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[GMCnet] Cross country adventure, lots of rain and one persistent leak, ugh! [message #92253] Wed, 14 July 2010 17:56 Go to next message
Gerald Work is currently offline  Gerald Work   United States
Messages: 102
Registered: June 2010
Karma: 0
Senior Member
Hi all,

We have only seen sporadic Internet access so have tried to send messages both from our iPad and from our Powerbook. The ones from the iPad were going through, but the ones from the Powerbook have not been so are stacked up waiting for Billy to approve them, I guess.

We are now on Cape Breton Island in the national park at the first camp ground after the west side entrance. Lots of rain the last few days and our one persistent leak remains a mystery. It comes in at the top of the PS rear window at just the right place to soak the bedding. Must be coming in way forward as everything aft and on top or along the side seam has been sealed and resealed. No evidence of wet anywhere else. What a pain. But, not as much of a pain for us as it must be for the tent campers all around us.

Roads get better as you get closer to the seat of socialist power in Halifax and much worse as you go away from there. Lots of pot holes, patches, bumps, ruts and uneven pavement. Poor old coach is shaking itself loose all over. We enjoy the scenery and quaint villages, but not the pounding from some of the roads.

The other thing we are struck by in this province is how expensive everything is. It is not just the 15% sales tax, it is the base prices which run 50% to 100% higher than we see at home. The two currencies are nearly at par thanks to our recent currency devaluation of about 30% so the difference is really base prices are really high here. The other Maritime Provinces that do not have such socialist governments do not punish their citizens with nearly as high base prices. Things there are still higher than we are used to, but not by this much. We added enough fuel today while in NS to make sure we can get all the way around and onto the ferry to Prince Edward Island tomorrow and had to pay $1.12 per L, well over $4.00 a gallon. Most of the time elsewhere we are filling at .96 to 1.03.

Tomorrow will see lots of 10% to 13% grades both up and down so should be quite an adventure. More later. Hopefully this message, written on Wed 7-14, will post when we next find a wifi hot spot.

Tomorrow we will have been gone from home one month. We have covered just under 5,000 miles and mileage has leveled off at 8.4 mpg based on our odometer. It seems to be a bit pessimistic so real mileage is likely a tenth or more than that. Ours is a heavy 78 Royale 26 foot rear lounge with a strong 455 with about 50,000 miles on it. Built and dyno tuned by the Dyno Shop in Santee, Ca.

Issues so far have been a starter solenoid, one Toyo tire blew (only a few date code years old, always properly inflated, stored inside in our garage, lots of tread, no sidewall cracks, PS front boggy) and a chassis battery that shook itself to death (lost one cell). So far have used one and one half quarts of 5-50 full synthetic oil.

Thanks again to the alum radiator and syn oil we have yet to see 150 degrees trans temp (sending unit is in the side of the pan) and water temp has remained right at thermo set temp no matter what the temp or terrain. We might as well have painted the temp gauge on our dash that alum radiator is so good. If you are having any cooling issues do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not try to bandaid your old one back into use, just buy the alum job and be done with that issue.

The folding bikes and the slick bile racks have been great. Easy on, easy off, they don't stick out very far, etc. The Winnegard portable sat finder has also worked just as advertised. Click the switch and if it can see the sat it will lock on within a minute or two, no muss, no fuss. We don't get the high def Programs, but that matters little with a smaller flat panel tv.

Jerry and Sharon Work
Kerby, Oregon

Sent from my iPad
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Re: [GMCnet] Cross country adventure, lots of rain and one persistent leak, ugh! [message #92260 is a reply to message #92253] Sat, 17 July 2010 09:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
James Hupy is currently offline  James Hupy   United States
Messages: 6806
Registered: May 2010
Karma: -62
Senior Member
Jerry, I had a leak like the one you described and it turned out to be the
winegard batwing antenna mounting plate. The way those things are attatched
to the roof almost gurantees a leak. When it gets inside, it follows the
natural curve of the headliner until it exits behind the pass seat and drips
on the bedding. I threw away the antenna and made a 20 ga aluminum plate
matching the antenna base and used riveted nuts in the roof material, put
butyl caulking tape between and screwed her down snug, finally used a bead
of dicor lap sealant, the self leveling kind #501, and no more drip from
that bugger.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 Royale 403

On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:56 PM, Gerald Work <glwork@me.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> We have only seen sporadic Internet access so have tried to send messages
> both from our iPad and from our Powerbook. The ones from the iPad were
> going through, but the ones from the Powerbook have not been so are stacked
> up waiting for Billy to approve them, I guess.
>
> We are now on Cape Breton Island in the national park at the first camp
> ground after the west side entrance. Lots of rain the last few days and our
> one persistent leak remains a mystery. It comes in at the top of the PS
> rear window at just the right place to soak the bedding. Must be coming in
> way forward as everything aft and on top or along the side seam has been
> sealed and resealed. No evidence of wet anywhere else. What a pain. But,
> not as much of a pain for us as it must be for the tent campers all around
> us.
>
> Roads get better as you get closer to the seat of socialist power in
> Halifax and much worse as you go away from there. Lots of pot holes,
> patches, bumps, ruts and uneven pavement. Poor old coach is shaking itself
> loose all over. We enjoy the scenery and quaint villages, but not the
> pounding from some of the roads.
>
> The other thing we are struck by in this province is how expensive
> everything is. It is not just the 15% sales tax, it is the base prices
> which run 50% to 100% higher than we see at home. The two currencies are
> nearly at par thanks to our recent currency devaluation of about 30% so the
> difference is really base prices are really high here. The other Maritime
> Provinces that do not have such socialist governments do not punish their
> citizens with nearly as high base prices. Things there are still higher
> than we are used to, but not by this much. We added enough fuel today while
> in NS to make sure we can get all the way around and onto the ferry to
> Prince Edward Island tomorrow and had to pay $1.12 per L, well over $4.00 a
> gallon. Most of the time elsewhere we are filling at .96 to 1.03.
>
> Tomorrow will see lots of 10% to 13% grades both up and down so should be
> quite an adventure. More later. Hopefully this message, written on Wed
> 7-14, will post when we next find a wifi hot spot.
>
> Tomorrow we will have been gone from home one month. We have covered just
> under 5,000 miles and mileage has leveled off at 8.4 mpg based on our
> odometer. It seems to be a bit pessimistic so real mileage is likely a
> tenth or more than that. Ours is a heavy 78 Royale 26 foot rear lounge with
> a strong 455 with about 50,000 miles on it. Built and dyno tuned by the
> Dyno Shop in Santee, Ca.
>
> Issues so far have been a starter solenoid, one Toyo tire blew (only a few
> date code years old, always properly inflated, stored inside in our garage,
> lots of tread, no sidewall cracks, PS front boggy) and a chassis battery
> that shook itself to death (lost one cell). So far have used one and one
> half quarts of 5-50 full synthetic oil.
>
> Thanks again to the alum radiator and syn oil we have yet to see 150
> degrees trans temp (sending unit is in the side of the pan) and water temp
> has remained right at thermo set temp no matter what the temp or terrain.
> We might as well have painted the temp gauge on our dash that alum radiator
> is so good. If you are having any cooling issues do not pass go, do not
> collect $200, do not try to bandaid your old one back into use, just buy the
> alum job and be done with that issue.
>
> The folding bikes and the slick bile racks have been great. Easy on, easy
> off, they don't stick out very far, etc. The Winnegard portable sat finder
> has also worked just as advertised. Click the switch and if it can see the
> sat it will lock on within a minute or two, no muss, no fuss. We don't get
> the high def Programs, but that matters little with a smaller flat panel tv.
>
> Jerry and Sharon Work
> Kerby, Oregon
>
> Sent from my iPad
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
_______________________________________________
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List Information and Subscription Options:
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Re: [GMCnet] Cross country adventure, lots of rain and one persistent leak, ugh! [message #92262 is a reply to message #92260] Sat, 17 July 2010 09:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
WD0AFQ is currently offline  WD0AFQ   United States
Messages: 7111
Registered: November 2004
Location: Dexter, Mo.
Karma: 207
Senior Member
Jerry, thanks for the reports. I love them. Only 1 1/2 qts of oil in 5,000 miles is something to brag about.
Dan


3 In Stainless Exhaust Headers One Ton All Discs/Reaction Arm 355 FD/Quad Bag/Alum Radiator Manny Tran/New eng. Holley EFI/10 Tire Air Monitoring System Solarized Coach/Upgraded Windows Satelite TV/On Demand Hot Water/3Way Refer
Re: [GMCnet] Cross country adventure, lots of rain and one persistent leak, ugh! [message #92266 is a reply to message #92253] Sat, 17 July 2010 10:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
idrob is currently offline  idrob   United States
Messages: 645
Registered: January 2005
Location: Central Idaho
Karma: 0
Senior Member
Gerald Work wrote on Wed, 14 July 2010 15:56

Lots of rain the last few days and our one persistent leak remains a mystery. It comes in at the top of the PS rear window at just the right place to soak the bedding. Must be coming in way forward as everything aft and on top or along the side seam has been sealed and resealed. No evidence of wet anywhere else. What a pain.



There is a slight possibility that your leak is from the rear window area. I swear that water runs uphill and does all kinds of funny things when it cannot be seen in dark places. At any rate, consider doing what is shown in this photo and the two or three around it. It is easy to do, can be done on the road and might help.

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17296&cat=4491


Rob Allen
former owner of '76 x-PB
Re: [GMCnet] Cross country adventure, lots of rain and one persistent leak, ugh! [message #92269 is a reply to message #92253] Sat, 17 July 2010 10:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
rallymaster is currently offline  rallymaster   United States
Messages: 662
Registered: February 2004
Location: North Plains, ORYGUN
Karma: -4
Senior Member

Jerry, did you also seal the rear windows, top and bottom?

We keep a 5x7 silver plastic tarp to put on the bed when it rains. We
then scoop the puddles up with a cup and dump it in the sink. You might
also think about raising the rear just a bit so the water drips up front
somewhere. One of our leaks was around the TV antenna. Temporarily
sealed that with poly and vinyl tape. 'Course, you need dry weather to
do that.

Happy Hunting, good luck and keep having fun.

RonC

On Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:56:53 -0700 Gerald Work <glwork@me.com> writes:
> Hi all,
>
<SNIP>
Lots of rain the last few
> days and our one persistent leak remains a mystery. It comes in at
> the top of the PS rear window at just the right place to soak the
> bedding. Must be coming in way forward as everything aft and on top
> or along the side seam has been sealed and resealed. No evidence of
> wet anywhere else.

<END SNIP>
>
> Jerry and Sharon Work
> Kerby, Oregon
>
> Sent from my iPad
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>


Ron & Linda Clark
1978 Eleganza II
North Plains, ORYGUN
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Ron & Linda Clark
North Plains, ORYGUN
78 Eleganza II
Re: [GMCnet] Cross country adventure, lots of rain and one persistent leak, ugh! [message #92304 is a reply to message #92266] Sat, 17 July 2010 17:43 Go to previous message
Richard MacDonald is currently offline  Richard MacDonald   United States
Messages: 47
Registered: July 2010
Karma: 0
Member
Our Coach had the same Leak, or should I say the resulting wet Bedding
was the same. I traced my leak to the Refrig Vent. I sealed the vent
and had it stopped for a little while, however it really got bad this
Summer and I removed the Vent completely and installed a Patch. I have
not had a leak since and I plan on installing a new vent on the side of
the coach similar to the Stove vent on the Drivers side.
JWID, pictures at
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showgallery.php?cat=5524On 7/17/2010
11:08 AM, Rob Allen wrote:
>
> Gerald Work wrote on Wed, 14 July 2010 15:56
>
>> Lots of rain the last few days and our one persistent leak remains a mystery. It comes in at the top of the PS rear window at just the right place to soak the bedding. Must be coming in way forward as everything aft and on top or along the side seam has been sealed and resealed. No evidence of wet anywhere else. What a pain.
>>
>
> There is a slight possibility that your leak is from the rear window area. I swear that water runs uphill and does all kinds of funny things when it cannot be seen in dark places. At any rate, consider doing what is shown in this photo and the two or three around it. It is easy to do, can be done on the road and might help.
>
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17296&cat=4491
>
>

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