| [GMCnet] More on trip reports [message #243340] |
Thu, 13 March 2014 13:26  |
glwgmc
Messages: 1014
Registered: June 2004
Karma:
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Senior Member |
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Over the past several days a number of people have contacted me off net to say how much they appreciate the trip reports and asking for more info on our Royale. I started doing these trip reports a number of years ago as a way of providing a light at the end of the tunnel for our members who may be just getting started or who have become frustrated over the time their restoration efforts are taking. We have owned our Royale for more than 13 years and in that time have driven it more than 100,000 miles. We purchased it from the original owner with 41,000 miles and a newly rebuilt engine. The original owner had a turbo 455 put in when the coach was new knowing that it would probably not last very long, and it didn't.
We drove the coach all over North America, including a memorable trip circumnavigating the Maritime Provinces in Canada and enjoyed every minute of every one of those adventures. Last year on our way to Mexico we burned a hole in a piston likely due to a faulty distributor. After a frustratingly long process involving ten engine trips either in or out of the coach (which I documented at the time) we finally have what so far appears to be a solid remanufactured SandJ engine from a Spokane, WA builder.
Along the way we have done just about everything one can do to modernize a GMC for successful long distance touring. When the front wheel bearings needed service we installed one of the first of Manny's one ton front ends. A bit of teething issues getting the correct cv boots but once that was sorted out it has been very stable and a significant improvement over the stock setup. At that time we found that the commercial alignment shops in our part of the country could not do a proper wheel alignment on these coaches for a number of reasons detailed in the papers and presentations one can download from my web site. That lead to the development of the alignment kits I designed just for use on our coaches. I will try to build more of these when we return from this trip, but no promises.
We have noticed on this trip a rotational noise sync he'd with road speed that is getting louder but have yet to determine the source.
We also installed the Manny version of the reaction arm rear disk brakes, one of his Powerdrive transmissions and a 3.21 final drive and those things also made a significant improvement. We are hoping for the development of a good, reliable parking brake solution for the rear disks which so far we have not found. The aluminum radiator, split surround and fan driven external transmission cooler were also modifications with a palpable benefit. And, the Alcoa wheels and quality tires (we buy two new ones each year from a local service station as our way of saying thanks for being in business here locally) made a big difference in how smoothly this coach goes down the road.
The bottom line from our experience is to get your coach safe as quickly as you can and then use it so you both can experience the joy these old things can bring as you experience more and more of what our great NA region has to offer. My suggestion is to spend less time and energy trying to find the very cheapest parts you can and instead focus on things that are proven to work which you can buy from our specialty vendors. I think you will find you spend more time on the road and less time frustrated if you do. And, in the end, I bet you won't spend a dime more doing right the first time. The old adage that one never has time to do it right but always finds time to do it over comes to mind here!
Hope these reports from the road are helpful. This time emailing from wonderful Zion NP.
Jerry
Jerry Work
The Dovetail Joint
Fine furniture designed & hand crafted
in the 1907 former Masonic Temple building
in historic Kerby, OR
http://jerrywork.com
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Jerry & Sharon Work
78 Royale
Kerby, OR
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