And I Shall call her Myrtle...

Oh boy, the psychology of motorhome ownership.
Hold on while I light some jasmine incense....

As a mechanic for the last 40 years, my relationship with the auto
world has changed from regarding them less as things and more
as extensions of myself.

In particular, I find myself aiming and more towards projects and the GMC is
certainly one of those. Everywhere you turn there is a puzzle to be solved
to either "bring it back to where it was" or "get it to where you want it to be".

Thus, my 1991 F-150 (after I transplanted a 1987 Mustang HO roller cam 5.0
with the full fuel injection wiring brought and various other mods)
becomes MY truck and it's like no other. A creative expression in a very real
sense.

My 1977 Eleganza II has been repainted white and thus came with the name
"Snowflake" which does absolutely nothing for me. I personally was thinking
along the lines of "The Great White Whale" but didn't like the mild sexual
connotation of Moby Dick.

Now "Eleganza II" is about as pretentious as you can get and it doesn't fit this
Standard Trim coach. She's a working man's coach and she works hard but can
be solid and dependable if treated right. I'm pretty happy with her looks and
layout, in general, but I've seen a Royale and they are impressive.

So, I felt a name from that period of time which suggested those characteristics
would be appropriate. Of course, there's Rosie, but that's a bit too common. I like
Myrtle. Maybe after a computer and some programming, I can talk to her about it.

I also think a name can be an embodiment of a goal or spirit of adventure and yours
certainly captures that.

I am intrigued by the concept of asking your boat for a name. Mine is a Chris Craft Sea Hawk
and has a huge, original Sea Hawk decal on both sides. I'm not sure what else it could call itself.
I actually prefer mechanical things to not talk. It's a go no go proposition. When they don't
go I have found them to be singularly unresponsive when queried for the cause of their failure.

Ok, that's enough of that. Man that incense stinks...
 
  • Like
Reactions: pvfjr
I have been looking at these cracks on the left rear corner of my coach.
If it were a house, I'd suspect the support structure was failing.
I have been looking at the replaced generator installation and the drawings for the slide out Onan drawer and I suspect that the body support frame has been cut for said installation.

Can anyone confirm?
If so, I'd love a picture of how that frame structure is supposed to be.generator.jpgframeCut.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Cracks.jpg
    8.6 MB · Views: 11
My '78 has the same structural cut-out, left behind when original slide-out Onan was removed.

I don't think the body cracks are related to that. Left rear marker shows signs of a mild side scrape.
 
Thanks for the info. Mounting does look pretty sturdy.
You are right about that marker hit. I was not thinking it would cause the crack in the rear panel but I wasn't there at the time (previous owner) and it could well be the cause.
 
Does anyone happen to have or know of a replacement for that rear marker light?
Seems like there ought to be an available chevy truck part out there that would match.
 
Am I crazy, or do we share a marker light with an AMC Javelin or something like that? Just what my brain is telling me this morning.
 
I have removed the old refrigerator and module. It's an older Dometic that was a slightly smaller than OE model. To fit it, they modified the module, plus (as you can see from the second picture) the 12 cu ft Norcold, I'm planning to stuff in there would never fit in the original module enclosure.

I have a question I am hoping others can shed light on. The installation instructions for this Norcold IM_1210 (gas absorption - a/c/propane) mention baffle configurations related to the distance between the top of the unit and it's enclosure. There baffle recommendations start with a 24 head space. I need to lift the unit as much as I can. Can anyone tell me what a spec for minimum clearance would be? The external vent is where you see that black plastic thing (it's an exhaust fan). Clearly, that won't line up directly so room will be needed with baffles to direct the heat flow. Planning to use sheet metal for those. I'm thinking of an 8 inch lift that will leave about 5 inches for baffles to direct to outlet. I guess I'll wire the fan to the two other fans that the Norcold has on the back.

Some concerns about propane pooling, of course. What do you all like for propane detection?

Thoughts?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0994.jpg
    14 MB · Views: 2
  • IMG_0996.jpg
    IMG_0996.jpg
    5 MB · Views: 3
Shocks installed and waiting for cooling system parts so decided to install refrigerator.
If you were wondering whether a 12 cu ft Norcold will fit in a GMC, that question has been answered.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1014.jpg
    IMG_1014.jpg
    5.5 MB · Views: 7
Pulled out the generator and moved it to it's new location as power backup. It starts and runs (for a while). Cleaning out the cooling system and investigating the ignition system for clues.

The generator bay now has two LifePO4 batteries installed with the inverter directly wired to the batteries. I can now use a Keurig in my coach!!! Pretty exciting actually.

The refrigerator installation is coming together. Glued bamboo wainscot with 3M 94. Should you ever do such a thing, be liberal with the glue. I have some buckling in the covering of the nearer panel, the second got a much heavier dose. Like the look, though.

Issues with transmission but that's the subject of another post.

Merry Christmas all!

bamboo.jpg
 

Attachments

  • backupGen.jpg
    14.5 MB · Views: 4
  • generatorBay.jpg
    13.3 MB · Views: 5
Pulled out the generator and moved it to it's new location as power backup. It starts and runs (for a while). Cleaning out the cooling system and investigating the ignition system for clues.

The generator bay now has two LifePO4 batteries installed with the inverter directly wired to the batteries. I can now use a Keurig in my coach!!! Pretty exciting actually.

The refrigerator installation is coming together. Glued bamboo wainscot with 3M 94. Should you ever do such a thing, be liberal with the glue. I have some buckling in the covering of the nearer panel, the second got a much heavier dose. Like the look, though.

Issues with transmission but that's the subject of another post.

Merry Christmas all!

View attachment 12469