When I first saw a GMC on Craigslist my first thought was “man that thing would be awesome for weekend trips”.
That’s what stuck in my head.
Not long term travel or full timing (we don’t have time for that anyway!) but just quick local-ish jaunts to the abundance of awesome places we have around us.
That’s really what convinced me to buy one of these beautiful machines. We won’t be able to take month+ long trips for another 20 years in all likelihood.
Our business keeps us beyond busy, but also allows us the luxury of a few days off whenever we want/need it.
So after our long trip out west to get married the GMC has finally realized its true purpose, it’s a weekend warrior hotel on wheels that will take us anywhere within a 5-6 hr drive for a great weekend getaway.
There’s true greatness in exploring locally. Everyone imagines jumping in an RV to tour all the National Parks on a summer long whirlwind tour, but there is so much to be seen and enjoyed in your backyard that is often overlooked.
We live in middle Tennessee. No Grand Canyons, no towering peaks, no receding glaciers just a simple natural beauty. Within a few hours we can be at any number of amazing state parks, a couple national parks, state archaeological parks, rivers, lakes, etc etc. So that’s what we do.
This summer we have used the GMC as a home base while hiking Roan Mountain, kayaking the Hiwassee River, biking the Great Smoky Mountains and Cade’s Cove, and exploring the dark wet cold depths of Mammoth Cave (We HIGHLY recommend the Wild Cave Tour if you’re adventurous)
Upcoming we’ve got a couple of concerts out of town (Louisville, Birmingham) that we plan to use the RV as home base for as well.
Some of our most fun adventures have been just a few days long and just a few hours from home.
Get out there and explore.
Nice review, Justin.
We did longer trips with our first GMC, but now we also find many areas within 10 hours of home to explore and enjoy with our grandkids and our second GMC.
The GMC’s size, the ride quality and the way it’s configured have a timeless value that is hard to find in other RV’s.
I’m jealous of the time to do the long ones, one of these days!
Thank you for this. For whatever reason, stumbling onto these machines a few months ago I have fallen in love with the machine. I really, really, really, want one. But…I’m certainly not going to toddle of to some far off place and relax by the fire for 3 weeks at a go. But one thing I have always wanted to do is get on the highway and get off at the first marker for some interesting place, spend however much time there that makes sense, get back on the highway and go to the next place. Or look at the map and just go on some road I’ve never gone down before and see where it goes and just go. Taking your hotel room with you just makes it that much easier, and way cheaper on food. THIS I could do with a GMC. That would be BRILLIANT! Thanks so much for writing this.
The only issue with using it as a hotel is transportation once you get there. We currently use a motorcycle, but that’s getting tiresome so we’re looking to find a suitable toad that compliments the GMC.
So true. We are looking at early model Nissan Xterras because they are a tank, cheap, very dependable, easy to repair and roomy. The only negative might be it’s weight, around 4-5k lbs.
We actually picked up a 1991 Suzuki Jimny as a towd.
I was going to suggest a Suzuki or an older CR-V, and there you were!
My husband and I are at the beginning of a similar overhaul and are so thankful that you blogged your journey. Thank you fir sharing!
Nice coach, we started out with a 77 GM Royale and ended up with
a 36ft 97 Country Coach Allure diesel pusher, we still have our
first towed, a 2014 Smart Brabus, nice little car for 2 people,
but then traveling out west (especially) in the winter time, we
bought a 99 Tahoe 4×4 with a 6 inch chassis lift for going out
into the desert…to start, now we tow that every place we go
because it’s the ultimate on/off road vehicle everywhere….have
fun…..Paul & Robin
You guys did a beautiful job. I have no aspirations for ours to be as nice, but definitely am jealous of your finished product1
We like to vacation in colorado, and many times we will go out around a holiday and then leave the RV there, then buy a round trip back to tn and then back out for the next holiday. Like memorial day – june 3; and then june 26 – july 6 (ish). We just pick the cheap flight days in the range of vacation we have
Awesome review of the renovation work you’ve done on the GMC Motorhome. I love the pics. Very nice.