Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Maiden voyage of the WarPig (First road and camping trip)
| Maiden voyage of the WarPig [message #172131] |
Tue, 05 June 2012 11:24  |
sgltrac
Messages: 2797
Registered: April 2011
Karma:
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Senior Member |
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Well I rolled out the WarPig Friday evening for my first trip in it since purchase of November 2010 so I thought I would take a moment to give a quick trip report for those who may be interested or bored enough to read it. There were some last minute deletions from the "want" list in order to complete the "need" list prior to liftoff.
For those just tuning in, I bought a 77 Royale 455 in November of 2010 from a p.o. who purchased it from copart after an engine fire. Much of the wiring on the firewall and dash had been destroyed as well as the distributor, carb, air cleaner,engine hatch cover including floor boards under driver and passenger seats, one tire and most of the rubber and wire within 3 feet of the engine. I have since removed the entire interior to the bare firewall, replaced the burned and rotted floorboards (Seattle Collision Center), removed and rebuilt all of the window assemblies (Seattle Collision Center) with new weatherstripping (Alex Sirum) after having the loose frames and parts powder coated (Seattle Powder Coat), removed the rear body panel and re-installed with new gasket (Seattle Collision Center), rebuilt the rear suspension complete with new bushings (Applied Gmc) shocks and Sullybilt air spring plates with FIRESTONE air bags, aligned all six wheels(and straightened one bent bogie arm)( Tru- Line Frame and Wheel), replaced both front rubber flex brake hoses with braided stainless ( COOP ), new 1/2" body pad kit (COOP), front shocks (COOP), repaired and painted the exterior (Seattle Collision Center), purchased a left side couch bunk (Alex Sirum)and modified it to work on right side with entry door(Seattle Collision Center) over a custom propane tank enclosure( Davis Door), had the radiator rebuilt with high efficiency 5/8" dimpled brass core (Seattle Radiator), replaced all belts and hoses(Applied), thermostat (Applied), water pump alternator and brake master/booster( Oreilly ), added Howell throttle body fuel injection with Patterson distributor and EBL (Applied), new exhaust system with Spintech muffler and mandrel bent turns and flex joints, as well as many other details currently escaping my memory.
So the big push has been on to have the coach usable for my son and myself for a two day off road motorcycle race the weekend of June 2. The distance is about 135 miles each way and skirted Mount Rainier to arrive in Packwood Wa. For the last three weeks I have been working almost daily on the WarPig to get it road/camp worthy. A slight curve was thrown at me on Wednesday when Mann's Hitch and Welding whom I have had work done with in the past gave me a go away quote to wire my brake controller and 7 pole trailer harness. Even though I explained to them that there was no interior, all wiring except the brake control feed was presently wired to an old style 7 pole in the rear of the coach and I had a new Voyager brake controller they wanted me to wait a week and cough up $450. Unacceptable. I will reconsider patronizing them in the future. This development diverted me away from installation of the sound system  but I got the brake controller and new 7 pole plug wired.
Since Tuesday of last week I have been giving the Pig daily shake downs by driving it to and from work and everything seemed functional. So by Friday afternoon the 8x16 double axle Cargomate trailer was loaded with three bikes, tools, and all of our gear and bike spares and hooked to the tail of the Pig. My son, his friend and myself boarded the GMC and headed South in rush hour traffic. Although I had mounted and wired the new brake controller, I had neglected to properly set up the brake controller. The lack of proper controller set up became apparent when I attempted to slow the coach and trailer combo down on an exit ramp to 405 South which was plugged with commuter vehicles. I applied the brake and immediately realized I had an issue as the rate of deceleration was not going to be sufficient to ensure I stopped prior to contact with the line of cars ahead. I reached over and started spinning the gain knob on the controller until I felt that welcome tug of the trailer from the back and got the whole show checked up. This allowed me to release the seat fabric from my backside. With my son reading the initialization and set up procedures on the fly we got it set sufficiently for the drive and then settled in. The coach drove well with the rear aired up at "auto" (EL 1)and the trailer hitched in slower freeway driving but I was looking forward to seeing how it handled at the 60-70mph range. Once we were South of Tacoma, the freeway opened up and I was able to get our speed up to 65 (indicated). The Pig purred along and was a two fingered driving experience at 65 pulling the trailer. I was stoked! Indicated speed appeared to be accurate with a timed mile marker test. I was spinning about 3000rpm on my cheap Chinese tach which I installed last minute Friday morning at 60mph with 16 inch Alcoa Hotshots and 225/75 cooper tires which means a final drive ratio of ( )? Those in the know please reply to fill in the blank. Engine temps and oil pressure stayed relatively stable on the factory gauges. I was happy that I noted the mph to engine speed relationship early in the drive as I lost the speedometer after 60 miles and had to rely on the tach for travel speed. I discovered upon later inspection that I had not pulled the speedometer cable far enough away from the header as it had gotten hot then twisted into a melted knot by the drive cable. I don't know if the gear in the trans got damaged or not by the frozen cable. Those in the know please chime in on this one as I have not replaced the cable yet( i have another here from a parts coach I stripped earlier). It would be good to know before I replace the cable if there are other parts in the speedometer output box on the trans which I have damaged with the frozen cable. The rest of the drive was very smooth and my son and his friend took turns crashing out on the couch/bunk as the only furniture I have re installed at this point is the front buckets and modified couch/bunk.
We got to the race venue at dusk and got the full attention of all present as we rolled in shiny with led lamps beaming(Alex Sirum) and the fuel injected 455 doing its deep gurgle out the tailpipe. It was pretty awesome to roll in large like that. People I knew did not recognize the rig until they saw my trailer. Next came the DUDE WHERE DID YOU GET THIS THING and WHAT IS THAT! so of course I had to do a little smoke show which with the trailer weight hanging off the back turned into a fairly large smoke show. I realized shortly after glazing the tires that my new engine cover needs a better seal as I filled the coach with tire smoke. After I parked we rolled out all Cheech N Chong style(good thing my wife was not with us on this trip  ). People were dumbfounded to see a combination rig nearly 50 feet long boil tires. As I started getting "camp" set up, people kept milling by and asking about the coach and the airbags etc. Despite the curious campers I was able to get camp set up and we were offered and gladly accepted spaghetti from some friends of ours who held our spot. Throughout the weekend I was approached by others who could not contain their curiosity any longer. The WarPig definitely shows well.
The trip home was uneventful short of my realization that the fuel lines coming off of my selector switch were out of sink with the gauges. I thought my mileage was looking pretty amazing as the gas gauge did not move the whole way down! It wasn't until the next morning when I "broke down" heading into town that I figured it out. After stalling out at 35 mph, I coasted to the shoulder where the dread started to set in. I was tired from two days of racing and my hands were pretty sore as well. I was not looking forward to roadside wrenching. After trying to start it a couple of times and hearing the fuel pump cycle and having the rig fire then die I decided to switch the fuel tanks even though the gauge showed 3/4. Whadya know, once I switched the tanks the gauge showed empty but then the coach fired and stayed running. I promptly stopped at the only game in town for fuel and filled her up. We stayed off of the interstate on the way back and drove state route 7 and hwy 167 back North. I think roads like this were what our coaches were made for. The views out the panoramic windows were amazing and the Pig ate up the two lane curvy highway and small town roads with ease. These types of roads were much more enjoyable in my opinion even if not the fastest.
I did have an issue with the engine battery as there was insufficient charge in it to start on Sunday morning so I was quite happy that I ran a charge lead to it from by battery charger/maintainer. A few minutes with the Onan and the Pig fired right up. I don't know why but the boost switch did not help with starting. I might need to check how those two batteries are wired to the solenoid.
To sum up, I LOVE my GMC! Although it was a sh*t ton of work to get to this point and I have a ways to go,I am glad that I tore into it this deep as I don't panic when something does not function correctly. Special thanks to all of you who have helped with advice and information throughout my journey (aka obsession) thus far. Thanks again to those who without the parts and technical help that makes this project possible. In no particular order.
Applied GMC. Jim and Nick www.appliedgmc.com/
Tru-line frame. Doug www.trulineseattle.com/
Alex Sirum GMC. Jeff www.gmcmh.com/
Cooperative Motor Works (coop) Jim www.gmccoop.com/
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/77-royale/p44413-first-road-trip-and-campout.html
Sully
77 Royale basket case.
Future motorhome land speed record holder(bucket list)
Seattle, Wa.
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