Rebuilding grandpa's ole 1979 georgieboy cruise air 30' class A

[legomybago]

Wow, is the entire front windshield area just built out of wood? You'd think their would be some steel in there!!!

[kansascat]

Lego, wood frame. The only steel framework in the coach is the roll bar behind the driving platform, and roof cross members next to the a/c openings for additional strength so they dont sag over time. The floor supports are also steel tubing. Nothing wrong with wood i guess especially in bonded wall construction such as the GB's are as its very strong and yet pretty light weight...if it stays dry inside.  The worst thing is as i mentioned towards the start of this thread is they use such cheap low quality wood and staple short pieces together to get long ones...and didnt use cca treated wood around the bottom edges that were left fairly exposed to moisture. I corrected those issues tho when i rebuilt it as can be seen in some of my pics above. I also added a few pounds by using a full cca 2x4 down the bottom edge on both sides so its much stouter then the 2x2 balsa wood the factory used and mine is one piece from wheel opening to wheel opening especially important beneath the doorway opening  and compartment doors.

[legomybago]

Your making it more better

I was reading an article in the new Motorhome mag, and people all over have had it with poor craftsmanship and quality control on a lot of the brand new rigs being sold right now....Too bad the RV industry can't wake up. I've tire kicked new rigs for fun at RV shows locally, and I cant believe they are still using the cheap lightweight stapled and glued plastic crap interior pieces. The RV business needs to be about quality, not glam.

[LJ-TJ]

Building a new rig today is about two things MONEY and WEIGHT. What Winnebago doesn't seem to realize is all these old scabby Classic Winnebago's 66 to 78 that are still on the road......are a testament to the Quality of workmanship they had at the time. Winnebago can be proud of the product that they built back in the day. The fact that when you call them today they are still willing to help with information on there product. What Winnebago has to realize is when it comes time to renew or up grade chances are the folks are going to renew with a new Winnebago because of the excellent product and service they have gotten from Winnebago in the past. If you want it to last buy made in the U.S.A. If you only want it to last for a few trips...buy China.

[Rickf1985]

You must have gotten someone completely different than I did when I called Winnebago!! The last thing they wanted to do was help me. They also assured me I had a fiberglass roof. This was when I first was getting into the RV thing and I have since learned a LOT. One thing is I have never seen a Winnebago in the late 80's with a fiberglass roof. All I have seen and heard about are aluminum roofs. They also to this day will not tell me what rubber is around my windshield and try to get any information on wiring for anything in the eighties. Maybe I just called on bad days or was lucky enough to get the guy who did not want to help.

[kansascat]

Well i can truly say after this rebuild project, there is no way i would ever want to pay what a new RV costs knowing just how poor;y they are designed and built. Sure they look all snazzy inside...and outside too, just dont start looking inside the cabinets behind the hood or underneath the floor. Nope, ill stick with what i have. If it falls apart on me ill know who to blame, and if it breaks down ill know where to look to find and fix it since there is very little i have not already had apart and gone thru on it. The wiring was terrible both in design and workmanship, the plumbing also. I couldnt believe my eyes when i found the big frame mounted propane tank was mounted to 2 thin walled square tubes running across the top of the frame...same as the rest of the floor boards are attached to...but....they cut almost half of the square off of them to mount the tanks to them and one was broken clear thru and the other had a crack starting. it would have been pretty exciting running down the highway when it finished breaking loose and started dragging down the road untill the copper line snapped off and the tank went under the rear duals. Then i also found where they ran a steel gas line from near the tank back to behind the rear axle along the frame rail. Then they had a few T's screwed onto it with the copper lines going to stove, furnace and fridge. One of them the idiots had turned facing outward and the rear axle spring was hitting it. Thankfully it only would hit when flexed hard and then just  barely...but, again, it might have been exciting when it hit it and finally wore a nole or broke it off as the exhaust was right there also, as is the generator.  i??  The list goes on and on of things like this i found and dealt with.

[Schmitti]

Lots of great work  .... madness

Thomas

[cncsparky]

Wow, impressive project!   Where in Ks are you?  I'm in the Wichita area.

I know they are a smaller diameter tire and a bit wider tread. Everyone said it was a good upgrade due to better handling and easier to find if needed. It put the speedometer off 5mph at 60. It shows 65 but gps confirms its actual is 60 now. I figured using it in the mountains it would only help plus we pull trailers with it.

My speedo was 5 off the opposite direction.  Went down 3 teeth on the tranny's speedo gear and now its dead on.  You may need to add 3 teeth.

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,9139.msg52752.html#msg52752

[kansascat]

Im between wichita and wellington. Sorry i just saw your post cncsparky

[Froggy1936]

Manufacturing today is controlled by the Greedy Wealthy !  $@!#@!All they care about is profit ! They put a product out that is engineered to just outlast the warranty !  :'(There is no make it to last in there vocabulary . N:(They want purchasers to rebuy every 3-4 years !  :(And those policys are what have moved our country to the place we are now ! If you can afford to buy new a visit to the production line is highly recommended !Frank

[M & J]

It's called planned obsolescence Frank.