Bob
I'll share my "first trip" story for your commiserating experience. It
seems some of these old gals don't take kindly to a "new" hand at the
wheel, and appear to be jinxed. (Recall the unfortunate horse incident
last month)
I bought my 1977 from the original owner three years ago. It had always
been stored indoors, and was in great shape. We spent 6 weeks polishing
and tinkering, nothing major replaced, in preparation for a week long trip
into British Columbia. The first day out, we hit a deer in the northwest
corner of Montana, and our GMC vacation was finished. I had just updated
the headlights and bezels to the rectangular system; we lost those along
with the grill and much of the nose. The radiator and condenser were
pushed back into the fan, and we lost the new belts.
The coach was in the body shop the rest of the summer, and rather than
attempt to match the original paint and striping, I changed the color
scheme and went for a complete paint job.
Since then, it's been new Alcoa's and tires, tinted windows, headers and 3"
exhaust system, air bags and protectors, the Ragusa step and pans/covers,
fuel and brake lines, alternator, synthetic fluids, etc.
I have found this mailing list to be a most valuable resource, and
appreciate the wealth of knowledge that is available to us "newbies".
Thanks for the continued dialogue and information exchange; I would have
been discouraged had I not found out about GMCMH, Cinnabar, etc. and
especially this list.
Subsequent trips have been uneventful, with the exception of a failed HEI
coil, which I was prepared for thanks to an earlier reading re. this
potential problem.
Bob, I would second Eric's comment about the short trips. I probably
couldn't justify keeping my coach for the one or two annual vacation
trips, but we use it for weekend festivities and enjoy the convenience.
Chuck
- ----------
> From: Tipton, Eric
> To: Robert M Fukumoto
> Cc: GMC Mailing List (E-mail)
> Subject: GMC: Trip from Hell
> Date: Monday, August 17, 1998 3:02 PM
>
> You wrote -
> BTW, after my maiden voyage from hell my wife did make me put an ad in
> the paper to sell my GMC. However, she is softening and that combined
> with not a single call in two weeks might lead us to giving it another
> try next year. (I'm still working and with two teenage kids we really
> can only use the coach once a year.)
>
> We just got back from a 2800mi trip. We relocated twice last year &
> have not had a chance to take the GMC out. The first few days were VERY
> frustrating. I had worked long & hard for about two weeks prior to
> departure getting the unit ready. We planned a 'shakedown cruise'
> before the main trip, but too many thing on the list to make this
> possible. To make a very long story short the GMC is in much better
> condition after the trip than before. We fixed numerous problems the
> first few days, but then things were good. They total repair bill on
> the trip was less than $100, but your results may vary. We met another
> couple with a GMC one night at a campground. She said it best, "More
> happens to the GMC sitting in the driveway, than it ever does if we use
> it."
> Try getting away for a two or three day weekend close to home. Maybe
> just you and your wife. It is a lot more fun than with four adults.
> Also if the teenagers have activities, you might try taking the GMC to
> baseball games, etc. Even on a day trip, we enjoyed our unit when the
> kids were still at home. Now that they are grown, we use the GMC to
> visit. We have told them is we ever get destitute, that we will park in
> their driveway until we have enough money to move on. Each has promised
> to send us a monthly check if things get that bad
>
> Eric Tipton
> World Technology Services
> Tel: 206.436.3300 Fax: 206.436.3305
> etipton
I'll share my "first trip" story for your commiserating experience. It
seems some of these old gals don't take kindly to a "new" hand at the
wheel, and appear to be jinxed. (Recall the unfortunate horse incident
last month)
I bought my 1977 from the original owner three years ago. It had always
been stored indoors, and was in great shape. We spent 6 weeks polishing
and tinkering, nothing major replaced, in preparation for a week long trip
into British Columbia. The first day out, we hit a deer in the northwest
corner of Montana, and our GMC vacation was finished. I had just updated
the headlights and bezels to the rectangular system; we lost those along
with the grill and much of the nose. The radiator and condenser were
pushed back into the fan, and we lost the new belts.
The coach was in the body shop the rest of the summer, and rather than
attempt to match the original paint and striping, I changed the color
scheme and went for a complete paint job.
Since then, it's been new Alcoa's and tires, tinted windows, headers and 3"
exhaust system, air bags and protectors, the Ragusa step and pans/covers,
fuel and brake lines, alternator, synthetic fluids, etc.
I have found this mailing list to be a most valuable resource, and
appreciate the wealth of knowledge that is available to us "newbies".
Thanks for the continued dialogue and information exchange; I would have
been discouraged had I not found out about GMCMH, Cinnabar, etc. and
especially this list.
Subsequent trips have been uneventful, with the exception of a failed HEI
coil, which I was prepared for thanks to an earlier reading re. this
potential problem.
Bob, I would second Eric's comment about the short trips. I probably
couldn't justify keeping my coach for the one or two annual vacation
trips, but we use it for weekend festivities and enjoy the convenience.
Chuck
- ----------
> From: Tipton, Eric
> To: Robert M Fukumoto
> Cc: GMC Mailing List (E-mail)
> Subject: GMC: Trip from Hell
> Date: Monday, August 17, 1998 3:02 PM
>
> You wrote -
> BTW, after my maiden voyage from hell my wife did make me put an ad in
> the paper to sell my GMC. However, she is softening and that combined
> with not a single call in two weeks might lead us to giving it another
> try next year. (I'm still working and with two teenage kids we really
> can only use the coach once a year.)
>
> We just got back from a 2800mi trip. We relocated twice last year &
> have not had a chance to take the GMC out. The first few days were VERY
> frustrating. I had worked long & hard for about two weeks prior to
> departure getting the unit ready. We planned a 'shakedown cruise'
> before the main trip, but too many thing on the list to make this
> possible. To make a very long story short the GMC is in much better
> condition after the trip than before. We fixed numerous problems the
> first few days, but then things were good. They total repair bill on
> the trip was less than $100, but your results may vary. We met another
> couple with a GMC one night at a campground. She said it best, "More
> happens to the GMC sitting in the driveway, than it ever does if we use
> it."
> Try getting away for a two or three day weekend close to home. Maybe
> just you and your wife. It is a lot more fun than with four adults.
> Also if the teenagers have activities, you might try taking the GMC to
> baseball games, etc. Even on a day trip, we enjoyed our unit when the
> kids were still at home. Now that they are grown, we use the GMC to
> visit. We have told them is we ever get destitute, that we will park in
> their driveway until we have enough money to move on. Each has promised
> to send us a monthly check if things get that bad
>
> Eric Tipton
> World Technology Services
> Tel: 206.436.3300 Fax: 206.436.3305
> etipton
