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CanadianConundr's avatar
CanadianConundr
Explorer
Oct 04, 2015

Class C Construction Hackery

Hello! First time poster on the forum here with what is probably a pretty dumb question:

Recently a family friend came into possession of two early 70s class C motorhomes, a 73 Chevy Open Road* and a 78 dodge Sportsman, and because he has no use for them himself he's offered to sell them to my family for a screaming deal if we take both. The 78 is in good shape and only needs brake work (which I can do myself), but the 73, while mechanically sound save for a fuel pump issue, is in pretty rough shape and not really fit for human habitation. Now, as you probably can imagine my family doesn't need two motor homes,let alone that's been almost totally stripped inside, so we were going to use the 73 as a chicken coop (my parent's have been wanting to build a chicken coop for a while but it'd be way cheaper to just use the 73). But after inspecting the 73 it turns out that the frame and chassis cab that the rv was originally built on is in amazing shape and would fit a cube van box I've been looking for a chassis for almost perfectly. So this is all really just a long winded way of getting to my real question:

Would it be possible to remove the rv portion of a class C from the frame and chassis cab it was based on while leaving the rv portion and chassis pieces in usable condition?

I know its ambitious and likely would result in allot of damage to the rv portion (no idea what the technical name for it is lol) but I think its doable if I understand class C construction well enough.

Any suggestions welcome! I'm fairly experienced with pulling stuff off other stuff (see the cube box I'd like to put on the 73's frame that I pulled off an old fire service truck) and I have access to a tractor with front forks so heavy lifting is possible


The gist of it for those who didn't want to, understanbly, read that sprawling mess is I need to pull the rv portion off the chassis and cab portions of a 73 chevy Sportcoatch and I'd like to have both in repairable condition by the end of it.
Class C

10 Replies

  • Hank85713's avatar
    Hank85713
    Explorer
    Oct 06, 2015
    really if he was a good friend he would just give em to you to get rid of them. Thats what I did. Friend wanted a slide in camper to go hunting, had one which would not fit the pickups. He had a 97 F250 4x4 so I borrowed it and gave the camper to him. No it was not pristine but no leaks and would suffice as a good hunting camper. Anyhow, ask if the 'friend' would be willing to do that as $500 for 30 year old unkown vehicle is actually too much I think. You will sink a fortune in tires and tuneups etc for such a great deal. WIll be cheaper than something new but.....................
  • CanadianConundr's avatar
    CanadianConundr
    Explorer
    Oct 05, 2015
    ron.dittmer wrote:
    Based on your description, I think the going rate is $1 (One Dollar) for each. That is because of the cost of towing them and most often the new owner will put a lot of time and some cash into the restoration, just to give up and call a junk yard to haul away the chassis, leaving the owner with a dismantled half rotten house on his property with the difficult task of disposing of it.

    If one of those chassis is that good and can be made into a very reliable vehicle with minimal investment, I think you would be much better converting that chassis into the box truck you need.

    Every once in a while, someone on this forum will buy an old class C to restore. They all give up with only one fellow who was successful in completion. That one fellow did it right, doing it to last. But he put so much into it, so much more work trying to reuse unique parts specific to that rig. It was way too much work. I think it would be so much easier to build a new rig from scratch than trying to reuse junk-status components.

    Then there is the concern over mold in between the walls which is another issue.

    Unless you have nothing better to do with your time, and have no trouble with walking away after putting in so many hours and money into a dead end project, then buy them for $1 each. $2 each is one dollar too much.

    Sorry for the "downer" reply, but that is my opinion.


    Eh, I understand your concern

    The 78 dodge Sportsman we got in the deal is in pretty good shape, it was the former owners hunting vehicle and it was stored under a large tarp for most of its life. The former owner got a truck camper recently and doesn't need the 78 anymore. Once I get the breaks sorted out my parents were thinking of taking the 78 for personal usage.

    The 73 is in a bit rougher shape, the interior was stripped by the former owner and used as something of a 'parts' vehicle for the 78 (the former owner took the stove, fridge and a bunch of the built in furniture) so the interior of the house portion is almost entirely gutted.

    Overall, as it stands at the moment, we're getting both the vehicles for $500 ($500 for the 78 + the 73 for free if we take it too). The former owner's something of a family friend so he opted not to have them scrapped when he heard we were looking for something-
  • ron_dittmer's avatar
    ron_dittmer
    Explorer III
    Oct 05, 2015
    CanadianConundrum wrote:
    ....because he has no use for them himself he's offered to sell them to my family for a screaming deal if we take both.
    Based on your description, I think the going rate is $1 (One Dollar) for each. That is because of the cost of towing them and most often the new owner will put a lot of time and some cash into the restoration, just to give up and call a junk yard to haul away the chassis, leaving the owner with a dismantled half rotten house on his property with the difficult task of disposing of it.

    If one of those chassis is that good and can be made into a very reliable vehicle with minimal investment, I think you would be much better converting that chassis into the box truck you need.

    Every once in a while, someone on this forum will buy an old class C to restore. They all give up with only one fellow who was successful in completion. That one fellow did it right, doing it to last. But he put so much into it, so much more work trying to reuse unique parts specific to that rig. It was way too much work. I think it would be so much easier to build a new rig from scratch than trying to reuse junk-status components.

    Then there is the concern over mold in between the walls which is another issue.

    Unless you have nothing better to do with your time, and have no trouble with walking away after putting in so many hours and money into a dead end project, then buy them for $1 each. $2 each is one dollar too much.

    Sorry for the "downer" reply, but that is my opinion.
  • mredneck's avatar
    mredneck
    Explorer
    Oct 05, 2015
    We will need progress pics as you remove the "house" from the chassis.
  • CanadianConundr's avatar
    CanadianConundr
    Explorer
    Oct 05, 2015
    DrewE wrote:
    IMHO you would be better off constructing a chicken coop separately. You would certainly need to strip the RV chassis interior fairly well before the chickens could use it (you definitely don't want a carpeted chicken coop, for instance, and probably not many of the other interior furnishings). Given how lightly most RVs are constructed, I doubt it would last all that well with ready access to the ground and the elements. You'd have to go up and reseal the roof of your coop every year or two.

    The main thing I can think of to look out for in making a box truck is the cutaway-ness of the cab. Many RV makers, at least presently, cut a good portion of the roof away, besides having the open back of the cab. You'd have to fabricate some sort of something to enclose that. It's not an exotic problem, of course, but is additional work when compared to some other sources of a chassis.


    The inside of the rv is already almost entirely stripped (from what I understand most of the interior was put into the 78 dodge Sportsman)and as part of pulling the house off the chassis I was going to build up a pressure treated wood frame underneath the house which should keep it a good distance from the ground. If the weather proves to be an issue, the rv's been stored outside most of its life and hasn't run into any issues besides some minor leaks so far, I can probably built some sort of metal roof over the top of it to help rain and snow slide off.

    I never really considered the cab situation, but hopefully the overhang and front sliding door on the box I have should be able to be grafted onto the cab with a bit of sheet metal and tar.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Oct 05, 2015
    IMHO you would be better off constructing a chicken coop separately. You would certainly need to strip the RV chassis interior fairly well before the chickens could use it (you definitely don't want a carpeted chicken coop, for instance, and probably not many of the other interior furnishings). Given how lightly most RVs are constructed, I doubt it would last all that well with ready access to the ground and the elements. You'd have to go up and reseal the roof of your coop every year or two.

    The main thing I can think of to look out for in making a box truck is the cutaway-ness of the cab. Many RV makers, at least presently, cut a good portion of the roof away, besides having the open back of the cab. You'd have to fabricate some sort of something to enclose that. It's not an exotic problem, of course, but is additional work when compared to some other sources of a chassis.
  • navegator's avatar
    navegator
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2015
    Check where the "house" portion sits on the frame some older units actually sit on wood and are bolted down with square "U" bolts, then as was suggested, lift house remove truck portion and lower on cinder blocks.

    navegator
  • burlmart's avatar
    burlmart
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2015
    i think you have a stick-built (likely wood) frame that began atop a plywood deck that was bolted to the steel chassis frame. seems to me that after you find and remove all the bolts/lag-screws as well as figure out all the adhesives and connectors between coach (house 'box') and cab, and disconnect, then, as you stated, some temp framing that will tie studs to plywood floor and which you can get your tractor lift forks under...should work.

    there is no standard construction detailing for motorhomes...but if you are seeing wood and not metal studs, your thinking is sound.
  • CanadianConundr's avatar
    CanadianConundr
    Explorer
    Oct 04, 2015
    Dakzuki wrote:
    Unless it is a molded fiberglass house on the back I think you are not going to have any luck removing it as one unit. They are built up in place on the truck chassis and in that era most of them have a lot of wood framework in them. They rely on the truck chassis for their rigidity. IF you could get the floor unbolted from the truck chassis, you would likely be trying to lift a wet noodle off the back. The only way I could see doing it is move the whole thing to the final resting place, separate the house from the truck, lift the house and pull the truck out from underneath. Personally I think fabricating a purpose built chicken coop is a better idea and less work.


    Fair point

    Lifting up the back of the rv with the tractor, building a basic frame underneath, taking the axle off and removing the from the rv probably wouldn't be too challenging. Especially if I remove the back axle (there's almost no rust on anything down there so with the impact that shouldn't be too much work) and I'm able to get two largeish beams close to where the truck frame is.

    Time and effort aren't really big factors, cost is the main thing
  • Dakzuki's avatar
    Dakzuki
    Explorer II
    Oct 04, 2015
    Unless it is a molded fiberglass house on the back I think you are not going to have any luck removing it as one unit. They are built up in place on the truck chassis and in that era most of them have a lot of wood framework in them. They rely on the truck chassis for their rigidity. IF you could get the floor unbolted from the truck chassis, you would likely be trying to lift a wet noodle off the back. The only way I could see doing it is move the whole thing to the final resting place, separate the house from the truck, lift the house and pull the truck out from underneath. Personally I think fabricating a purpose built chicken coop is a better idea and less work.

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