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Diagaro_Enthio's avatar
Diagaro_Enthio
Explorer
Mar 08, 2013

First time owner. Seasoned road junkie.

Hey ya'll, my wife and I just bought a Class A RV for $2500 in the south bay from a private party.
We got some standard questions for the most part and some showing off.
First pix if I can fuggure out how to post . . .





So its got a 440(-3?? -- the plugs are under the cast iron manifold, seemingly only accesible from the undercarriage rather than from the interior)
Unknown transmission.
A carter thermoquad carburetor (referred to as TQ from now on)


I am having a heck of a time even finding proof of this particular RV ever existing overshadowed by the xplorer.
Its a 26, 27, or 28 footer, the make is "Explorer"
I'd love to have a PDF or paper owners/repair manual for it.

Some other fun stuff. After we bought it, finding the expected need for snocoat on the roof and some deep cleaning in and out, drove fine around town and took the cash out to buy it and fill the primry tank. left his house, hit the shell station and headed towards State highway 1. Then it sputtered, intake manifold backfired and died in the middle of 3pm traffic.
Bricks were passed ad a sense of doom overcame me. We had no option to U-turn and take it back to the sellers house but we limped to the outskirts of town and into a state campground where we paid for our spot and some fire wood.
After a night of beer and sleep we found that it idles for about 45- 60 minutes, drives 6.5 miles in city and ????? on a highway @ 55+mph (didn't wanna try it!)
Now its in a shop for $800 the guy is convinced its the carburetor.
Guess its a good thing I didn't B-line for the freeway, I don't have faith it would have made it the 75 miles home through the mountains into San Jose, or through to Oakland.
So anybody got any info or suggestions for us?
Class A

50 Replies

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  • Dale_Traveling's avatar
    Dale_Traveling
    Explorer II
    Mar 08, 2013
    Looks like you have an aftermarket fuel filter on top of the engine passenger side to the back of the carburetor. Looks a bit red which could be rust.

    Based on you break down description, in particular the intake back fire I would hit the ignition system along with fuel tank rust. Plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor. You should have a electronic ignition and no points. There could be a heat related failure. Check the timing also. The carburetor is an OK guess but how did you ever get it to start if there is a problem there?

    Check the date code on the tires. Don't want them to get too old. RV tires rot rather than wear out, most of the time.
  • Daveinet's avatar
    Daveinet
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    Diagaro Enthio wrote:
    For sure, Though the tanks are clean and bright red painted, and both tanks have shiny new rubber hoses and fuel filters in the rear, I'm in a state of dichotomy about the TQ, I'm getting mixed messages from google searches.
    But yea the tanks are comming down Asap anyways cause I godda check the level sending units as the gauge don't work.
    Ok, this may be a bad sign, rather than a good sign. I read this as they don't know what was wrong with it, assumed a fuel delivery problem and replaced all the fuel lines and cleaned the tanks. Quite simply, a fuel problem is not likely to show up after the vehicle has been driven for 45 minutes and then mysteriously go away after that, unless it has an electronic fuel pump that has a poor connection.

    Based on the fact that it runs after it cools down, the top of my list would be a bad coil. Maybe a bad condenser, but I would suspect the coil first. If for some reason you really need to prove out a fuel problem, carry a can of WD40 with you. When it cuts out, spray it down the carb. If it doesn't come back to life, then the problem is not fuel. (WD40 can be used as starting fluid, but is not as aggressive as ether.
  • Diagaro_Enthio's avatar
    Diagaro_Enthio
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    That makes me think, I wonder if this mechanic can't get it going I should get some dryer hose and route a cold air intake and maybe a 12v fan for the grille.
    I could really cool off that space under the doghouse with a little jerry rigging.
    Least just to get it home, where I have nothing but time to iron this **** out.
  • johnsonbert's avatar
    johnsonbert
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    We had a 73 Escapade 26" on the dodge 300 chassis, JC Whitney used to carry all kinds of parts for it. This was in the late 90's, might check them out. It had a 413 with the 727 and it was a beast, but did not get any mileage at all. It also had troubles overheating the exhaust manifolds causing them to warp some. Had to set up venting of fresh air to keep them cooled down. Enjoy it. Bert
  • dakdave's avatar
    dakdave
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    congats on your purchase.I would get at least an 8 ton bottle jack better yet a 12 ton for motorhome because of bidder footprint on bottum,safer.
    As for lugs get breaker bar extension and socket of proper size.Takes up less room and has more uses than lug wrench.
  • BigRabbitMan's avatar
    BigRabbitMan
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    Your transmission is probably a Chrysler 727 LoadFlite three speed. That is a good transmission and was widely used.
  • Diagaro_Enthio's avatar
    Diagaro_Enthio
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    MrWizard wrote:
    dodge/chrysler M50 chassis
    everything in the drive train, brakes and chassis electrical is dodge
    you can get a chassis/truck manual for the engine and chassis

    all the appliances are std RV appliances and most of the instructions and manuals are available online

    the placement of 12v 'HOUSE' wiring and the 120v wiring will be individual to that model MH, but once you locate and identify, where each is located, you will have most of the info needed for any trouble shooting


    Right for the most part its cut and dry, once you've dealt with 120AC or 12DC its just knowing how to differentiate the two by where the power source comes from or what kind of appliance it goes to.
    And as for the plumbing and gas it should be mostly copper, clear plastic and PVC.
    And yea I looked a little into the M50 chassis.
    The only thing I'm really grappling with mechanically aside from the power plant is the crazy huge lug nuts (5 lug) haven't measured them but they look to be about 1 1/4 - 1/2" as the two outter rear tires will need to be replaced before we drive for extended periods of time.
    I'm hoping I can find the proper lug wrench at walmart if not I suppose camping world should have it.
    And speaking of what kind of jack would I want to suspend this beast off the ground? Least a 2 ton right?
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Mar 08, 2013
    dodge/chrysler M50 chassis
    everything in the drive train, brakes and chassis electrical is dodge
    you can get a chassis/truck manual for the engine and chassis

    all the appliances are std RV appliances and most of the instructions and manuals are available online

    the placement of 12v 'HOUSE' wiring and the 120v wiring will be individual to that model MH, but once you locate and identify, where each is located, you will have most of the info needed for any trouble shooting
  • Diagaro_Enthio's avatar
    Diagaro_Enthio
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    For sure, Though the tanks are clean and bright red painted, and both tanks have shiny new rubber hoses and fuel filters in the rear, I'm in a state of dichotomy about the TQ, I'm getting mixed messages from google searches.
    But yea the tanks are comming down Asap anyways cause I godda check the level sending units as the gauge don't work.
  • 301TBS's avatar
    301TBS
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2013
    Had a similar experience with a customers C class Ford 460. They bought it and it had been sitting for a long time. To make a really long story short, I pulled the fuel tank, and the sender was rusted off, the tank inside was a ball of rust. Sitting too long without a full tank caused condensation that rotted from the inside. After repairs, his son took it to B.C., down to California and back to Ontario without missing a beat!
    Make sure the tank is clean before you plug up another Thermocrud.
    Good luck, thanks for the pics.

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