I would like to begin with a statement that "The Cortez is a wonderful machine!" It was well designed and well ahead of it's time. Still today, it is unmatched in many ways, by any other motorhome built.
Amongst its many innovative ideas and designs are:
- All steel body and frame for strength and safety. (walls and ceiling too!)
- Front wheel drive, for a low center of gravity. (and no center drive shaft hump) Question: How many vehicles can you remember that were front wheel drive in the '60's?
- Weight ratio (front\rear) of 65\35 (aprox.) Most of the weight is over the drive wheels so this motorhome's ability to handle a cross wind is unequaled.
- Four wheel independent suspension. The Cortez is the most car-like ride of ANY motorhome ever built! Enough said.
- Although small in size (at the time of it's production it was no longer than a full size car) it is extremely well laid out inside. There is almost no wasted space.
- Three doors on a class A motorhome? Name one other motorhome that does.
- Safe; Well built; Versatile; Good looking body design;...These are all words that describe the Cortez motorhome
well!
The Cortez is not without it's faults however. Many are by design alone. Still many others are just annoyances and can be dealt with.
I will list some that come to mind at the time of this writing, but not necessarily in order of importance.
- The all steel body is also one of the Cortez's weaknesses. Many Cortezes are over 30 years old now.
Rust is a constant problem. At the time of production, the only method of protecting body metal was a tar based undercoating sprayed on body metal parts. Although sometimes it seems impossible, a constant vigil must be kept to prevent rust from getting out of hand.
- One flaw in it's design is the front drivelines. Two half shafts are used to power the front wheels. Universal joints are used on both end of the two shafts. If the wheels were to travel in a straight direction constantly, then this would not be a concern. Since the front wheels turn (when steering from side to side) as well as move up and down (during suspension travel)
the universal joints can "bind" during a tight turn. This design problem can be overcome by driving the Cortez "properly" and avoiding tight turns while under power. Keeping the driveline components and u-joints in tip top condition is a must. Besides proper driving through tight turns, driveline maintenance is the best way to overcome this design problem.
- A concern of mine (and many other Cortez owners) is the single system master cylinder the Cortez uses. Since the coach was first produced in the '60's, single system master cylinders were the norm. Once again, as with the front drive line components, good brake maintenance (especially the hydraulic system) is the key here also.
There are a few other items worth mentioning, but these can all be corrected. Later, when this website is more complete, these additional important items will be listed. Suggestions for correction will be noted as well. I would further like to note that many of the design problems listed above were dealt with and corrected when the
"Kent" Cortez was produced. (from 1971 through 1978). The Kent Cortez however, has it's own set of concerns as well and due to the fact that I only have bits and pieces of information, these concerns will be mentioned at a later update to this website.
