SOLD
Update – Clyde has lowered his asking price to $7,500 and is willing to provide any interested parties with additional photos and information upon request.
Reader Clyde M recently bought a house and unfortunately needs to let go of his Open Road Royale House Car. It’s located in Julesburg, Colorado and Clyde is asking $10k. This is one cool rig, so I’ll let him to you more about it in his own words.
Asking Price: $7,500 or Best Offer
Location: Julesburg, Colorado
Mileage: 59,000
Title Status: Clean
Seller’s Description: Up for sale is my 1965 GMC Open Road Royale. Also known in its day as “The House Car”! These are about the coolest hot rod motorhomes out there and you won’t find another for sale. They’re extremely rare and hard to find at all, let alone in this condition. The neatest thing about it is the rear sliding glass doors with the fold down porch (one glass door is cracked and will need to be replaced). It was owned by an old man that lived near Estes Park, CO and would take it to Nebraska to go fishing. It has only covered 59,000 original miles. And it features all the bells and whistles. Everything from air conditioning and cruise control to everything else a motorhome should have. A generator, overhead AC unit, heater, stove/oven, sink, refrigerator, shower, toilet, etc. Has a good running 305 V6 and 4-speed manual transmission. Even has a factory tach. The cab area is in very good condition. Has a removable front spare tire mount with spare tire. It will need 1, possibly 3 tires replaced. The camper area itself needs small amounts of TLC and a couple small panels of the interior wood replaced on the ceiling. Overall a very solid beast. I don’t think it would cost much to fix it up a little bit and make a $30k+ motorhome. Just a restored ’65 GMC pickup can fetch high dollars even without being a mega rare camper. If you Google it, you will find two other House Cars. I’ve only been able to find 2 while scouring the internet and neither were for sale. I’m asking $10k FIRM. It’s my 53-year-old dream hot rod motorhome but bought a house and need to sell.
Body Condition: The body condition is pretty great. Very very minor rust on the body itself. No dents. Very nice considering age.
Mechanical Condition: Runs and drives great. Will need minor TLC but is driveable as is. The biggest thing it could use to be on the road is a tire or two. I drove it as is when I bought it over 4 hours home and it did great.
Our thanks to Clyde for listing his House Car with us! If you’d love to have it, be sure to message him via the form below.
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I told my wife that I would bid on this but I was afraid that she would make me live in it. She agreed that I would and then offered to go half! I think I better pass!
While this does have a cool factor… You apparently missed the basics of buying a RV. Specifically the part of the sealed roof and water intrusion. The footnote is this whole rig has to be gutted, checked for rot, and all traces of black mold removed. Roof AC would have to be professionally cleaned/replaced as it would have spores in it. Not even going into tires, fender bottoms, paint, back glass door, the buyer would never recover. But MOLD, it is there, and if the rig ran highway speeds that mold in the front is definitely all the way to the back. Think of it like this, hot 100 degree heat, storm is rolling in, humidity rising. The family closes the windows, throws on the AC and now the mold spores are riding the breeze right into the family’s lungs as you all sleep. There’s a reason water damaged RVs are not fixed through insurance just scrapped. You would be lucky to get an offer for a grand from a seasoned RV owner. Congrats on the house purchase though!
I don’t know, I’ve helped fix up several old campers with water damage and mold didn’t seem to be an issue (in Wyoming and Idaho though). The AC unit will need to be cleaned out, bleach and a power washer should be able to handle the job unless it has some serious issues. If you remove the wall and ceiling paneling, a couple cans of Zinsser Mold paint would kill any spores and keep them from coming back, as long as you stop the intrusion of water. At the end of the day, it’s just like fixing up a classic car. It all boils down to interest and funds. If you are really into classic campers, it will be worth the work to fix it right so that you have a cool camper. It’s not going to be a project you take on to make money, but let’s be honest how many projects turn out to be money makers?
I don’t think you can call a 305 V 6 a hot rod or a 1 ton truck a pick up. It looks nice but more in the 3 or 4 K range. Gauges are not factory. Good luck to seller.
It would be a great hotrod with an LS1. Even with the 305 V6 it sounds like a hotrod. And yes, I do believe the gushes are original. What makes you think they aren’t?
Looks like a hard riding pickup with a mini motor home installed to me, nothing special.
Nothing special? Have you seen another like it? It actually rides very nice. Ha, seems like you know nothing about it. Thanks for your invalid opinion though.
I have to say I dig it. Rolling up to a place like Carlisle in a rig like this, hanging out for the weekend- very cool.
Rare doesn’t mean valuable. A 65 GMC truck is collectible this isn’t. I see 5000.00 tops but who knows. Will watch and see where bidding ends.
Does this come with training wheels?
On the plus side, it has those always popular “original miles” as opposed to the less desirable “unoriginal miles.”
So an old man owned this and the current owner aka flipper is excited to sell at ten K. Maybe a lil Rocky Mountain high is going on here or a great dreamer 👍👀
These are nice but this large pickup is way under powered. I read and noted it needs work as an old man lived with items and broken windows .
I wish happy selling to flipper but bet it’s going to be around for a while at current priceing .
An old man did own it. As far as I can tell he was wealthy and took care of his stuff too. The house where it was parked when I went to pick it up was a $1.5 million dollar home. It’s not underpowered at all actually. You’d be surprised! Thanks for trying to be a “know it all” and for putting in your two cents everywhere you go whether your opinion matters or not. Dont stop impeding on others posts, the online world NEEDS you
nrg8 is 100% correct. ANY water damage on the roof tanks the value of an RV to the bottom. This is a very cool $1500 rebuild project for an extremely ambitious person.
It is kind of historical, these Open Roads were the first “motorhome’ to be sold thru new car dealers and were a great success. Like all old rv’s this one needs some work. So, thats what we do right?
anybody spot what appears to be split rims on this antique??? If so good luck with that! Prolly some rock hard bias plys as well. I wouldnt leave the driveway with that kind of rolling stock.
(its illegal in most states to service split rims)
I have a 65 GMC PU and really enjoyed seeing this time capsule, really cool. However people PAY people to haul RVs like this off,, not the reverse. The cab, frame and suspension has some value, but the RV has a negative value.
Clyde seems offended that others opinions and commentary are not complementary to his. Need to get thicker skin, it is what it is, and while the comments here are a pretty fair cross section of what people looking at an ad are thinking, its useful to fine tune your selling and accept the feedback of the community. Unlike many postings here, most of the comments here are fairly respectful and while I object to the weirdos who want to crush and destroy projects that are beyond their means to achieve, Nobody was that harsh on this one.
I for one really enjoyed seeing this old time capsule, and while what I personally collect and enjoy may not translate to untold riches when I sell, I strive to be objective of what the marketplace thinks may not align with my own orbit. Lashing out at commentary that seems to me pretty fair here just makes the seller look bad and wont help at all. When I am looking to purchase something, A big factor to me is the seller, It devalues anything if I have to wade thru hostility, or crazy. If you post an ad and people tell you its too much and fails to sell within a reasonable amount of time, then the marketplace has spoken loud and clear. The choice is yours Clyde if you choose to listen or not. To be fair, Most of the locals around me frequently are cheap and difficult and I often get much higher prices online, It only takes one to make a sale. But if the locals are not biting and neither is anyone online, Then THATS your sign!
GLWS, (Still love the truck, id scrap the RV and make a period stake bed out of it, I have a 65 GMC long bed pickup, so appreciate seeing this)
How can you say that the RV adds a negative value? Regardless of how smart you think you are this is a rare vehicle and is very desirable to me and others alike. Sorry you are unhappy with my listing. Cheers
That thing is super cool. I have a 1966 GMC they look very similar. Mine is longer but still has the back porch and sliding door. Mine also has the V6. To all the people that have know idea what it really is. I go down the highway at 60 nice and smooth. But it is still a 1966 big truck. Super cool rig.