Well gals and fellas, It's still "Traville Owner" and will be a for a while longer. Here's the message I sent to the folks who asked me questions on ebay about it, those questions being what kind of gas mileage it gets, and how it would be on a trip to Texas-
"With my apologies to the bidders and the currently 42 watchers on this item, I have decided to take it off the auction. Questions about the mileage and how dependable it is, were embarrassing to me. So I have decided to take it on a trip of about 300 miles and see for myself what the answer is and also make sure I am selling a good item. I spoke at some length today with the man who rebuilt the engine in 1981 and it seems they knew the former owner quite well. He was, after all, living in it in the storage yard right next door that they owned. According to him the owner never went anywhere in it and he bought all the duplicate parts because he was the kind of person who always wants to be sure. And he was also a “survivalist” type but not with any violent traits. So now I will find out how good this motorhome is and then I will relist it when I have found out. Anyone wishing to have me give them a heads-up when I put it back on the auction block can email me if they wish at stixtuit@verizon.net and give me their email address.
Look at this on the bright side - if there is anything wrong with it, it will be fixed before I put it back on Ebay.
My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused." end of that
Now as to what I am going to do with my spare time, it will be to install those windows in the back and then take it on the road in the next few days. I'm going to take it to Joshua Tree where I recently bought an unfinished cabin on 5 acres.
I got a CalVet rehab loan to finish it and I already have a 17 ft Komfort travel trailer there and a 27' Cross Country RV with all the comforts, so now there will be company for the Traville. I will probably use it to move stuff out there instead of using the 70 Dodge Pickup I just bought for that purpose,. Why use a big 4WD lunker when I can use my sweet Traville?
Am I nuts? I really don't know.
Here's the reply I sent to the guy about gas mileage last night.
"Hello Brian and thanks for the question.
The answer to that question for any vehicle is purely subjective. Even if I had tested the mileage in the few times I drove it, my mileage would be different than the mileage someone else would get. The only thing I can offer by way of a reply is to compare this vehicle with others. At 20 ft. it is at the smaller size range of Class A RV’s. The engine, with a proven performance history and known for very good bang for the buck, is at the lower end of engine sizes. I do recall asking someone the same question you asked and his reply was that with that engine it should get good mileage. But what does that mean? It depends, to a HUGE degree on the driver.
Recently I drove a loaded-up 70 Dodge 4WD drive pickup with a 313 V-8 cranking out 356 measured HP from Joshua Tree CA to Long Beach CA. The owner told me I would use a full tank for that trip. I drove at just below the general flow of freeway traffic half the time and right at the flow the other half and used only a half tank. Got 15 MPG from that powerful beast!
The Traville was really aerodynamically designed for its time. Although it started life as a Chevy Step Van, (a one-ton chassis and body) they put that bullet nose on it and the wraparound windshield, so one might reasonably conclude that it will get better gas mileage than the square-front RV’s of that or more recent times, wouldn’t you say?
Since my experience with that Dodge, I would GUESS 10-12 mpg, but don’t hold me to that!
Remember that occasional TV special where the guy (I think his name is Steve Hartman) threw a dart over his shoulder into a US map and then drove there and always found something really magic? Try this when you are taking a trip in your Traville, or whatever you finally buy … decide what you want to spend for gas that day, and then stop wherever you are when you have spent that amount, and see what life has to dazzle you with wherever you are.
Happy trails to you Brian!"
