Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Trip Report (As requested by Don A)
| Trip Report [message #180810] |
Sun, 19 August 2012 12:24  |
Jeff102410
Messages: 18
Registered: February 2012
Location: Arlington, TX
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Junior Member |
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First, Don,
Thanks for the interest.
Second, Overview.
Arlington, TX...Hope AR...Murray, Ky...Nashville, TN...Atlanta, GA...Orlando, FL (great visit with Jim Bounds)...Tallahassee, FL...Baton Rouge, LA...back home to Arlington, TX
Third, Set Up.
This was the first cross country trip since the rebuild. New crate motor, transmission, final drive...wheel bearings, etc. In short, a completely new power pack. Nothing used, all new.
Also, a complete on frame rebuild. The floors were rotted beyond patching. Since you really can't pull the floors with everything in place, everything came out. This brought to light all the other issues like particle board rot...in short, very little was not FUBAR.
So, in the same vain as "you can't be a little pregnant", new exterior plywood, spray foam insulation, layout changes to better suit our usage. Now we have a 1978 Palm Beach, with a 2010 455, and a 2011 interior.
No trim or finish on the interior, though. I figured things would have to be accessed on the trip. Also, wanted to make sure the stuff we did would actually work. Everything works just fine in my brain...reality is sometimes different.
Fourth, The Trip
The trip was full of "events". After all, it's a GMC. First day, 20 minutes into the trip, I'm blowing so much white smoke, I can't see the cars behind me. Pulled over and no smoke. Oil residue all around the valve cover oil breather point me to engine oil overfill. So we continued.
8:30 p.m. the same day and I turned on the headlights. They start flashing on and off (see Headlights Gone Crazy post). We make it to an RV park in Hope, AR. It's daylight driving until I find the problem.
Except for the heat and all the issues everyone else has run into (read ethanol), we visited with friends and family in KY, TN, and GA without any further fuss from the coach.
The next stop was Orlando, FL. The visit with Jim Bounds was great. Highly recommend everyone make the trip. Tweaks on the coach, fixing this and that, knowledge transfer, and most of all, a great time. GMC'er geek paradise.
On the way back home, just west of Tallahassee, the motor went boom, then nothing. Turns out the cam ate the distributor gear. After a couple of days and a new gear from Jim B, back on the road. No problems...until...bang again..two miles from the house. This time, the other end. The timing chain had stretched and jumped a tooth.
Fifth, Summary.
I did a million things to the coach, and expected every one of them to break on the "shake down" cruise. Nope...not the case. The stuff I did seems to be working, knock on wood. However, it looks like the guys that built the motor used some "Toronado" level parts and not the upgraded (heavy duty) motorhome class parts. Of course, I'll be doing the research and work on any other sub-specification engine parts may have been used.
Additional things on the to do list is a second roof A/C. Also, engine fan issues. We started out with a heavy duty fan, but could not hold a conversation. Replaced that with a regular duty fan in Orlando. We could finally talk (not yell), but the engine was running way too hot. It's nice to have this forum to get all the ideas and thoughts on stuff like this.
Sixth, Next Steps
Getting the coach finished out...and doing some rallies (short trips) until we get some confidence in the motor.
And In Conclusion,
It's official, we are now GMC'ers...I have the wrecker bills to prove it...
[Updated on: Sun, 19 August 2012 12:29] Report message to a moderator |
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