Netters, I am forwarding this trip log because it has a little of
something for everyone.
Dalls Jensen is full-timing these days and he copies me on his reports
from time-to-time. Before anyone crabs at me this IS GMC content with a
little extra thrown in. [g]
Maybe Larry Nelson can get his lights working from Dallas' experience and
if anyone has a clue as to how the ignition switch affects transmission
shifting I (and Dallas) would love to hear it.
David Lee Greenberg F22009
GMC Motorhome Registry
200 MacFarlane Drive PH4
Delray Beach, FL 33483-6829
The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #28 in MD,VA,NC,SC,GA & AL
3/22/99
2385 miles, odometer reading now 33720.
>From Alabama, Hi Everyone!
First I have some good news! You can recall all the trouble I
have been having with the tranny in the motorhome. Before I started this
trip I had made a round trip to Jenny's from Jeff's about 150 miles. The
tranny would not shift out of 1st till I put the lever to 2nd, then it
would shift to 2nd, when I put the lever to Drive it would shift to 3rd
then right back to 2nd. I thought I was going to have to drive it to FL
in 2nd gear to get it worked on. I read an article in GMC International
news letter about fixing a starting problem by adjusting the ignition
switch. I have had starting problems so I tried adjusting the switch, it
didn't help so I removed the ignition switch thinking I needed a new
one. After I got it off, I tested it and decided to see what it looked
like inside. I took it apart (this is not supposed to happen) and found
the contacts very dirty. I cleaned it, greased it and put it back
together and low and behold, not only did it solve the starting problem,
so far on this trip the tranny has worked like it did back in 1976 when
it was new. Don't ask me why or how it fixed the tranny problem, I can
not think of any thing I did that would effect the tranny but for those
of you driving a GMC, if you have a tranny problem like I had, try
replacing the ignition switch before you blow a big wad of money at a
transmission shop. For those of you who want to clean and grease the
switch, I'll take some pictures and write up the procedure when I get
some time. If you want, give me a call and I'll tell you some dos and
don'ts.
A little more good news before I get to the bad news. When I got
to the toll booth for the bridge tunnel, the attendant asked me how many
wheels were on the back of the coach, I told him four and he said
$13.00. That was the first time anyone asked that question and I was
always charged $18.00. It looks like I was ripped off to the tune of
$5.00 every time. but no more!!
Now for the bad news, my lap top computer has a virus and I am
unable to use it for navigation. Let me tell you, that is hell!! I used
to have an anti virus program before Windows 95 but it fell through the
cracks. I tried to down load one from the Internet in VA Beach but
couldn't so headed to Jack & Karen's, Jack works with computers every
day. The virus blocked our every move to eradicate it so I ordered a new
computer and will reformat the hard drive on the old computer if the
virus will let me.
Now for some adventures, the trip from VA Beach, VA to
Jacksonville Beach, FL went well with perfect weather and a tail wind. I
saw the first sign of spring shortly after I got in NC on I95. It was a
big flock of robins, a hundred or more they were on the roadside
resting, eating and waiting for the temperature to get a little higher
before going further north. I guess I can say that seeing motorcycles is
also a sign of spring and if I saw a hundred robins, I saw thousands of
motorcycles. I heard there was something going on at Daytona Beach, FL
and this is where they were headed. There were singles, doubles and
groups riding. They were hauling them in trailers, in pickup trucks and
big trucks. It reminded me of I90 in SD near Sturgis last summer.
Several motorcycles were pulling trailers, one was unique, I followed it
for a long way and finally caught up with it and as I passed it I see
that the trailer was a coffin with the handles on the side and with two
wheels and a hitch. I looked for the car with the pallbearers in it, not
seeing it I figured that this was his camping trailer and there was no
dead body. I have to admit that a coffin would sure beat a tent and
sleeping bag. I suppose he had some type of ventilation in it so he
could close the lid to keep insects out and for rainy days. The traffic
was heavy and very heavy.
After ordering the new computer to be delivered to Niceville, FL
I headed to Sarasota to load up with oranges and grapefruit and this leg
of the trip was a disaster. I left Jack & Karen's in the rain and it
rained all the way till I got west of Orlando, FL sometimes light,
sometimes hard, sometimes very hard and sometimes VERY VERY HARD but
always rain. The traffic was very heavy. The motorcycles were still
going also, the first part of the trip was on Friday and this was Sunday
with thousands more motorcycles in the rain and lots of accidents. After
going past Daytona Beach the motorcycles were going and coming till I
got almost to Sarasota. Heavy traffic, heavy rain and these
inconsiderate eastern drivers make for lots of accidents so there were
delays but I made it to Sarasota before dark and didn't have trouble
reading street signs like I did when I got to Jacksonville Beach after
dark without Gertrude or Gus to guide me. I'll sure be glad to get them
back on the job.
I had a nice visit with Dick & Janet and headed to Bill and
Marilyn's at Niceville, FL. The computer was to be delivered here and I
should have my navigators back for the trip to Lake City, FL the weekend
of 5-7 March.
I had good weather for the trip to Niceville and found Bill
struggling with his first computer. It always makes me feel good to find
someone who knows less than I do about computers. The last person who
made me feel this way was my great-grand daughter (3 years old), Bill
was a little better than her, I'll give her about a year and like all
kids, she will know more than I do about computers. I got the new
computer just in time for the trip to Lake City, FL, I got the
navigation programs installed in it and put Gus in charge as Gertrude
still don't have good maps for cross country travel. I had a problem
with Gus falling asleep, every ten minutes I would have to ask him a
question to keep him awake. After I got to Lake City I had time to set
up the new computer so Gus would stay awake. It was a good GMC rally in
Lake City, good friends, good chow and good weather and as always I
learned more about the GMC and more about computers.
The tranny is still working like a new one and when I tell people
that I fixed it by overhauling the ignition switch they look at me like
they think I'm not playing with a full deck. I can't figure it out my
self but I'll accept anything that works. I now have a new problem,
sometimes when I stop for fuel and try to start the engine I find I have
lost all electrical power to the instrument panel, lights and starter. I
traced it up to the fuse panel behind the glove compartment. I took the
glove compartment out and wiggled some wires and got the power back so
I'll have to look for a bad connection there, so far it has never let me
down while I'm driving. I wonder what will be next.
I left Niceville, FL and drove to Lillian, AL just west of
Pensacola, FL and stopped at my GMC friends Bob & Hunter McCarthy. Bob
has his backyard all set up with 30 amp. power, cable TV, phone line,
water & sewer connections. That's better than most RV parks. I'll try to
get this letter sent from here and then head to Alabaster, AL where my
niece Sue lives with her two children.
Till next time, Dallas or Dad if it fits.
3/12/99
Me & my shadow, Gertrude, Gus and Robin
On the road.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
something for everyone.
Dalls Jensen is full-timing these days and he copies me on his reports
from time-to-time. Before anyone crabs at me this IS GMC content with a
little extra thrown in. [g]
Maybe Larry Nelson can get his lights working from Dallas' experience and
if anyone has a clue as to how the ignition switch affects transmission
shifting I (and Dallas) would love to hear it.
David Lee Greenberg F22009
GMC Motorhome Registry
200 MacFarlane Drive PH4
Delray Beach, FL 33483-6829
The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #28 in MD,VA,NC,SC,GA & AL
3/22/99
2385 miles, odometer reading now 33720.
>From Alabama, Hi Everyone!
First I have some good news! You can recall all the trouble I
have been having with the tranny in the motorhome. Before I started this
trip I had made a round trip to Jenny's from Jeff's about 150 miles. The
tranny would not shift out of 1st till I put the lever to 2nd, then it
would shift to 2nd, when I put the lever to Drive it would shift to 3rd
then right back to 2nd. I thought I was going to have to drive it to FL
in 2nd gear to get it worked on. I read an article in GMC International
news letter about fixing a starting problem by adjusting the ignition
switch. I have had starting problems so I tried adjusting the switch, it
didn't help so I removed the ignition switch thinking I needed a new
one. After I got it off, I tested it and decided to see what it looked
like inside. I took it apart (this is not supposed to happen) and found
the contacts very dirty. I cleaned it, greased it and put it back
together and low and behold, not only did it solve the starting problem,
so far on this trip the tranny has worked like it did back in 1976 when
it was new. Don't ask me why or how it fixed the tranny problem, I can
not think of any thing I did that would effect the tranny but for those
of you driving a GMC, if you have a tranny problem like I had, try
replacing the ignition switch before you blow a big wad of money at a
transmission shop. For those of you who want to clean and grease the
switch, I'll take some pictures and write up the procedure when I get
some time. If you want, give me a call and I'll tell you some dos and
don'ts.
A little more good news before I get to the bad news. When I got
to the toll booth for the bridge tunnel, the attendant asked me how many
wheels were on the back of the coach, I told him four and he said
$13.00. That was the first time anyone asked that question and I was
always charged $18.00. It looks like I was ripped off to the tune of
$5.00 every time. but no more!!
Now for the bad news, my lap top computer has a virus and I am
unable to use it for navigation. Let me tell you, that is hell!! I used
to have an anti virus program before Windows 95 but it fell through the
cracks. I tried to down load one from the Internet in VA Beach but
couldn't so headed to Jack & Karen's, Jack works with computers every
day. The virus blocked our every move to eradicate it so I ordered a new
computer and will reformat the hard drive on the old computer if the
virus will let me.
Now for some adventures, the trip from VA Beach, VA to
Jacksonville Beach, FL went well with perfect weather and a tail wind. I
saw the first sign of spring shortly after I got in NC on I95. It was a
big flock of robins, a hundred or more they were on the roadside
resting, eating and waiting for the temperature to get a little higher
before going further north. I guess I can say that seeing motorcycles is
also a sign of spring and if I saw a hundred robins, I saw thousands of
motorcycles. I heard there was something going on at Daytona Beach, FL
and this is where they were headed. There were singles, doubles and
groups riding. They were hauling them in trailers, in pickup trucks and
big trucks. It reminded me of I90 in SD near Sturgis last summer.
Several motorcycles were pulling trailers, one was unique, I followed it
for a long way and finally caught up with it and as I passed it I see
that the trailer was a coffin with the handles on the side and with two
wheels and a hitch. I looked for the car with the pallbearers in it, not
seeing it I figured that this was his camping trailer and there was no
dead body. I have to admit that a coffin would sure beat a tent and
sleeping bag. I suppose he had some type of ventilation in it so he
could close the lid to keep insects out and for rainy days. The traffic
was heavy and very heavy.
After ordering the new computer to be delivered to Niceville, FL
I headed to Sarasota to load up with oranges and grapefruit and this leg
of the trip was a disaster. I left Jack & Karen's in the rain and it
rained all the way till I got west of Orlando, FL sometimes light,
sometimes hard, sometimes very hard and sometimes VERY VERY HARD but
always rain. The traffic was very heavy. The motorcycles were still
going also, the first part of the trip was on Friday and this was Sunday
with thousands more motorcycles in the rain and lots of accidents. After
going past Daytona Beach the motorcycles were going and coming till I
got almost to Sarasota. Heavy traffic, heavy rain and these
inconsiderate eastern drivers make for lots of accidents so there were
delays but I made it to Sarasota before dark and didn't have trouble
reading street signs like I did when I got to Jacksonville Beach after
dark without Gertrude or Gus to guide me. I'll sure be glad to get them
back on the job.
I had a nice visit with Dick & Janet and headed to Bill and
Marilyn's at Niceville, FL. The computer was to be delivered here and I
should have my navigators back for the trip to Lake City, FL the weekend
of 5-7 March.
I had good weather for the trip to Niceville and found Bill
struggling with his first computer. It always makes me feel good to find
someone who knows less than I do about computers. The last person who
made me feel this way was my great-grand daughter (3 years old), Bill
was a little better than her, I'll give her about a year and like all
kids, she will know more than I do about computers. I got the new
computer just in time for the trip to Lake City, FL, I got the
navigation programs installed in it and put Gus in charge as Gertrude
still don't have good maps for cross country travel. I had a problem
with Gus falling asleep, every ten minutes I would have to ask him a
question to keep him awake. After I got to Lake City I had time to set
up the new computer so Gus would stay awake. It was a good GMC rally in
Lake City, good friends, good chow and good weather and as always I
learned more about the GMC and more about computers.
The tranny is still working like a new one and when I tell people
that I fixed it by overhauling the ignition switch they look at me like
they think I'm not playing with a full deck. I can't figure it out my
self but I'll accept anything that works. I now have a new problem,
sometimes when I stop for fuel and try to start the engine I find I have
lost all electrical power to the instrument panel, lights and starter. I
traced it up to the fuse panel behind the glove compartment. I took the
glove compartment out and wiggled some wires and got the power back so
I'll have to look for a bad connection there, so far it has never let me
down while I'm driving. I wonder what will be next.
I left Niceville, FL and drove to Lillian, AL just west of
Pensacola, FL and stopped at my GMC friends Bob & Hunter McCarthy. Bob
has his backyard all set up with 30 amp. power, cable TV, phone line,
water & sewer connections. That's better than most RV parks. I'll try to
get this letter sent from here and then head to Alabaster, AL where my
niece Sue lives with her two children.
Till next time, Dallas or Dad if it fits.
3/12/99
Me & my shadow, Gertrude, Gus and Robin
On the road.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
