GMCnetters....
Finally arrived home this morning (Saturday) from our first prolonged trip
in our newly acquired 77 Palm Beach (That Green Thing). 1427 miles in
12 Days.
We departed Orem, Utah with intentions of stopping at Newspaper Rock
near Canyon Lands National Park and then on to Mesa Verde prior to
arriving at the Durango Rally on Friday, the 21st of July.
The Details:
The coach battery had discharged to the point of not turning over the engine
a few days before departure so I had charged it with a 10 amp charger prior
to departure. We departed Orem tuesday morning and shut down in Green
River, Utah for lunch. After lunch, the battery was dead! Started the coach
generator and charged it enough to start the engine and stopped at an auto
supply house in Green River and replaced the coach battery with a new one.
Went on to Newspaper Rock and spent the night dry camping.
Next day (Wed 19th) we toured Canyon Lands National Park and headed for
Mesa Verde. Paid for two nights (19th & 20th) and found a camping spot in
the park. The brand new coach battery was DEAD! We had hookups so I
charged the new battery for about 8 hours, then started the engine and removed
the positive battery lead to see if the alternator was working. The engine
didn't
die so I assumed the alternator was ok.
Thursday (20th) toured Mesa Verde. Started engine with battery and then
disconnected it so it wouldn't discharge and ran on the Alternator. Each
stop I
would reconnect the battery to start and then disconnect. In the afternoon,
a fire started in Mesa Verde and the park was evacuated! We lost one night
of camping fees and we showed up at United Campground for the Mountainaire
Rally one day early in Durango. The first person I met upon stepping out
of the
coach upon arrival was Jerry Hoxsey. Arrangements were made to camp an extra
night. Several other coaches were already there and we were most graciously
welcomed.
Friday (21st) was normal check in day. I discussed my battery problem with
Jerry and
others and it was suggested that I check the alternator voltage
output. Upon doing
so, I found only 12 volt output instead of the 14 to 15 needed to keep the
battery
charged. Something was wrong with the alternator! After more discussions,
suggestions were made as to what might be the problem. Many other coaches
arrived and a very nice pot luck dinner and get acquainted social was
enjoyed by
all that evening.
Early Saturday (22nd) morning prior to the scheduled activities, I checked
some of the
suggestions and decided to tighten the belt to the alternator to see if
that would
help. I crawled under the coach and while loosing the adjusting nut,
managed to
cut my arm on a nearby sharp edge. My wife applied a bandage with some
comments about my aptitude with tools and I finished tightening the
belt. I started
the engine and checked the alternator voltage.....14
volts.....Fixed!!!! Now that
the GMC has drawn blood, I feel like I belong to the GMC community. Rally
activities included a catered breakfast, safety bull session, coach tours,
and meeting
many great GMC couples. A good time was had by all. Evening activities
included
a bar-b-que dinner and show at the Bar D Ranch. A terrific activity.
Sunday (23rd) started with a continental breakfast and much visiting. It
was also departure
day for some but since we had tickets for the train the next day,
arrangements were
made to stay two extra nights until Tuesday morning. Jim & Ottilie Anstett
and others
were kind enough to show us their coaches and some of their
modifications. Jim had
me try out his brakes to show how well they worked.....very impressive. I
think he has
a gauge of some kind for every function in his coach. We were
impressed. He was most
helpful explaining his numerous modifications. Emery Stora spent the
evening explaining
some of the system functions in my coach and showed me some of his
modifications.
I now have a long list of things I wish to do to improve my coach.
Monday (24th)....all day on the Durango-Silverton Historic Railroad. A
great time!
Tuesday (25th), we departed Durango headed for Longmont where my daughter
lives.
A very hot day! Climbing Wolf Creek Pass east of Durango, the steel gas line
would try to vapor lock even with the electric fuel pump running. We got
about two
thirds of the way up the pass and had to pull over to let the gas line
cool. After about
a half hour, started up and made it over the pass. Stopped for the eveing
at the
Royal Gorge and after sightseeing, stayed at the local KOA campground.
Wednesday (26th) and Thursday (27th) visited with my daughter in Longmont
Colorado.
Friday (28th) departed with intentions of returning home by way of
Interstate 80 across
Wyoming. Another hot day. Several times on uphill grades, the old
vaporlock problem
would require us to pull over to cool down prior to continuing. Lunch at
the flying J in
Rawlins, Wyoming. Hot afternoon. The gas line would work only for about
20 to 30
minutes before the engine would again start to surge and we would have to
fine a place
to stop to cool down. Took until 5PM to make it to Rock Springs. After
dinner, we
decided to spend the night at the Flying J in Rock Springs, but all the
truckers had
the same idea and it was way too noisy. We departed after sundown and
spent the
night at the Wal Mart in Evanston, Wyoming.
Saturday (29th) (Today) Departed Evanston at 6AM to avoid the
heat. Arrived home in
Orem, Utah about 8AM. No vaporlock problem as it was cool all the
way. Nice to be
home. A great trip and a real adventure dealing with all the GMC quirks
and the Mesa
Verde Evacuation.
Reflections:
The battery problem was fixed by tightening the alternator belt. No more
problems.
The steel gas line doesn't like hot weather. Even with the electric fuel
pump on and
the fan cluch working, the heat would cause engine surging and loss of
power. I need
to find a way to keep the gas line cool.
Perhaps blocking the exhaust manifold crossover, insulating the line
itself or rerouting
it. Perhaps ram air to the back of the engine compartment similar to Emery
Stora's
and venting the wheel wells to remove excess heat. Perhaps insulate the
bottom of
the gas tanks.........Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
GMCs spotted during trip.
Tuesday (18th) a repainted coach westbound in Interstate 70 east of Green
River, Utah
and also a north bound coach north of Moab Utah. Two in one day....both
waved and
blinked their headlights.
Tuesday (25th) a white with blue stripe coach for sale on the south side of
the highway
about 10 miles east of Durango in a dealer's lot.
Friday (28th) A Palm Beach just north of Fort Collins, heading into
town...Waived.
Saturday (29th) A coach for sale just north of Heber Utah sitting in a field.
If you read to the bottom of this......you need to find something else to do!
Thanks to all......
Les & Sharon Watson
Orem, Utah
77 Palm Beach (that likes it cool)
Finally arrived home this morning (Saturday) from our first prolonged trip
in our newly acquired 77 Palm Beach (That Green Thing). 1427 miles in
12 Days.
We departed Orem, Utah with intentions of stopping at Newspaper Rock
near Canyon Lands National Park and then on to Mesa Verde prior to
arriving at the Durango Rally on Friday, the 21st of July.
The Details:
The coach battery had discharged to the point of not turning over the engine
a few days before departure so I had charged it with a 10 amp charger prior
to departure. We departed Orem tuesday morning and shut down in Green
River, Utah for lunch. After lunch, the battery was dead! Started the coach
generator and charged it enough to start the engine and stopped at an auto
supply house in Green River and replaced the coach battery with a new one.
Went on to Newspaper Rock and spent the night dry camping.
Next day (Wed 19th) we toured Canyon Lands National Park and headed for
Mesa Verde. Paid for two nights (19th & 20th) and found a camping spot in
the park. The brand new coach battery was DEAD! We had hookups so I
charged the new battery for about 8 hours, then started the engine and removed
the positive battery lead to see if the alternator was working. The engine
didn't
die so I assumed the alternator was ok.
Thursday (20th) toured Mesa Verde. Started engine with battery and then
disconnected it so it wouldn't discharge and ran on the Alternator. Each
stop I
would reconnect the battery to start and then disconnect. In the afternoon,
a fire started in Mesa Verde and the park was evacuated! We lost one night
of camping fees and we showed up at United Campground for the Mountainaire
Rally one day early in Durango. The first person I met upon stepping out
of the
coach upon arrival was Jerry Hoxsey. Arrangements were made to camp an extra
night. Several other coaches were already there and we were most graciously
welcomed.
Friday (21st) was normal check in day. I discussed my battery problem with
Jerry and
others and it was suggested that I check the alternator voltage
output. Upon doing
so, I found only 12 volt output instead of the 14 to 15 needed to keep the
battery
charged. Something was wrong with the alternator! After more discussions,
suggestions were made as to what might be the problem. Many other coaches
arrived and a very nice pot luck dinner and get acquainted social was
enjoyed by
all that evening.
Early Saturday (22nd) morning prior to the scheduled activities, I checked
some of the
suggestions and decided to tighten the belt to the alternator to see if
that would
help. I crawled under the coach and while loosing the adjusting nut,
managed to
cut my arm on a nearby sharp edge. My wife applied a bandage with some
comments about my aptitude with tools and I finished tightening the
belt. I started
the engine and checked the alternator voltage.....14
volts.....Fixed!!!! Now that
the GMC has drawn blood, I feel like I belong to the GMC community. Rally
activities included a catered breakfast, safety bull session, coach tours,
and meeting
many great GMC couples. A good time was had by all. Evening activities
included
a bar-b-que dinner and show at the Bar D Ranch. A terrific activity.
Sunday (23rd) started with a continental breakfast and much visiting. It
was also departure
day for some but since we had tickets for the train the next day,
arrangements were
made to stay two extra nights until Tuesday morning. Jim & Ottilie Anstett
and others
were kind enough to show us their coaches and some of their
modifications. Jim had
me try out his brakes to show how well they worked.....very impressive. I
think he has
a gauge of some kind for every function in his coach. We were
impressed. He was most
helpful explaining his numerous modifications. Emery Stora spent the
evening explaining
some of the system functions in my coach and showed me some of his
modifications.
I now have a long list of things I wish to do to improve my coach.
Monday (24th)....all day on the Durango-Silverton Historic Railroad. A
great time!
Tuesday (25th), we departed Durango headed for Longmont where my daughter
lives.
A very hot day! Climbing Wolf Creek Pass east of Durango, the steel gas line
would try to vapor lock even with the electric fuel pump running. We got
about two
thirds of the way up the pass and had to pull over to let the gas line
cool. After about
a half hour, started up and made it over the pass. Stopped for the eveing
at the
Royal Gorge and after sightseeing, stayed at the local KOA campground.
Wednesday (26th) and Thursday (27th) visited with my daughter in Longmont
Colorado.
Friday (28th) departed with intentions of returning home by way of
Interstate 80 across
Wyoming. Another hot day. Several times on uphill grades, the old
vaporlock problem
would require us to pull over to cool down prior to continuing. Lunch at
the flying J in
Rawlins, Wyoming. Hot afternoon. The gas line would work only for about
20 to 30
minutes before the engine would again start to surge and we would have to
fine a place
to stop to cool down. Took until 5PM to make it to Rock Springs. After
dinner, we
decided to spend the night at the Flying J in Rock Springs, but all the
truckers had
the same idea and it was way too noisy. We departed after sundown and
spent the
night at the Wal Mart in Evanston, Wyoming.
Saturday (29th) (Today) Departed Evanston at 6AM to avoid the
heat. Arrived home in
Orem, Utah about 8AM. No vaporlock problem as it was cool all the
way. Nice to be
home. A great trip and a real adventure dealing with all the GMC quirks
and the Mesa
Verde Evacuation.
Reflections:
The battery problem was fixed by tightening the alternator belt. No more
problems.
The steel gas line doesn't like hot weather. Even with the electric fuel
pump on and
the fan cluch working, the heat would cause engine surging and loss of
power. I need
to find a way to keep the gas line cool.
Perhaps blocking the exhaust manifold crossover, insulating the line
itself or rerouting
it. Perhaps ram air to the back of the engine compartment similar to Emery
Stora's
and venting the wheel wells to remove excess heat. Perhaps insulate the
bottom of
the gas tanks.........Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
GMCs spotted during trip.
Tuesday (18th) a repainted coach westbound in Interstate 70 east of Green
River, Utah
and also a north bound coach north of Moab Utah. Two in one day....both
waved and
blinked their headlights.
Tuesday (25th) a white with blue stripe coach for sale on the south side of
the highway
about 10 miles east of Durango in a dealer's lot.
Friday (28th) A Palm Beach just north of Fort Collins, heading into
town...Waived.
Saturday (29th) A coach for sale just north of Heber Utah sitting in a field.
If you read to the bottom of this......you need to find something else to do!
Thanks to all......
Les & Sharon Watson
Orem, Utah
77 Palm Beach (that likes it cool)
