I've seen several posts re keeping your GMC warm in winter or cool in summer.
It's easy to do the reverse. I live in southern Florida and in the summer it
really
gets hot and muggy. I always had to run at least one roof air and my dash air
to stay cool. Best I could keep cab area was 80 to 85 degrees on a really hot
and muggy day.
KEEPING YOUR COOL
Now my dash air alone takes care of the job. On a sunny 95 degree day in south
Florida with 90 plus percent humidity I can keep my cab area at 75 to 78 and my
front living
area at 80 to 85 with only the dash air. The rear area still gets a little warm
but thats OK.
I do have a 78 coach so I have the newer style dash AC. If you have an older
coach you
might have to upgrade with the available AC kit. I think 77 and 78 had the new
AC.
The key is insullation and LOTS of it. You also need to tape and seal all the
insullation
so it is as air tight as possible. The GMC leaks like a sieve through the front
dash
and floor.
All the details are at Jim Bounds site.
http://www.gmccoop.com/dash.htm
I give credit for the ideas I used to both Alex Sirum and Jim Bounds and I used
all their
ideas. But I did take them to extreme and the project did take 4 days to
complete. But
that included newly covered side panels dash and top cap.
BONUS
I also received another benefit. The coach is unbelievably quiet. Engine noise
is almost
nonexistant and road and tire noise is reduced dramatically. If you want a good
example
open the glovebox while doing 60 to 65 mph on the interstate and listen to the
difference
in noise.
GETTING HOT
Last Christmas we took our coach north to Etown Kentucky. For 10 days it never
got
ABOVE 25 degrees. Most days were 15 to 20 and nights were 5 to 10. On the way up
I75 the further north we got the colder it got and the dash heater which is VERY
hot
could NOT keep my legs warm. We stuffed towels everywhere and I finally covered
my legs with a blanket. This was rediculous. We even had our Furnace running.
The
coach area was warm but the front cab area was freezing.
While our latest trip north was not as cold, we did some travel that was below
freezing. The dash heater was all we needed and I had zero discomfort.
We have totally insullated the rest of our coach as well the same way. I
accomplished
all of this while doing other things. When we did our new ceiling we took a
couple of
extra hours and and extra 40.00 to insullate. When we recovered our sidewalls we
again took a little extra time to insulate them. When carpeting we did the
floors. The
extra time and cost is almost insignificant while the results are by far the
most
rewarding of all we have done.
I am now doing the same to my other GMC. If anyone wants more details feel free
to email or call me.
Mike Finnicum
78 GMC Eleganza II
74 GMC 28 Stretch
http://www.songtek.com/gmc/
Naples, FL
Songtek Publishing (bmi)
Songtrek Publishing (ascap)
Nashville, TN
Email: mike
Phone: (941) 775-4522
Site: http://www.songtek.com/
It's easy to do the reverse. I live in southern Florida and in the summer it
really
gets hot and muggy. I always had to run at least one roof air and my dash air
to stay cool. Best I could keep cab area was 80 to 85 degrees on a really hot
and muggy day.
KEEPING YOUR COOL
Now my dash air alone takes care of the job. On a sunny 95 degree day in south
Florida with 90 plus percent humidity I can keep my cab area at 75 to 78 and my
front living
area at 80 to 85 with only the dash air. The rear area still gets a little warm
but thats OK.
I do have a 78 coach so I have the newer style dash AC. If you have an older
coach you
might have to upgrade with the available AC kit. I think 77 and 78 had the new
AC.
The key is insullation and LOTS of it. You also need to tape and seal all the
insullation
so it is as air tight as possible. The GMC leaks like a sieve through the front
dash
and floor.
All the details are at Jim Bounds site.
http://www.gmccoop.com/dash.htm
I give credit for the ideas I used to both Alex Sirum and Jim Bounds and I used
all their
ideas. But I did take them to extreme and the project did take 4 days to
complete. But
that included newly covered side panels dash and top cap.
BONUS
I also received another benefit. The coach is unbelievably quiet. Engine noise
is almost
nonexistant and road and tire noise is reduced dramatically. If you want a good
example
open the glovebox while doing 60 to 65 mph on the interstate and listen to the
difference
in noise.
GETTING HOT
Last Christmas we took our coach north to Etown Kentucky. For 10 days it never
got
ABOVE 25 degrees. Most days were 15 to 20 and nights were 5 to 10. On the way up
I75 the further north we got the colder it got and the dash heater which is VERY
hot
could NOT keep my legs warm. We stuffed towels everywhere and I finally covered
my legs with a blanket. This was rediculous. We even had our Furnace running.
The
coach area was warm but the front cab area was freezing.
While our latest trip north was not as cold, we did some travel that was below
freezing. The dash heater was all we needed and I had zero discomfort.
We have totally insullated the rest of our coach as well the same way. I
accomplished
all of this while doing other things. When we did our new ceiling we took a
couple of
extra hours and and extra 40.00 to insullate. When we recovered our sidewalls we
again took a little extra time to insulate them. When carpeting we did the
floors. The
extra time and cost is almost insignificant while the results are by far the
most
rewarding of all we have done.
I am now doing the same to my other GMC. If anyone wants more details feel free
to email or call me.
Mike Finnicum
78 GMC Eleganza II
74 GMC 28 Stretch
http://www.songtek.com/gmc/
Naples, FL
Songtek Publishing (bmi)
Songtrek Publishing (ascap)
Nashville, TN
Email: mike
Phone: (941) 775-4522
Site: http://www.songtek.com/
