When we had made our decision we started looking at what GMCs were available. I checked online and found several GMCs that were in our price range and looked to be in decent condition. We were not interested in a project vehicle that would require a lot of work before it could be used. This was January and we wanted to be able to drive it to Colorado the following summer so it needed to be in travelling condition.
After much debate, we decided on a 1976 Royale located at the Camping World location in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I set up an appointment and purchased my plane ticket. When I arrived in Albuquerque I was met by a Camping World Salesman who drove me to the lot and showed my the GMC that was soon to be mine.
In my research I had asked many questions and thought I knew what I was looking at. There were several GMC owners located in the area who I had hoped to have look at the GMC before I purchased it. Unfortunately, I picked the only weekend where none of them were available. That meant I was on my own.
That was mistake number one. I had never even driven one of these before and yet I was trusting what I had learned online to be enough to make a purchasing decision.
The salesperson showed me how to operate the RV and took me for a ride. During the ride when I commented that the steering wheel seemed a little loose, the salesman responded that it seemed ok to him and that is how these vehicles used to steer so there was nothing to worry about.
Unfortunately, as I had only purchased a one-way ticket to Albuquerque, i was inclined to rush the vehicle check-out as I had to get on the road to start the 2000 mile journey back to Northern Virginia. So, instead of crawling under the vehicle to check out the different systems, I trusted the salesman to give me accurate answers to my questions.
That was mistake number two.
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