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

[79powerwagon]

Trish Davis wrote:

This heat exchange pipe -- am I correct in assuming it is, if it hasn't already-- is going to rust big time? A good machinist could make a stainless one.

Yeah, knowing precisely *what* to look for without tearing into an engine in another person's driveway is good. Thanks for the "hot sides" tip.

More questions:
I intend to haul a bike trailer. The rig is only 20ft and I don't want anything over 22', tops.

Fellow owns it says there's a hitch --what's the factory tonque weight?
The trailer is "yet to be determined" ... I can build one off an old Ford axle, modify the old one (small for trips), buy used... so I have neither dimensions nor weight.

79PW... where in WI?
I worked and lived (mostly worked and for very little) in New Glarus 6 yrs ago.

MMMMMMMM, New Glarus! That's a town that brews some mighty fine beers! I'm closer to Milwaukee, N.W. of town.

My Tioga has a ball mounted to the rear bumper, and there is NO WAY I'd tow anything with that! The frame extensions leading to the rear bumper are weak at best. If I were to tow, I'd investigate a custom hitch set-up built for the application. Right now, the frame is just a big lever if I were to put a load on it. That sucker would snap off in a few miles, I'd guess.

The heat cross-over isn't a tube in the sense you are thinking. It's actually cast into the intake manifold just like the runners. They'd be the runner that the choke stove would be on, kinda in the middle of the intake.

Eric

[MasterBoondocke]

79powerwagon wrote:


Doc, I did not knoew that about the heat cross-over (the test). Thank you, I've learned something today! :B

DON'T feel like the Lone Ranger .... IF we all have an open-mind -- we can learn ALOT from everybody and everything we are involved with ! .... I am learning TONZ about gardening ... this year is my first one !

And on that intake .... I would suggest another test for that crossover. Give a water bottle with a spray attachment and "mist" that area after about 5 minutes of running. If that mist does not turn to steam .... there are "issues".

Also ... IF it is plugged ...I suggest getting another intake to do your boil-job on. The last one I was involved with .... it took the machine shop over a week to boil-it - because it was so packed in there.

BUTTT ... I would suggest an aftermarket intake -- that is NOT prone to plugging.

[mkpj1]

Ya, it's under there. It's actually in really decent shape and still has all the info labels on the valve covers and all. My concern is the probable gunk in the system from years of sitting. I've been looking at some stuff called Auto-RX to flush out the system. oil pressure is too low.

I'll look into POR-15,thanks. Battery tray...ha ha. I swept mine up in a dust pan. i'm going to use the POR-15 for the WHEEL WELL!:R

Trish, I'd just look to put in a aluminum edelbrock intake. It's lighter and cheaper. Well you would need to go with a 4 barrel but .....

Good luck with finding the towing info. I have 360 and my rig is 22 ft. My coach manual doesn't recommend towing at all. Tough, I'm going to beef up the drive train, put on a cooler, and the tweek the motor. She is going to tow!

[Jarlaxle]

MKPJ--are you SURE there's a motor under all that stuff?!

For the battery tray, POR-15 is a wonderful thing.

[Trish_Davis]

Thank you 79Pw and master BD.
That is exactly the kind of stuff I'm needing to know.

Agreed with the assessment of Holleys. Might get stoned for saying that but, putting an out-of-the-box Edelbrock on the Merc ('41 Cpe w/ '67 Buick 340 at .30 over; new mains, crank and cam --my dad was a machinist) convinced me. 2 yrs later on a car that spends 6-8 mos sitting is saying a lot.

This heat exchange pipe -- am I correct in assuming it is, if it hasn't already-- is going to rust big time? A good machinist could make a stainless one.

Yeah, knowing precisely *what* to look for without tearing into an engine in another person's driveway is good. Thanks for the "hot sides" tip.

And thanks for the battery box tip. I can weld (ugly but it sticks) so that is fixable.

Now, this add-on OD. Buddy of mine (HS and dirt bikes since were 12) owns his own trans shop, rebuilds nothing but auto transmissions. I am gonna run this suggestion past him this week --he was supposed to be over here Saturday helping me put my bike back together!-- and will relay his take.
John is GOOD. Seldom do I praise, but John is good at what he does.

I have no intention of swapping out the rr end for a higher-ratio one.
Hills and under a load, you need the power of lower gears.


More questions:
I intend to haul a bike trailer. The rig is only 20ft and I don't want anything over 22', tops.

Fellow owns it says there's a hitch --what's the factory tonque weight?
The trailer is "yet to be determined" ... I can build one off an old Ford axle, modify the old one (small for trips), buy used... so I have neither dimensions nor weight.

Drums all around? Drums are no problem if you adjust them properly.


Manuals and YES for eBay.
Wait to find a factory manual, Haymes is a waste of money.
Or find an "Motors Manual" covers your years, they're excellent.


79PW... where in WI?
I worked and lived (mostly worked and for very little) in New Glarus 6 yrs ago.

[unionguy1019]

eyeteeth wrote:
It's probably in this thread somewhere... but I'll fess up. I'm going to be lazy and ask as I never have much luck with the search feature.

What's a good chassis/engine manual for these older units, and where on earth would I find one?

Hey Eye, Don't give up on e-bay. Took me about 9 months but I finally found the factory issued service manual for my 73.

As for the house manual, check with the mfg. I found a reprint from Coachman.

R.E. Fuel injection design:
Why titanium, because there were no restrictions on cost in my sons class, they could use any material and were graded on feeds and speeds for that particular material. As for making one in aluminium, I'll have to ask if he still has his design on MasterCAM.

[75Americanclipp]

I have used POR15good stuff and yes like they it would work great.

jc

[79powerwagon]

Good luck with the trip, JC! I hope all of your woes are finished!

Doc, I did not knoew that about the heat cross-over (the test). Thank you, I've learned something today! :B

Ken, ask MBD about fiberglass, he'll know! I'll tell you it will work, but as you're laminating it up, install some mechanical fasteners as well, then continue to laminate over them. This will help keep your battery from hitting the front tire (again!) when it finally starts to let go. Maybe use POR15 instead? They make a fiber mesh to be used with their product to repair like a floor board thats all pin-holed. I may investigate that since POR15 is a urethane, and nothing affect urethane! And it sticks like a ...well, it sticks real well to anything it comes in contact with! :B

Eric

[75Americanclipp]

well, well I am on the road again, I put the new fuel pump on, and guess what I strip it, so I had to JB weld it, so now I need to take a cruise to see if it is going to good, man I hope I have change everything on this beast. so this weekend I take a trip to Sac and back that about 200 or less miles, plus I need to pick up a carb for my new old 1964 comet caliente, and I can tow this old ride behind my American Clipper.

jc

stay tune for an update

[mkpj1]

Eric,

Your battery area looks better than mine. Way better! My whole lower fender...fell out! Where the tray welds into the fender....gone. Not a lick of rust anywhere else. You can see some of the aluminum strips I am using to rebuild underneath the battery. It's a funny story though because i bring thi beast home and the neighbors are looking on and my wife is out and herei am tackling a bad battery connection. Simple right! I'm trying to loosen the battery cable and the battery about falls on the front tire and a pile....I'm talking a frigging BIG pile of rust chips falls onto my driveway. I could hear my neighbors laughing there backsides off. Well, nothing a torch and a welder won't cure. I'm really looking into using fiberglass though I am unsure it will stick properly to the steel. Any thoughts?

No No. I left the little bugger alone. Him and his sister are a terror. I have trained and owned Labs for a very long time. We just lost one of the best Labs I ever owned about 6 months ago and had to get new ones. they are chewin machnes when thy are this young. I'm the one who should be bludgened in the head as I know better!!! anyone who has ever had labs know they can't resist black tubing of any kind. A guy was laying cable in my backyard with my late lab around. I told him to secure it out of his reach several times. Aw, naw we'll be done in a few minutes. that dog chewed it though 3 different places in 15 minutes.

thanks for the manual links.

[MasterBoondocke]

79powerwagon wrote:


EDIT: PS- the cross-over is a heat channel cast into the intake manifold to get the cold running of the engine to be a bit more civilized. You cannot check it without removing the intake manifold. Just expect it to be plugged. Not the end of the world, just a nuisance in my book! 😉

But you CAN check-it ... 9er .... just by feeling the area on either side of the carb. If it gets really hot after say 3 minutes running ... it should be OK. But most do not.

A "nuisance" ? ... is an understatement in most people's opinion. The intake must be pulled and then BOILED for a couple of days to remove all that build-up. And THEN there is the build-up in the HEAD passages.

That can be chipped-out and then vacuumed out but BE careful about getting it all that material. DON'T let any of it fall into the pan or back into the exhaust port/valve/combustion chamber.

[79powerwagon]

Thanks Ken, that's what I was looking for. I clearly have the wrong bottles (that were harvested by a friend), but I may be able to make them work. I also seem to have the wrong radiator in there, but it's a big one, so I'll not worry about it until I have to.

The carb is all rebuilt now, so need to be sorry about that! I see some kind of braces under your battery. Is it as bad as mine? Looks like a battery over-charged and burst on mine!


Eric

[Leeann]

Okey-dokey, none on eBay right now, but it is available here




I take it the beast is only still alive 'cause it's so cute??? :B

[mkpj1]

Sorry Eric, I only got pics of the engine bay for you. My computer cord was "hacked" in half by the little beast in the pic. The beast taking the picture ran the batteries down in the digital camara so i didn't have it sunday to pull the front tire. that will have to wait till next weekend. As you can see we have "two" new camping buddies. this is one of them giving me the tongue as he is confronted for chewing my computer chord in half. Sorry about the carb man!

[eyeteeth]

Thanks for the links... need a '79 though. 🙂 I'll check at the auto stores. I was in one for lunch looking for new seal material for the doghouse... they looked at me funny. lol.