At least once per year we go back to California for family visits, business and GMC rallies. This year we plan to leave on Saturday, April 21st. We used the coach several times this winter going to GMC Saguaro Jetset rallies and one trip to get some help working on the coach – more on that below.

Every time we use the coach we add or at least update our “to do” list – things that would make life on the road so much better if they were done. This year was no exception except that it seems like the list is getting shorter. After our return from last summer’s trip I had a list of “to-dos” a mile long.

One of the most irritating things about the trip last summer was that the hot water tank was leaking. It leaked enough that it caused the pump to run every few minutes but not enough to get anything inside the coach wet. We had to turn the water pump off when we were not using it and it could only be turned on with a switch next to the coach entrance door. I needed to do two things to make life bearable for our upcoming winter trips – replace the water heater and put a two-way switch for the water pump in the bathroom. Got both done along with a modification to the hot water system that makes it safer and easier to use (you can read about that here). We couldn’t be happier with the results of these changes.

The next thing we had to do was to try and solve the fuel starvation problems that will not go away. The next “recommended” thing to do was to remove the intake manifold, check it for heat cracks, clean it up, and reinstall it with the “exhaust cross-over passage” blocked. This is, relatively speaking, a big job – complicated, difficult, and time-consuming. Luckily, a good friend from the GMC community – Steve Ferguson – who had done jobs like this many times, offered to guide me through it if I did it at his house. With quite a bit of work and lots of direction from Steve we got it done and I learned a lot.

As soon as we got the engine started again after the intake manifold job it became apparent that the change had an effect on the exhaust system. The first thing we heard was a leak in an exhaust manifold which we fixed that pretty quickly since I had a new Remflex gasket ready to install. The other thing we heard was a leaky muffler that suddenly became much louder than when I arrived.

A problem that had existed since we owned the coach was the power steering pump was leaking. Having the experience from working with Steve on the intake manifold I figured that I could now take on a little bigger job than before so I decided to replace the power steering pump and the high pressure hoses. I did it and it no longer leaks – it was pretty easy too.

Now it was time to fix that exhaust system – the next thing on my list. Besides noise, the exhaust system could have been causing some of the excessive cross-over heat and some of the really bad mileage that we get (less than 7mpg). I was going to install an Applied GMC exhaust kit but decided that the job was too big for me so, instead, I hired an exhaust system shop – Exhaust Works 3 in Tucson – to do it for me. They installed two new Magnaflow stainless steel mufflers and fabricated some new 2 1/2 inch piping to connect them to the existing 2 1/2 inch exhaust pipe. The difference in power and performance seems very noticeable – we’ll be watching mileage closely on this trip.

We will begin packing on Thursday or Friday and leave Saturday morning. See you then.