1976 GMC Birchaven Vintage Motohome Tour, GM GMC Model 230 (23') Transmode Coachman Birchaven
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2021
- Vintage 1976 GMC Birchaven Tour, General Motors GMC Model 230 (23feet) Transmode Coachman Birchaven
Follow John, AKA Sprocket, on his blog: YellowGMCmotorhome.blogspot.com
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A Brief History of the GMC Motorhome - Genesis of a Design
In the heady days after the United States landed a man on the moon, General Motor engineers set out to design the ultimate traveling machine. Drawing on the excitement of the times, this vehicle had to exemplify the cutting edge of vehicle design and construction. This was not to be just another recreational vehicle. The common design of the times for RV's was a boxy, ungainly, top-heavy vehicle on a truck chassis. The GM vehicle was to be innovative in every way. Design work began in 1970, with release planned for the 1973 model year.
The design would draw heavily on General Motors expertise in several areas. First, it was to be front wheel drive. A still rare concept in car design, much less motorhomes. The drive train and front suspension would be the same design that had been used successfully in the Oldsmobile Toronado since 1966; the 455 cubic inch Oldsmobile engine mated to a Turbohydramatic 425 transmission with torsion bar suspension. The rear suspension would draw on GM's leadership in bus design, using dual swing arms(one leading and one trailing) with a single air spring on each side. Automatic controls would be integrated into the suspension to allow the vehicle to compensate for changes in loading and maintaining a level driving condition at all times. The chassis was to be a steel ladder design. The body framing was to be aluminum and the body exterior was to be a combination of heavy gauge aluminum and molded glass fiber reinforced plastic as had been used in the Chevrolet Corvette.
The use of front wheel drive and the independent swing arm rear suspension brought many advantages to this design. The lack of drive shafts and axles passing under the coach allowed a very low floor height compared to other motorhomes. The low floor height also allowed a low overall height and low center of gravity for the coach. This gave the vehicle almost car-like driving qualities.
Travelling Machine:
The emphasis for the design was to be on the travelling experience, not extended "in-the-woods" camping. This resulted in the exterior of the vehicle being dominated by large expanses of glass. Visibility from the driver's seat is panoramic to say the least. The vehicle was to be manufactured in 23 foot and 26 foot models; fairly short for a motorhome. There were no permanent sleeping areas (at least in the original design). All beds were converted from seating areas when needed. Since the floor plan is fairly compact, care was taken in the design of the beds so they did not encroach on aisle space when opened.
To allow hot water to be available while traveling, marine water heaters were used which incorporated engine coolant loops (this can present a scalding hazard as coolant temperatures generally exceed 200 deg. F). Power for the refrigerator was 12 volts DC and the "house" battery (in the original design) was a standard automobile wet cell; adequate only for overnight use without recharging.
Production Life:
After rumors circulated throughout the auto and recreational vehicle industries for nearly two years, the prototype was displayed in May, 1972 at the Transpro '72 trade show in Washington, D.C. Production vehicles debuted in the 1973 model year to general acclaim from the recreational vehicle community. Two models were offered, Model 230 (23 feet) and Model 260 (26 feet), in two variations Motorhome(provided with GM finished interior) and Transmode (bare coaches sold to RV manufacturers such as Avion and Coachman who provided their own interior).
Although the design was refined along the way, the basic vehicle was never altered. Body panels from a 1973 will fit a 1978. The most notable change came in 1977, when Oldsmobile dropped the 455 cubic inch engine for the 403. By then, the oil embargoes and energy crises of the 70's had taken their toll. "Gas guzzler" vehicles like motorhomes fell out of favor and the entire RV industry fell on hard times. The motorhome was never a high volume vehicle and was rumored never to have been profitable for the automotive giant. General Motors decided that the production facilities would be better utilized in the production of light trucks - estimating they could produce 100 light trucks for every motorhome manufactured. The formal announcement came in November of 1977 and production was discontinued in the 1978 model year after manufacturing around 13,000 total units. (Source: gmcmotorhome.com/faq/what.html)
I hope you enjoyed the brief history of the GMC Motohome and the tour of the 1976 GMC Birchaven.
Please like, comment, subscribe and share. Now Dat’s RVing!
#nowdatsrving #GMCMotorhome #GMCBirchaven
Its not SPACEY, but its SPACEY!
Very cool! Thanks for posting!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Super vlog!!
Vintage motorhomes look so unique, there is just something about them, thanks for sharing
Thank you for watching, I think what makes these vintage motohomes more unique were that they are whimsical and futuristic than today's motorhomes.
Wow that brings back seeing those RV. I reminder that with the cutting edge RV. I was in high school. It was so weird looking to everyone. Cool history
Thank you for watching.
@@NowDatsRVing You are welcome. Glad we found your channel.
23' seems like a good length for the newbie RVer, someone who has never driven a motorhome.
Absolutely, something between 22' and 24' is a good manageable size to drive and maneuver, especially Newbie RVer.
@NowDatsRVing I agree. Even a full-time RVer shouldn't have to drive a 40' behemoth. I'd be happy driving a 22' Rialta or a 30' FMC.
Love the big car wow amazing one sir
Thank you for watching.
The Birchaven was named after my Grandfather Alex Birch. He worked for GM to develop the engine for their first fleet. He and my Grandmother took the first Birchaven on a maiden voyage across the country. My brother is currently duplicating his trip in his own 73' Birchaven. They sure are fun. Thanks for sharing.
That is such a cool rig! Gotta love those vintage models. Solid wood is great! Thanks for the tour!
Thank you Terry and Terri for watching. I'm so intrigued about this GMC Birchaven as I did research to produce this video. Thanks again.
@@NowDatsRVing Yes, it was clear that you definitely did your homework and provided so much information! You are much welcome!
Old classic RV. Good to see people still take care of them and use them.
Absolutely. He keeps it mechanically in good running condition and uses it regularly. Thanks for watching and commenting.
That’s definitely a pretty cool rig. We love that John kept all the original hardwood cabinets and some of the old features. That was an awesome tour and walkthrough!!!
Thanks for watching. John does have very cool rig and was expecting that I ask him to give me a tour as well as video it to share. He's regularly using the motorhome and maintaining it while he makes improvements to it.
@@NowDatsRVing awesome, again, thank you for sharing!!
I've always loved these GMC motorhomes 😁
Thank, it belongs to a friend of mine.
Sweet looking rig. I've seen a few GMC Motorhomes before over the years, but they've all been 26'. I've never seen a 23' Motorhome before.
This is SO cool! Boy, that brings back memories of camping as a child!
Thank you! It's a very cool rig.
Wow, that's a blast from the past!
1976, the Bicentennial of the United States of America, take me down memory lane Thank for watching.
That's pretty cool! We love seeing the vintage RVs! Thanks for sharing! ~ Shion and Matthew
Thank you Shion and Matthew for watching. This GMC Birchaven is unique in many ways.
Wow that baby is an oldie but it's solid for sure. A classic.
We are in the process of remodeling our 1989 ford fleetwood flair 26 foot motorhome. It's nice to see the older ones.
Thanks for coming by to watch. We'll be following your remodeling. Best regards and safe travels.
That is so cool!!! I love vintage campers that have been brought back with love. ~Blessings Sherry
Thanks for watching, Sherry! This one is lovingly used by my friend John.
I saw one of these the other day in Bay St. Louis, MS a guy had restored. Awesome machines !!
It really is an awesome machine, and very innovative for it's time. Thanks for watching.
I like the way the bed works. I've never seen one like that before.
This GMC Birchaven has many innovative features and was way ahead of it's time. It's neat that the bed folds down and pulls out like that.
The bar is a must lol!! Thanks for the tour! Pretty cool and a lot more roomy then we thought it would be!!
LOL, the bar is definitely a must. Thanks for watching. Stay safe and healthy.
Wow that Birchaven is really cool, rust free, and I love the colour
The RV is lovingly called the Pineapple 🍍 probably because of it's color.
Very very very very good
Love the vintage GMC coaches. They were ahead of there time. Very cool. Thanks for sharing this. KTKamping Kent and Tami
Yes they are! Thanks for watching.
interestin tour! it looks pretty cosy inside!
Thank you! This is a very interesting vintage RV/caravan.
What a cool vintage GMC👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you! It's my friend's motorhome. It is very cool.
Good morning my friend. Nice share
Thank you for watching, my friend.
This was a great tour! I love vintage RV's. This one is super nice!
Thanks for watching and commenting. It is a very nice vintage RV.
Awesome tour. Love classic vehicles. This is a labor of love keep. Super cool rig. 👍#39
Thanks for watching, commenting and like 👍. I appreciate your support.
That 1976 motohome is in great shape. Thank you for the very interesting video. Enjoyed, liked, connected.
Thank you!
This is a really cool rig. Those vintage units are hard to find. Nice job. I did a review of an old Shasta class A that was really cool.
Thank you for watching. It is a very cool rig. I'm going to have check out you review of the vintage Shasta class A video.
Whoaa that's an amazing vehicle! Thanks for sharing, man. I've seen one of this in a movie and it was really cool. Luckily, I've seen this and knew what's inside and what are the cool features! I hope you can see mine too!
Thanks, we came by to say Hi.
Great looking rig on the outside. A bit too low to the ground for me. I love seeing older rigs still on the road. Thanks for the tour.
Thanks for watching and commenting. It definitely is a good looking rig.
Love it!! Like the RV from Stripes! Cool rig!
It's definitely a very cool rig and is most recognizable as the RV from Stripes 😁.
Wow original wallpaper also. Im sure that looks like my parents wallpaper growing up
This is definitely an antique. He saved a bit of history there. Thanks for watching.
@@NowDatsRVing welcome
This was a cool video! That thing looked like a spaceship in the schematics!
Thanks for watching and commenting. It is a really cool RV and interesting design.
@@NowDatsRVing it really is!!!
Hey Dat! Long time no see. Hope all is well. I love these motorhomes and see them on the road every once in a while. Great info and tour. See you soon!
Hello, Sonja! Thanks for watching and checking on me. I've been busy with work/life balance and haven't found the time to join you all on the live streams. I hope to find that balance soon. Take care and hope to see you soon.
I love the sound effect when you mentioned "space pineapple" hehe. This is a good content. Very interesting.
Thanks, Eden. This is my first collaboration video with my friend John. That is his RV. We have to plan on doing a collaboration project.
@@NowDatsRVing Nice collab. Keep up the good work Dat.
بالتوفيق 👍👍👍👍👍
That is a really cool RV. Thanks for the tour. Great channel, we just subscribed!
Thank you for watching and subbing!
Cheers from Ontario, Canada! New sub from me - take care!
Thanks for watching and subbing.
Love these GMC rigs, and I still remember it being in Stripes.
Hello, I saw the notification for the comment that you left. TH-cam marked it as spam though, it's not showing up in under the video. I'm all for reciprocity though and will see you around. 🙋🗿✨🌱🌞
Thanks again, when I researching the background on the GMC. The one from Stripes came up and is probably the most popular GMC Motorhome.
Cool rig!
It really is pretty cool. Thanks for watching.
It would be great with a Duramax 6.6 conversion, more power and fuel efficiency.
No doubt it would be more powerful and increase fuel efficiency. He may want to keep it original.
Also, where did you get your T-shirt? I would love to have one!
Ohhemmji thank you for this kind of content hope oneday to meet you and have collab❤️✨✨❤️Godbless keep safe always yiiee uwuu yiiee
Thanks for visiting, please come back again. We're always looking for new Subs and possible collaboration.
Would it cause any harm over time if you added a slight lift kit & bigger wheels etc
You'll have to convince my friend who owns this beauty.
Good vid,FACT check REVCON was first,Aircraft aluminum 100%.front wheel drive, Made by John Hall and associates. With regular production in 1971.
Thanks for watching and the Fact Check.
@@NowDatsRVing enjoy your vids.Love the 'old school' RV's.
Thank you for taking your time to show the vids👍👍👍
Do you think it would be able to be driven around like daily maybe through neighborhoods?
Yes, it is small enough to be driven daily through neighborhoods. You'll need a larger/longer parking space though.
@@NowDatsRVing Thank you for the Info! I was just like man I can't miss this beauty if I can drive this to work or something I'll definitely get it then!^^
Is this the Urban Assault Vehicle from the movie “Stripes”?
Yes, that is the most famed GMC Motorhome.
As someone who has been around RVs for 40+ years, I can say without reservation that the GMC was the worst designed RV in history.
Thanks for you opinion. I guess that not all RV is for everyone and the one that you get for you is what is best for you. This one is what my friend John got for himself and he enjoys it. Happy RVing.