Glastron Motorhome repair, maintenance and refurbishing

[Gary Sebastian]

I would like to invite anyone with an interest in Glastron Motorhomes to share their ideas and experiences, ask questions and leave comments. I have owned a 1970 model for 16 years and have a lot of experience with it and learn more all the time. The first big question we all seem to have is how many were produced and in what years.  

[Craig Stafford]

Gary, thanks for the vent tip. I have an extension on the way. I was wondering about the interior of your rig. Mine had some sort of bunk beds rigged up in the rear, didnt look stock. I got rid of the upper bunk and just use a regular mattress and box spring on the bottom which is adjustable from twin to full size. Whats yours like? Up front, I have never had a dinette before, how does it work? Do you fold the table down or remove it? Then what, you slide the two halves together and rearrange the cushions? Seems like alot of work. Do you ever use yours as a bed? Craig

[Gary Sebastian]

Hi Craig, There were two floor plans of these Glastrons that we know of. If your plan has the bathroom in the aft drivers side corner, then it had a couch/bed on the passenger side opposite the bath. I have seen pics of a bunk bed set up there in brochures. The original interior cabinet and furniture that were built in these motorhomes was not their strong point. The fiberglass overhead cabinets with wood doors are good but the lower all wood cabinets and furniture with the veneer paneling didn't hold up well. When I got mine the dinette and couch/bed had been removed and there was nothing to go by for rebuilding them. In my motorhome the bath is on the drivers side in the middle of the coach and the dinette is forward of that on the same side. I built a new couch/bed across the back from side to side using a design I found in an Apollo motorhome a friend owned. It works great although it is a little heavy to lift up, I have to raise it to access the generator. We leave it in a bed (full) configuration 95% of the time. If we have more than 4 people riding with us we fold the bed up so we have more seating. I built a new dinette that folds down to a twin size bed. The table drops down between the benches to make the bed and the four cushions are sized to fit it. It took a little head scratching to come up with the dimensions so it would work out. I made it narrow so we would have more floor space between the dinette and the galley. The dinette bed is short, about 66 inches I think, but it works for my mother-in-law who loves to travel with us occasionaly. It also makes a great place to haul something oversize on and keep it out of our walkway. We always tell people it sleeps 3, eats 4 and drinks 6. We did have a group of 12 people one time for drinks at a wooden boat show, it was like cramming people into a phone booth! It sounds like someone has modified your interior somewhat. Rebuilding some of this interior furniture is required in a lot of these Glastrons. I think it is important to take your time, come up with a good design and use quality materials to make improvements that will last and be better that the original work. I have used red oak, maple, walnut and no printed veneer in mine. I can't call it restored (original) but I can call it refurbished and make it work better for us. There is a book called Mobile Mansions by Douglas Keister (2006) and our motorhome is on page 114. It shows our dinette and rear bed set up. This is a great book for a vintage RV library. Gary

[Jimmy C. Bridges]

Gary and Craig: I have been following your discussion on the interior floor plans for glastron and wanted to add that mine has the rear bath on drivers side and also has the single bed with a bunk above it in the rear. My dinette is on the passenger side and makes into a single bed. I will not use the bunk when I do the interior of my G. I am planning to gut it to the fibreglass wals and ceiling then start back together and use a single bed in back and a flip out couch on the passenger side. We will eat there and use tv trays or a couple trays that flip over the ends of the couch. I also hope to upgrade all the wood in mine as the original stuff is junk veneer. Not even good veneer. My overhead storage bins are made of fibreglas but have on doors on any of them? Sooo much to dooo! Motor runs better now on to the brakes which are non existent. Jim

[Gary Sebastian]

Craig, I admire your ambition and energy. Please keep us posted on your progress and post pictures. Are you keeping the galley and bath in the original locations? Brakes have been a problem for me several times. I wore the front drums out one time 2000 miles from home towing a car without having its brakes to help me stop. A brake shop wanted $1100 to get me going with two new drums. I put new shoes on in a campground and babied it back home. I found two used drums from a 1969 Islander motorhome in New Mexico and fixed it. I have often thought about switching to disk brakes on the front, maybe someday. Gary

[Craig Stafford]

No remodel for me, my Glastron seems fairly complete. I just want what I already have to work. But now my water heater is leaking. I wonder if anyone has fitted a propane water heater (instead of electric) to their glastron? Hey Gary, what do you do about hot water when boondocking? Just run the generator for an hour or two while the water heats up?

[Jimmy C. Bridges]

Craig: do you have the original water heater that runs off the engine coolant system? Mine is long gone and I looked into LP gas for a water heater but finding a suitable spot for it on the outside of the rig is not easy. I am thinking I will get a small 5 gal electric and put it in the closet by my bathroom rather than go to the expense of putting in propane bottles, plumbing, then a new gas water heater etc. there are some really neat tankless water heaters that I am also considering. Jim

[Craig Stafford]

Jimmy,
I do have the OG water heater. I was ok with it until it started leaking. Judging by the rust in the water lines I suspect the tank is steel and rusted out. I need a propane water heater because camping in the middle of nowhere is my favorite spot. I found an atwood 6 gal that will fit in the same space as the old one but I have to cut a hole in the side of my rig. I looked into the tankless heaters and thought that was the answer until I read the part about the inlet water having to be 60* or above, deal breaker. Electric might work but it takes my original one 1 hr to heat up enough for a shower, a new one may be half that. That's still a long time to run the generator. As far as propane goes, isnt your rig already set up for lp? How can you do without it? If you go tankless I saw one on ebay for 179.00.
Craig
PS You asked me about filling the brake master. I've been using a turkey baster w/a hose on it.

[Gary Sebastian]

My water heater was also shot when I bought my Glastron. I found a replacement in a boating catalog and I think they are still available (about $400). My new one (a long time ago) fit in the same space as the old one. The original one and the replacement both heat water with 110 volts or through a heat exchanger connected to the engine cooling water. The one I have is stainless steel and about 5 gallons. It has always worked fine for us. The only problem I have had was turning it on when the tank was empty and burning out the element, which is hard to get to for replacement. I have a ball valve on the engine hot water so I can shut it off if I want to. We always have hot water after a day on the road or can heat water and charge the batteries in 30 minutes with the engine running. Check all the specs before using a tankless, they require more than a 3/8 gas line and lots of combustion air not to mention a chimney. Electric tankless require to much power for an RV power panel. Good luck!

[Craig Stafford]

Hey Gary, which is faster, heating water by running the engine or heating it electrically by running the generator? If you like your heater, I will probably try to repair mine, if the tank is steel I can weld it. I don't like the idea of cutting a 12x14 hole in the side of the rig anyways.
What do you do about screens? Mine came with some homemade ones made out of wire and screen. Do you have the originals? I'm going to have to make some better ones, any ideas?
One more question, do you ever use your vent hood? my fan doesn't work and who cooks greasy smoky stuff inside anyways. I was thinking about scrapping it and covering the hole in the roof. Maybe I'll bolt an under shelf toaster oven in it's place.
Craig

[Gary Sebastian]

Craig, You can buy the same water heater that I have for about 250.00 at www.defender.com/waterheater.html, it should fit where the old one was. I think it would be tough to make a hole in the side for a propane water heater look right because the sides are not flat. I don't run the genset very often and have not done so just to heat water, but the engine will do it in about 30 minutes. Generators have a lot shorter life than your V-8 so I run it sparingly. The engine is also quieter. I have what I think are the original screens, they are a light weight aluminum framed screen similar to house screens only curved to fit the curved windows. I am not sure how to duplicate them but it is probably possible. My vent hood does work, kind of an old noisey thing but it works. It would be nice to put one in that blew out the side instead of the top so I could gain some valueble real estate in the cabinets.

[Jimmy C. Bridges]

Gary: My exhaust for the stove goes right out the side of the rig just above the counter level with a small vent on the outside. Mine is worn out and I will try to replace it or ?? JIm

[Gary Sebastian]

I would try to find one as close to original as possible if it were mine unless you can come up with a cool upgrade