Kuralt's motorhomes January 23, 2008, 02:50:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88744I dragged out my Kuralt books; Kuralt describes the succession of motorhomes (all called "busses" by Kuralt and his crew) used to travel the U.S. for the On-the-Road series in his book, "A Life on the Road". The chapter, "Boxes on Wheels", talks of starting out with a Travco on a Dodge truck chassis: "What greeted my eyes was a tall, fiberglass box on wheels, originally painted beige, I believe, but bleached pink by the sun". They got a second Travco, then a Cortez: "It was better-engineered than the lumpy old Travco, but it had a fatal flaw of its own: The metal body was way too heavy for the flimsy chassis and suspension system." The first and seocnd Cortez "busses" broke down constantly; "after the second Cortez broke down irreparably", they bought a Revcon, then a used FMC; this was (apparently) the last motorhome that Kuralt and his crew used.After doing a little more research, I think that references made (in "RV Travel") to Kuralt's use of a *GMC* motohome are inaccurate; *GMC* seems to have been confused with *FMC*. Besides the "blog" reference from RV Travel (and its companion piece from "New RVer"), I wasn't able to find any references to Kuralt's using a GMC. Anyone know -- or care? ;-) I do like history of "esoterica"!Joan
Re: Kuralt's motorhomes Reply #1 – January 23, 2008, 10:41:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88763FWIW, I don't believe ole charlie ever use a GMC. Original message from "jctaylor1941" jctaylor1941@...>: I dragged out my Kuralt books; Kuralt describes the succession of motorhomes (all called "busses" by Kuralt and his crew) used to travel the U.S. for the On-the-Road series in his book, "A Life on the Road". The chapter, "Boxes on Wheels", talks of starting out with a Travco on a Dodge truck chassis: "What greeted my eyes was a tall, fiberglass box on wheels, originally painted beige, I believe, but bleached pink by the sun". They got a second Travco, then a Cortez: "It was better-engineered than the lumpy old Travco, but it had a fatal flaw of its own: The metal body was way too heavy for the flimsy chassis and suspension system." The first and seocnd Cortez "busses" broke down constantly; "after the second Cortez broke down irreparably", they bought a Revcon, then a used FMC; this was (apparently) the last motorhome that Kuralt and his crew used.After doing a little more research, I think that references made (in "RV Travel") to Kuralt's use of a *GMC* motohome are inaccurate; *GMC* seems to have been confused with *FMC*. Besides the "blog" reference from RV Travel (and its companion piece from "New RVer"), I wasn't able to find any references to Kuralt's using a GMC. Anyone know -- or care? ;-) I do like history of "esoterica"!Joan[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Kuralt's motorhomes Reply #2 – January 23, 2008, 11:31:21 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88765Thanks for your research, Joan! Yes, the book I quoted describes a series of six "On The Road" motorhomes including a Travco, two Cortezes, and ending up with an FMC. In my post I was focusing on the last and largest, the FMC. In the photo I found of the front end, it looked like a bus conversion. My mistake!And I was wrong about the length: FMC's only motorhome model was 29 feet long. I found a full-length picture of it in Douglas Keister's beautifully photographed history of motorhomes, "Mobile Mansions." Kuralt's FMC, by the way, can be seen at the Henry Ford Museum. Still... three adults couldn't keep house in a 29-foot Class A? Come on! ;-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Kuralt's motorhomes Reply #3 – January 24, 2008, 10:36:32 am Yahoo Message Number: 88769Quote Thanks for your research, Joan! Yes, the book I quoted describes a series of six "On The Road" motorhomes including a Travco, two Cortezes, and ending up with an FMC. In my post I was focusing on the last and largest, the FMC. In the photo I found of the front end, it looked like a bus conversion. My mistake!And I was wrong about the length: FMC's only motorhome model was 29 feet long. I found a full-length picture of it in Douglas Keister's beautifully photographed history of motorhomes, "Mobile Mansions." Kuralt's FMC, by the way, can be seen at the Henry Ford Museum. Still... three adults couldn't keep house in a 29-foot Class A? Come on! ;-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/ Mr Baird, you must not have lived with other males in a close enviroment. I had college roommates and business roommates and have lived in close quarters with other males. If the option is open to have a nice private motel room of my own, paid for with an expense account from an employer, I would take it any day over living with other guys in a small RV.
Re: Kuralt's motorhomes Reply #4 – January 30, 2008, 08:07:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 89040Hello, There is a motorhome that Charles Kuralt used
Re: Kuralt's motorhomes Reply #5 – January 30, 2008, 09:40:05 pm Yahoo Message Number: 89048Hello chuckie baby....it's a nooo gmc....it be a Fmc....if you look good you canna seee it be Fmceeeeee, you see??"??? have a nice one..gene Original message from "Chuck" popsmccray@...>: Hello, There is a motorhome that Charles Kuralt used
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