The rear bogies are suspended using a double-ended reversible sleeve air bag that is pressurized by an automatic leveling system to maintain the designed ride height. With the exception of the wheel wells, the rear suspension does not intrude into the living space. The floor was too low for a rear cross axle, and GM designed the rear suspension as a tandem pair of wheels, mounted on bogies which rode on pins attached to the sides of the low-profile frame. As a result, the floor could be built with about 14 inches (36 cm) clearance above the roadway. The front-drive configuration eliminated the driveshaft and rear differential and solid axle found on most front-engined motorhomes. The GMC was equipped with front disc brakes and drums on all four rear wheels. The engine was fueled with regular gasoline stored in two 25-US-gallon (95 l) tanks. The final drive was connected directly to the transmission, and power was fed to the front wheels using half-shafts that ran under the front portion of the engine. (At the time, the Buick Riviera, which shared most of the same components, and used the same E-body platform, as the Toronado and Eldorado until its 1977 downsizing, was still using the conventional rear-wheel-drive layout.) Both used the GM-designated Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission, with a wide roller chain drive to connect the output of the longitudinally oriented engine to the transmission. Cadillac employed the 500 cu in (8.2 l) engine. The motorhome had a front-wheel-drive transaxle, which GM called Unified Powerplant Package, originally used in the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado with an Oldsmobile 455 cu in (7.5 l) V8 from the Toronado, but the later models made use of the 403 cu in (6.6 l) V8. Dimensional drawings were made of this final design for tooling and early fiberglass prototype parts for the first prototype bodies.
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Upon completion of the full scale clay, plaster cast segments were made of it. Once the shape was completed, the clay surface was “polished” with a sponge and cold water and finished with a silver-blue film of DI-NOC, replicating the painted surface of a vehicle. The clay full scale 26-foot (7.9 m) motorhome was created.
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These drawings would guide the designers in the next stage: a full size clay model. Once these models were completed, evaluated and approved, full sized drawings were made using 1/4 inch tape to outline the front, rear and side design. Three or four of these 1/8 scale clay models were made, each with unique design characteristics, each refining their shapes closer to the final form. There were twelve designers working with sketches and 1/8 scale (A-scale) clay models. The Design Center was continuing with both the external and interior designs. The motorhome design continued to evolve in the two main areas of styling and chassis. About this time the new vehicle was known as the TVS-4, Travel Vehicle Streamlined. On February 7, 1972, it was made official. Industry rumors had been circulating for some time that GM was going to build a motorhome. Empty shells were also supplied to other RV manufacturers for interior outfitting and to specialty manufacturers for custom outfitting, ranging from mail delivery and mobile training facilities to people movers and ambulances. In contrast to most motorhomes which were manufactured on drivetrain equipped frames supplied by a chassis manufacturer GMC designed, engineered and built the entire vehicle, and in most cases the interiors, completely in-house. Manufactured in 23 and 26 ft (7.0 and 7.9 m) lengths, the design was noted for its front-wheel drive and its low profile, fully integrated body. The GMC Motorhome is a recreational vehicle that was manufactured by the GMC Truck & Coach Division of General Motors for model years 1973–1978 in Pontiac, Michigan, USA - as the only complete motorhome built by a major auto/truck manufacturer. Longitudinal front-engine, front-wheel drive
GMC Truck and Coach Division ( General Motors)