| Trip report [message #322479] |
Tue, 22 August 2017 11:01  |
Bob S.
Messages: 143
Registered: October 2012
Location: Rapid City, SD
Karma:
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Earlier this month I had my 60th birthday and my wife surprised me with a family trip to the NHRA Finals in Brainerd, MN. I don't follow drag racing, but I have always wanted to see what it looks like for a vehicle to go from 0 to 330 mph in under 4 seconds. The races were incredible and we even got to see the fastest time ever recorded in the sport which was done by the Papa Johns car.
Now to get to the GMC portion. Just before our trip began I started hearing a whining noise as the engine was running. I determined that the noise was coming from the A/C pulley and could also see some wobble in it. I decided to remove the belt and run with just roof air and the genset.
The first leg of our trip was from Rapid City, SD to Dickinson, ND to meet up with our son, who caravanned with us to Brainerd. On the way to Dickinson everything was going fine until the clutch fan kicked in. Then the remaining two belts started squealing. We listened to the noise all the Dickinson, whenever the fan would engage. The next morning my son and I got up and tightened the belts, which took about 20 minutes. That fixed the problem and we were off to Brainerd, MN.
We drove to about 450 miles to Brainerd and averaged about 9 mpg traveling an average speed of 65 mph. The GMC performed flawlessly. We boondocked for about 4 days in the on site campground called "THE ZOO" (appropriately named) and again the GMC worked perfectly. It had rained 2" the night before we arrived and the campground was nothing but mud and soft ground. I couldn't believe we never even spun a tire getting to our campsite.
We left Sunday afternoon and drove half way home. We stayed in the Cabela's parking lot and then drove the last leg of our journey to arrive home just before the eclipse. In total we drove 1377 trouble free miles and averaged about 9 mpg ( we even got over 10 mpg on one tank). I almost forgot to mention that the whole trip was done with 2 finger steering thanks to Alex Farerra's magic touch about two years ago. It ran and handled perfectly. What a great trip!
Before this trip, I was hesitant to take my GMC very far from home. Since most of the posts on this site are about repairs and trouble shooting I have gotten a little gun shy. As a matter of fact I was nervous for the first 500 miles of the trip that something was going to break. However the imho there is no more comfortable rv to drive than our classic coaches. I wanted to enter a success story, if for no other reason than to reassure the newbies that these GMC's can be very reliable and enjoyable to drive. Based on my first hand experience, I would advise anyone to make your coach safe and reliable and then go out and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I can't wait for our next trip.
PS: I also recommend everyone go see a Top Fuel drag race at least once. It is an experience that is hard to describe and you'll always remember.
Bob and Pam Schilling
Rapid City, SD
"78 Royale
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