Trip report

Adam,

I bought my coach in 2014, replaced the tyres, drove 2500mls from San
Diego to Virginia, let Ken Frey look over it and fix what needs fixing,
and haven't had any issue with it, that wasn't self inflicted (note: no,
the chassis battery does not get charged when your house charger is
connected to 110V, and yes, the cigarette lighter on the dash does wear
the chassis battery down after three days of not moving the coach).

I have had two nice vacations with it, one around 1600mls in two weeks
with my wife, and one 3500mls with my whole family. No issues, what so ever.

--
Best regards

Peer Oliver Schmidt
PGP Key ID: 0x83E1C2EA

'76a Eleganza II, VA
 
I have had a GMC coach since 1997. Not the longest here by any means. It
had less than 80,000 miles on the clock. Now over 135,000. So it gets used.
I have been towed once. Other than that, I have driven it home every time
it left. Crossed Canada in 2012, lost a mechanical fuel pump. Retraced
Route 66 in 2015. NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. If you prepare them correctly,
and do your due diligence maintenence, they are very reliable. Your
experience will vary.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 GMC ROYALE 403

On Nov 20, 2016 10:57 AM, "Peer Oliver Schmidt GMC"
wrote:

Adam,

I bought my coach in 2014, replaced the tyres, drove 2500mls from San
Diego to Virginia, let Ken Frey look over it and fix what needs fixing,
and haven't had any issue with it, that wasn't self inflicted (note: no,
the chassis battery does not get charged when your house charger is
connected to 110V, and yes, the cigarette lighter on the dash does wear
the chassis battery down after three days of not moving the coach).

I have had two nice vacations with it, one around 1600mls in two weeks
with my wife, and one 3500mls with my whole family. No issues, what so ever.

--
Best regards

Peer Oliver Schmidt
PGP Key ID: 0x83E1C2EA

'76a Eleganza II, VA

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sorry to hijack the thread!

Jimk, that's why I'm here, soaking up as much info as possible.
--
1976 Palm Beach
Austin, TX
 
your always welcome to call and discuss with me.

> sorry to hijack the thread!
>
> Jimk, that's why I'm here, soaking up as much info as possible.
> --
> 1976 Palm Beach
> Austin, TX
>
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> GMCnet mailing list
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--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Fremont,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
 
Jeremy, your report is inspirational in more ways than one.

Being mature, no children, but using our '73 for area and international
rallies, two trips from Texas to Alaska, one to the Maritimes, and to
Oregon last year, we can appreciate your family memory-making trips.

Thanks for sharing.

Sandra and Bob Price

your always welcome to call and discuss with me.

> sorry to hijack the thread!
>
> Jimk, that's why I'm here, soaking up as much info as possible.
> --
> 1976 Palm Beach
> Austin, TX
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
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--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Fremont,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
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Jeremy,

I think it's great the experiences you are providing to your children, you're one heck of a Dad!

When Helen and I visited DC we stayed at the Cherry Hill RV Park:

https://www.cherryhillpark.com/

There is public transport into DC.

Regards,
Rob M.
The Pedantic Mechanic
USAussie - Downunder
AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808
 
Sandra, yall will get a chance to meet IRL (in real life) next August in Dillard.

--johnny
--
'76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.

"Sometimes I wonder what tomorrow's gonna bring when I think about my dirty life and times" --Warren Zevon
 
> Jeremy,
>
> I think it's great the experiences you are providing to your children, you're one heck of a Dad!
>
> When Helen and I visited DC we stayed at the Cherry Hill RV Park:
>
> https://www.cherryhillpark.com/
>
> There is public transport into DC.
>
> Regards,
> Rob M.
> The Pedantic Mechanic
> USAussie - Downunder
> AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
> USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
> USA '77 Kingsley - TZE 267V100808

That is the one on the Maryland side. A lot more convenient but, like I said, it would have added a lot of driving time to our trip to loop around
from the NW to the NE of D.C. I wouldn't necessarily recommend Lake Fairfax, but it was about as convenient as you are likely to get on the NW side.

Thanks Rob. It was a good trip. Kids really enjoyed it except for the second long day home. I think my daughter will keep the memories, I doubt the
boys will. We will have to return to D.C. when they are older and can appreciate it more. I think my parents took me 3x, of course we were a lot
closer!

--
Thanks,
Jeremy Knezek
1976 Glenbrook
Birmingham, AL
 
Looking forward to that special weekend, Johnny.

Sandra and Bob

On Nov 21, 2016 7:54 AM, "Johnny Bridges via Gmclist" <

> Sandra, yall will get a chance to meet IRL (in real life) next August in
> Dillard.
>
> --johnny
> --
> '76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and
> add - ons.
> Braselton, Ga.
>
> "Sometimes I wonder what tomorrow's gonna bring when I think about my
> dirty life and times" --Warren Zevon
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
The Big White Dog No Host Assembly was in my case preceded by a show in Savannah. The coach ran well, until I got to the weight station on I-16 about
fifteen miles from Savannah. KAaPOW, and a look out the side showed coolant and steam blowing everyplace. I pulled off, and had a look under. Not a
broken hose fortunately, rather when I replaced the radiator I dodn't get the upper clamp sufficiently tight. So, slipped it back on and tightened it
properly with a wrench. The nice cop at the weigh station showed me the faucet, three trips with my 'Corn boiler' pot and off we went. No further
trouble with cooling. One of the ladies who shows Dachshunds has a pig - pilling on Friday night before this show, she brings a giant smoker and does
a whole pig. Everybody brings sides and dessert, it's a fine feed.
Monday early headed to Lake Louisa State Park NW of Orlando, joined by the Jordans in their coach, the Galbavys in theirs, and the Phipps in their
new(er) SOB. Tom Proyor joined us and stayed with me in the front bunk. Ham n Beans, Almost Famous Chicken, Down East pulled pig BBQ, and a night at
the Vietnamese joint in Clermont. Good eating, visits to Jim Bounds' Co-op, a ride in the Diesel conversion coach, and in my case a browse through
the junk bin for some pneumatic parts. Folks headed out Saturday while I did the Dog Show Thing, we had three BWDs for the kids to pet and oooh and
aaah over. It looked something like this:

https://www.facebook.com/KuvaszClubOfAmerica/?fref=ts

Poke around and there are some vids of kids and the dogs.

Early Monday morning I set sail North after nine days of GMCing one place or another. The trip went great until I was about ten miles North of
Atlanta, where the relatively new transmission decided it would play no more. Didn't slip, just disengaged in third. Pulled fine on first and second
so I eased it up the road in second until about three miles from the house where second disengaged. I got it off the road and parked on the access
drive to an old cemetery. I'm currently waiting for Alton Edge to call when his heavy wrecker is available to yank it the last few miles to its
resting pad out back by my shop. When it first disengaged, I had a look, fluid was halfway between the dot and the 'add one pint' mark, I brought it
up to the full mark. Not foamy, not burnt, smells normal. No obvious leaks. This trans was installed when I bought the coach, it's a new Manny
rebuild. I'll speak with him when I get it home and the pan removed, and see what the next step might be. I suspect I'm going to learn how to R&R
the transmission in the GMC motorhome. I'd been a bit concerned about the oil pressure the engine holds, but it's within the wear limits and the PO
said it's always been that way. So while I was a bit tense over that the new no worries transmission lunched. Go figure.
Two little hiccups apart, it was a fun week.

--johnny

--
'76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" --Robert Earl Keen
 
Beautiful dogs, Johnny!

Hope the trans problem is nothing major. Maybe it's something minor and won't require removal
--
Carl Stouffer
'75 ex Palm Beach
Tucson, AZ.
Chuck Aulgur Reaction Arm Disc Brakes, Quadrabags, 3.70 LSD final drive, Lenzi knuckles/hubs, Dodge Truck 16" X 8" front wheels, Rear American Eagles,
Solar battery charging
 
Hoping it's an easy fix. Say a plugged vacuum line! Fingers crossed for you Johnny.
--
Thanks,
Jeremy Knezek
1976 Glenbrook
Birmingham, AL
 
Aww, Johnny,

That's not good luck, except for the fact that everyone's healthy, which is the ultimate luck. Nothing to offer with respect to the transmission,
just hoping against hope it is something minor like the governor, but from what I understand, that would explain the third gear not engaging. No
second gear is something else again.

I gots a theory about old stuff. The electrons wear out. They gets tired of the same old rigamarole and gets so mad that they start smoking. :p

Low fluid, like Cotton-eyed Joe, "Where did it come from, where did it go? Where did he come from, Cotton-eyed Joe."

Up through the vacuum modulator? You have a clean engine, now, if so. Good luck with the tow.

Best,

Carey
--
Carey from Ennis, Texas
78 Royale, 500 Cadillac, Rance Baxter EFI.
 
Followup:

A couple of days for them to get batteries and get their larger wrecker going. Alton Edge Wrecker Service then appeared with a single axle Holmes
wheel lift wrecker. Picks the coach up with several inches to spare at the radiator bracket. I ran the rear all the way up, Alton JR. Brought it
home and deposited it on the pad without further ado save scraping the hitch on the driveway - where it always scrapes anyway. The Edge family is big
fans of the station I moved here to upgrade and engineer, so the total bite Was $90. He said 85, but I didn't have a five and I thought 90 was a gift
anyway so I told him here's cash don't tell the taxman and buy me a sammich sometime. Anyway it's home, tank is dumped, and I can get hold of Manny
and see where we go from here.

--johnny
--
'76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" --Robert Earl Keen
 
Johnny,

Are you telling us you don't have road service? No way I'd venture out of
my driveway without it! The cost of wrecker service is just tooo high in
relation to the cost of road service. During our travels, covering Key
West to Fairbanks, we've made use of our "insurance" a few times.

Let's see now: I bought the GMC on 30 Apr 98. On 1 May I had it towed
from DeFuniak Springs to Panama City, FL (total engine failure). On about
30 Jul 2000, I had it towed from Sheridan to Cheyenne, WY (torque converter
failure). On about 15 Jun 2013 I had it towed from San Mateo to Newark, CA
(Cad500 rocker stand broke). On about 15 Jul 2013 I had it towed from
Tupelo, MS to Americus, GA (ANOTHER Cad500 rocker stand broke). In
addition to those GMC events, there was at least a lockout and a battery
failure on other vehicles, and I've probably forgotten some others. Each
of those tows would have cost me at least $250, and the latest one, from
MS, would have cost more than the 18 years of annual fees, so I'm 'way
ahead on cost, not to mention the peace of mind of knowing I can always
call for help -- regardless of how far from home and friends. I've never
even received a follow-up call from RVRoadHelp, not to mention a bill or
cancellation threat.

JWID, and encourage all motorhomers to do.

Ken H.

On Wed, Dec 21, 2016 at 2:31 PM, Johnny Bridges via Gmclist <

> Followup:
>
> A couple of days for them to get batteries and get their larger wrecker
> going. Alton Edge Wrecker Service then appeared with a single axle Holmes
> wheel lift wrecker. Picks the coach up with several inches to spare at
> the radiator bracket. I ran the rear all the way up, Alton JR. Brought it
> home and deposited it on the pad without further ado save scraping the
> hitch on the driveway - where it always scrapes anyway. The Edge family is
> big
> fans of the station I moved here to upgrade and engineer, so the total
> bite Was $90. He said 85, but I didn't have a five and I thought 90 was a
> gift
> anyway so I told him here's cash don't tell the taxman and buy me a
> sammich sometime. Anyway it's home, tank is dumped, and I can get hold of
> Manny
> and see where we go from here.
>
> --johnny
>
 
From: Ken Henderson
To: mailto:gmclist

Johnny,

Are you telling us you don't have road service? No way I'd venture out of my driveway without it! The cost of wrecker service is just tooo high in
relation to the cost of road service. During our travels, covering Key West to Fairbanks, we've made use of our "insurance" a few times.

Let's see now: I bought the GMC on 30 Apr 98. On 1 May I had it towed from DeFuniak Springs to Panama City, FL (total engine failure). On about 30
Jul 2000, I had it towed from Sheridan to Cheyenne, WY (torque converter failure). On about 15 Jun 2013 I had it towed from San Mateo to Newark, CA
(Cad500 rocker stand broke). On about 15 Jul 2013 I had it towed from Tupelo, MS to Americus, GA (ANOTHER Cad500 rocker stand broke). In addition to
those GMC events, there was at least a lockout and a battery failure on other vehicles, and I've probably forgotten some others. Each of those tows
would have cost me at least $250, and the latest one, from MS, would have cost more than the 18 years of annual fees, so I'm 'way ahead on cost, not
to mention the peace of mind of knowing I can always call for help -- regardless of how far from home and friends. I've never even received a
follow-up call from RVRoadHelp, not to mention a bill or cancellation threat.

JWID, and encourage all motorhomers to do.

I've looked into several, but not RVRoadHelp. I'll have a look. Realize, you put a lot more miles on yours than I do on mine. Also, I'm not a great
fan of the Cadillac engine in this service - I think the Olds is better suited. At any rate, I've not had a stock setup leave me stranded, although I
did have to wait twice while the overheated engine cooled after a long pull. Rebuilding the radiator fixed that problem. I could likely have
soldiered on home this time but A) I had a good place to put it; B) it was local, so I knew the wrecker service folks; and C) In hopes of a simple
cure I didn't want to risk further damage to the transmission.
I suspect the problem may be related to all the outlaw cooling stuff the coach has on it which will be coming off this winter. Manny recommended one
external cooler, then a trip through the radiator cooler and back to the trans. Conversation with Dave Shattuck indicates that this radiator has
never had failure trans fluid or oil through either of the coolers. Additionally, Sims ran the tanks through their cleanout process when they recored
it. I'll run some ATF through both and catch it and make sure they're clean, then reconnect them. My stock cooling setup on the 23' works well, oil
and trans temps track the engine temp except when idling or stop and go, the trans will run 5 - 10 degrees hotter. This indicates to me that the
stock setup is the preferred.

--johnny

--
'76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" --Robert Earl Keen
 
From Manny, I have a set of diagnostic tests to accomplish on the transmission. It is possible that it's toast. Tests should tell.

--johnny
--
'76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
"The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" --Robert Earl Keen
 
Any rebuilds in stock at "Manny SE" aka Ken H's place?

George "looking for grubby clothes" Zhookoff
Atlanta
78 EL II, with a Manny tranny.

>
> From Manny, I have a set of diagnostic tests to accomplish on the transmission. It is possible that it's toast. Tests should tell.
>
> --johnny
> --
> '76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
> Braselton, Ga.
> "The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" --Robert Earl Keen
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Nope, nothing ready to use. Maybe this will become more impetus for him to
return soon. He's promised to bring Deo next time. I've already got 4
cores here and offers of more.

Ken H.

On Fri, Dec 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Zhookoff, George <

> Any rebuilds in stock at "Manny SE" aka Ken H's place?
>
> George "looking for grubby clothes" Zhookoff
> Atlanta
> 78 EL II, with a Manny tranny.
>
>
> > On Dec 23, 2016, at 12:12 PM, Johnny Bridges via Gmclist <

> >
> > From Manny, I have a set of diagnostic tests to accomplish on the
> transmission. It is possible that it's toast. Tests should tell.
> >
> > --johnny
> > --
> > '76 23' transmode Norris upfit, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods
> and add - ons.
> > Braselton, Ga.
> > "The road goes on forever, and the party never ends" --Robert Earl Keen
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > GMCnet mailing list
> > Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> > http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
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>
 
OK, Johnny,

What did the tests reveal? Can you tell us the tests or are they proprietary? I know one is to simply start the engine, wait for low idle, put the
tranny in gear and all brakes off, does it want to creep forward if in gear on level ground? If not, tranny lunched.

I hope yours was simple. Trying to wrack my brain to find a cheap fix scenario, but too many things sound ominous. Manny is irreplaceable. Good
luck with the fix. If you are like me, you want it to rest while your energy returns for doing something with the dang thing which, after all, left
you on the side of the road with little warning.

Best,

Carey
--
Carey from Ennis, Texas
78 Royale, 500 Cadillac, Rance Baxter EFI.