Spring and Summer 2016 – gmcmotorhome

Returning from the GMCWS Rally at Temecula – better mileage?

The coach ran so well with the new FiTech fuel injection system that we drove home without our normal overnight rest stop. Not that the trip is that bad normally, but with the constant stress of listening to the engine do its occasionally rough running – just short of fuel starvation – I hate driving all day. This time we drove the 9 hours with no trouble at all and I didn’t feel anywhere as tired as I normally do, even after a shortened day.

I measured the mileage for 1,062 “Barbie” miles (10% more than actual) and got 8.5 bmpg vs. my normal 7.0 or less. I will continue to monitor the mileage for a while to see if that holds true.

Other than how the coach ran I cannot think of anything else to report. The weather was very pleasant but not hot enough to tell if the “vapors” are really gone. Before our next trip I will be fixing the main waste tank valve and running a ground wire directly between the battery and the starter (a good suggestion from Ben Price at the rally).

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Temecula, CA for the GMC Western States Spring 2016 Rally – Day 1

We just finished the first day of our 59th trip in our “Barbie”-mobile and there have been several notable things happen already. Actually, it started on Friday morning when I started to get ready for our Sunday departure. We had dry camped for two nights at the Marana Bluegrass Festival and, since that was not a campground, the holding tank had not been emptied. Since I have a macerator pump I can empty the tank at my house using the sewer cleanout near the front door. I tried to use the pump and it did not work. It was frozen solid for some reason. I had to get it fixed so I ended up taking the coach back down to the storage lot, getting it up on ramps, and replacing the pump. Fortunately there is a great RV supply store in Tucson called Sandy’s West RV Center – they have everything, mostly in stock.

We left on time – 9:30 – but, just before leaving I tried connecting Carol’s computer to our inverter and it didn’t work. The inverter was putting out about 90-95 volts. It was the el cheapo from Harbor Freight and it had lasted more than 5 years. Well, we were planning on stopping in el Centro for the night and there was a Harbor Freight store there and, it was a 10-minute walk from the WalMart we decided to stay at – see the photo above.

The first day with the FiTech EFI went really well. It is having some issues with low speed response to the gas pedal – I checked with FiTech and it is learning. The guy suggested I try some “accelerator pump” settings but did not provide any hints for how to get started. I have asked for some samples and hints so we’ll see.

The biggest news was gas mileage. I have not been measuring mileage for the past couple of years because nothing ever changes it. The only modification I ever made that affected it was installing new mufflers. That probably increased my mileage by about 10% (measured over a 7,000-mile trip) – only because the old ones were bad and one was restricted. The point is, I know that I get about 7 MPG normally. When I stop for gas I stop based upon how many miles I have driven since filling the tank. I do not depend on the gas gauge, I put gas in about every 200-250 miles or less. When I start pumping I compute the approximate number of gallons I will need by dividing the number of miles by my average 7 MPG. It usually works and I’ll wait until it keeps happening before I get too excited but I could not get any more than 23 gallons into the tanks after I had gone 198 miles. That would be 8.6 MPG which would be amazing – I didn’t do it for the mileage, I did it for performance and reliability. Stay tuned.

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