Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » [GMCnet] NC to Oregon trip...............
| [GMCnet] NC to Oregon trip............... [message #80071] |
Sat, 10 April 2010 22:44  |
Gerald Wheeler
Messages: 152
Registered: February 2004
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
This is a rather long winded saga of my experiences in the last 5 weeks.
You may want to delete this and move onto other emails................
My wife and daughter plan to leave early next week (maybe Monday or
Tuesday) driving my daughter's 1973 23' Painted Desert, #241. I talked my
daughter into buying this coach in May, 2006, it was in Denver. It had
dropped a rod. The coach had about 120k miles on it. The PO had
reworked the entire interior in solid oak, doing a very nice job. The
coach also had new Alcoa's and tires on it. He offered it for sale on the
GMCnet and we jumped on his offer; we paid $5000 for the coach. We had a
JimB Jasper motor put into it that summer, along with a Manny tranny and an
aluminum radiator; also filled the intake manifold crossover and had Dick
Paterson rework the carb and distributor. I went to Colorado and drove
the coach back to NC on October 1st, 2006. The next spring, my wife and I
took the coach to Rayne for the spring, 2007 GMCMI rally. Everything ran
well. I bought a set of JR Slaten's leveling valves. I met my friend Dan
Gregg and his wife Teri there; they drove us around to see the sights.
When I got back to NC, the coach went up on blocks in my garage. My
daughter was working in Iraq, so no hurry to get things done. The coach
sat on the blocks until just several days ago when we test run it, but it's
back on blocks right now. In the fall of 2007, I bought a generator for
the coach (an Onan Camp Power 2800w, the only one I could find that would
fit the PO reworked gen area, as the coach never had a factory generator in
it). The hot water had to be hand lit from the outside, so I also
purchased a new LP/120v hot water heater with remote start. I also
purchased a set of those Honda middle seats a year ago and got the seat
bases from Michael Bozardt; also the ss kit for the emergency brakes and
Ken Henderson's electric windshield wiper kit. My daughter finally quit
working in Iraq last August (she was there 4 years and 9 months), so she
planned to drive her coach from NC to our Oregon home this spring and this
summer to Alaska. Over the past two years, my close friend, Cecil Miller,
had his 23' coach in my garage, next to my daughter's coach. We were
going to work on them together. That never happened as Cecil found out he
had cancer, spent 12 of the last 14 months of his life in the hospital and
passed away late January of this year. I just didn't have the heart or
energy to work on either coach. His coach still sits next to my
daughter's.
The daughter said she was coming to NC on March 3rd to spend some time with
her mother and I (we are her parents); then drive the coach to Oregon after
Easter. I started working on her coach March 7th. All I had to do was
install the new hot water heater, JR's valves and the new generator, but
90% of my tools and other goodies are in Oregon. So every time I needed
something, I had to go buy it. Many trips to town in the last 5 weeks.
The hot water install went well, no problems other than one fitting leak.
First, I had to run wires for the 120v set up as well as put a switch in
the wall to control the heating method ( by either propane or electric or
both together). It works. Next was the generator. I ended up removing
the wood flooring and putting a piece of stainless steel sheet metal in as
the floor; next went two 1 inch square aluminum tubes; both tubes anchored
on the aluminum frame of the coach and lined up with the generator's
underneath mounting holes. I cut the holes in the ss floor needed for the
exhaust and heat exhaust, also an oil drain. I had purchased the remote
start, so had to string those wires from the generator compartment to the
kitchen area of the coach. Also had to run about 20 feet of #2 welding
cable from the front house batteries for the crank power for the generator.
The PO had, at one time, had some type of generator in there. There was a
fuel line to the generator compartment and it tapped into the main fuel
line just after the tank selector switch. He had the rear tank generator
nipple plugged off. The generator exhaust required that I move the
macerator that I had installed prior to Rayne, so I had to rework the dump
plumbing too. I also installed a fan in the generator compartment since I
wanted to make sure there was plenty of air; it draws the air from under
the coach, thru a filter.
About two weeks ago, I decided to fire the engine for the first time in 3
years. My daughter got into the driver's seat and I told her to pump the
pedal and turn the engine over (I had first pulled all the plugs and turned
the engine over to oil it). I was outside the coach. It started, but I
could smell gas immediately and told her to cut if off. We had gas
dripping from the frame; the lines going into and out of the fuel selector
valve were leaking. So we decided to drop the tanks and replace all the
lines. This took two weeks as I broke a plastic 1/2x3/8x3/8 T (part of
the vent line) and it took me a week to find one and get it (had to find it
online and order it; no one in a town of 250,000+ had one). In the
meantime, I installed the new Honda seats (thanks to RJ Waters for his
excellent picture tutorial on how to do it) in two days. I finally got the
brass T (I wasn't going to do plastic again) and got the tanks in place
with all the rubber lines replaced. By this time, I had the generator in
place and waiting for gas. So I decided to see how many gallons it would
take for gas to finally arrive at the generator. I poured gas into the
empty tanks 5 gallons at a time. I pulled the generator's gas line going
to the carb and directed it into an empty plastic water bottle. After each
5 gallons, I would crank the generator. After pouring in the 40th gallon,
I finally had gas at the generator. OK, this means I will have at least 35
gallons when the generator runs out of gas; but it also means that I need
almost a full tank anytime I want to use the generator. The PO knew
something that I did not; the second tank nipple apparently didn't turn
down into the tank. Well, at least I can test the generator. Hooked the
gas line back to the carb; turned it over and it fired briefly; also had a
white light flash under the unit. Blew a fuse; had to go to town and get
fuses. Put the new fuse in, cranked it and it wouldn't start; it also
wouldn't quit cranking; the start/stop switch wasn't working. I quickly
took the nut off the power stud I had installed in the generator
compartment and pulled the hot lead to the generator. Went to the phone
book and found an Onan dealer about 30 miles from me. Called them and said
I was bringing a new generator to them. Now this generator had sat on a
shelf in my garage for 2 years and 7 months; never any gas put to it, never
run, it was still new. After I got home, I decided to test the water
system and the toilet. Turned the pump on (I had run it several weeks
earlier to test the hot water heater) and tried the foot pedals for the
toilet; no water. Turns out I had forgot the PO had put a hand valve on
the wall for the toilet fill. Turned the valve on and the water ran into
the toilet. Then the pump quit. It was at this exact time that I felt
like Ron Husak; I was about to call it quits. The Onan dealer called me
that night and said it was the control board; it would be $180 for a new
one plus labor; Onan had a two year warranty and since I had had it for 2
years and 7 months, sorry, no warranty, even tho it was new and never run.
I said fix it; I'll deal with Onan later. The next morning I took out the
rear queen mattress to get to the water pump. The power wire had come
off, so put it back on and taped it so it wouldn't fall off again. Put
the queen mattress back in (it's a struggle, but it does fit). The Onan
dealer calls and sez it isn't the board after all, it turns out that 3
wires were pinched and one was shorted. Did I do that?? I said no, the
only thing I had done was remove the gas line to the carb. The Onan dealer
charged me $75 for the diagnosis and I had to make the repairs and put it
back together. I did that and installed it this morning. Before starting
it, I capped the second tank nipple and cut into the main fuel line after
the selector valve (all this with 40 gallons of gas in the tanks). I
spilled about a pint, with gas running down my arms as I lay under the
coach getting the new lines in place. The generator runs well, the
automatic transfer switch I installed worked too.
So, I feel better tonight. All I have to do now is figure out how to put
a band on the small end of the outer boot driver's side front wheel as it
is throwing grease and we'll take a test cruise tomorrow and the wife and
daughter will leave on Monday if all goes well. Never did get around to
installing the ss emergency brake kit or the electric windshield wiper kit.
She will carry them in the coach to Oregon and I might get to those later
this summer. Their trip will take them to the NC coast, down the coast to
SC and GA, then to TX, then make their way to Boise for a week, then to the
Oregon coast. So you Blacklisters please be aware that two females will
be driving this coach and neither have any mechanical skills (and neither
have ever driven a coach); I may be calling on some of you to give them
some help.
JR Wheeler 73 PD, 77 Transmode, 78 Royale NC/OR
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] NC to Oregon trip............... [message #80108 is a reply to message #80103] |
Sun, 11 April 2010 08:41  |
Sandra Price
Messages: 709
Registered: May 2006
Karma: 1
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Gerald, Bob and I enjoyed your report. Reminds us of when he was working on
our 26' '73 Painted Desert from February through June 2005, right after we
bought it, to get it ready to drive to Alaska in July. Our story of his
mechanical preparations would have tracked yours almost to a T. However,
now we've driven it to Alaska from Texas twice and will be leaving early May
for a drive up through the Northeast into Nova Scotia--if the gas prices
don't skyrocket.
Hope your wife and daughter have a wonderful trip. Now is a beautiful to
hit the road. We loved that Oregon coast as we mosied up from Santa Rosa in
'08 on our way to Alaska via the Cassiar--great condition on the way up
mid-May, but horrible to travel back in July.
Sandra Price
On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 7:51 AM, Gerald Wheeler <jrwheeler7@earthlink.net>wrote:
>
> I'll do that today.........
>
> JR Wheeler 78 Royale NC/OR
> jrwheeler7@earthlink.net
>
>
>
> > [Original Message]
> > From: Mr.erf ERFisher <mr.erfisher@gmail.com>
> > To: <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
> > Date: 4/11/2010 12:07:44 AM
> > Subject: Re: [GMCnet] NC to Oregon trip...............
> >
> > psst
> > a wee voice says ( what happened to the duracool charge ?)
> >
> > I wish them the best
> > gene
> >
> >
> > Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
> > 敵ive a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
> > -------
> > http://gmcmotorhome.info/
> > Alternator Protection Cable
> > http://gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html
> > _______________________________________________
> > 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
>
>
--
IN GOD WE TRUST!
Sandra and Bob in the 51st Year of our State of Marriage
“Life’s a Trip” in “The Roadhouse”
’73 Painted Desert
Huntsville, TX
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love
as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or
insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so
that you may inherit a blessing. --1 Peter 3:8-9
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] NC to Oregon trip............... [message #80116 is a reply to message #80071] |
Sun, 11 April 2010 09:12 |
Steven Ferguson
Messages: 3447
Registered: May 2006
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Good story JR,
It sure is tough to play "come from behind" on these. Having a
deadline makes it evern more difficult. Where were you when I needed
a father?
On Sat, Apr 10, 2010 at 8:44 PM, Gerald Wheeler
<jrwheeler7@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> This is a rather long winded saga of my experiences in the last 5 weeks.
> You may want to delete this and move onto other emails................
>
> My wife and daughter plan to leave early next week (maybe Monday or
> Tuesday) driving my daughter's 1973 23' Painted Desert, #241. I talked my
> daughter into buying this coach in May, 2006, it was in Denver. It had
> dropped a rod. The coach had about 120k miles on it. The PO had
> reworked the entire interior in solid oak, doing a very nice job. The
> coach also had new Alcoa's and tires on it. He offered it for sale on the
> GMCnet and we jumped on his offer; we paid $5000 for the coach. We had a
> JimB Jasper motor put into it that summer, along with a Manny tranny and an
> aluminum radiator; also filled the intake manifold crossover and had Dick
> Paterson rework the carb and distributor. I went to Colorado and drove
> the coach back to NC on October 1st, 2006. The next spring, my wife and I
> took the coach to Rayne for the spring, 2007 GMCMI rally. Everything ran
> well. I bought a set of JR Slaten's leveling valves. I met my friend Dan
> Gregg and his wife Teri there; they drove us around to see the sights.
> When I got back to NC, the coach went up on blocks in my garage. My
> daughter was working in Iraq, so no hurry to get things done. The coach
> sat on the blocks until just several days ago when we test run it, but it's
> back on blocks right now. In the fall of 2007, I bought a generator for
> the coach (an Onan Camp Power 2800w, the only one I could find that would
> fit the PO reworked gen area, as the coach never had a factory generator in
> it). The hot water had to be hand lit from the outside, so I also
> purchased a new LP/120v hot water heater with remote start. I also
> purchased a set of those Honda middle seats a year ago and got the seat
> bases from Michael Bozardt; also the ss kit for the emergency brakes and
> Ken Henderson's electric windshield wiper kit. My daughter finally quit
> working in Iraq last August (she was there 4 years and 9 months), so she
> planned to drive her coach from NC to our Oregon home this spring and this
> summer to Alaska. Over the past two years, my close friend, Cecil Miller,
> had his 23' coach in my garage, next to my daughter's coach. We were
> going to work on them together. That never happened as Cecil found out he
> had cancer, spent 12 of the last 14 months of his life in the hospital and
> passed away late January of this year. I just didn't have the heart or
> energy to work on either coach. His coach still sits next to my
> daughter's.
>
> The daughter said she was coming to NC on March 3rd to spend some time with
> her mother and I (we are her parents); then drive the coach to Oregon after
> Easter. I started working on her coach March 7th. All I had to do was
> install the new hot water heater, JR's valves and the new generator, but
> 90% of my tools and other goodies are in Oregon. So every time I needed
> something, I had to go buy it. Many trips to town in the last 5 weeks.
> The hot water install went well, no problems other than one fitting leak.
> First, I had to run wires for the 120v set up as well as put a switch in
> the wall to control the heating method ( by either propane or electric or
> both together). It works. Next was the generator. I ended up removing
> the wood flooring and putting a piece of stainless steel sheet metal in as
> the floor; next went two 1 inch square aluminum tubes; both tubes anchored
> on the aluminum frame of the coach and lined up with the generator's
> underneath mounting holes. I cut the holes in the ss floor needed for the
> exhaust and heat exhaust, also an oil drain. I had purchased the remote
> start, so had to string those wires from the generator compartment to the
> kitchen area of the coach. Also had to run about 20 feet of #2 welding
> cable from the front house batteries for the crank power for the generator.
> The PO had, at one time, had some type of generator in there. There was a
> fuel line to the generator compartment and it tapped into the main fuel
> line just after the tank selector switch. He had the rear tank generator
> nipple plugged off. The generator exhaust required that I move the
> macerator that I had installed prior to Rayne, so I had to rework the dump
> plumbing too. I also installed a fan in the generator compartment since I
> wanted to make sure there was plenty of air; it draws the air from under
> the coach, thru a filter.
>
> About two weeks ago, I decided to fire the engine for the first time in 3
> years. My daughter got into the driver's seat and I told her to pump the
> pedal and turn the engine over (I had first pulled all the plugs and turned
> the engine over to oil it). I was outside the coach. It started, but I
> could smell gas immediately and told her to cut if off. We had gas
> dripping from the frame; the lines going into and out of the fuel selector
> valve were leaking. So we decided to drop the tanks and replace all the
> lines. This took two weeks as I broke a plastic 1/2x3/8x3/8 T (part of
> the vent line) and it took me a week to find one and get it (had to find it
> online and order it; no one in a town of 250,000+ had one). In the
> meantime, I installed the new Honda seats (thanks to RJ Waters for his
> excellent picture tutorial on how to do it) in two days. I finally got the
> brass T (I wasn't going to do plastic again) and got the tanks in place
> with all the rubber lines replaced. By this time, I had the generator in
> place and waiting for gas. So I decided to see how many gallons it would
> take for gas to finally arrive at the generator. I poured gas into the
> empty tanks 5 gallons at a time. I pulled the generator's gas line going
> to the carb and directed it into an empty plastic water bottle. After each
> 5 gallons, I would crank the generator. After pouring in the 40th gallon,
> I finally had gas at the generator. OK, this means I will have at least 35
> gallons when the generator runs out of gas; but it also means that I need
> almost a full tank anytime I want to use the generator. The PO knew
> something that I did not; the second tank nipple apparently didn't turn
> down into the tank. Well, at least I can test the generator. Hooked the
> gas line back to the carb; turned it over and it fired briefly; also had a
> white light flash under the unit. Blew a fuse; had to go to town and get
> fuses. Put the new fuse in, cranked it and it wouldn't start; it also
> wouldn't quit cranking; the start/stop switch wasn't working. I quickly
> took the nut off the power stud I had installed in the generator
> compartment and pulled the hot lead to the generator. Went to the phone
> book and found an Onan dealer about 30 miles from me. Called them and said
> I was bringing a new generator to them. Now this generator had sat on a
> shelf in my garage for 2 years and 7 months; never any gas put to it, never
> run, it was still new. After I got home, I decided to test the water
> system and the toilet. Turned the pump on (I had run it several weeks
> earlier to test the hot water heater) and tried the foot pedals for the
> toilet; no water. Turns out I had forgot the PO had put a hand valve on
> the wall for the toilet fill. Turned the valve on and the water ran into
> the toilet. Then the pump quit. It was at this exact time that I felt
> like Ron Husak; I was about to call it quits. The Onan dealer called me
> that night and said it was the control board; it would be $180 for a new
> one plus labor; Onan had a two year warranty and since I had had it for 2
> years and 7 months, sorry, no warranty, even tho it was new and never run.
> I said fix it; I'll deal with Onan later. The next morning I took out the
> rear queen mattress to get to the water pump. The power wire had come
> off, so put it back on and taped it so it wouldn't fall off again. Put
> the queen mattress back in (it's a struggle, but it does fit). The Onan
> dealer calls and sez it isn't the board after all, it turns out that 3
> wires were pinched and one was shorted. Did I do that?? I said no, the
> only thing I had done was remove the gas line to the carb. The Onan dealer
> charged me $75 for the diagnosis and I had to make the repairs and put it
> back together. I did that and installed it this morning. Before starting
> it, I capped the second tank nipple and cut into the main fuel line after
> the selector valve (all this with 40 gallons of gas in the tanks). I
> spilled about a pint, with gas running down my arms as I lay under the
> coach getting the new lines in place. The generator runs well, the
> automatic transfer switch I installed worked too.
>
> So, I feel better tonight. All I have to do now is figure out how to put
> a band on the small end of the outer boot driver's side front wheel as it
> is throwing grease and we'll take a test cruise tomorrow and the wife and
> daughter will leave on Monday if all goes well. Never did get around to
> installing the ss emergency brake kit or the electric windshield wiper kit.
> She will carry them in the coach to Oregon and I might get to those later
> this summer. Their trip will take them to the NC coast, down the coast to
> SC and GA, then to TX, then make their way to Boise for a week, then to the
> Oregon coast. So you Blacklisters please be aware that two females will
> be driving this coach and neither have any mechanical skills (and neither
> have ever driven a coach); I may be calling on some of you to give them
> some help.
>
> JR Wheeler 73 PD, 77 Transmode, 78 Royale NC/OR
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
--
Steve Ferguson
'76 EII
Sierra Vista, AZ
Urethane bushing source
www.bdub.net/ferguson/
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] NC to Oregon trip............... [message #80117 is a reply to message #80114] |
Sun, 11 April 2010 09:13 |
Sandra Price
Messages: 709
Registered: May 2006
Karma: 1
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Thanks, David. We plan to see him and the Doanes...
On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 9:07 AM, David L Greenberg
<davegreenberg1@juno.com>wrote:
>
> On Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:41:09 -0500 Sandra Price <bsprice9359@gmail.com>
> writes:
> Snip...........
> leaving
> > early May
> > for a drive up through the Northeast into Nova Scotia--if the gas
> > prices
> > don't skyrocket.
> > > Sandra Price
> >
>
> Be sure to call on Mike Beaton in Antigonish, Sandra. No one stops by and
> he gets lonely!
> LOL
>
>
>
> David Lee Greenberg
> Port St Lucie, FL
> Dedicated to the Preservation of the Classic GMC Motorhome
> http://GMCmhRegistry.com <http://gmcmhregistry.com/>
> http://www.picturetrail.com/gmcregistry
> ____________________________________________________________
> Penny Stock Jumping 2000%
> Sign up to the #1 voted penny stock newsletter for free today!
> http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4bc1d7f332b4b2a868m02duc
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
--
IN GOD WE TRUST!
Sandra and Bob in the 51st Year of our State of Marriage
“Life’s a Trip” in “The Roadhouse”
’73 Painted Desert
Huntsville, TX
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love
as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or
insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so
that you may inherit a blessing. --1 Peter 3:8-9
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
|
|
|
|
|
|
Goto Forum:
Current Time: Mon Nov 18 05:40:40 CST 2024
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.01526 seconds
|
GMCforum
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
