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

[timmac]

Any one ever have to buy a new 16.5 dually rim for there old dodge rv, where do you get them besides the old used up ones in the savage yard...

[Big_John1]

MasterBoondocker wrote:

79powerwagon wrote:


Doc, it's funny reading your stuff about the heat cross-over, then reading the same topic on moparts, except everyone is deliberately blocking them off over there! :B For those that aren't as versed in Mopardom, for our RV application, MBD is correct, keep them operational. For race and hi-po applications, you want the coldest air charge you can get, so they get blocked off. Apples to Oranges.

9er .... for us RVers .... keep them "operational" PLUS ! ...

On my 413 -- I am going to INSULATE the intake as much as possible -- to keep that alum intake as warm as possible -- considering that it is just coolant heated.

The Moparts dudes ? ... have you ever seen some "plug readings" that some of those guys have? ... they give "running-RICH" new meaning !! ...... and a few of them have "washed" a few sets of rings too !

Does the 413 intake have coolant passages in it?

[Big_John1]

MasterBoondocker wrote:

Big_John wrote:
Clothespins on the fuel line is an old anti-vapor lock trick. The idea is they act as a heat sink and keep the line a little cooler so the gas doesn't boil.

It has been a while since I have worked on an A engine ... BUT ...

So WHEN does a fuel line come up from the rear of the engine and feed the REAR of the carb ?

I don't know... its not my RV.

I just read what he posted... he asked why there were clothespins on the fuel line and I answered.

It is very possible that a previous owner has rerouted the line and bypassed the mechanical pump and has put an electric pump in the fuel line.

[MasterBoondocke]

Big_John wrote:
Clothespins on the fuel line is an old anti-vapor lock trick. The idea is they act as a heat sink and keep the line a little cooler so the gas doesn't boil.

It has been a while since I have worked on an A engine ... BUT ...

So WHEN does a fuel line come up from the rear of the engine and feed the REAR of the carb ?

[MasterBoondocke]

79powerwagon wrote:


Doc, it's funny reading your stuff about the heat cross-over, then reading the same topic on moparts, except everyone is deliberately blocking them off over there! :B For those that aren't as versed in Mopardom, for our RV application, MBD is correct, keep them operational. For race and hi-po applications, you want the coldest air charge you can get, so they get blocked off. Apples to Oranges.

9er .... for us RVers .... keep them "operational" PLUS ! ...

On my 413 -- I am going to INSULATE the intake as much as possible -- to keep that alum intake as warm as possible -- considering that it is just coolant heated.

The Moparts dudes ? ... have you ever seen some "plug readings" that some of those guys have? ... they give "running-RICH" new meaning !! ...... and a few of them have "washed" a few sets of rings too !

[Leeann]

mkpj1 wrote:
Leeann is right, as usual....

Better be careful - that just might go to my head! :B

[mkpj1]

Oh, and another thing. Leanne is right, as usual...., our rigs do have receivers/dryers, not accumulators. :B

Ken

[Leeann]

mkpj1 wrote:
Mine already has a 15000 BTU ceiling AC that i run with the Genny and....I have dash air:p

And...my wife can tie a cherry stem with her tongue.:)

Now you're just showing off! :E


Our ceiling AC is original - still works more than fine while sitting, but just not enough driving down the road.

I'd be more impressed if you could tie the cherry stem with your tongue :W

[mkpj1]

Mine already has a 15000 BTU ceiling AC that i run with the Genny and....I have dash air:p

And...my wife can tie a cherry stem with her tongue.:)

[Trish_Davis]

What Ken Said.

You will have to replace all the hoses and fittings --make sure you go to an A/C shop that makes their own hoses and ends! Lots of independent shops do this.

Bob said to do it soon, freon is down from $235 2 years ago to $100 --his cost.
Also said he wouldn't do mine because it was too much aggravation.. Some friend, huh ....*g*

Eyeteeth, you might want to try to make the summer and wait to get the AC system switched over during the cold weather. It's amazing how slow and how much cheaper an AC shop can be in November.

One more thing: Make sure the shop checks your system for leaks. If they do not have purple-y injection dye that glows green under the light (and ask to see the equipment, it is your money), go elsewhere!

[Leeann]

Oh, and another thing: you'll probably want to replace the receiver/drier too.

And yes, I do....but we're going to replace the 10,000 BTU roof AC with a 15,000 BTU and run it on the genny running down the road instead.

The bf's a commercial AC master, btw 😉

[mkpj1]

Ohh, Another thing,

the retro kit had fittings that go back to ,..i think 76?? My 68 truck which had factory air had a different fitting for the high side which had to get seperate. Read the label on those kits.

Ken

[mkpj1]

Seriously, retrofitting should be fine. Make sure you will want to replace all the seals/o-rings (old ones are not compatible with R-134a - and are probably dry and cracked anyway) and don't forget to change the oil in the compressor as the oil for R-12 isn't the same as the oil for R-134a.

Remove the compressor and turn it so you can pour the oil into a container. Then put the same amount of the right oil back in. Should be about 7 oz. or so.

That's right on. You could just get the retro kit and put it in like my PO did but you risk creating an acidic situation in the system and it will eventually eat itself up. Old Yorks used mineral oil and you need to change to Ester oil in the compressor. It won't react with mineral oil and create acid. R-134 uses more pressure so it will stress the R-12 system so definetly change the O rings and make sure all your fittings are solid. it's not a bad idea to change the accumulator as well. the sad fact is that r-134 is les efficient and cools about 30% less than r-12.

the final thing is that you cannot just vent r-12 to the atmosphere as it is illegal. I have the conversion on mine but there is no offical sticker to show it was done professionally and I figure it was done on the cheap. So if you still have pressure and you don't have the r-134 fittings, take it to a profesional to vent the system of the r-12. It's really pretty straight foward.

Aw..Leeann, you know you can buy an aftermarket kit that isn't to bad to install.

Ken

[Leeann]

Hey, you're just lucky you have dash air. Ours doesn't 😞

Seriously, retrofitting should be fine. Make sure you will want to replace all the seals/o-rings (old ones are not compatible with R-134a - and are probably dry and cracked anyway) and don't forget to change the oil in the compressor as the oil for R-12 isn't the same as the oil for R-134a.

Remove the compressor and turn it so you can pour the oil into a container. Then put the same amount of the right oil back in. Should be about 7 oz. or so.

[eyeteeth]

I'm hoping, as the Dash air in my unit currently does not function.