Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » [GMCnet] 1st Voyage in my 1973 Canyonlands
| [GMCnet] 1st Voyage in my 1973 Canyonlands [message #326763] |
Tue, 05 December 2017 17:00  |
rod utterback
Messages: 18
Registered: April 2016
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Junior Member |
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Hello Everyone,
I just completed a San Diego to Chicago round trip, as a maiden voyage after 2 years of renovations and upgrades. During the 4,500+ mile trip, I was able to real world test everything. These are such great designs that it was a truly enjoyable adventure. I averaged an “incident” about every other day. These were not breakdowns rather opportunities for improvement. I would like to share my observations and my opinions. I’m only relaying my experience, your trip experience will of course vary.
The first day resulted in only a 150 mile progress. Traveling slow and cautiously. This was the first time I had driven the GMC on the highway, actually the first time I had driven any RV on the highway. The size and width of the coach took getting used to. Accelerating and braking performance was disappointing. Even though the entire brake system was completely new and the 455 was running perfectly. Weight and wind resistance can’t be avoided. San Diego county is mountainous with a max elevation of about 4800 feet. Climbing from 800 feet to 4800 feet was typically done at 40 mph full throttle. Ambient temp was 80*. The new fuel gauges became random and served as “general” indicators. I later decided that 200 miles on the odometer and it was time to fill up. Fuel consumption for the trip averaged 11-12 mpg.
The second day was brought to a close with a broken belt that destroyed a second belt, leaving just 1 belt running. It happened after a fuel stop. My new belts and fancy alternator tensioner didn’t save me but the remaining single belt for the PS, water pump and a/c did! Running on just the coach and house battery got me to the repair shop 50 miles down the road. $200 later I was ready to stop for the night.
The third day was uneventful. Becoming comfortable with driving speeds at 65 mph. MPG didn’t change. The rebuilt dash a/c worked fine as we crossed the desert areas of California and Arizona. There were slight hard starts after fueling stops. With higher ambient temps, venting of fuel became an issue. Trying to fill the tank(s) became messy. Almost every stop caused a few gallons of fuel to dump on the pavement. Although the entire fuel system including all hoses, clamps, sending units, replaced and tanks cleaned. Still don’t know why.
The next day we noticed the smell of axle grease in the cab. Turns out the diff cover that was professionally resealed in San Diego was leaking badly. $100 later problem was fixed and remains good to this day.
On the fifth day some where in the pan handle of Texas it was time to stop for the day. Driving the entire day at 65 mph, ambient temp 99*, to say the least it was hot, hot, hot. A shower, a good meal and a good night’s sleep sounded perfect. However after positioning on the camp pad and shutting off the engine…..BOOM and a fog of R134A. Pretty much got the attention of everyone in the camp ground. Carefully looking into the right wheel well exposed the separated end fitting from its hose at the a/c compressor. So much for the brand new after market a/c hose.
The A/C was never repaired properly, although I spent several hundreds of dollars and a lot of time trying to. Of all the on the road repairs I think A/C is the most difficult. I gave up when the last shop (after a day’s worth of effort} proclaimed 70* at the dash outlet. The wife was beginning to dislike traveling in the GMC.
After 3 months at our destination in the hot, humid Midwest it was time to bring the GMC home to Cali.
Before leaving I thought I could improve the steering so I replaced the steering input shaft and CV joint. I discovered almost all the steering play was a result of wear in the splined slip shaft. Both were replaced anyway. The trip home incurred only two failures over 4 days of travel. The upgraded belt tensioner and belts that were replaced on the first half of the trip were installed wrong and caused the alternator belt to fail again. The shore power cable failed shorting ground to one phase. All in all an easy trip home. Now I was more relaxed with the motorhome and less tense and had several observations. When I first joined this forum, it seemed that certain issues were a constant topic. Tires….I used the steel rims with standard size 16.5 inch Firestone Transforce HT tires set at 70 psi. 5000 miles with no wear/problem. Vapor Lock……I run a new mechanical fuel pump with dual in line filters and no inner fender liners. Occasional slow start but nothing to disable the engine. Overheating….Stock radiator, 180* thermostat, stock fan clutch, hi performance water pump (applied gmc). Temp guage max rise was 1 needle width. Brakes….p30 master cylinder, 80mm calipers, fresh linings, wheel cylinders. No brake fade. Always had a good pedal.
I mention these because as a new owner and new to the forum I was worried that I didn’t take enough effort and money to be safe enough.
All this might be the “minimum” but with careful driving it seemed to me to be more than enough. I’m home but ready for the next GMC adventure.
The biggest surprise was when I noticed the GPS was reading 5 mph faster than the speedometer!
Most of the driving was spent in the 65 – 70 mph range unknowingly!
My next improvements are: sway bars front and rear, new compressor for air ride, repair dash a/c, aux vac pump
Rod Utterback
1973 Canyonlands
Escondido, Ca.
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