Mini-Meets/Get-Togethers

[Clarke]

Still working on the inside... My orig plan was to just put in a porta-pot, but my wife 'should I say' challenged me to put in a flushing toilet. So, we have a flushing toilet. I was able to snake the pipe (I mean many connectors) around the wheel well and to the inside of the frame before going through the floor into the black holding tank.

It has AC, fridge/freezer, heater, stove with hood, microwave, tankless water heater, outdoor shower, surround stereo system, soon to have DVD and TV on pivot arm (for those rainy nights).

Most all the vents are through the floor, in attempt to keep the exterior period correct.

The exterior grab handle, porch light, and tag light are all orig pieces from from different model campers, but they play well together. I had the pieces rechromed. I did not install any of the exterior badges from the orig camper to the outside; I installed them to the side of one of the cabinet doors. I did have one rechromed and installed above the bed as decor.

Hopefully, it will be done in a few months (just in time to winterize). I'll post a few more pics when it's finished. I'm waiting on awning fabric samples, so I can order that. We need shade in KS!

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by GMCDAC

Hi Clarke, Foley told me today that he has some located in Springfield, MO that he is going to buy but I will let him tell the story when he can. He got a chuckle when I showed him these on my 3/4 ton, but even in the condition they are in he had to look close. They are "bowtie" caps but I couldn't stand to put them on a GMC so about 10 years ago I made stickers to cover it up, even though this truck is a '72 with a smallblock! Looks like it's time to make some more stickers.

Thanks for that pic, I wasn't sure how that outer black was painted on them since it is gone on these.

DAC

Thanks for the update DAC.

Hey, my wife and I will be in the Hill City area on our bike over the weekend and early next week, then we'll be moving north to the Spearfish area to finish the week.

If you want to hook up for dinner somewhere, let me know. I'll send you my phone number, as I don't have a data plan on my phone so I can't check this stuff while I'm traveling.

Take care,

Clarke

[Ed Snyder]

As you all have probably surmised, I made it home from Wichita in the one ton Suburban yesterday evening. I drove 1778 miles and used 151 gallons of gas for an average of 11.8 mpg. I kept it between 60 and 65 mph for the entire trip which was mostly on interstates until I got to Winnemucca, NV, after which it was two lanes the rest of the way home. I can't remember right now what the overdrive ratio in the Watson box is, but I was probably turning somewhere around 2400 rpm at those speeds. The truck has a tach, but it's not working right now.

About 50 miles outside of Medford there was a truck scales, so I pulled over. The front "axle" weighs 2900 pounds and the rear weighs 3500 for a total of 6400 pounds. I was surprised that the rear weighs that much more than the front.

Until a few years ago when Dad installed lap belts for the driver and right front passenger, the Suburban had no seatbelts. I don't know how the 11 of us survived all those years and thousands of miles without them! Rusty Nut said that if the truck were painted yellow it would look like a school bus. Since school buses have no seatbelts, I guess we were OK without them. I'd feel better now, though, if I could install some 3 point belts at least for the driver and right front seat. And maybe some lap belts for all those rear seats later.

[BarryGMC]

Nice to hear your trip was uneventful. As far as your Watson ratio it depends on the model. It is either. 75 or .83. If you don't mind I would love to hear more about it and see how it was installed. Barry

[Ed Snyder]

Barry -- the tag on the Watson says it's a model 2021. Does that tell you what the ratio is?

I took a couple of photos of it while I was in Wichita. You can see some angle brackets bolted to the frame rails. Looks like some smaller angles on top of them supporting the box.

You can also see some of the "plumbing" Dad ran for filling the 20 gallon saddle tank he installed on the right side of the truck to match the stock tank on the left. Both tanks fill from the left side. Dad had to retrofit a check valve in that crossover hose after experiencing fuel sloshing out the filler neck while driving around a sweeping right hand curve. The fuel in the right side tank was running back into the left tank. There's a selector valve so you can draw fuel from either tank and a toggle switch so you can see the level of the float in either tank too.

[GMCDAC]

Originally Posted by Clarke

Thanks for the update DAC.

Hey, my wife and I will be in the Hill City area on our bike over the weekend and early next week, then we'll be moving north to the Spearfish area to finish the week.

If you want to hook up for dinner somewhere, let me know. I'll send you my phone number, as I don't have a data plan on my phone so I can't check this stuff while I'm traveling.

Take care,

Clarke

Hello Clarke, you're welcome for the update on Foley's hub caps. Thanks for the PM, response is sent. I'm on call at work for a week so that may be a problem, then we leave for Denver that weekend.

Your GMC is a beauty and the camper you built is amazing! Thanks for the pics and story.

Have a great trip to the Hills!

DAC

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by Ed Snyder

As you all have probably surmised, I made it home from Wichita in the one ton Suburban yesterday evening.

Congrats Ed! Glad you made it home safely. Now you have something else to tinker with.

[BarryGMC]

Two things. Dave that trailer has me thinking. Dangerous. I think I may have a good winter project.
Ed that Watson should be .83.. I have had a few of those and have one in my 60. They are the coolest of the Watsons. But they are the hardest to find. I would love to hear the story on its way under the suburban. My info leads me to believe they had been out of production for a while when the 65 was new. Cool indeed. Barry

[GMCDAC]

Hello everyone, David and Carla Clarke's visit to the Black Hills is going well. They were able to make time to come out to our place for a few hours this afternoon, since I am tied to the house pretty much due to being on call at work. My wife grilled some burgers and we had a very enjoyable time! They are great folks and very interesting to converse with. This has been very cool meeting a couple of members from this forum in 7 days!

DAC

[Ed Snyder]

Barry -- When Dad passed the Suburban on to me, he also gave me all his data on it: one 3-ring binder about 2" thick, another about 3" thick, and an expandable folder about 3" thick. He saved every brochure, every receipt, every quote, every drawing he did, etc., during the planning stage, purchase, conversion, and maintenance/repair for the last 49 years.

While I haven't looked at every page yet, I did find the original invoice for purchase of the truck from Sauder-Lygrisse GMC in Wichita. It shows that the Watson overdrive was installed at the dealer when the truck was new for $370.05. At the same time the 305E was swapped for the 351C for $300.54. Total price for truck with all options selected was $4,483.96. Truck was ordered on March 9, 1965, and delivered on May 28, 1965.

There is a "Watson Brownie" brochure in one of the 3-ring binders, but it has no date on it. It does show the Model 2021 has a .82 ratio. I Googled "H. S. Watson Company" to try to find more info, but didn't come up with much. This was interesting, though: http://forums.aths.org/PrintTopic31310.aspx.