Rookie questions for the group...

[dave kopra]

Hi Everyone,

We're looking forward to adding our name to your list of GMC Motorhome
owners. We are about ready to buy, and we have a couple of questions we
hope you will help us with:

1) I've read an awful lot about Alcoa wheels. What's up with those? Are
they a performance item? An aesthetic item? Any problem with non-Alcoas on
these rigs?

2) One coach we have looked at and like a lot has a bit of slop in the
steering (play in the steering wheel as you go down the road). The owner
showed me the steering linkage, and pointed out the play in one of the
components. Is this something that comes with the territory, or is it
something that needs attention (if so, immediate attention?)?

3) We live in Portland, Oregon. Can you recommend a qualified and
experienced service facility near our home? If not, can you recommend a
facility elsewhere that does a great job? We are planning to invest the
necessary time and expense to maintain our coach. While we don't want to
throw endless money at it (and certainly not unnecessary money), we want to
be pre-emptive with service. Both of us know how to do things like basic
maintenance, and we'll be able to do things like airbags, etc, but we want
to know where to take it when we want the engine overhauled, or big
components worked on (like those pesky wheel bearings).

Thanks a lot for your advice. Ann and I are both looking forward to seeing
you down the road soon.

David Kopra
soon-to-be owner

 

[wayne newland]

Dave

I'll try to answer the Alcoa question.. They are performance and aesthetic.
The original wheels on the early coaches were non-radial. When the owners were
looking to change over to radials, many found that the Alcoa met the bill - a
true running wheel that would handle the weight and the radials. GM decided
many years ago that 16.5 D range tires were not strong enough to handle the
stress that the GMC puts on tires. If your new coach does not already have E
range tires on them, plan to convert. Can other radial wheels work - of
course, I just didn't want the hassel of wheel covers.

Wayne Newland F9300 75 Palm Beach Columbia, Md.

> Hi Everyone,
>
> We're looking forward to adding our name to your list of GMC Motorhome
> owners. We are about ready to buy, and we have a couple of questions we
> hope you will help us with:
>
> 1) I've read an awful lot about Alcoa wheels. What's up with those? Are
> they a performance item? An aesthetic item? Any problem with non-Alcoas on
> these rigs?
>
> 2) One coach we have looked at and like a lot has a bit of slop in the
> steering (play in the steering wheel as you go down the road). The owner
> showed me the steering linkage, and pointed out the play in one of the
> components. Is this something that comes with the territory, or is it
> something that needs attention (if so, immediate attention?)?
>
> 3) We live in Portland, Oregon. Can you recommend a qualified and
> experienced service facility near our home? If not, can you recommend a
> facility elsewhere that does a great job? We are planning to invest the
> necessary time and expense to maintain our coach. While we don't want to
> throw endless money at it (and certainly not unnecessary money), we want to
> be pre-emptive with service. Both of us know how to do things like basic
> maintenance, and we'll be able to do things like airbags, etc, but we want
> to know where to take it when we want the engine overhauled, or big
> components worked on (like those pesky wheel bearings).
>
> Thanks a lot for your advice. Ann and I are both looking forward to seeing
> you down the road soon.
>
> David Kopra
> soon-to-be owner

 

[blank]

>
> 1) I've read an awful lot about Alcoa wheels. What's up with
> those? Are they a performance item? An aesthetic item? Any problem
> with non-Alcoas on these rigs?

The Alcoas are basically the only non-OEM wheels that will work on the GMC.
The stock wheels are 16.5 inch while the Alcoas are 16 inch, which opens up
your tire selection quite a bit. If you want to keep the OEM wheels, you
need to be sure that they are "Radial" wheels(they will be stamped as such
either with the word "radial" or an "R" inside a circle). If you run radial
tires on the older bias-ply wheels, the wheels may "split" at the welds,
which could get nasty. The Alcoas are lighter and truer than OEM wheels,
and they look better too. So I guess the answer is "All of the above".

> 2) One coach we have looked at and like a lot has a bit of slop in the
> steering (play in the steering wheel as you go down the road). The owner
> showed me the steering linkage, and pointed out the play in one of the
> components. Is this something that comes with the territory, or is it
> something that needs attention (if so, immediate attention?)?

Well, it is a 20+ year old vehicle, so some of this does come with the
territory. The good news is that it can be fixed. There are lots of
possible culprits, so the PO's diagnosis may not be completely accurate.

> 3) We live in Portland, Oregon. Can you recommend a qualified and
> experienced service facility near our home?

I think one of our northwest members recommended a shop last week.
Hopefully they'll speak up again.

> If not, can you recommend a facility elsewhere that does a great job?

There are several good ones, including Jim Bounds' Cooperative Motor
Works(www.gmccoop.com). Jim's a regular contributor here. The better known
ones would be a pretty long haul from Oregon, but if you can work it into a
vacation...

> We are planning to invest the necessary time and expense to maintain our
> coach. While we don't want to throw endless money at it (and certainly
> not unnecessary money), we want to be pre-emptive with service. Both
> of us know how to do things like basic maintenance, and we'll be able to
> do things like airbags, etc, but we want to know where to take it when we
> want the engine overhauled, or big components worked on (like those
> pesky wheel bearings).

Sounds like you've got the right idea. Maintenance is the key for the
little stuff. Join the technical support organizations(GMCMI
and/or GMCWS) and a local group and you'll quickly find the
vendors for the big ones. The "pesky wheel bearings" aren't really that big
a deal maintenance-wise if you have the proper tools.

Patrick

 

[hdavis]

>Hi Everyone,
>
>We're looking forward to adding our name to your list of GMC Motorhome
>owners.

Welcome & good luck.

We are about ready to buy, and we have a couple of questions we
>hope you will help us with:
>
>1) I've read an awful lot about Alcoa wheels. What's up with those? Are
>they a performance item? An aesthetic item? Any problem with non-Alcoas on
>these rigs?

Regardless fo the wheele that you use, you need to make certain that they
are hub-centered wheels (the hub carries the weight instead of the lugs).
The Alcoa wheel is a within spec replacement wheel for the original steel
wheels. Folks go to the Alcoa for many different reasons. Some of the
reasons are:

1. they have non-radial wheels and want to use radial tires
2. they want to use 16" tires instead of 16.5" due to local availability
3. they need replacement wheels
4. they like the asthetics
5. they prefer the lower weight

>
>2) One coach we have looked at and like a lot has a bit of slop in the
>steering (play in the steering wheel as you go down the road). The owner
>showed me the steering linkage, and pointed out the play in one of the
>components. Is this something that comes with the territory, or is it
>something that needs attention (if so, immediate attention?)?

well, wear comes with the territory, but that doen't make it somethng to be
casual about. There are a number of preventative maintenance items listed
in a checklist on Gene's site. You'll want to check all of the basic safety
equipment of your coach - it's over 20 years old now.

>
>3) We live in Portland, Oregon. Can you recommend a qualified and
>experienced service facility near our home? If not, can you recommend a
>facility elsewhere that does a great job? We are planning to invest the
>necessary time and expense to maintain our coach. While we don't want to
>throw endless money at it (and certainly not unnecessary money), we want to
>be pre-emptive with service.

There are folks in your area. Maybe they can give a recommendation.

Henry
Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (831) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com

 

[ron & gina]

Hi Dave and Ann,
I'm new to RVing and the GMC, owned mine for about six months now. One thing
to remember is the coach is 25+yrs. old. But they stood the test of time!!!!
And still out performs alots of new/old RVs. And we love the ride these
coaches give you. "An oldie but goodie", Saying alot of RV sales persons
I've met said to me. But as with any Classic there is
maintenance/upkeep/upgrades.

1) Alcoa's.....Whats up with those, non-Alcoas,

Its the only (That I know) after market Rim for these coaches, For looks And
they do look good, They are 16" rims. Stock rims 16.5. I still have stock
steel rims. The OEM rims should have Radial on the inside of rim somewhere,
need to remove rim to see. I believe if the stock rim does not have Radial
marking on inside of rim need to replace to use radial tires, or get Alcoas.
Then the tires,.......there's alot of discussion on this topic!! But to be
safe I use all steel (side wall included) tires, E rated, And I put stated
80# cold air pressure to get max. load carrying for the GMC. But read and
decide for yourself how you want your tires to be. But safety should be # 1.

...........Steering slop....
As I said these coaches are 25+yrs. old, So depending on previous
maintenance/upkeep, there could be alot of work to be done. Mine's has about
an inch play in my steering but still tracks/drives good. P.O. replaced
tie-rod ends and some other work before I got mine. I need to replace my
steering box next. So it does come with the so called territory!! Need to
check all components and replace/repair as needed!!

......Portland, Oregon area......

There's alot of links for service/repairs, I'm still learning, check all
links to gather all info. Read and ask lots of ?s before making a decision,
Alot of people say they can, Then you find out they can't. Jim Bound is up
front and good guy and a very good place for
repair/service/paint/info!!!!!!! www.gmccoop.com , www.gmcmotorhomes.com &
www.california.com are good site's with lots of info and there are many
more. Hope the links work!! Needless to say I'm also new to this confuser
also.

Well hope I helped alittle, Just check it out good, Read up on it alot. And
good luck on your choice!!!!! We love ours, Even with the extra $ we put
init!!!!! And yes we'd do it again.

Ron&Gina
73 Pumpkin-Rose
Ft. Mohave, AZ.

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Kopra
To:
Sent: Monday, September 27, 1999 10:11 AM
Subject: GMC: Rookie questions for the group...

> Hi Everyone,
>
> We're looking forward to adding our name to your list of GMC Motorhome
> owners. We are about ready to buy, and we have a couple of questions we
> hope you will help us with:
>
> 1) I've read an awful lot about Alcoa wheels. What's up with those? Are
> they a performance item? An aesthetic item? Any problem with non-Alcoas
on
> these rigs?
>
> 2) One coach we have looked at and like a lot has a bit of slop in the
> steering (play in the steering wheel as you go down the road). The owner
> showed me the steering linkage, and pointed out the play in one of the
> components. Is this something that comes with the territory, or is it
> something that needs attention (if so, immediate attention?)?
>
> 3) We live in Portland, Oregon. Can you recommend a qualified and
> experienced service facility near our home? If not, can you recommend a
> facility elsewhere that does a great job? We are planning to invest the
> necessary time and expense to maintain our coach. While we don't want to
> throw endless money at it (and certainly not unnecessary money), we want
to
> be pre-emptive with service. Both of us know how to do things like basic
> maintenance, and we'll be able to do things like airbags, etc, but we want
> to know where to take it when we want the engine overhauled, or big
> components worked on (like those pesky wheel bearings).
>
> Thanks a lot for your advice. Ann and I are both looking forward to
seeing
> you down the road soon.
>
> David Kopra
> soon-to-be owner

 

[mr.c]

Dave, I can help with questions 1 and two. Alcoa wheels are lighter and since
they are fabricated from one piece of Aluminum they are more accurate. Less
weights, only 120 # for lug nuts vs 240 for reg tires. Easy to balance and put
weights on etc. I really like the Alcoas
Question 2... when the coaches have had as much life as they have it is a good
idea to redo the front steering. People have had probems with bushings, gear
boxes and so forth. It is a fixable thing but will cost some $$$.
al

> Hi Everyone,
>
> We're looking forward to adding our name to your list of GMC Motorhome
> owners. We are about ready to buy, and we have a couple of questions we
> hope you will help us with:
>
> 1) I've read an awful lot about Alcoa wheels. What's up with those? Are
> they a performance item? An aesthetic item? Any problem with non-Alcoas on
> these rigs?
>
> 2) One coach we have looked at and like a lot has a bit of slop in the
> steering (play in the steering wheel as you go down the road). The owner
> showed me the steering linkage, and pointed out the play in one of the
> components. Is this something that comes with the territory, or is it
> something that needs attention (if so, immediate attention?)?
>
> 3) We live in Portland, Oregon. Can you recommend a qualified and
> experienced service facility near our home? If not, can you recommend a
> facility elsewhere that does a great job? We are planning to invest the
> necessary time and expense to maintain our coach. While we don't want to
> throw endless money at it (and certainly not unnecessary money), we want to
> be pre-emptive with service. Both of us know how to do things like basic
> maintenance, and we'll be able to do things like airbags, etc, but we want
> to know where to take it when we want the engine overhauled, or big
> components worked on (like those pesky wheel bearings).
>
> Thanks a lot for your advice. Ann and I are both looking forward to seeing
> you down the road soon.
>
> David Kopra
> soon-to-be owner