Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Trip Report - Fla Panhandle
| Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92030] |
Thu, 15 July 2010 11:25  |
bobby5832708
Messages: 237
Registered: November 2006
Location: Winter Springs FL
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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We're spending the week in the Florida panhandle, right now at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin. So far everything has been going great. With the GMC, only a couple of minor issues, with the environment, it's hot and humid (it's Florida after all), the beach is fine with only a few tarballs (actually tar pieces about the size of a penny) from the BP oil well blowout washing ashore. The BP cleanup crew is on the beach every day picking up what little they find.
Once again I have to thank Jim Bounds for his suggestion a few years ago to have 2 roof air conditioners. One just doesn't cut it when parked in full Florida sun. One is OK for the mornings and evenings, but from about 11:00 to 17:00 it's nice to have the added cooling capacity. We like to park the GMC and ride our bicycles. Coming back a couple of hours later it's nice to be able to start the Onan and have both air conditioners cool the coach in a reasonable amount of time.
The GMC ran fine driving from the Orlando area. Driving at 75-80 makes the gas gauge move a bit faster than I like but driving 65 everyone is passing me. I tried staying at 65 for about a hundred miles but, well, what can I say? I am keeping track of gallons used and will figure out the final MPG at the end of the trip. The Onan is being used about half the time while driving to run the roof air so this will bring MPG down a bit.
The 455 runs great and never misses a beat....almost. I can stop at a rest area, restart the heat-soaked engine after about 15 minutes, and accelerate briskly onto the interstate with no issues -- 20 to 70 with no problems. I can go through stop-and-go Destin traffic and then, when traffic clears at the east side of town, go 55 with no issues. We went to Seaside FL (The Truman Show was filmed there) to see what it was like. Did lots of slow speed and stop-and-go then 45 - 55 MPH with no issues, all in mid-90's heat and humidity. The temp gauge stays within a pointer width of the halfway mark, which is right on the 195 thermostat (replacement NAPA sensor). I bought gas twice since I left home, BP and Mobil regular at busy stations.
Issues so far:
1. About a mile from the house while parked at my local supermarket I noticed the fridge not running. The 6 year old Xantrex 1500 inverter had quit. I unplugged the output and cycled the Xantrex power switch and sparks came out. Thinking that was pretty neat I did it again and smoke and fireworks came out of the Xantrex. We went back home where I found a 1000 watt Go Power inverter in the junk room. As of today that one is still working fine. Now I have an excuse to buy a true-sine-wave inverter some day.
2. After driving about 3 hours I exited I-10 at US331 and had to get across the intersection quickly. The GMC accelerated hard but when I put the pedal all the way down it started starving for fuel. I let up about a half inch and it was fine, flooring it again and it stumbled. It's been about a year since I changed the fuel filters so I know what I'm doing when I get home! I have an external inline filter on each tank (in-tank socks removed) and I know the main tank isn't the cleanest I've ever seen, at least it wasn't 3 years ago. Yeah, I should've had it professionally cleaned, but I get about a year on a fuel filter on that tank so it's not too bad. I very rarely floor the pedal so the filter can wait to be replaced. I carry spares but crawling under and changing a filter isn't what I really want to do right now. If it gets bad I will just use the other tank a bit more.
3. The Onan will sometimes stop unexpectedly. This has happened probably 8-10 times over the past 3 years and is completely unpredictable, sometimes after a couple minutes and sometimes after a few hours of running. It always restarts immediately, as soon as I hit the switch it fires. It's not like the carb ran out of gas and might need a few seconds to restart -- it restarts instantly and will then run until I shut it off. This time I was showing off the coach to the in-laws when the Onan stopped. This time I actually saw the light on the inside switch go out, the Onan die down, the light comes back on, the Onan recovers, runs a few seconds more, light goes out and Onan stops. Looking at the wiring diagram my guess is it's as if the alternator output keeping relay K2 pulled in has gone away. This morning I removed the alternator wires from the voltage regulator and taped them up so that now all the built-in alt feeds is relay K2. Hopefully this fixes the issue. I may also look around for a replacement relay as everything is still original. Also may replace the 100uF cap that is across K2's coil just because it's old. Since this only happens a couple times a year and it always restarts immediately it's not been on my 'things to do' list.
That's it for now. We leave Destin tomorrow and stay in White Springs for 2 nights and arrive back in the Orlando area Sunday. With any luck the rest of the trip will be uneventful, like my GMC trips usually are. Love this coach!
Bob Heller
2017 Winnebago 29VE
Winter Springs FL
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| Re: [GMCnet] Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92034 is a reply to message #92030] |
Thu, 15 July 2010 11:52  |
gmcrv1
Messages: 839
Registered: August 2007
Location: Memphis
Karma: -1
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Senior Member |
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Bob,
Great report - especially since the GMCs running so well. Keep the reports
coming - for those of use still getting our own GMCs road worthy.
You can't get away from the heat and humidity in FL. It's supposed to get
into the upper 90's here in the Memphis area with the TMI forecast to be
105-110.
Tom Eckert N2VWN
73 Glacier
Oakland, TN
On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 11:25 AM, Bob Heller <rheller@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> We're spending the week in the Florida panhandle, right now at Henderson
> Beach State Park in Destin. So far everything has been going great. With the
> GMC, only a couple of minor issues, with the environment, it's hot and humid
> (it's Florida after all), the beach is fine with only a few tarballs
> (actually tar pieces about the size of a penny) from the BP oil well blowout
> washing ashore. The BP cleanup crew is on the beach every day picking up
> what little they find.
>
> Once again I have to thank Jim Bounds for his suggestion a few years ago to
> have 2 roof air conditioners. One just doesn't cut it when parked in full
> Florida sun. One is OK for the mornings and evenings, but from about 11:00
> to 17:00 it's nice to have the added cooling capacity. We like to park the
> GMC and ride our bicycles. Coming back a couple of hours later it's nice to
> be able to start the Onan and have both air conditioners cool the coach in a
> reasonable amount of time.
>
> The GMC ran fine driving from the Orlando area. Driving at 75-80 makes the
> gas gauge move a bit faster than I like but driving 65 everyone is passing
> me. I tried staying at 65 for about a hundred miles but, well, what can I
> say? I am keeping track of gallons used and will figure out the final MPG at
> the end of the trip. The Onan is being used about half the time while
> driving to run the roof air so this will bring MPG down a bit.
>
> The 455 runs great and never misses a beat....almost. I can stop at a rest
> area, restart the heat-soaked engine after about 15 minutes, and accelerate
> briskly onto the interstate with no issues -- 20 to 70 with no problems. I
> can go through stop-and-go Destin traffic and then, when traffic clears at
> the east side of town, go 55 with no issues. We went to Seaside FL (The
> Truman Show was filmed there) to see what it was like. Did lots of slow
> speed and stop-and-go then 45 - 55 MPH with no issues, all in mid-90's heat
> and humidity. The temp gauge stays within a pointer width of the halfway
> mark, which is right on the 195 thermostat (replacement NAPA sensor). I
> bought gas twice since I left home, BP and Mobil regular at busy stations.
>
>
>
> Issues so far:
>
> 1. About a mile from the house while parked at my local supermarket I
> noticed the fridge not running. The 6 year old Xantrex 1500 inverter had
> quit. I unplugged the output and cycled the Xantrex power switch and sparks
> came out. Thinking that was pretty neat I did it again and smoke and
> fireworks came out of the Xantrex. We went back home where I found a 1000
> watt Go Power inverter in the junk room. As of today that one is still
> working fine. Now I have an excuse to buy a true-sine-wave inverter some
> day.
>
> 2. After driving about 3 hours I exited I-10 at US331 and had to get across
> the intersection quickly. The GMC accelerated hard but when I put the pedal
> all the way down it started starving for fuel. I let up about a half inch
> and it was fine, flooring it again and it stumbled. It's been about a year
> since I changed the fuel filters so I know what I'm doing when I get home! I
> have an external inline filter on each tank (in-tank socks removed) and I
> know the main tank isn't the cleanest I've ever seen, at least it wasn't 3
> years ago. Yeah, I should've had it professionally cleaned, but I get about
> a year on a fuel filter on that tank so it's not too bad. I very rarely
> floor the pedal so the filter can wait to be replaced. I carry spares but
> crawling under and changing a filter isn't what I really want to do right
> now. If it gets bad I will just use the other tank a bit more.
>
> 3. The Onan will sometimes stop unexpectedly. This has happened probably
> 8-10 times over the past 3 years and is completely unpredictable, sometimes
> after a couple minutes and sometimes after a few hours of running. It always
> restarts immediately, as soon as I hit the switch it fires. It's not like
> the carb ran out of gas and might need a few seconds to restart -- it
> restarts instantly and will then run until I shut it off. This time I was
> showing off the coach to the in-laws when the Onan stopped. This time I
> actually saw the light on the inside switch go out, the Onan die down, the
> light comes back on, the Onan recovers, runs a few seconds more, light goes
> out and Onan stops. Looking at the wiring diagram my guess is it's as if the
> alternator output keeping relay K2 pulled in has gone away. This morning I
> removed the alternator wires from the voltage regulator and taped them up so
> that now all the built-in alt feeds is relay K2. Hopefully this fixes the
> issue. I may also lo
> ok around for a replacement relay as everything is still original. Also
> may replace the 100uF cap that is across K2's coil just because it's old.
> Since this only happens a couple times a year and it always restarts
> immediately it's not been on my 'things to do' list.
>
> That's it for now. We leave Destin tomorrow and stay in White Springs for 2
> nights and arrive back in the Orlando area Sunday. With any luck the rest of
> the trip will be uneventful, like my GMC trips usually are. Love this coach!
>
>
>
> --
> Bob Heller
> 1974 X-Canyonlands 26ft
> Winter Springs FL
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
_______________________________________________
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| Re: Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92038 is a reply to message #92030] |
Thu, 15 July 2010 12:22 |
fred v
Messages: 999
Registered: April 2006
Location: pensacola, fl.
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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hey, i'm in Pensacola in case you need any help. i'm in the Black list.
issue #2 could be the secondaries opening too soon. there is a little spring on the right side that will hold it shut until you get more vacuum or air flow to them. if that spring is set too loose the secondaries open and the engine boggs down from being too lean.
Fred V
'77 Royale RB 455
P'cola, Fl
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| Re: [GMCnet] Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92040 is a reply to message #92030] |
Thu, 15 July 2010 12:33 |
Richard MacDonald
Messages: 47
Registered: July 2010
Karma: 0
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Member |
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On 7/15/2010 12:25 PM, Bob Heller wrote:
>
>
>
> We're spending the week in the Florida panhandle, right now at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin. So far everything has been going great. With the GMC, only a couple of minor issues, with the environment, it's hot and humid (it's Florida after all), the beach is fine with only a few tarballs (actually tar pieces about the size of a penny) from the BP oil well blowout washing ashore. The BP cleanup crew is on the beach every day picking up what little they find.
>
> Once again I have to thank Jim Bounds for his suggestion a few years ago to have 2 roof air conditioners. One just doesn't cut it when parked in full Florida sun. One is OK for the mornings and evenings, but from about 11:00 to 17:00 it's nice to have the added cooling capacity. We like to park the GMC and ride our bicycles. Coming back a couple of hours later it's nice to be able to start the Onan and have both air conditioners cool the coach in a reasonable amount of time.
>
> The GMC ran fine driving from the Orlando area. Driving at 75-80 makes the gas gauge move a bit faster than I like but driving 65 everyone is passing me. I tried staying at 65 for about a hundred miles but, well, what can I say? I am keeping track of gallons used and will figure out the final MPG at the end of the trip. The Onan is being used about half the time while driving to run the roof air so this will bring MPG down a bit.
>
> The 455 runs great and never misses a beat....almost. I can stop at a rest area, restart the heat-soaked engine after about 15 minutes, and accelerate briskly onto the interstate with no issues -- 20 to 70 with no problems. I can go through stop-and-go Destin traffic and then, when traffic clears at the east side of town, go 55 with no issues. We went to Seaside FL (The Truman Show was filmed there) to see what it was like. Did lots of slow speed and stop-and-go then 45 - 55 MPH with no issues, all in mid-90's heat and humidity. The temp gauge stays within a pointer width of the halfway mark, which is right on the 195 thermostat (replacement NAPA sensor). I bought gas twice since I left home, BP and Mobil regular at busy stations.
>
>
>
> Issues so far:
>
> 1. About a mile from the house while parked at my local supermarket I noticed the fridge not running. The 6 year old Xantrex 1500 inverter had quit. I unplugged the output and cycled the Xantrex power switch and sparks came out. Thinking that was pretty neat I did it again and smoke and fireworks came out of the Xantrex. We went back home where I found a 1000 watt Go Power inverter in the junk room. As of today that one is still working fine. Now I have an excuse to buy a true-sine-wave inverter some day.
>
> 2. After driving about 3 hours I exited I-10 at US331 and had to get across the intersection quickly. The GMC accelerated hard but when I put the pedal all the way down it started starving for fuel. I let up about a half inch and it was fine, flooring it again and it stumbled. It's been about a year since I changed the fuel filters so I know what I'm doing when I get home! I have an external inline filter on each tank (in-tank socks removed) and I know the main tank isn't the cleanest I've ever seen, at least it wasn't 3 years ago. Yeah, I should've had it professionally cleaned, but I get about a year on a fuel filter on that tank so it's not too bad. I very rarely floor the pedal so the filter can wait to be replaced. I carry spares but crawling under and changing a filter isn't what I really want to do right now. If it gets bad I will just use the other tank a bit more.
>
> 3. The Onan will sometimes stop unexpectedly. This has happened probably 8-10 times over the past 3 years and is completely unpredictable, sometimes after a couple minutes and sometimes after a few hours of running. It always restarts immediately, as soon as I hit the switch it fires. It's not like the carb ran out of gas and might need a few seconds to restart -- it restarts instantly and will then run until I shut it off. This time I was showing off the coach to the in-laws when the Onan stopped. This time I actually saw the light on the inside switch go out, the Onan die down, the light comes back on, the Onan recovers, runs a few seconds more, light goes out and Onan stops. Looking at the wiring diagram my guess is it's as if the alternator output keeping relay K2 pulled in has gone away. This morning I removed the alternator wires from the voltage regulator and taped them up so that now all the built-in alt feeds is relay K2. Hopefully this fixes the issue. I may also
lo
> ok around for a replacement relay as everything is still original. Also may replace the 100uF cap that is across K2's coil just because it's old. Since this only happens a couple times a year and it always restarts immediately it's not been on my 'things to do' list.
>
> That's it for now. We leave Destin tomorrow and stay in White Springs for 2 nights and arrive back in the Orlando area Sunday. With any luck the rest of the trip will be uneventful, like my GMC trips usually are. Love this coach!
>
>
>
>
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GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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| Re: [GMCnet] Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92057 is a reply to message #92030] |
Thu, 15 July 2010 16:55 |
Arthur Mansfield
Messages: 290
Registered: April 2010
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Good to hear the beaches are not to bad. Good report. My generator stops at times an I wold like to know what you find out if you ever get around to working on it.
Mine also starves out just before it shifts in first gear when I get one it hard. I replace the filters and it still starved out.
PS I like the new AC and it is much quitter than the other one. I was able to keep the coach at 78F when it was 95 a couple of days ago with just one AC. Yesterday I was able to pull it down to 80F in two hours when it started out 110F inside.
Art & Doris
76 EL
On Jul 15, 2010, at 10:25 AM, Bob Heller wrote:
>
>
>
>
> We're spending the week in the Florida panhandle, right now at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin. So far everything has been going great. With the GMC, only a couple of minor issues, with the environment, it's hot and humid (it's Florida after all), the beach is fine with only a few tarballs (actually tar pieces about the size of a penny) from the BP oil well blowout washing ashore. The BP cleanup crew is on the beach every day picking up what little they find.
>
> Once again I have to thank Jim Bounds for his suggestion a few years ago to have 2 roof air conditioners. One just doesn't cut it when parked in full Florida sun. One is OK for the mornings and evenings, but from about 11:00 to 17:00 it's nice to have the added cooling capacity. We like to park the GMC and ride our bicycles. Coming back a couple of hours later it's nice to be able to start the Onan and have both air conditioners cool the coach in a reasonable amount of time.
>
> The GMC ran fine driving from the Orlando area. Driving at 75-80 makes the gas gauge move a bit faster than I like but driving 65 everyone is passing me. I tried staying at 65 for about a hundred miles but, well, what can I say? I am keeping track of gallons used and will figure out the final MPG at the end of the trip. The Onan is being used about half the time while driving to run the roof air so this will bring MPG down a bit.
>
> The 455 runs great and never misses a beat....almost. I can stop at a rest area, restart the heat-soaked engine after about 15 minutes, and accelerate briskly onto the interstate with no issues -- 20 to 70 with no problems. I can go through stop-and-go Destin traffic and then, when traffic clears at the east side of town, go 55 with no issues. We went to Seaside FL (The Truman Show was filmed there) to see what it was like. Did lots of slow speed and stop-and-go then 45 - 55 MPH with no issues, all in mid-90's heat and humidity. The temp gauge stays within a pointer width of the halfway mark, which is right on the 195 thermostat (replacement NAPA sensor). I bought gas twice since I left home, BP and Mobil regular at busy stations.
>
>
>
> Issues so far:
>
> 1. About a mile from the house while parked at my local supermarket I noticed the fridge not running. The 6 year old Xantrex 1500 inverter had quit. I unplugged the output and cycled the Xantrex power switch and sparks came out. Thinking that was pretty neat I did it again and smoke and fireworks came out of the Xantrex. We went back home where I found a 1000 watt Go Power inverter in the junk room. As of today that one is still working fine. Now I have an excuse to buy a true-sine-wave inverter some day.
>
> 2. After driving about 3 hours I exited I-10 at US331 and had to get across the intersection quickly. The GMC accelerated hard but when I put the pedal all the way down it started starving for fuel. I let up about a half inch and it was fine, flooring it again and it stumbled. It's been about a year since I changed the fuel filters so I know what I'm doing when I get home! I have an external inline filter on each tank (in-tank socks removed) and I know the main tank isn't the cleanest I've ever seen, at least it wasn't 3 years ago. Yeah, I should've had it professionally cleaned, but I get about a year on a fuel filter on that tank so it's not too bad. I very rarely floor the pedal so the filter can wait to be replaced. I carry spares but crawling under and changing a filter isn't what I really want to do right now. If it gets bad I will just use the other tank a bit more.
>
> 3. The Onan will sometimes stop unexpectedly. This has happened probably 8-10 times over the past 3 years and is completely unpredictable, sometimes after a couple minutes and sometimes after a few hours of running. It always restarts immediately, as soon as I hit the switch it fires. It's not like the carb ran out of gas and might need a few seconds to restart -- it restarts instantly and will then run until I shut it off. This time I was showing off the coach to the in-laws when the Onan stopped. This time I actually saw the light on the inside switch go out, the Onan die down, the light comes back on, the Onan recovers, runs a few seconds more, light goes out and Onan stops. Looking at the wiring diagram my guess is it's as if the alternator output keeping relay K2 pulled in has gone away. This morning I removed the alternator wires from the voltage regulator and taped them up so that now all the built-in alt feeds is relay K2. Hopefully this fixes the issue. I may also
lo
> ok around for a replacement relay as everything is still original. Also may replace the 100uF cap that is across K2's coil just because it's old. Since this only happens a couple times a year and it always restarts immediately it's not been on my 'things to do' list.
>
> That's it for now. We leave Destin tomorrow and stay in White Springs for 2 nights and arrive back in the Orlando area Sunday. With any luck the rest of the trip will be uneventful, like my GMC trips usually are. Love this coach!
>
>
>
> --
> Bob Heller
> 1974 X-Canyonlands 26ft
> Winter Springs FL
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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| Re: Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92252 is a reply to message #92030] |
Sat, 17 July 2010 08:18 |
bobby5832708
Messages: 237
Registered: November 2006
Location: Winter Springs FL
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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Leg 2 of the trip was completed yesterday. We traveled from Destin to White Springs with no issues.
Trying to get relatively decent MPG I set the cruise at 70 for most of the trip and was the second slowest vehicle on I-10. In 4 hours of driving I passed 1 truck. That's it. I floored the pedal crossing an intersection while using the aux tank and there was no fuel starvation at wide open, the tires started spinning so I had to back off momentarily and then floor it again. I didn't try going wide open with the main tank selected, I know it's time to change it's filter when I get home. It's fine using the main tank from idle to about 98% power so for normal driving I've still got enough fuel flow. If I really need 100% power (which I don't) then I will switch to the aux tank.
I had an incident in Destin where after idling and going at very slow speeds for about 20 minutes the idle became unstable and started 'hunting'. I like a slow idle and have it set to just above where it gets shaky. I don't have a tach (information overload) so no actual numbers, but my guess is it's about 500 in drive with the air on. Once I got it out onto US98 and opened it up it was fine. I may have to increase the idle speed slightly. I'm also tinkering around with reducing the voltage to the Carter 4070 fuel pump. That's another thread I will start later after I do some testing. I should be able to idle the 455 forever on a hot day if I want to with no drama -- that's my goal.
The Onan ran flawlessly. Normally the dash air is fine when it's only the two of us, but on this trip we've got my MIL with us so I kept the roof air running to keep her cool. It will take months to see if disconnecting the voltage regulator wires made any difference. The random shutdown problem doesn't happen very often (maybe 3 times a year) and when it happened several days ago I was lucky to be looking rearward and saw the light on the switch go on and off as the Onan began shutting down. At least this narrows it down to it being a control problem, not something like a dying fuel pump or ign coil. It would be nice if it would happen more often, that way I could fix it.
The dash air works great. I've added 2 additional ducts to improve the airflow to the cabin and the hydrocarbon refrigerant (not Duracool, some other pine-scented stuff) makes the original hardware work better than new. I have the temp switch cycle the compressor at 40F and even on a 95F day while driving with the blower on high it'll cycle the compressor every few minutes. The air temp at the center duct gets down to 40, the switch opens, duct temp quickly goes up to about 50, compressor comes back on, and in about 3 to 4 minutes it repeats. It probably didn't cool that good when new. In my opinion the hydrocarbon refrigerant is the answer.
As soon as we backed into our space at the Stephen Foster State Park the campground hosts came over and had to take a tour of the GMC. We spend an hour chatting about the coach. This thing draws attention wherever we go! I wasn't even hooked up to power before people came over wanting to talk 'GMC'. The park is right on the Suwannee River and there's lots of Stephen Foster stuff to see so today I probably won't be bored.
Tomorrow (Sunday) we leave here and head back home to the Orlando area. When we get home I will update again. Too bad Donna and I are still 'wage slaves', I could get used to this lifestyle! Dan Gregg, I'm making a list of about a million questions (well, maybe 10) that I hope you can help me with someday regarding early retirement and traveling all over the country in a GMC. Everytime I read your and Terri's blog I'm envious! I keep telling Donna to win the lottery, that would solve the problem.
Bob Heller
2017 Winnebago 29VE
Winter Springs FL
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| Re: Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92273 is a reply to message #92252] |
Sat, 17 July 2010 11:54 |
Bob de Kruyff
Messages: 4260
Registered: January 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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""The random shutdown problem doesn't happen very often (maybe 3 times a year) and when it happened several days ago I was lucky to be looking rearward and saw the light on the switch go on and off as the Onan began shutting down. At least this narrows it down to it being a control problem, not something like a dying fuel pump or ign coil. It would be nice if it would happen more often, that way I could fix it.
""
Bob, I routinely run my onan on the road and have experienced the same thing. In my case I discovered that it is the oil pressure sensor that shuts it down due to the oil moving around in the pan. I found if I keep it right at or even a hair over the full mark, it won't shut down. At some point I want to add an additional switch on the dash so that when it does that, I can restart it while on the move.
Bob de Kruyff
78 Eleganza
Chandler, AZ
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| Re: Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92335 is a reply to message #92030] |
Sat, 17 July 2010 22:55 |
jknezek
Messages: 1057
Registered: December 2007
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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My Onan will shut down if I get too far off level with the rear higher than the front. It's definitely the oil sensor so I try and keep the oil level a little higher than the stick requires. This solves the problem for anything but a pretty steep long down grade that we don't have much of in the Southeast. I actually hit the problem a lot more coming in and out of non-level campsites. It also seems to happen quite a bit more after an oil change when the oil flows so well. Once it gets a little thicker it doesn't happen very often. Of course, that's when I know it's time to change the oil.
Enjoy the trip!
Thanks,
Jeremy Knezek
1976 Glenbrook
Birmingham, AL
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| Re: Trip Report - Fla Panhandle [message #92655 is a reply to message #92030] |
Tue, 20 July 2010 08:12 |
bobby5832708
Messages: 237
Registered: November 2006
Location: Winter Springs FL
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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We made it home Sunday afternoon with no issues .... almost. The mileage, miles-divided-by-gallons, was 8.079 mpg. The Onan was running about 18 hours this week so subtracting 9 gallons gives 8.76 mpg. This trip consisted of driving about 2/3 on the interstate and 1/3 in-town making pretend I was a shuttle and sightseeing bus.
The only 'problem' on the way home was the fuel starvation issue on the main tank again. I ran until the low fuel light was on steady then switched to the aux tank. I did a couple of full-throttles on the aux tank and everything was fine. About 10 miles from home I filled the tanks up and then had to pull out onto a 6 lane 50mph busy road (US17-92 in Maitland for those familiar with the area). I had moved the tank switch back to the main tank while at the gas station (like an idiot) so when I needed lots of power to pull out onto 17-92 I got it --- for about 3 seconds! As the GMC is stumbling and coughing you would think I would have the presence of mind to switch the tank back to aux, but no, I floor the pedal instead. Now the coach is bucking violently with the front end going up and down like a pogo stick as the carb gets a hit of gas and then runs dry. Lame attempt at sound effects: bwAAAA-mmmmmm-bwAAAA-bwAAAA-mmmmmmmmmmm-bwAAAAAAAA-mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I'm sure I was a source of entertainment for the other cars around me. After a few seconds of that I let the pedal up to about 30% and the coach smoothed out and picked up speed at a moderate rate. About a half mile up the road I came to my senses and switched to the aux tank. No problems now!
Yesterday (Monday) I replaced the filter on the main tank. I cut the old one open and about a tablespoon of what can best be described as fine coffee grounds came out. There was enough gunk to fill probably 4 of the standard carb filters. I'm glad I put the inline filters on each tank, I should've had the tank cleaned when it was out a few years ago but, what can I say? Just have to change it's filter more often. Wix 33033's aren't that expensive. I also did my yearly transmission fluid/filter change. Today (Tuesday) is my last day off work for a while so I will drive around town to make sure everything is OK and then park the GMC in the back yard for a couple of weeks until the next trip.
That's all for this month!
Bob Heller
2017 Winnebago 29VE
Winter Springs FL
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