New owner/X-country trip/A few questions

[mr.c]

I fdid find out when I went through the heat of the desert on both
Interstate 40 or 10 when the outside temp was 110 degrees, it was hot. My
A/C failed - I think it tried too hard to cool. I would suggest you close
the curtains behind the seat (if they are there) and just cool the front.
I did get the temp higher than I wanted to, but it worked ok.

I ran my generator for a while, but am not an expert on running it for
long periods of time.
al

> Greetings all!
>
> Without trying to take up too much bandwidth, my wife and I are
> flying to New York from L.A. to pick and drive home our "new" '73
> Glacier 230.
>
> Driving it back to San Bernardino area (Redlands) starting Tuesday,
> with family and friend stops in Rolla, MO and Dallas, TX. Hope to
> be home without incident ( . . . is that the sound of wood being
> knocked upon . . . .?) the day after Labor Day.
>
> I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks soaking up the
> collective knowledge and feel quite confident in both the vehicle I'm
> buying and the prospects of the vehicle's second life with a second
> owner.
>
> Rather than waste time or effort (and risk the virtual throwing up of
> hands and rolling of eyes with the accompanying "Why doesn't this
> bozo just read the FAQ?") I've got a couple of quick and hopefully
> easily answered questions:
>
> 1) Given the vehicle is in excellent condition with all systems
> operational, is it advisable to run the generator while motoring down
> the highway? Are there any hidden dangers with that thing way
> back there that would be likely to cause a guy's day to be ruined?
> We may want/need to run roof air(s) and/or computers on the trip,
> but certainly don't want to tempt fate, especially in hot, desert
> weather.
>
> 2) With respect to desert travel, although I have made the trip
> through TX, NM, AZ, and CA deserts many times, does anyone
> have a feel for cooling system weaknesses or potential trouble
> (other than the obvious) that I should look out for with the GMC?
>
> Any and all help is greatly appreciated, and may I complement all
> subscribers and contributors to this mail list for your spirit, honesty
> and truly genuine interest in keeping these great coaches alive,
> and their owners sane.
>
> Toby and Nancy Maki
> Redlands, CA

 

[tmaki1]

Greetings all!

Without trying to take up too much bandwidth, my wife and I are
flying to New York from L.A. to pick and drive home our "new" '73
Glacier 230.

Driving it back to San Bernardino area (Redlands) starting Tuesday,
with family and friend stops in Rolla, MO and Dallas, TX. Hope to
be home without incident ( . . . is that the sound of wood being
knocked upon . . . .?) the day after Labor Day.

I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks soaking up the
collective knowledge and feel quite confident in both the vehicle I'm
buying and the prospects of the vehicle's second life with a second
owner.

Rather than waste time or effort (and risk the virtual throwing up of
hands and rolling of eyes with the accompanying "Why doesn't this
bozo just read the FAQ?") I've got a couple of quick and hopefully
easily answered questions:

1) Given the vehicle is in excellent condition with all systems
operational, is it advisable to run the generator while motoring down
the highway? Are there any hidden dangers with that thing way
back there that would be likely to cause a guy's day to be ruined?
We may want/need to run roof air(s) and/or computers on the trip,
but certainly don't want to tempt fate, especially in hot, desert
weather.

2) With respect to desert travel, although I have made the trip
through TX, NM, AZ, and CA deserts many times, does anyone
have a feel for cooling system weaknesses or potential trouble
(other than the obvious) that I should look out for with the GMC?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated, and may I complement all
subscribers and contributors to this mail list for your spirit, honesty
and truly genuine interest in keeping these great coaches alive,
and their owners sane.

Toby and Nancy Maki
Redlands, CA

 

[wayne newland]

Toby

Welcome to the club.
I prefer to use the generator and roof air over the dash air (if it works
at all). Better fuel milage (or at least a trade-off) and less drag on the
motor and definately better cooling. Remember to check the oil on the
gen. 30 weight in hot weather.

Make sure the fan clutch operates. You can hear the roar when you first
start it up and when the eng gets hot. Before you start the eng (cold)
check the fluid level and try to check if the anti-freeze/water is about
50/50. You can use an inexpensive anti-freeze checker to do that.

Check this list for "The Black List", download it and take it with you.
This is a list of people you can contact if you need help.

If you belong to FMCA, take their January issue with you, because they also
have a very large list of helpers.

Check to see if the PO are letting you have all of the shop manuals and
parts book.

If you are going to use a computer on the trip, make sure that the gen puts
out 60 cycles. The gen is adjustable and can run fine, but be out of
adjustment. Protect yourself with sme kind of low-voltage interface
between the gen and computer.

Have a great trip and let us know how things went.

Wayne Newland F9300 75 Palm Beach

PS If you delay your trip a couple of weeks, you can join a lot of GMC's at
the Iowa convention. What a way to spend a week taking in what others have
done and know. It could save you thousands.!

> Without trying to take up too much bandwidth, my wife and I are
> flying to New York from L.A. to pick and drive home our "new" '73
> Glacier 230.
>
> Driving it back to San Bernardino area (Redlands) starting Tuesday,
> with family and friend stops in Rolla, MO and Dallas, TX. Hope to
> be home without incident ( . . . is that the sound of wood being
> knocked upon . . . .?) the day after Labor Day.
>
> I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks soaking up the
> collective knowledge and feel quite confident in both the vehicle I'm
> buying and the prospects of the vehicle's second life with a second
> owner.
>
> Rather than waste time or effort (and risk the virtual throwing up of
> hands and rolling of eyes with the accompanying "Why doesn't this
> bozo just read the FAQ?") I've got a couple of quick and hopefully
> easily answered questions:
>
> 1) Given the vehicle is in excellent condition with all systems
> operational, is it advisable to run the generator while motoring down
> the highway? Are there any hidden dangers with that thing way
> back there that would be likely to cause a guy's day to be ruined?
> We may want/need to run roof air(s) and/or computers on the trip,
> but certainly don't want to tempt fate, especially in hot, desert
> weather.
>
> 2) With respect to desert travel, although I have made the trip
> through TX, NM, AZ, and CA deserts many times, does anyone
> have a feel for cooling system weaknesses or potential trouble
> (other than the obvious) that I should look out for with the GMC?
>
> Any and all help is greatly appreciated, and may I complement all
> subscribers and contributors to this mail list for your spirit, honesty
> and truly genuine interest in keeping these great coaches alive,
> and their owners sane.
>
> Toby and Nancy Maki
> Redlands, CA

 

[tmaki1]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

I'm not sure what documentation I'll get (calling
later this evening to discuss), but I've had the
1973 GM service and maintenance manuals in
my library for 20 years waiting for the right unit
to come along. It's sectionalized in a 3-ring
binder, and I'll take along the sections that
would most likely be needed if they're not
available from the soon-to-be previous owner.

Fortunately, our computers on this trip are
laptops with power bricks. One of the machines
has electronic data acquisition and analysis
software installed, so I can check on APU ~
pretty easily (thanks for that heads-up).

Being able to stop in Iowa would be a wonderful
luxury, but alas, my wife is a high school teacher
and she has to be at school on Thursday (she
figures that her time might be better spent on
the trip doing some work - hence, the computer -
rather than watching mile markers go by.

I'll be shooting pix and some video on the trip,
and would be happy to relate (in the briefest
way) our experiences.

Thanks again! We'll stay in touch.

TM



Date sent: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 18:56:44 -0400
From: Wayne Newland
To: gmcmotorhome
Subject: Re: GMC: New owner/X-country trip/A few questions
Send reply to: gmcmotorhome

> Toby
>
> Welcome to the club.
> I prefer to use the generator and roof air over the dash air (if it works
> at all). Better fuel milage (or at least a trade-off) and less drag on the
> motor and definately better cooling. Remember to check the oil on the
> gen. 30 weight in hot weather.
>
> Make sure the fan clutch operates. You can hear the roar when you first
> start it up and when the eng gets hot. Before you start the eng (cold)
> check the fluid level and try to check if the anti-freeze/water is about
> 50/50. You can use an inexpensive anti-freeze checker to do that.
>
> Check this list for "The Black List", download it and take it with you.
> This is a list of people you can contact if you need help.
>
> If you belong to FMCA, take their January issue with you, because they also
> have a very large list of helpers.
>
> Check to see if the PO are letting you have all of the shop manuals and
> parts book.
>
> If you are going to use a computer on the trip, make sure that the gen puts
> out 60 cycles. The gen is adjustable and can run fine, but be out of
> adjustment. Protect yourself with sme kind of low-voltage interface
> between the gen and computer.
>
> Have a great trip and let us know how things went.
>
> Wayne Newland F9300 75 Palm Beach
>
> PS If you delay your trip a couple of weeks, you can join a lot of GMC's at
> the Iowa convention. What a way to spend a week taking in what others have
> done and know. It could save you thousands.!
>
> > Without trying to take up too much bandwidth, my wife and I are
> > flying to New York from L.A. to pick and drive home our "new" '73
> > Glacier 230.
> >
> > Driving it back to San Bernardino area (Redlands) starting Tuesday,
> > with family and friend stops in Rolla, MO and Dallas, TX. Hope to
> > be home without incident ( . . . is that the sound of wood being
> > knocked upon . . . .?) the day after Labor Day.
> >
> > I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks soaking up the
> > collective knowledge and feel quite confident in both the vehicle I'm
> > buying and the prospects of the vehicle's second life with a second
> > owner.
> >
> > Rather than waste time or effort (and risk the virtual throwing up of
> > hands and rolling of eyes with the accompanying "Why doesn't this
> > bozo just read the FAQ?") I've got a couple of quick and hopefully
> > easily answered questions:
> >
> > 1) Given the vehicle is in excellent condition with all systems
> > operational, is it advisable to run the generator while motoring down
> > the highway? Are there any hidden dangers with that thing way
> > back there that would be likely to cause a guy's day to be ruined?
> > We may want/need to run roof air(s) and/or computers on the trip,
> > but certainly don't want to tempt fate, especially in hot, desert
> > weather.
> >
> > 2) With respect to desert travel, although I have made the trip
> > through TX, NM, AZ, and CA deserts many times, does anyone
> > have a feel for cooling system weaknesses or potential trouble
> > (other than the obvious) that I should look out for with the GMC?
> >
> > Any and all help is greatly appreciated, and may I complement all
> > subscribers and contributors to this mail list for your spirit, honesty
> > and truly genuine interest in keeping these great coaches alive,
> > and their owners sane.
> >
> > Toby and Nancy Maki
> > Redlands, CA
>
>
>

 

[andrews michael \(az15\)]

Toby and Nancy Maki

Welcome aboard!!

Regarding your concern about desert driving. With the size of the radiator
on the GMC, I've idled in 110 degrees for 40 minutes with the air condition
running and the temperature guage never reached the halfway mark. The
transmission temperature may be suspect and a $20-40 cooler would reduce
this risk.

My only other advise would be to check the tires for dryrot. Attempt to
confirm the manufacture date from the buyer. Inflate the tires to the proper
pressure and periodically given them the back of your hand. Proceed with
caution if they are too hot to touch.

We're in Phoenix, so if you happen to have a problem close by, page me at
602.450.8144 and leave a number where I can reach you. Help will arrive
soon!

Mike & Dolores' 77 Palm Beach

 

[bartz paul]

Toby:

Actually, you'll find that in hot weather, running the generator during
travels is somewhat preferred vs. running the dash air. Doing so reportedly
uses about 0.7 of a gal of gas per hour. You'll have better engine response
as a result doing so. About the same fuel usage is reported using the dash
air, which in a 73 coach is marginal to begin with.

I have a 78 Royale, having a completely redesigned ventilation system vs.
76's and back, and during a trip in 96 from SW Michigan to Houston TX and
back, we ran the generator virtually the whole time. Never a problem.

You ask about cooling during desert driving. If it's engine cooling you're
talking about, provided your radiator is OK, that chore should be taken care
of by the cooling fan clutch activating as required. You may want to pick
one ( Hayden 2797) up from Pep Boys, etc. Just got one from them for < $70.
Keep your receipt because of the life-time warranty.

Paul Bartz

From: mr.c [mailto:mr.c]
Sent: Friday, February 26, 1999 1:34 AM
Subject: Re: GMC: New owner/X-country trip/A few questions

I did find out when I went through the heat of the desert on both Interstate
40 or 10 when the outside temp was 110 degrees, it was hot. My A/C failed -
I think it tried too hard to cool. I would suggest you close the curtains
behind the seat (if they are there) and just cool the front. I did get the
temp higher than I wanted to, but it worked ok.
I ran my generator for a while, but am not an expert on running it for
long periods of time.
al

> Greetings all!
>
> Without trying to take up too much bandwidth, my wife and I are
> flying to New York from L.A. to pick and drive home our "new" '73
> Glacier 230.
>
> Driving it back to San Bernardino area (Redlands) starting
Tuesday,
> with family and friend stops in Rolla, MO and Dallas, TX. Hope to
> be home without incident ( . . . is that the sound of wood being
> knocked upon . . . .?) the day after Labor Day.
>
> I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks soaking up the
> collective knowledge and feel quite confident in both the vehicle
I'm
> buying and the prospects of the vehicle's second life with a
second
> owner.
>
> Rather than waste time or effort (and risk the virtual throwing up
of
> hands and rolling of eyes with the accompanying "Why doesn't this
> bozo just read the FAQ?") I've got a couple of quick and hopefully
> easily answered questions:
>
> 1) Given the vehicle is in excellent condition with all systems
> operational, is it advisable to run the generator while motoring
down
> the highway? Are there any hidden dangers with that thing way
> back there that would be likely to cause a guy's day to be ruined?
> We may want/need to run roof air(s) and/or computers on the trip,
> but certainly don't want to tempt fate, especially in hot, desert
> weather.
>
> 2) With respect to desert travel, although I have made the trip
> through TX, NM, AZ, and CA deserts many times, does anyone
> have a feel for cooling system weaknesses or potential trouble
> (other than the obvious) that I should look out for with the GMC?
>
> Any and all help is greatly appreciated, and may I complement all
> subscribers and contributors to this mail list for your spirit,
honesty
> and truly genuine interest in keeping these great coaches alive,
> and their owners sane.
>
> Toby and Nancy Maki
> Redlands, CA

 

[bartz paul]

Tire manufacture can be determined by the three digit code (first digit
indicates the year and the next two tell the week of the year), usually
encircled, can be found on the tire sidewall.

Paul Bartz

From: Andrews, Michael (AZ15) [mailto:Michael.Andrews]
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 1999 12:29 AM
Subject: RE: GMC: New owner/X-country trip/A few questions

Toby and Nancy Maki

Regarding your concern about desert driving. With the size of the radiator
on the GMC, I've idled in 110 degrees for 40 minutes with the air condition
running and the temperature guage never reached the halfway mark. The
transmission temperature may be suspect and a $20-40 cooler would reduce
this risk.

My only other advise would be to check the tires for dryrot. Attempt to
confirm the manufacture date from the buyer. Inflate the tires to the proper
pressure and periodically given them the back of your hand. Proceed with
caution if they are too hot to touch.

We're in Phoenix, so if you happen to have a problem close by, page me at
602.450.8144 and leave a number where I can reach you. Help will arrive
soon!