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Cooperative Motor Works

Vintage RV & Motorhome restorations - "The GMC Coop"

You are here: Home / The Daily Pose / The Co-op: Boy, I was off the hook yesterday!

April 17, 2018

The Co-op: Boy, I was off the hook yesterday!

FIRE!  The thing that probably put me in that mode was partly being mad at myself for assuming all that *^%#@!@(nliving area modifications the previous owner had put into his coach that I should have ripped out completely to make the coach safe.  I didn’t and it caught on fire.  Then another coach catches fire on Facebook and all the comments were the same.  Look, after 40 years of good intentions…40 years of mechanics doing things and 40 years of rigging stuff to work “for now” ….these coaches are electrical nightmares…….mechanical nightmares having parts being relied upon that are farrrr outside their envelope of reliable life and it seems no one is getting the hint that there needs to be some thought of safety. 

Further frustrating is the fact that getting into the automatic fire suppression business to help protect these beasts there are just so many of you out there that are really unprotected taking chances that you should not.  Fire Fight was started by a GMC owner who really wanted to do something for the community.  He passed away…..GMC enthusiasts made it possible to keep the products going……..a GMC enthusiast came up with the bucks to get things going, a GMC enthusiast will process your order when you call and the products are manufactured in a GMC specialty shop and sent out.  A GMC supplier…me…will help you through the installation.

But truly, this is the reason I got involved in Fire Suppression….i8t’s not a money maker….our stuff is much less than any other similar unit….and a GMC guy came up with it…..and every coach out there with 40 year old dry particle board needs it.

Probably the thing that made me the mddest on the fire I hed here was I assumed………my mistake and I think of all the goofy wiring out their in all of youall’s coaches….hey, what could go wrong?  Everything…here I am supposed to KNOW what I’m doing and I caused a coach to light up! 

The foam did it….I had to use a dry chem first because it was closest….placement on you fire measures is sooo damn important.  I got poisoned personally using that dry chem extinguisher in the coach….Probably shortened my life but it had to happen!  It’s taken me 4 days to get over it….yesterday I was at the apex of feeling bad…..I’m much better today but really, you guys do NOT want this to happen to you!

Please, for your sake, get some form of fire protection NOT dry chemical!  Hey, you don’t like me, you think I’m whatever fine…I have a way of polarizing people but do not let that stop you from protecting yourself and your coach!  That’s more stupid than thinking I have some alterior motive other than not wanting your coach and you to burn up!  That’s just the truth…spin it any way you want but believe me when I tell you….you need fire protection.

This is NOT gratuitous advertising…this is a plea for you to protect yourself.  Call Ada at the shop….407-857-5777….she is a GMC enthusiast and with Jim their GMC has been a great friend to them.  This IS a cult following and we are in it.  I do not want your motorhome to catch fire……….. get rid of any wiring you do not understand or that is wired sloppy, be sure wires are not getting chaffed….flammable fluids are not dripping or any of that of course but as the backup you need on any major component in your coach….backup when your alternator quirts, backup if a tire or air bag blows, ……a backup if you loose your fuel pump…and backup if a fire starts you did not expect….heck, you NEVER expect a fire so if you are not prepared like I was here….things could go bad!

THIS is what I’m on the soap box yelling about!  It effected me directly last week and when I saw a coach burn on Facebook that’s all it took for me!  Please excuse me for my enthusiasm.

I had to go home yesterday, sleep the rest of the effects off and feel descent today but it was all not a good thing…you DO NOT want to go through what I did….please do not!

OK, stuff happened yesterday with me gone…the guys are really taking over….I got no pics but today is hump day so I need to get crackin……….no pics sorry….pardon me for my enthusiasm from yesterday but you know I’m right…….see ya tomorrow.

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Article by jimbounds / The Daily Pose

Comments

  1. Keith T says

    April 17, 2018 at 11:08 AM

    You’re passionate about your work and care, when it’s all said and done that’s a good thing. But, sometimes in the moment it can come across as something else, depending upon the personalities you’re dealing with. All old campers and RV’s are fire traps, even GMC’s nice as they are. Going into denial about that might lead to tragedy, you’re absolutely correct.

  2. Dan Gammon says

    April 17, 2018 at 11:51 AM

    Thanks for the heads up on the dangers of fire in an RV. As a retired Indianapolis Indiana Firefighter, I’ve learned that nothing burns faster than a mobile home or a motorhome. The real threat to sleeping occupants is the deadly fumes emitted by PVC’s (poly vinyl chloride). Wiring and plastic that are beginning to melt and burn can fill a room and render a person unconscious before the flames break out. Possibly before a smoke detector could alert.

  3. Anneke henderson says

    April 17, 2018 at 3:11 PM

    Jim, you are so right about these old MH’s being fire traps. But you personally can only do so much!

    Tom’s dad was Fire Chief in Galveston as he was growing up and he’s always been very conscious of the fire danger involved in driving any vehicle. All our cars are equipped with extinguishers.

    On the road in our Texas Tux we always carried 4 fire extinguishers, located in the front, middle, and back of the coach, one of them assessable from the outside.

    A switch accessible through the grill from the outside can turn off power from the battery in case of an electrical meltdown. Tom also replaced old wiring with marine grade as an added precaution. And we have asked you to add your fire protection system to the engine and gen compartments while you have our coach there.

    So hopefully you’ll never see our Texas Tux in flames!

  4. Scott says

    April 18, 2018 at 11:12 AM

    Hi Jim;

    Your passion for this couldn’t be more evident. Given the types of materials used in a GMC and in other RV’s, performing maintenance to minimize fire risk, having an escape plan if you’re in the coach when it catches fire and if you’re able, having a fire suppression plan and response are all important. the MOST important is the protection of life. Do the things that will reduce the risk of fire and should a fire happen DON’T go back into the coach.

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