So the GMC started off as a fun project but quickly morphed into something more. Early on in the build we joked about driving it out west and getting married in Jackson Hole.

What started as a “ha that would be cool” kind of passing thought slowly solidified itself in our minds until we had decided that there was no other way!

What better way to celebrate getting married than to put ourselves through thousands of hours of mind bending planning, hard physical work, and stressful deadlines? Sounds Perfect!

Once that was decided we set to work. It took 2 years and untold hours, but we got it (mostly) done in time.

We set off having not been on a test drive longer than 20 miles or so. Looking back that was probably not smart, but we just didn’t have time!

Our first day on the road was absolute hell. If anyone here thinks everything was perfect and we just hopped in and went I’m here to set that record straight.
We had converted to the Fitech and done test drives mostly at night and all was well. When we left it was 105 degrees in the shade and broad daylight. We didn’t make it 15 miles before vapor lock started to shut us down. Every 3 miles or so we had to stop and stare at it and try to figure out what was going on and let it cool down. We got to the point where we were almost ready to cancel and get a tow home, it was that bad. After a lot of staring and thinking a plan began to form. Obviously we were having issues with the fuel getting to its boiling point, so we needed to cool the fuel. The only logical way I could think of to do that was to keep it out of the hot engine bay as long as possible.

We limped our way to an Oreilley Auto Parts not 30 miles from home where I went inside and bought an electric fuel pump and 20 feet of fuel line. To keep the fuel from getting hot I decided to bypass the mechanical pump entirely (it’s mounted to the hot engine block, and definitely adds heat to the fuel). Secondly there are steel fuel lines running in the engine bay which I also decided to bypass (again adding heat). With that decided I crawled under the coach in the 105 degree weather on hot asphalt and set about re-running the fuel lines. On the frame rail I mounted an electric fuel pump and then ran new fuel line up the driver side frame, outside the engine compartment to my Fitech Command Center (which I had previously gutted and converted to a surge tank). I put a loop on the mechanical pump in case we needed it. It was a last ditch effort to get moving. And it worked!

(I’ve since replaced all those rubber lines with aluminum hard lines run up the frame) So far (knock on wood) 10,000+ miles later we have not had a single case of vapor lock, or even a hint of it.

All of that took about 5 hours. So in the first 5 hours of the trip we covered 30 miles. Not a good start!

Onward!

After that fiasco we stopped at Camping World to grab a few things for the trip. When we came back out the GMC would not start. Son Of A B********
At this point I was near mental breakdown, we sat in the 105 degree heat trying to get it to crank for a while before I went and sat in the shade, stared at it some more and made a troubleshooting plan. Took off the engine cover and had Kathleen crank it while I fiddled with stuff. Finally got it going by opening the throttle slightly but it wouldn’t stay running.
After some more though I went into the Fitech unit and reprogrammed the IAC steps setting and all was well (and has been ever since). The moral of this story is that you need to set your IAC when the engine is HOT, not when it’s warm, this (for me anyway) eliminated any and all hot start problems.

It should be stated here, that after those 2 initial issues the Fitech has been trouble free for 10,000+ miles without a single other issue. Both were user error (or at least GMC specific error) and not the fault of the Fitech unit. It’s all a learning curve.

Back on the road!

All told in the first day we covered about 200 miles in 14 hours. Not our best day for sure! But hey we were on the road, and despite immense frustration everything was fixable and we were in good shape. We made it to our first campsite a little before dark and settled in for our first night in the GMC.

DAY 2
Our second day was much less eventful (thankfully). We hit the road early in the morning and everything was going well until we begin to hear a squeal every now and then. Belts.
Now we are admittedly young, any vehicle I’ve driven long distance has had a serpentine belt. I’ve had plenty of older vehicles with V-belts, but all driven locally. In the past when I get a squeaky belt I ignore it and tighten it up or replace it when I get around to it. That works fine on a 20 mile cruise. When pulling 500 miles per day it does not.
That initial intermittent squealing became more and more frequent until it was constant, then POP! Voltage drops and we’ve broken our first alternator belt! Damn.
Remember this is our initial voyage, we’ve been planning it for years. We were prepared, I had extra everything stowed away in there somewhere. So we swap the belt and go on our way.
An hour or so later we hear it again, same story, squeeeeeeeeeeeel POP. There goes the AC belt! No worries we’ve got a spare! Swap it out.
Over the course of the trip this became a common occurrence. We got VERY good at changing belts and finding the nearest autozone to get new ones. I think all told we broke 6 belts over 4000 miles. Not a good track record.
Here’s what I learned: When you hear that first squeal, PULL OVER. Figure out which belt is loose and tighten it. They stretch. After having this epiphany (I’m an idiot I know) we haven’t broken one in 3K miles.(fingers crossed)

We ended day 2 a little early at a random campground on a tiny lake in Iowa somewhere, no clue what it was called. I want to say Big Lake (ironically I’m assuming, it was tiny)

 

I was prepared for everything! I had Ball joints, I had Oil, I had an impact wrench, I had extra EVERYTHING.
We forgot one MAJOR thing:

 

 

 

 

That makeshift corkscrew opened many a wine bottle this trip and worked like a champ!

 

Stay Tuned