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

[whiteknight001]

But, the area is not sealed from the engine compartment. Peeling it back, I found a couple grommets or seals that were missing. So, as the engine worked pretty hard to bring us home in 90+ heat and 90%+ humidity, all that engine heat was trying to cook my wife and I in the cab. In addition to replacing those seals, what else can I do to cut down the heat exchange from the engine to the Cab? Then... my second question for now. The engine never really overheated, but the dog house did become rather warm to the touch... I hope I'm not about to unleash a highly debateable topic... but what have some of ya'll done to get these to run a little cooler? It was fine first thing in the morning, and later in the evening, but through the heat of the day, It seemed the cooling system just couldn't keep up.

Thanks a bunch, and I'll get a few pictures once I do a little cleaning. 🙂


Eyeteeth,

Firstoff, do your homework on the cooling system. Check it out thoroughly, make sure that all your belts/hoses/water pump
and radidiator/thermostat are in good condition. Replace what
you need to, and flush the block and radidiator. Make sure to
pressure wash all the bugs and crunchies outta the fins, and
invest in a "fin comb"- look in JCWhitney- they have one- and
straighten out the fins in the radidiator and A/C condenser.
Check the radiator cap and add a overflow tank kit if one ain't
there. Then, refill with 50/50 coolant and water. For the doghouse,
pull it off and make sure all your hold downs are still there.
If they're not, happy hunting in the salvage yard- find a van with a
good set of hold downs or better doghouse and get it. My local NAPA
had the doghouse gasket rubber by the foot, check around and measure.
Replace those two items- the hold downs and the gasket. and you're
88% there. There is a foil faced insulation for underhood use- check
locally or JCWhitney, and line that doghouse LOVINGLY as if your own dear pooch were to be living in it, and that's the other 12%.
Also, give some thought to putting some more of that foil stuff under
other areas too- you may have to use some adhesive to hold it up- but
that helps immensely!

Just a few ideas, this helped mine a world. Good luck, and happy
trails!!

Mark, whiteknight001

[whiteknight001]

mkpj1 wrote:
Here me out guys,

I know the rims are different but is the actual hub assembly different? I'm sorry but I'm a old ford rebuilder (No Flames please) and I took the front end out of a 73 F100 to put in my my 68 that had drums. I did it for the disc brakes, power brakes, and power steering. It was bolt on, 4 bolts! I got the parts for next to nothing. I am sure that Chrysler is the same as it is much cheaper. Is the lug set up different on the hub?

Ken

Hey Ken

Mine came with the drums up front, and regular rims, not the
"dual style", so I had to carry two spares. Here's what I did-
if yours is based on a B-300 series van incomplete cab/chassis
like a load of these rigs are, here's good news- I had a wrecked
'76 12 pass. B-300 with a good frontend and disc brakes. Everything swapped- spindles and all! I went ahead and rebuilt the frontend
with new bushings and joints, etc to make it all good. The calipers
and spindles work with the "heavy duty" dually type hubs perfectly.
So yes, it all works good for Dodge like it does for Ford- and I'm
a Ford nut too.

While I was at it I had to replace the brake booster and master cylinder. I happened to be foraging for some parts for Anastasia,
my '76 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, and I saw a Hydro-Boost unit
in another Cadoo... after some careful measurement and precision harvesting I had the whole shebang loaded up and paid for. Guess
where it is now?!? In my RV. I've also got a rolled over '91 Dodge D250 pickup with the Cummins 12 valve and Loadflite tranny. Guess where the Cummins and Loadflite 727 combo are headed? Same place as the Hydro-Boost.

Instead of the "Kobayashi Maru"- I'm cooking up a Super Stock Dodge-
RV, that is....

The one and only-

Dodge Super B-300,
power by Cummins

Keep the Hemi. This is REAL power... and the best of Redneck engineering!

Have fun! If there is even an idea it'll work, it just might! Measure
good and have fun! These are all CUSTOM rigs!

your l'il fat buddy

Mark whiteknight001

[Big_John1]

eyeteeth wrote:
Wow... a lot of posts about something I couldn't even ready about... 🙂

The family just returned from a 1300 miles round trip to pick up our new old Dodge.

I really wish the unit matched the description a bit better. On a positive note... it did make it 650+ miles back home in 90+ heat. But it will need much more work then I'd expected. The previous owner was at least very helpful, and even apologetic. (It's a unit that hasn't realy seen any use in the last 2 years) There are some things he says he's willing to work out, so final judgment and details will be delayed. In the meantime, plenty of questions will be forthcoming...

So for the details. It's a 24ft '79 Dodge Holiday Ramblette. Previous owner said it was a 360, but I happened upon some 440 parts tucked in a corner this evening? So I'm not 100% sure anymore. It has a cab over, sofa, two captians chairs in the living quaters, and the nice big seats with arm rests in the cab. Stand up shower/half tub, and the all important (for me anyway) bunk beds in the back. It also has a real solid, heavy duty bumper and trailer which which will come in very handy taking the karts to the race track. Roof AC, but no Generator. Seperate Black and Grey Tanks. That about covers it.

The Previous owner was kind enough to let up "camp" in his driveway overnight before going through all the formalities. He was kind enough to go through the trouble of freshly coating the roof before we arrived. Which was proabably a very good thing as we arrived during flash flood storm warnings. The unit was "almost" sealed tight. 😞 There was supposed to be water damage in only one spot due to having left a window slightly open once... but we happened upon several areas that will need attention. I won't get into it all yet. But, apart from the "known" area... nothing else came in. All the other areas I would classify as "previous" and has been fixed. There was enough rain... if there was apossibility of getting in, it would have found the way.

I'll have pictures posted soon. But first... a few questions. First thing we need to do, is make the unit a little more "drive" friendly. The carpet in the cab is some old spare carpet taken out of a house... not fastened down at all. But, the area is not sealed from the engine compartment. Peeling it back, I found a couple grommets or seals that were missing. So, as the engine worked pretty hard to bring us home in 90+ heat and 90%+ humidity, all that engine heat was trying to cook my wife and I in the cab. In addition to replacing those seals, what else can I do to cut down the heat exchange from the engine to the Cab? Then... my second question for now. The engine never really overheated, but the dog house did become rather warm to the touch... I hope I'm not about to unleash a highly debateable topic... but what have some of ya'll done to get these to run a little cooler? It was fine first thing in the morning, and later in the evening, but through the heat of the day, It seemed the cooling system just couldn't keep up.

Thanks a bunch, and I'll get a few pictures once I do a little cleaning. 🙂

Engine ID is pretty simple. If the distributor is in the front its a big block, probably a 440. If its in the back, its a small block, probably a 360.

[eyeteeth]

Wow... a lot of posts about something I couldn't even ready about... 🙂

The family just returned from a 1300 miles round trip to pick up our new old Dodge.

I really wish the unit matched the description a bit better. On a positive note... it did make it 650+ miles back home in 90+ heat. But it will need much more work then I'd expected. The previous owner was at least very helpful, and even apologetic. (It's a unit that hasn't realy seen any use in the last 2 years) There are some things he says he's willing to work out, so final judgment and details will be delayed. In the meantime, plenty of questions will be forthcoming...

So for the details. It's a 24ft '79 Dodge Holiday Ramblette. Previous owner said it was a 360, but I happened upon some 440 parts tucked in a corner this evening? So I'm not 100% sure anymore. It has a cab over, sofa, two captians chairs in the living quaters, and the nice big seats with arm rests in the cab. Stand up shower/half tub, and the all important (for me anyway) bunk beds in the back. It also has a real solid, heavy duty bumper and trailer which which will come in very handy taking the karts to the race track. Roof AC, but no Generator. Seperate Black and Grey Tanks. That about covers it.

The Previous owner was kind enough to let up "camp" in his driveway overnight before going through all the formalities. He was kind enough to go through the trouble of freshly coating the roof before we arrived. Which was proabably a very good thing as we arrived during flash flood storm warnings. The unit was "almost" sealed tight. 😞 There was supposed to be water damage in only one spot due to having left a window slightly open once... but we happened upon several areas that will need attention. I won't get into it all yet. But, apart from the "known" area... nothing else came in. All the other areas I would classify as "previous" and has been fixed. There was enough rain... if there was apossibility of getting in, it would have found the way.

I'll have pictures posted soon. But first... a few questions. First thing we need to do, is make the unit a little more "drive" friendly. The carpet in the cab is some old spare carpet taken out of a house... not fastened down at all. But, the area is not sealed from the engine compartment. Peeling it back, I found a couple grommets or seals that were missing. So, as the engine worked pretty hard to bring us home in 90+ heat and 90%+ humidity, all that engine heat was trying to cook my wife and I in the cab. In addition to replacing those seals, what else can I do to cut down the heat exchange from the engine to the Cab? Then... my second question for now. The engine never really overheated, but the dog house did become rather warm to the touch... I hope I'm not about to unleash a highly debateable topic... but what have some of ya'll done to get these to run a little cooler? It was fine first thing in the morning, and later in the evening, but through the heat of the day, It seemed the cooling system just couldn't keep up.

Thanks a bunch, and I'll get a few pictures once I do a little cleaning. 🙂

[mkpj1]

Here me out guys,

I know the rims are different but is the actual hub assembly different? I'm sorry but I'm a old ford rebuilder (No Flames please) and I took the front end out of a 73 F100 to put in my my 68 that had drums. I did it for the disc brakes, power brakes, and power steering. It was bolt on, 4 bolts! I got the parts for next to nothing. I am sure that Chrysler is the same as it is much cheaper. Is the lug set up different on the hub?

Ken

[Big_John1]

What if you mounted the second wheel to the back bumper and had it hinge down and become a step for the back door? A piece of plywood mounted to the back of the wheel for the step and maybe a hinged leg to drop to the ground to stabilize the whole unit.

Just a random thought.

[Leeann]

Most Dodge B300 chassis use different rims front and rear. Unfortunately...

My A takes the same front and rear, but the '75 C I had first had different rims.

[mkpj1]

Eric,

Is the front hub assembly different that it cannot take the dually half? seems these would be in great supply in a junk yard? I only carry one half as my front takes the dually half (whatever they are called) and figure I can limp on one if both go in the back. to much of a PITA and weight to carry two!

Ken

[79powerwagon]

Leeann wrote:

79powerwagon wrote:

I still need to figure out where exactly to carry 2 spares though...

Eric

We had one spare mounted on the spare tire thing on the back, but wanted to carry 2. So the bf took threaded rod large enough, cut it to length, used large washers and bolted it to the spare that was bolted to the carrier, sticking out. Then put the second spare on that and used more large washers and nuts.

It's pretty secure. Gone on 2 150+ mile trips without loosening (yes, we do check).

If you recall, this old Dodge uses dually in the rear, and convention singles up front. The spare hanging under the house (stock location for the Dodge chassis) is the conventional style, and the dually won't fit. My house has a rear entry door, so no room on the back. I could mount it on the nose, but then I'd be affecting my cold air flow to the engine. And, since I'm no spring chicken anymore, the roof is out of the question! :B

There is only 12' of interior space... maybe just yank out the fridge, no wait! Where will the beer go?

I guess I'll keep nosing around the rig, I'll find a spot for it! 😉

Eric

[79powerwagon]

I like you already, Big John! An A12 car, eh?

Excellent!

[Leeann]

79powerwagon wrote:

I still need to figure out where exactly to carry 2 spares though...

Eric

We had one spare mounted on the spare tire thing on the back, but wanted to carry 2. So the bf took threaded rod large enough, cut it to length, used large washers and bolted it to the spare that was bolted to the carrier, sticking out. Then put the second spare on that and used more large washers and nuts.

It's pretty secure. Gone on 2 150+ mile trips without loosening (yes, we do check).

[Leeann]

MasterBoondocker wrote:

I ask you Leeann ...why do you come after me on this -- when it was very clear that the other-guy was so wrong - on so many other TECH and real-world FACTS ?

Whoa. I go after no one. You asked what service manual showed rotators on the 440. I was looking for something else in my manual and saw that, so I simply answered the question that was in amongst the rest of the crap.

That's all.

[Big_John1]

79powerwagon wrote:
Thanks for the info Leeann! I'll get a set on order and start whacking away!

Ken, the intake and carb I'm waiting on is an oem set-up with a quadra-bog carb, it all should fit neatly under the dog house.

I had the Eddy performer intake and 600cfm on my PW, and with the right engine bits, that sucker had TONS of power! Ran pretty good in the 1/4 mile, too! :B

I understand what the Doc is trying to accomplish (sorry folks, I mean MBD. I know him as Doc from another life), and I think his experiment, whether it's successful or not, is a valid one. I just don't know anything about the 413 truck engines AT ALL. The 440 I know, but like Ken said, mine's built for speed and drivability. This is in my 1966 Dodge Charger.

And to step back to the flavor of this original thread, now that I have brakes, I just ordered a set of 16x6 wheels for the Tioga! WOO-HOO! No more searching for 16.5 tires!!!!!!!

I still need to figure out where exactly to carry 2 spares though...

Eric

Hey! A '66 Charger! I have a '69 A12 Roadrunner!

[Big_John1]

MasterBoondocker wrote:

Big_John wrote:


That range of 800 to 4500rpm is where the stock 440 shines. I don't think anyone will disagree with that. It was never meant as a high RPM engine. Again, in my application, I do very little sustained speed highway driving and I see a lot of different RPM ranges.

My comments are really aimed at a small valve 413 head on a 440 engine. The 413 is a good piece, all the way around, just as the 440 is.

Try it? yes... exactly that. Bolt the heads on and head down the highway. Flow benches, dynos, whatever... will tell you a lot, but until the rubber hits the road, its only theory and a bunch of data points. FUN (note word "FUN") to talk about on forums such as these and interesting when someone actually gets their hands dirty and reports back.

Comments, thoughts and OPINIONS is what this forum is all about. But I must take-issue with info that is posted as TECH and a FACT - and that is flat-out wrong. Sorry -- that is just me.

The range of the 413 is just a tad short of what you claim for the 440. But WHERE do you run your 440 at 4500 rpm for any extended period of time? Would you not agree that 2500-3000 is where most-of-us run these motors?

The valve sizes are too small on the 413 ? ...... why then would the aftermarket head builders for race-stuff only build most of their heads with a 1.81 exh valve? .... and this is to be put on a motor that is very near 500 cubic inches and rpmed UP to 7000 commonly ?

My hands have-been-dirty and will be getting more-so with this project. My main object is to get the best fuel-econ as possible.

Yes, I do agree that "most users" will run at 2500-3000 RPM and my 440 isn't run at 4500 RPM for any "extended" period of time, but it does hit the top end of that range with some regularity. The bottom of the two mile long steep hill that leads up to the house comes to mind along with trying to blend into 75-80 MPH traffic on the NYS Thruway on ramps (when I use the Interstate, which isn't that often) At those times, I really desire the most power available and gas mileage is pretty much tossed out the window.

Of course, that said, I never consider myself as a "most user" and if I had a narrower power band, I'd like a gear or two more in my transmission to keep it at that range. One of the reasons I have always preferred the 440 is it has a broad power band that works well with the torqueflite trans.

As far as the race heads, yes, 1.81 exhaust valves are used, but IMHO, the big block Mopar head has more limitations on the intake side. Chrysler themselves addressed this back in the early sixties with the max-wedge. If you look at B1 race heads, you'll see they use a 1.78 exhaust and a 2.30 Intake. But.. of course, now you're talking about a head with raised ports, repositioned valves and spark plug, etc. Of course, you can't bolt a stock intake up to that as the intake ports are different. But... that's a race head. Let's keep that in perspective. Apples vs. Apples.

Its only my opinion about the valve size. I've never claimed it to be anything else. :B

Concerning the service manual, keep in mind that its written for the mechanic and are written prior to actual production. I've noticed in many other manuals, not just the truck manuals, that the pictures may not be 100% correct for the application. If you look in other manuals, you'll see the same picture over and over again. Its more about illustrating the procedure then anything else. Its another source of info, but in this case, a picture is not worth a thousand words.

[79powerwagon]

Thanks for the info Leeann! I'll get a set on order and start whacking away!

Ken, the intake and carb I'm waiting on is an oem set-up with a quadra-bog carb, it all should fit neatly under the dog house.

I had the Eddy performer intake and 600cfm on my PW, and with the right engine bits, that sucker had TONS of power! Ran pretty good in the 1/4 mile, too! :B

I understand what the Doc is trying to accomplish (sorry folks, I mean MBD. I know him as Doc from another life), and I think his experiment, whether it's successful or not, is a valid one. I just don't know anything about the 413 truck engines AT ALL. The 440 I know, but like Ken said, mine's built for speed and drivability. This is in my 1966 Dodge Charger.

And to step back to the flavor of this original thread, now that I have brakes, I just ordered a set of 16x6 wheels for the Tioga! WOO-HOO! No more searching for 16.5 tires!!!!!!!

I still need to figure out where exactly to carry 2 spares though...

Eric