How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

[whiteknight001]

I'm new here, and curious.

How many of us in Class C own Dodge B300 incomplete
cab/chassis based RV's? I know two others- Steve aka
Ripsaw, with a 1977 Brougham, and Leroy aka 1978_Dodge
_Delta who owns a 440V8 powered sharp looking 1978
Delta RV. I would like to ask, and offer, help, idea
swapping and comparing notes on our particular RV's
which are based on the Dodge B300 van chassis.

Yeah, I know. These are low tech, podgy old RV's that
would be considered "entry level" for folks like me,
but I have a deep and abiding respect for the quality
of these old "monsters of the open road". And anyone
wanting to pick brains, joke about, share notes or just
brag about our old A- Dodge-io's are certainly welcome
to PM or email me. Between all of us we can form a real
good support group, and help each other with problems
we know we'll encounter with an older vehicle.

Sure. I'd love a new RV. But I'd rather have an older
one already paid for, and a lotta great memories. Call
me frugal, an old hippie, or whatever you will. I'm proud
of my old land yacht.

Mopar Madness Manifest in the flesh,

Mark aka White Knight

P.S. Mine's a '72. Is there an older one out there someone's
motorvating in? Maybe even a Travco? W/K

[Mr_Mopar_]

Noodleman wrote:
Godd advice Griff, I'll look at that soon as I'm ready to take the beast back out on the road. My wife has me working cosmetics at the moment. Did discover one interesting thing when i took the dog house out to look for motor size. There is a HOLE in te transmission housing on the top. It's cut, so I'm guessing it's supposed to be there, I'm just wondering if it shouldn't have a plug in it? I can look down intot eh innards of the transmission. Not sure I should be able to do that.

That hole in the bellhousing area of the transmission is where you would aim your timing light to time the engine. This is assuming the torque converer has not been replaced with with one without the timing marks in it. I have seen this happen many times on older Vans and motor homes. I have never seen a plug in the hole and shouldn't really be nessassary.
while you have the dog house off you might take a look at all of the vacuum hoses and line for crakes and brittle areas and if there is any rubber lines going to the carb really check this out good for fuel leaks.

Rodney

[Noodleman]

Godd advice Griff, I'll look at that soon as I'm ready to take the beast back out on the road. My wife has me working cosmetics at the moment. Did discover one interesting thing when i took the dog house out to look for motor size. There is a HOLE in te transmission housing on the top. It's cut, so I'm guessing it's supposed to be there, I'm just wondering if it shouldn't have a plug in it? I can look down intot eh innards of the transmission. Not sure I should be able to do that.

[Mr_Mopar_]

hwguru wrote:
Hey Mr. Mopar!

I've got a question:

I have a 1979 Fleetwood Flair, that did not come with a rooftop A/C unit. I have come across one that i can purchace cheap that does work. Am I going to need to build a frame in the roof to support the weight of the A/C unit? or should there already be one there, and i just need to remove the middle roof vent, and cut out enough rooof material for it to fit?

thanks

when I removed my a/c unit cuz I didn't really think I needed it. I was able to buy a vent to fit the hole no problem. you will have to see how it measures up. you just need to pay attention to the support around the area you are mount the unit see how the extra weight affects the roof. pay close to the the new seal you will be using that it truly is sealing the roof to the A/C unit
Good luck
Rodney

[hwguru]

Hey Mr. Mopar!

I've got a question:

I have a 1979 Fleetwood Flair, that did not come with a rooftop A/C unit. I have come across one that i can purchace cheap that does work. Am I going to need to build a frame in the roof to support the weight of the A/C unit? or should there already be one there, and i just need to remove the middle roof vent, and cut out enough rooof material for it to fit?

thanks

[donran]

Thanks, that answers the support problems. Today I start playing with the garden hose and anywhere water should run in the RV. I hope when I open the dump valves and run water in i'm not surprised in a bad way. I think there must be an isolation circuit someway. The alternator was charging something for about 6 hours during the 400 mile drive home and the lights all work on the inside. I found some batteries in the outside cubby holes. I wonder if there is a built in charger, doubt it, but I had better check, and battery levels.

The underbelly propane tank has rust all over it, I figure to clean the rust of and paint it with black rustoleum.

This is a situation where somebody tried to save this RV by spending some good money on it (engine valve job, custom carburator and intake manifold, new gas tank and lines, new hoses and heater valves), but it ended up sitting for some time, maybe a year then they traded it in on a car and I bought it.

Some times when vehicles sit for a very long time the tempered glass windows just shatter. One of the over cab small side windows did that. The dealer replaced two of the duel rear tires, because of bubbles in them and one went flat. While the previous owner did the heads, the mains and rings look bad with low oil pressure and oil usage. The automatic tranmission works great but looks old. I had to unbolt the seat to get it to back enough to drive it home. This is probably the most serious problem, since the shower and toilet are right behind the drivers seat. Perhaps removing the back of the seat and using the shower compartment as a back stop will be enough..need to test.

Still, for my first try at owning an RV I'm happy.

[Mr_Mopar_]

donran wrote:
We just bought a 1976 Dodge Sportsman with a Surveyor on the frame. I find it just facinating besides being old and worn, everything seems to work, so far.

What I was curious is is how strong they are. How much weight can the roof hold. Are the various shelving on the inside part of the structure that holds up the walls. Can you strip stuff out, or do the walls fall down?

It came with a manuel for the Dodge truck and its 360 engine. It appears it will need a lot more inspecting and care then a car, and is mush less forgiving of maintenance ignors then a car.

I sure wouldn't change to much interior supports to the roof panel unless you compensate for the support in another area. From my experences up on the roofs they are made of 1 x 1's or a little larger and the tin is laid over the top and the interior panels are install. That's not much support unless there is support holding up from the inside up. When I am on the top of my home I try an walk on the edges and stay away from the center as much as possible. You sure don't want to break any seals and create leaks that could be prevented.

Yep your home has all the maintance of an auto and a home on wheels. you need to take care that your holding tanks are in good shape, you should have a 12 volt battery for the coach that needs to be kept charged and inspected from time to time. I found my battery was being boilded dry when I had the home plugged in to 110 power. it took me 2 batterys to figure out the electric control panel which has a 12 volt charger built in it for the battery was over charging. an easy fix after I relized what whas going on. you shouldn't run any propane and have the valve at the tank off when driving. this is a law in some states. you need to take care in colder weather that you don't freeze up your H2O lines and tanks. got to drain everything even the hot water heater and I will blow air thru the lines to make sure all is clear before storing it for the colder seasons. this is just a few things that come to mind, I'm sure others can add to the list.
Rodney

[Mr_Mopar_]

jrceo wrote:
hi , my mechanic ROBBED my $$.. $100 hr for labor at 10 hrs. dam what a ripp off.. he didn't even get my rv fixed.. the problem is this. when I connect the negative batter cable ,it want to start? why., I changed the resistor and the starter relay. so I don't now what could be the problem maybe a wire along the way??? help. the starter has just been replaced.. what should I be looking for? help. thanks jr

Sorry to hear that after all your expense it's not fixed. why did you pay him if it was still had the same problem? is this intermittent or does it try and start every time you hook up the cable?
Check the wires going to the starter relay for any hot spots or or where they may have been spliced or repaired. sounds like you have fused wires in contact all the time. I would also check the ignition switch and wires and plug connectors to it for melting and fused wires. what year home do you have?

[Mr_Mopar_]

sandysz wrote:
Mr. Mopar.....Hey.......My windshield wipers did 2 swipes and then quit. I took a new motor and plugged it into the connector and grounded the casing. It did not work. but when the switch is on high the white wire and the purple wire lugs are hot. on low the white wire and brown wire lugs are hot. is that the way that it is supposed to be? does that mean that it is the wiper motor??? Thanks for the help..........Sandy

if you are getting power to the motor and the motor is grounded properly and the motor doesn't work I would try another motor.
When my wipers were giving me the same problem I found that the ground thru the bolts to the cowl weren't making contact so I ran another ground wire from the case to the cowl an haven't had any more problem. you might give your old motor another try and be sure your grounds are completing the circuit.
Rodney

[donran]

We just bought a 1976 Dodge Sportsman with a Surveyor on the frame. I find it just facinating besides being old and worn, everything seems to work, so far.

What I was curious is is how strong they are. How much weight can the roof hold. Are the various shelving on the inside part of the structure that holds up the walls. Can you strip stuff out, or do the walls fall down?

It came with a manuel for the Dodge truck and its 360 engine. It appears it will need a lot more inspecting and care then a car, and is mush less forgiving of maintenance ignors then a car.

[jrceo]

hi , my mechanic ROBBED my $$.. $100 hr for labor at 10 hrs. dam what a ripp off.. he didnt even get my rv fixed.. the problem is this. when I connect the negative batter cable ,it want to start? why., i changed the risitor and the starter relay. so I dont now what could be the problem maybe a wire along the way??? help. the starter has just been replaced.. what should I be looking for? help. thanks jr

[gmantwo]

One other thing, the skin on the left and right side of my camper, right where the overhang above the cab starts, has splits going up towards the top. I'm thinking that's from wind pressure against the overhang, but I'm not sure. They are caulked, but if wind pressure is doing it, I'm wondering about anchoring the overhang to the cab or bumper in some way??Greg

[gmantwo]

Hey all, just bought my first motorhome. A 1974 dodge with a 2500 mile 318 on a 1 ton frame. Most of the interior has been redone except for the dinette cushions. Has new paneling, AC, small apartment style electric fridge-new, carpet and a new water tank. A newer generac generator has been set in place but isn't completly hooked up. I'm pretty handy so I hope not to have too much trouble getting it going. Can I run the generator going down the road? The only AC is the roof unit. Should you run the propane water heater while moving? I've ordered a shop manual, but it only covers the chassis. Anywhere I can find a manual on the camper section. Hope to enjoy this thing for a while and am VERY anxious to get going. Greg:B

[sandysz]

Mr. Mopar.....Hey.......My windshield wipers did 2 swipes and then quit. I took a new motor and plugged it into the connector and grounded the casing. It did not work. but when the switch is on high the white wire and the purple wire lugs are hot. on low the white wire and brown wire lugs are hot. is that the way that it is supposed to be? does that mean that it is the wiper motor??? Thanks for the help..........Sandy

[Mr_Mopar_]

Southernsuzy wrote:
Hi all we have a 1978 Dodge Free Spirit class C , does anyone out there have one or know anyone withone........ would like to chat on repairs... Suzy...

Hi Suzy.
what you got a question about? there is a lot of good help here.
I don't spend enough time here myself but I will try and check back from time to time. This thread has really GROWN since I was here last.
TTFN
Rodney

[Old_Bob]

Thanks for the info Unionguy 1019. I climed up on the roof and you are correct, there is a fold every few feet.Going to check out the rubber repair. Put in the side windows but had a hard time finding the caulking. Got some from the rv dealer a few miles from here, he had one roll of buytal? and another place had a roll of tape putty. The buytal was not thick enough so had to double it. 20 ft did one window.The tape putty worked great(grey looking caulking stuff)Found a place to get it now. The guy that had this rig before was a worse carpenter than me ( unbelieveable but true) He screwed the roof down in the back through nothing but the insulation. No wonder it has leaks.You live in a great part of Pa. I had a camp in Barney town Huntington county and got up your way lots of time. I'll keep you posted on the roof. Thanks Again