nice review. You might look at some of these for answers to your questions.
Dana rebuild
http://www.california.com/~eagle/dana.html
A/F guage
http://www.california.com/~eagle/instr.html
You might just be running lean under high load and need a booster fuel pump.
http://www.california.com/~eagle/Fuel.html
gene
>Salutations:
>
>I want to thank the group for their advise and follow-up on our new
elephant.. Of particular help were Mr. Aulgur and Dr Doane (who lives here
in Halifax) .. One of the big factors in our decision to buy our 77 260
elephant in the first place was that there is a solid support network of
owners who are not only willing to share their ideas and experiences - but
also consider new ideas and approaches without making too much fun of them..
>
>First off, we didn't change the foot-print and stuck with OEM steel
wheels.. The general feeling was that if we could keep the contact patch
under the center of the hub (as it is now) - we could investigate a much
wider contact patch as long as we enlarged both front wheels equally on
both sides of the each hub. (see 'the dumpster'
http://www.gmccoop.com/whatsnew.htm ).. However, there would only be a
little bit more strain on the steering assm. and the bearings and no one
makes a wheel anymore that does the trick.. However, the man with
'dumpster' is investigating getting some made sometime..
>
>In the end, we went with a set of new 16.5 michelins from Halifax based
Miller Tire which ran $1400 CND (Taxes in - about $850 USD I think)
installed and balanced.. They checked the wheels and they were 'great'.. I
figure that about the time we wear these tires out, I will have saved
enough for a set of the above mentioned. If you are on the road in the
Maritimes call 1-902-468-7733.. (ask for 'Dave' - he knows the rig and can
turn you around pretty quickly - I think they have emergency road service too)
>
>The Onan 6000 power drawer had cooked a starter when a PO installed
exterior switch failed and turned the starter on.. The switch didn't engage
the ignition and so started turning and ran until it started to smoke and
very certainly cooked the solenoid..
>
>Frankly, I envision using our elephant as a working cottage (I
telecommute) and must have a reliable GRID quality power supply that's
quiet and good on fuel.. While at Cummings/Onan in Halifax talking about
fixing starter, I found they had a refurbished '95 Emerald 7000 with a new
bridge rectifier and regulator that had recently been on the Bridgewater
Bookmobile.. It had been used and maintained regularly until a couple of
months ago and we were able to cut a deal with Mr. Pelletier for $3050.00
CND (Taxes in - about $2,200 USD + core) which included installing beast
with slides and all the trimmings..
>
>The 6000 was working until a 50 cent switch on the front failed, so all
that was totally wrong was that the starter was cooked and the mounting
bracket for starter was broken - which was why PO had hard-wired an 50 cent
switch in the first place.. They are going fix it up and put it back on the
market shortly (Mr. Pelletier Halifax Cum/Onan 1-902-468-7938) if you are
looking for reasonable old Onan 6000 power-drawer on the cheap.. Your
yankee dollar is worth quite a lot more up here too..
>
>The OEM Duo Therm was DOA, save that the fan seems to be working like a
top.. A long look was taken at the Air Conditioner.. Basically we want to
use the thing more to 'get away from it all' and have been keeping in mind
that we specifically want the elephant to do the pines/beach 'thang.. Part
of the pines/beach 'thang is to run 12v as long as possible and keep the
noise down.. Another reason for the re-hab Emerald 7000..
>
>Anyway, Oasis RV center showed me a cheeky threesome of Polair Air III
roof fans.. They are expensive, but kinda kuel (fully automatic everything)
so we decided to dump the roof air for a while and see what happens if we
can sustain a 10 mph breeze running through the elephant without an Onan
pounding out a zillion BTU under the rear seats.. This may not be workable
south of here, but in combo with a makeshift awning on one or both sides -
it will be an interesting test locally.. Besides, the Elephant - looks - a
lot better without the roof goiter and seems to drive a little better
without the 150 pds top side too..
>
>We also had them drop in a new water pump and give the wiring a once over.
With Three new Polar Air III fans, and labour.. $1518 CND (taxes in - about
$950 USD).. I'm not sure I got a huge deal here, but they were interested
in doing it right and no five o'clock surprises..
>
>There is a second very interesting article on ROVAC in the Aug. '73 Pop
Sci and I am going to part out the DOA Duo Therm and see if I can
recreate.. If it works, I'll drop it in above the fridge and run it 12v to
see if it is enough to support Polar Airs when we go to Scottsdale this
winter.. Failing that, go for Cool Cat heat pump and be done with it..
There is space for extra chimney up there to pass heat exchanger too in
either case and am thinking about a flash water heater where the vacuum
cleaner lives too.. Maybe next year after we see what life without roof
goiter is like.
>
>On the keel, we did the lower left ball joint, the right idler arm, front
shocks, rear air-bags and alignment.. Mr. Paterson at Paterson GMC in
Orillia Ontario is a great Canadian source for correct parts and excellent
source of advise.. He does springfield ignition and seriously beefy 455
motors too.. We can't get rear shocks across the border yet so that will
wait for a couple of days..
>
>http://www.paterson-gmc.com/~gmc/motorhome.html
>
>Parts for Trucks (1 902 468-6777 ask for 'Phil' on night shift) put it all
on and greased all the zerks.. We ran 18 in total, is that normal? - There
seemed to be some extras on the steering system.. Labour and total parts
went about $2000 CDN (taxes in - about $1350 USD).
>
>The Dana compressor was only putting out about 55psi on batteries.. We
dropped in a valves and a gas taps on the ends of new bags to lock off from
the compressor until we look it over.. If anyone knows about a rebuild kit
for v-twin Dana - please advise.. It will keep us running until we can
upgrade or fix the current compressor..
>
>So.. Like with about 4 hours of my time we seem to have fixed up ourselves
up with a phat camper that looks nice (PO Painted it), only leaks behind
drivers window and is unlikely to burn down or run off the road as part of
eletrical or suspension mis-adventure..
>
>If I have been following the correct path, now we wait for new rear shocks
while we drop the tranny/final drive covers and swap-out all the filters
and fluids and pray a bit.. We are running some Holly carb on the 403
engine that has a small exhaust leak and 42,000 original miles on it.. It
doesn't smoke at all, the dash air works and we are hoping that all the
elephant needs now is a really good tune up..
>
>It has bags of power low down and cold, but seems to get kinda gutt-less
when we get on any real grade after a bit.. It isn't pre-igniting, it just
seems to bog down.. It seems to run reasonable oil pressure and while it
has got close to halfway with dash air on hills - it seems to hum along at
a little above 1/3 on the temp normally.
>
>Any runs I've been taking were mostly around 55mph as the tires were about
ten years old.. It got chilly and damp here a couple of weeks ago and I
ran it up to 65 mph on evening pavement and power seemed to improve
slightly if I hit the grades at higher speed.. Any thoughts anyone has on
this would be appreciated..
>
>The interior is kinda rough and really loud (red plaid theme).. But, the
other reason we went for rehab Emerald is that I have pretty good
wood-working kit and love plywood and veneer.. That's' what I do while mom
and kids get out in the pines/dunes for walkabouts, which is not my cup of
tea anyway..
>
>I've been thinking about pulling the passenger seat and putting in a futon
coach there using the dash as arm rest.. My wife likes the idea as she
could stretch out and read a book and still keep an eye on the kids as they
hang around on the table or bunkbed/coach..
>
>We are heading off for Beach Camp on the first couple of weeks in Aug. and
will set up beach-cam if you want to check in on us.. Some friends of mine
are camping with us and I am thinking of putting together a propane beach
mortar for upcoming Superbike nationals here in Nova Scotia.. Which we will
also be covering on web-cam if the boss springs for company cell-phone..
>
>I have kept most of my OEM cores (vents, roof air, bags) - I am willing to
meet anywhere in the northeast to swap for full set OEM Hubcaps.. Maybe I
can make swap/cash deal with one of you folks who have let me know you have
old sets.. Guess that's it.. I'll report in further as we hit the road in
Nova Scotia.. Thanks again for the advise and observations.. This really is
a very good owners community..
>
>your pal
>J Dexter
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
mr.erf
http://www.california.com/~eagle/
Dana rebuild
http://www.california.com/~eagle/dana.html
A/F guage
http://www.california.com/~eagle/instr.html
You might just be running lean under high load and need a booster fuel pump.
http://www.california.com/~eagle/Fuel.html
gene
>Salutations:
>
>I want to thank the group for their advise and follow-up on our new
elephant.. Of particular help were Mr. Aulgur and Dr Doane (who lives here
in Halifax) .. One of the big factors in our decision to buy our 77 260
elephant in the first place was that there is a solid support network of
owners who are not only willing to share their ideas and experiences - but
also consider new ideas and approaches without making too much fun of them..
>
>First off, we didn't change the foot-print and stuck with OEM steel
wheels.. The general feeling was that if we could keep the contact patch
under the center of the hub (as it is now) - we could investigate a much
wider contact patch as long as we enlarged both front wheels equally on
both sides of the each hub. (see 'the dumpster'
http://www.gmccoop.com/whatsnew.htm ).. However, there would only be a
little bit more strain on the steering assm. and the bearings and no one
makes a wheel anymore that does the trick.. However, the man with
'dumpster' is investigating getting some made sometime..
>
>In the end, we went with a set of new 16.5 michelins from Halifax based
Miller Tire which ran $1400 CND (Taxes in - about $850 USD I think)
installed and balanced.. They checked the wheels and they were 'great'.. I
figure that about the time we wear these tires out, I will have saved
enough for a set of the above mentioned. If you are on the road in the
Maritimes call 1-902-468-7733.. (ask for 'Dave' - he knows the rig and can
turn you around pretty quickly - I think they have emergency road service too)
>
>The Onan 6000 power drawer had cooked a starter when a PO installed
exterior switch failed and turned the starter on.. The switch didn't engage
the ignition and so started turning and ran until it started to smoke and
very certainly cooked the solenoid..
>
>Frankly, I envision using our elephant as a working cottage (I
telecommute) and must have a reliable GRID quality power supply that's
quiet and good on fuel.. While at Cummings/Onan in Halifax talking about
fixing starter, I found they had a refurbished '95 Emerald 7000 with a new
bridge rectifier and regulator that had recently been on the Bridgewater
Bookmobile.. It had been used and maintained regularly until a couple of
months ago and we were able to cut a deal with Mr. Pelletier for $3050.00
CND (Taxes in - about $2,200 USD + core) which included installing beast
with slides and all the trimmings..
>
>The 6000 was working until a 50 cent switch on the front failed, so all
that was totally wrong was that the starter was cooked and the mounting
bracket for starter was broken - which was why PO had hard-wired an 50 cent
switch in the first place.. They are going fix it up and put it back on the
market shortly (Mr. Pelletier Halifax Cum/Onan 1-902-468-7938) if you are
looking for reasonable old Onan 6000 power-drawer on the cheap.. Your
yankee dollar is worth quite a lot more up here too..
>
>The OEM Duo Therm was DOA, save that the fan seems to be working like a
top.. A long look was taken at the Air Conditioner.. Basically we want to
use the thing more to 'get away from it all' and have been keeping in mind
that we specifically want the elephant to do the pines/beach 'thang.. Part
of the pines/beach 'thang is to run 12v as long as possible and keep the
noise down.. Another reason for the re-hab Emerald 7000..
>
>Anyway, Oasis RV center showed me a cheeky threesome of Polair Air III
roof fans.. They are expensive, but kinda kuel (fully automatic everything)
so we decided to dump the roof air for a while and see what happens if we
can sustain a 10 mph breeze running through the elephant without an Onan
pounding out a zillion BTU under the rear seats.. This may not be workable
south of here, but in combo with a makeshift awning on one or both sides -
it will be an interesting test locally.. Besides, the Elephant - looks - a
lot better without the roof goiter and seems to drive a little better
without the 150 pds top side too..
>
>We also had them drop in a new water pump and give the wiring a once over.
With Three new Polar Air III fans, and labour.. $1518 CND (taxes in - about
$950 USD).. I'm not sure I got a huge deal here, but they were interested
in doing it right and no five o'clock surprises..
>
>There is a second very interesting article on ROVAC in the Aug. '73 Pop
Sci and I am going to part out the DOA Duo Therm and see if I can
recreate.. If it works, I'll drop it in above the fridge and run it 12v to
see if it is enough to support Polar Airs when we go to Scottsdale this
winter.. Failing that, go for Cool Cat heat pump and be done with it..
There is space for extra chimney up there to pass heat exchanger too in
either case and am thinking about a flash water heater where the vacuum
cleaner lives too.. Maybe next year after we see what life without roof
goiter is like.
>
>On the keel, we did the lower left ball joint, the right idler arm, front
shocks, rear air-bags and alignment.. Mr. Paterson at Paterson GMC in
Orillia Ontario is a great Canadian source for correct parts and excellent
source of advise.. He does springfield ignition and seriously beefy 455
motors too.. We can't get rear shocks across the border yet so that will
wait for a couple of days..
>
>http://www.paterson-gmc.com/~gmc/motorhome.html
>
>Parts for Trucks (1 902 468-6777 ask for 'Phil' on night shift) put it all
on and greased all the zerks.. We ran 18 in total, is that normal? - There
seemed to be some extras on the steering system.. Labour and total parts
went about $2000 CDN (taxes in - about $1350 USD).
>
>The Dana compressor was only putting out about 55psi on batteries.. We
dropped in a valves and a gas taps on the ends of new bags to lock off from
the compressor until we look it over.. If anyone knows about a rebuild kit
for v-twin Dana - please advise.. It will keep us running until we can
upgrade or fix the current compressor..
>
>So.. Like with about 4 hours of my time we seem to have fixed up ourselves
up with a phat camper that looks nice (PO Painted it), only leaks behind
drivers window and is unlikely to burn down or run off the road as part of
eletrical or suspension mis-adventure..
>
>If I have been following the correct path, now we wait for new rear shocks
while we drop the tranny/final drive covers and swap-out all the filters
and fluids and pray a bit.. We are running some Holly carb on the 403
engine that has a small exhaust leak and 42,000 original miles on it.. It
doesn't smoke at all, the dash air works and we are hoping that all the
elephant needs now is a really good tune up..
>
>It has bags of power low down and cold, but seems to get kinda gutt-less
when we get on any real grade after a bit.. It isn't pre-igniting, it just
seems to bog down.. It seems to run reasonable oil pressure and while it
has got close to halfway with dash air on hills - it seems to hum along at
a little above 1/3 on the temp normally.
>
>Any runs I've been taking were mostly around 55mph as the tires were about
ten years old.. It got chilly and damp here a couple of weeks ago and I
ran it up to 65 mph on evening pavement and power seemed to improve
slightly if I hit the grades at higher speed.. Any thoughts anyone has on
this would be appreciated..
>
>The interior is kinda rough and really loud (red plaid theme).. But, the
other reason we went for rehab Emerald is that I have pretty good
wood-working kit and love plywood and veneer.. That's' what I do while mom
and kids get out in the pines/dunes for walkabouts, which is not my cup of
tea anyway..
>
>I've been thinking about pulling the passenger seat and putting in a futon
coach there using the dash as arm rest.. My wife likes the idea as she
could stretch out and read a book and still keep an eye on the kids as they
hang around on the table or bunkbed/coach..
>
>We are heading off for Beach Camp on the first couple of weeks in Aug. and
will set up beach-cam if you want to check in on us.. Some friends of mine
are camping with us and I am thinking of putting together a propane beach
mortar for upcoming Superbike nationals here in Nova Scotia.. Which we will
also be covering on web-cam if the boss springs for company cell-phone..
>
>I have kept most of my OEM cores (vents, roof air, bags) - I am willing to
meet anywhere in the northeast to swap for full set OEM Hubcaps.. Maybe I
can make swap/cash deal with one of you folks who have let me know you have
old sets.. Guess that's it.. I'll report in further as we hit the road in
Nova Scotia.. Thanks again for the advise and observations.. This really is
a very good owners community..
>
>your pal
>J Dexter
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
mr.erf
http://www.california.com/~eagle/
