I'm starting an overhaul on this baby and I realize it will be quite the project. It will be my first foray into trying to recondition a travel trailer but I'm looking forward to the challenge.There will be lots of questions in the upcoming months so I guess I will start with this. It looks like the wall thermostat for the heat/furnace is missing....I do have paperwork on it and it WAS a Cam Stat T17H or TM17H (not sure which...the manual has both printed on it) so are there special RV thermostats or can I just pick one up at the hardware store?While I'm at it - and a related question - I found the furnace and it looks like it has new duct work. There is one hose that goes from the furnace to a louvered vent cover which I assume is my main source of heat but I saw another hose that comes out the other side of the furnace and it just runs underneath the dinette benches and just ends there. Like it's just laying there - an open hose, which I'm sure isn't correct...any thoughts on that would be great. I'm wondering if it's supposed to blow heat into the bathroom? At any rate if I don't end up using it I would think I should seal that off because just having a hose blow heat into a bench compartment doesn't seem like a good idea.

With any project like this, the key is PICTURES!!! PICTURES!!! PICTURES!!!(Did I make my point?:B)The thermostat should be similar to what you have in your house, but at worst, you could pay a bit more, and get one from an RV Center...if you are trying to restore the RV to "original".If you are just trying to make it liveable, a lot of the small things won't matter to much.As for the vent. Is there any sort of vent grill under the dinette bench? If you think that this would be a good place to have one, you may want to make that change part of your project. A lot will depend on the size of the RV, as well as the weather you plan on camping in. If you won't have much need for the furnace, this isn't going to matter much.Personally, I'd keep it in place, and install a vent.Good luck with the project...there are lots of folks here, who can help you along the way, but as I think I may have mentioned, PICTURES!!!:B

Ha...thanks Pappy! I realize pics are key. I do have a lot of pictures and to be honest I actually started a few threads on some different RV boards. I haven't got much response yet so I was feeling a little frustrated and didn't bother to go to the trouble here. Maybe I will get more response from this site...is there a specific build section on this forum site? I even have some videos of my initial walkthrough :-) As far as the thermostat and vent situation as I mentioned there is one hose that leads to a heater vent and now that I think about it that other hose that is laying underneath the dinette benches, that is new construction there from what I can tell. perhaps he had another vent underneath the dinette benches? So if I hooked that one up, there would be two dryer vents in the main portion of the trailer. Does that sound right? The first one that I mentioned is more towards the front of the trailer where the U shaped sitting area is.Regarding my overall I have no interest in keeping things original. But in fact I'm going for more of a retro look. But I want to keep what is good and fix what needs to be fixed. I will go into more detail once I start a build thread here. Thanks for your help!

Ok..here are a ton of pics for anyone interested. This is a 17' 1977 Holiday Rambler Wide World addition that I picked up for $190. It has clean title, new license plate and tabs. Yes, it's a project and I've heard people say that I should run from it and have nothing to do with it but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I have plenty of time on my hands. Ha haI'm not looking to make it a showroom piece and I'll use what I can. Elbow grease I have so I'll do what I can. There is some corner rot and a bit of ceiling rot at those corners. The bathroom floor is horrible and needs to be redone but the rest of the floor seems solid. Walls seem pretty good but I'm just guessing at this point until I start opening things up. The last few days I've found that the propane on the stove and oven works...the fridge works via electric. (not sure about propane yet) The windows are in great shape...that's what really attracted me to this project. I picturing sitting in the forward "lounging area" (ha ha....I fancied that up!) and having a nearly 180 degree view. One bad thing that I discovered is that the hot water heater leaks...bad! Some ways that I've already figured out I can save money is I know I can paint the horrible faux wood grained cabinets and bench dinette area. (several different ways to do this I have found via google) I've also decided that I will use corrugate steel as a decorating item (very hip, cheap and easy to use) and I can cover areas of the wood grain without even painting over the wood grain. At any rate...on to the pics! WARNING - they are not pretty. :)

Another question I have is regarding hot water...It seems like the price to either fix or replace this original hot water heater is going to be quite expensive. Has anyone used an on demand type like I have pictured? I use one of my hot dog cart and it works quite well. I know they are originally made for portable showers in a camping environment but I can't see why I couldn't use it in this situation. It needs to be vented so it needs to be mounted outside. Thoughts?

Some of the old thermostats only controlled the gas for the heater. The fan may be conrolled by nothing more than a Thermodisc. As the heat gets above say 130 degrees F the fan will start and when the temp gets below 90-100 degrees F the fan will shut off since the contacts in the Thermodisc are normally open. I'm not saying yours is that way, but it is old enough that it may be.As far as your water heater, it is usually easier to replace it (decent prices off the internet) with a like model. The old Bowen heaters are now made by Atwood. I replaced my old Bowen with an Atwood with an electric igniter. I'm not familiar with your particular instant water heater.If the structure of your trailer is in good condition, your project can be a lot of fun and very rewarding if you just take your time and don't give up. There is a lot of work required. I only caution you on the structure, because that is where I would draw the line on trying to fix one. A Holiday Rambler was a decent trailer when they were new.

Starting an overhaul on '77 Holiday Rambler Wide World

33 Replies

djdawg
Explorer
Jun 23, 2013
Ok..here are a ton of pics for anyone interested. This is a 17' 1977 Holiday Rambler Wide World addition that I picked up for $190. It has clean title, new license plate and tabs. Yes, it's a project and I've heard people say that I should run from it and have nothing to do with it but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I have plenty of time on my hands. Ha ha

I'm not looking to make it a showroom piece and I'll use what I can. Elbow grease I have so I'll do what I can. There is some corner rot and a bit of ceiling rot at those corners. The bathroom floor is horrible and needs to be redone but the rest of the floor seems solid. Walls seem pretty good but I'm just guessing at this point until I start opening things up.

The last few days I've found that the propane on the stove and oven works...the fridge works via electric. (not sure about propane yet) The windows are in great shape...that's what really attracted me to this project. I picturing sitting in the forward "lounging area" (ha ha....I fancied that up!) and having a nearly 180 degree view. One bad thing that I discovered is that the hot water heater leaks...bad!

Some ways that I've already figured out I can save money is I know I can paint the horrible faux wood grained cabinets and bench dinette area. (several different ways to do this I have found via google) I've also decided that I will use corrugate steel as a decorating item (very hip, cheap and easy to use) and I can cover areas of the wood grain without even painting over the wood grain.

At any rate...on to the pics! WARNING - they are not pretty. :)
djdawg
Explorer
Jun 23, 2013
Ha...thanks Pappy! I realize pics are key. I do have a lot of pictures and to be honest I actually started a few threads on some different RV boards. I haven't got much response yet so I was feeling a little frustrated and didn't bother to go to the trouble here. Maybe I will get more response from this site...is there a specific build section on this forum site? I even have some videos of my initial walkthrough :-)

As far as the thermostat and vent situation as I mentioned there is one hose that leads to a heater vent and now that I think about it that other hose that is laying underneath the dinette benches, that is new construction there from what I can tell. perhaps he had another vent underneath the dinette benches? So if I hooked that one up, there would be two dryer vents in the main portion of the trailer. Does that sound right? The first one that I mentioned is more towards the front of the trailer where the U shaped sitting area is.

Regarding my overall I have no interest in keeping things original. But in fact I'm going for more of a retro look. But I want to keep what is good and fix what needs to be fixed. I will go into more detail once I start a build thread here. Thanks for your help!
PapPappy
Explorer
Jun 23, 2013
With any project like this, the key is PICTURES!!! PICTURES!!! PICTURES!!!
(Did I make my point?:B)

The thermostat should be similar to what you have in your house, but at worst, you could pay a bit more, and get one from an RV Center...if you are trying to restore the RV to "original".

If you are just trying to make it liveable, a lot of the small things won't matter to much.

As for the vent. Is there any sort of vent grill under the dinette bench? If you think that this would be a good place to have one, you may want to make that change part of your project. A lot will depend on the size of the RV, as well as the weather you plan on camping in. If you won't have much need for the furnace, this isn't going to matter much.
Personally, I'd keep it in place, and install a vent.

Good luck with the project...there are lots of folks here, who can help you along the way, but as I think I may have mentioned, PICTURES!!!:B

Forum Discussion

Starting an overhaul on '77 Holiday Rambler Wide World

33 Replies

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

2024 Holiday Rambler

Camper Overhaul?

Carb Overhaul, Pointless?

P30 Suspension Overhaul

Holiday Rambler anyone?