailer upgradeSure, what's under the hood isn't nearly as exciting as, say, the Bronco Raptor's 400-plus-hp twin-turbo V-6, but at least it's an upgrade over the feeble four-cylinder engine in the original 1962 version.The GMC Motorhome was produced for just six years, but it put a lasting mark on the RV market. However, modifications include an aluminum radiator, headers, and a dual exhaust system. The seller says the powertrain was pulled from a 2013 Chevy Silverado 1500, which developed 190 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque in stock form. Power comes from a 4.3-liter V-6 and a four-speed automatic transmission. The Scout's massive rolling stock obviously connects to a four-wheel-drive system, which in turn is controlled through a slick twin-stick, two-speed transfer case. ![]() The Bronco Raptor offers 37s, too, but I think the fender-flare-to-body-size ratio looks much better on the Scout–and my guy Ezra Dyer agrees. The solid front and rear axles also have manually locking differentials. Getting filthy dirty in this Scout should be easy thanks to its 37-inch Treadwright Mud-Terrain Guard Dog tires mounted on 16.5-inch beadlock rims from a Hummer H1, complete with hardy eight-lug hubs. Personally, the quality of the paint job on a rig like this doesn't really concern me since they all look the same covered in mud. The Scout's baby-blue paint has as much clearcoat as a spray-in bedliner (read: none) because, well, it uses a bedliner material. ![]()
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