GMC Palm Beach

GMC PALM BEACH!

I was riding my bike along a grimy stretch of 58th Street in Brooklyn between 1st and 2nd Avenues when this mighty vision presented itself:

Abbondanza!
This colossus is a 1973-1978 GMC Motorhome wearing its original Palm Beach livery.

These capsule shaped RVs are unique for several reasons. First of all they are the only motorhome manufactured by a major automaker in history. The fact that the truck division of General Motors designed and built this RV start to finish in-house means the components all worked together beautifully and parts remain available.

The other wholly unique feature is that these motorhomes were all front wheel drive! They incorporated the Olds Toronado running gear, starting with the 455 V8 and moving to the 403 in later years. Some of them used the Cadillac 501 that came in the Eldorado

Because the engine and transmission were sitting with the drive wheels up front there was no need for a driveshaft hump that would require a higher floor. Much like the Toronado and Eldorado, these rides boasted a low, flat floor front to back. One quirky solution to keep the low floor full-length is that the rear wheels are not connected by axles! Each pair of wheels on each side were connected to each other, but not to the ones opposite. Only the wheel wells themselves would encroach on the interior, and not by much.

From the above angle we can see that this is the full size, 26 foot model. There were some 23 foot ones too but they are much more rare.

While it's not a door the entire rear panel can be taken out by removing all of the bolts you can see here. This allows for an easy remodeling of the interior or even installing an entire store-bought bed.

This single door is the only way in or out. The body is fiberglass over an aluminum frame which was strong and aerodynamic.

The fact that it was a large fiberglass shell allowed for more window space than any RV previous.

You've gotta love the original color scheme and decals. Palm Beach only denoted this color combo as well as matching interior. The 260 designation meant that this was the 26 footer.

That huge roll out awning on the door side would give you a righteous side yard. From this angle you can see the burgundy and silver model lurking in the background. Either these folks are rolling insanely deep or one of these is a parts rig.

Well there you have it; an innovative motorhome parked amidst crumbling warehouses. A total of 13,000 of these were built by GMC over the span of 5 years, and an impressive 7,000 of them are still registered today! That makes this one of the most durable and reliable vehicles ever made, which on the surface seems absurd. If you have the parking space and want a vacation cruiser I think this is the way to go. There are serious fan clubs and aftermarket suppliers looking to keep every one of these on the road. For $15,000 you can find one in just about perfect condition with all the mechanicals rebuilt and the interior upgraded. Happy Trails!