The Urban Assault Vehicle

Four or five years ago, I dragged Ryan out to look at a trailer with me.  I had decided that we would buy a vintage trailer and fix it up.  We would work on it together, fall even more madly in as we fixed it up side by side, and then take fun, family camping trips every free weekend we had.  We looked at this particular trailer and it was rough.  Ryan did not seem interested at all, but I persisted, sticking my head into every nook and cranny and asking how it got each dent on the exterior.  We stepped out of the trailer and I saw his eyes light up.  "Is that for sale?", he asked, motioning to an RV in the yard.  Next thing I knew we were standing inside the GMC motorhome getting a history lesson about the owners  "baby" and how he wouldn't sell it for less than 20k.  That was such a shocking amount of money at that time.  Especially since we were there to look at their $400 trailer.

When we got home, Ryan showed me picture after picture of GMC motorhomes on the internet.  He explained that he had loved them ever since the movie Stripes.  I laughed it off.  After all, I was after a canned ham.  Not that 70's behemoth.   

A few months later I bought and brought home a 50's canned ham, prime for a restoration, with enough original details to make it a charmer.  I couldn't wait for us to get to work.  We never did.  It languished.  He wanted to update the interior and make it modern.  I wanted to preserve the linoleum and and finish it to the exact original standards.  It sat untouched save for the girls playing the occasional game of house in it.

A few weeks ago, while browsing listings for vintage trailers, I came across a GMC Motorhome for $1000.  It hadn't run in years and was rough, but I was intrigued.  It was cooler than I had remembered it.  I liked the giant windows.  It sparked something in me.  I tried to buy it, but it sold before I could get a mechanic to agree to see it with me.  Something had been awakened, though.  I now wanted a GMC motorhome.  I scoured the internet looking at ads, forums, manuals, brochures, pictures and anything else I could find.  

Finally, through the GMC forum, I found the perfect coach for sale.  Mechanically sound, with a chance to do some cosmetic upgrading on the interior.  

We leave Sunday morning for Awahnee, CA to meet Frank and Freddie (already love them) and buy the '76 GMC Eleganza.  Lucky for us, the price has come down considerably since our first encounter.

Now for a name...